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He stiffened. “Of course not.” He sounded deeply offended. “I would never have children with anyone but you.”

I felt myself flush, the thought warming me. But what I said was, “Accidents happen.”

“I’ve always been doubly careful. You are the only exception. I’ve known I would have children with you or no one since I was fourteen.”

“I don’t know why you always have to throw in the fourteen bit. Everyone gets it, you were young. And I didn’t think we could create a child together so protection never even occurred to me.”

“Do you believe in fate yet?” he asked, a warm smile in his voice.

I just shook my head.

I fell asleep like that, my head on Dom’s bicep, his lips pressed to the back of my head.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

FATE

My own throaty moan woke me up. Dom was on top of me, inside of me, thrusting in and out tirelessly.

We were naked in his bed. I didn’t recall how we’d gotten there, but I didn’t give it much thought. I didn’t have many thoughts at all at that moment as they were being drilled right out of me with vigor.

I clutched him to me, legs wrapping tight around his hips, nails digging into his back.

He paused mid-stroke, pushing up to make brief eye contact. He didn’t say a word. No good morning.

I didn’t say much either aside from, “Don’t stop,” and he was at it again, burying his face in my neck as he plowed me rigorously.

It was a hell of a way to wake up. I’d take it over just about anything.

Okay, if I was honest, I’d take it over anything at all. There was no hope for me. This was my bliss.

Dom was kissing my throat as he stroked in and out of me when suddenly I felt a sharp pain where my shoulder met my neck.

“Fuck,” I said. It was more of a surprised yelp. Had he bit me? If so, it was a harder than the usual love bite.

A hint of pain mixed with the pleasure, like spice adding a flare of heat to a dish.

He didn’t respond, didn’t pause, just kept sucking on my neck and fucking like a machine.

The pain was quickly forgotten, lost in other, more urgent sensations.

Afterward I rubbed my neck, half convinced I’d find a puncture wound.

He’d bitten me hard.

He caught what I was doing and kissed me deeply. “I got carried away,” he said by way of an apology as he pulled back. He moved my hair aside and studied the spot he’d bitten. “Here,” he said, leaned forward, and I felt his cool magic running across my skin where his lips touched.

He grabbed my hips, holding me flush against him as he rolled and sat up. He was still inside of me, still hard, as he reached for something on the bedside table. He held a chalice to my lips and I drank.

It wasn’t a casual sip, he held it until I swallowed every drop.

That was when I noticed how his room had changed. Candles were lit everywhere and his bedspread was covered in runes like the ones on his ceremonial robes.

Also herbs, flowers, and sticks were scattered everywhere. We had our own little indoor forest scene going in here.

“I forgot about this,” I told him as I recalled. “You’ve done it before. It’s some kind of a fertility spell, right?”

“It is the ritual of oak and mistletoe. And yes, we’ve done it before. Clearly it worked.”