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sweetheart. But I guessed I would have done the same for my brother, had I

actually been capable of carrying a child.
“Okay, I’ll get back to you on it soon.” I hesitated, then grinned. “You do realize, of course,

that a week of roast dinners could influence the outcome.”
Rhoan snorted. “Have belly, can be bribed.”
“Totally.” I shoved some lamb in my mouth and chewed happily. “I think breakfast should come into

the equation, as well.”
Liander glanced at my brother. “I can see her stretching this out for as long as

possible.”
Rhoan gave me a warm smile, happiness in his eyes. “We can fix that easily enough. I’ll just

start doing the cooking.”
I just about gagged at the thought. “God, no. Anything but that.”
His smile gave way to an outright grin. “I cook as well as you do.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of. Quinn will have to start paying for more dinners if that

happens.”
The vampire in question snorted softly. “Even I would struggle to support your appetite

full-time.”
I met his gaze, a sensual smile playing about my lips. “Oh, I don’t know,” I said archly. “You’re

doing a pretty good job of it now.”
He leaned forward and kissed me. His lips were so warm, so inviting and delicious, that the kiss

quickly deepened, becoming a sensuous exploration that had me aching in an instant.
“Oh, get a room, you two,” Liander said dryly.
I grinned, twined my fingers through Quinn’s, and stood up. “Good idea.”
I dragged him to my bedroom, closed the door, and kissed him again, this time fiercely. His arms

wrapped around me, pulling me closer, until my body was molded against his and I could feel the

slow beat of his vampire heart and every intake of breath. He might not be human in any sense of

the word, he might not be a werewolf nor the man I’d spent half my life longing for, but he was

very much the man I needed in my life. The vampire I wanted to spend the rest of my life

with.
And no matter what fate had planned, I would fight for this. Fight for us. It might have taken me

altogether too long to realize just what this vampire meant to me, but now that I had I had no

intention of letting go.
“I can see you as a mother,” he murmured, his fingers sliding underneath my T-shirt, sending

delicious tingles of desire scampering across my flesh as he lifted my shirt up and over my head.

“I think you’d be a good one.”
My gaze searched his. “But can you see yourself being one of the dads? You once said you couldn’t

stand children.”
“Riley, this will be your child, and it’ll be as close as I’ll ever

get to having one of my own. That makes the difference.” He smiled. It was such a sweet, warm

smile that my heart just about melted. “And you are wearing far too many clothes for my

liking.”
“This from the man wearing a suit,” I said, tackling his shirt buttons. When they were all

undone, I pressed my hands lightly against his skin, letting them rest on the hard planes of his

stomach, reveling in the pleasure of simply touching him. Then I slowly slid my fingers upward,

enjoying the firmness of his toned body, luxuriating in the way his muscles quivered and jumped

at my caress.
My hands slid under the material at his shoulders, my thumbs hooking both shirt and coat and

slowly sliding them down his arms. Only to come to a dead halt at his wrists.
“Damn,” I said, raising my gaze to his, laughter bubbling through me. “I forgot about the shirt

cuffs.”
“It never happens in the movies, does it?” he said, amusement touching his lips as he undid the

problematic cuffs.
“It’s the magic of the big screen,” I said, watching the play of his muscles as he pulled off his

jacket and shirt. Loving the way his gaze held mine, full of promises, full of desire.
“Bet you’ve never seen this done on the big screen.” He bent and, in one smooth motion, scooped

me up into his arms.
I