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“I could do that all day,” he rasped.
“Do we have plans?” she asked.
He looked at her, smiling. “I could cancel them.”
She shook her head. “I’ll let you leave the room. For a while,” she teased.
He laughed. “I need to finish up a few things at the lab.” He hesitated, as if he was going to say something. But he didn’t.
“And then?”
“Whatever you want.” He kissed her breast, his tongue teasing the tip.
Her nails bit into his scalp. “You keep doing that and the lab will wait.”
“It can wait.” His tongue continued, making her writhe beneath him.
His mouth worked wonders, thoroughly exhausting her until she dozed into a blissful, weakened state. She woke to an empty bed. “Hollis?” she called out.
He wasn’t there. His scent was faint.
She stretched and kicked back the blankets. Her wolf was content to lie in bed and wait for him, but she was restless. His clothes still covered the floor. She scooped up the shirt he’d discarded the night before and slipped it on, burying her face in the fabric and breathing him deep.
Hollis.
Her mate. Had her wolf ever been so satisfied? Ellen could not recall. Her wolf assured her the answer was no—but then her wolf was ridiculously pleased this morning.
That her lover was talented was an unexpected delight. Of course, Hollis was a detail-oriented man. So very detailed. So very talented. Each remembered stroke and kiss, his hands on her skin, the exquisite weight of him buried deep inside of her made her body tighten and flush. It took her breath away. And made her ache for him. Now.
“Hollis?” Where was he? She was on fire for him. Again. She hadn’t expected this…this craving. Constant. Heady. Warm and throbbing. Unbearably delicious anticipation kicked in.
She made her way into the bathroom and paused.
There, on the counter, was a box of medicine. There was no note. But there was no need. The label said enough. Morning-after pill. The words, “stops pregnancy before it starts,” jumped off the box. Aggressively. She picked up the box, read over it, and set it back on the counter.
It was a plain white box with bright-green letters. Green like Hollis’s eyes.
Her wolf growled, adding to her unease. She walked out of the bathroom to pace the length of their hotel room. But it didn’t stop her mind from racing. He was worried, of course, and now that he knew what Cyrus was capable of, what choice did he have? Knowing what Cyrus would do to Finn’s children—to their child, if there was even the slightest chance one had been conceived—it was too great a variable. He didn’t do variables or take risks. He was a man of science and facts and proof.
For him, this was a guarantee.
She marched back to the bathroom and pulled the blister pack from the box. It was a blue pill. Nothing else. The pack had pointy edges, the foil and plastic crinkling. It grated her nerves. She glared at it, sat it on the counter, turned off the light, and left the bathroom again.
She tidied the room, hanging Hollis’s things in the closet and packing the rest into the bag he’d emptied onto the floor last night. Mal’s gift of prophylactics lay on the floor beside the bed. She stared at the rumpled sheets and twisted blankets, the sweep of his fingers on her skin, his lips on her breasts, his breath on her inner thigh…she shuddered. Last night had done something she’d never expected. It had given her a reason to trust and hope, dangerous words until now. But spending the night wrapped up in each other, lost to the newness and rightness of this bond, had left her with no choice. Her wolf—she—was his.
And trusting him was the only option she had.
The pill waiting on the bathroom counter told her how he felt. So had the fact that Hollis had gone to get it. He couldn’t risk it—her. It was important, too important to ignore a moment longer. She walked slowly back into the bathroom, flipped on the light, and read the box again. The words were straightforward and easy to understand. And horribly ominous.
She read it silently, then aloud, “‘The pill temporarily stops the egg from releasing, keeping sperm from having access to the egg and preventing the act of fertilization from taking place. This pill can be used up to five days after having unprotected sex. Use early for best results.’”
Unprotected sex. Preventing pregnancy. Factual information. Cold, clinical, and horrible. After years of aching for a child, such notions were wrong. She had Hollis. He was her mate. And if she could conceive, something she’d accepted was impossible, his child would be a joy to grow within her body and raise together. Her hands pressed against her stomach.
Her wolf growled.
Was this what Hollis wanted? Or was this his way of protecting her?
She stared at her stomach. Safe didn’t exist. Cyrus would die—at her hand or by one of Finn’s pack. How could she give up the chance, however slight, of having Hollis’s child?
