Page 78 of Silverproof Damsel

I didn’t speak.

I couldn’t.

The lump in my throat trapped all speech behind it. Rhys was the only man to ever call me beautiful. He had a way of making me feel good about myself, sexy even.

“This might make me the biggest asshole. But I like knowingmychild is nourished within you, Remington. That your body blossoms frommybabe growing inside of his mother,” he rasped, then flicked his tongue before he slid it through the seam of my lips, beckoning me to open for his hungry kiss. One hand remained at the curve of my spine. The other glided up my back, cupping my cheek as he deepened the kiss.

Rhys devoured me with his lips, mouth, and tongue. His tongue found mine, then dueled against it like it was the crusader and I was the holy land he fought to claim. The hand cupping my cheek slid to the back of my neck, then brought me in closer, if even possible. A needy moan escaped my throat, only to be captured like a pilgrim seeking refuge.

He pulled back, his teeth nipping my lip as a growl escaped his throat. “Bloody hell, Love. You are a drug inside my system that gets me high. So . . . sofuckinghigh.” The sound of footsteps coming down the hallway forced Rhys’ dark head to tilt, listening as our bedroom was invaded.

“Are you finished hoarding her, brother? These assholes are restless to see for themselves that she’s well and unharmed.” I squeaked at the sound of Cole’s voice, causing feminine growls to erupt from the omegas on the other side of the door. As if they sensed my shock, they wailed together, as if they were one.

“One wouldn’t be opposed to her wearing nothing,” Hunter chimed in, a silken promise of pleasure rushing through my spine with his inhuman hum carried in his voice. “We’ll take her however we can have her.”

“Indeed,” Ian’s brogue was heavier than usual. I’d expected it once he’d returned from his castle in the Scottish Highlands. Before he’d left, he’d warned me that when he returned, hisbrogue would be heavier for a time. He reminisced on how being in his homeland reminded him of what he’d been before his immortal life had begun. Ian still watched over his‘borne bloodline’, as most vampires often did. “Not a single one of us would issue a complaint on that accord.”

“You’re all incorrigible,” I groaned, returning my focus to Rhys’ handsome face. A face that was simmering with possessiveness, sharpening his features.

“I need popcorn, Acyn. This might turn into porn. I need to be prepared if it does turn into an entire production,” Nyx stated, her nonchalant tone causing my cheeks to redden at the imagery it created.

“Is she coming, Alpha?” an omega asked, her voice full of hope.

“I do believe that’s his intent with her right now,” Mikel supplied in a thick raspiness that caused my eyebrows to push up on my forehead.

The sound of masculine laughter filled the bedroom as heat seared my cheeks. Conrad’s grunt told me he was being groped by more than one omega. Nyx’s happy squeal and commentary confirmed it as Rhys continued to hold my stare, a smile curving his lips.

“You make the omegas wait much longer, and we’ll need to sterilize the entire apartment,” he murmured against my ear. “Stop trying to hide the changes, Love. You’re glowing. Never has anyone else ever looked more beautiful than you do in pregnancy.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, Rhys,” I returned, twisting around to face him. “I don’t feel pretty. I feel like an Oompa Loompa.”

The corner of his mouth jerked up in a smirk as I drank in the subtle, delicious scent of dark whiskey, bergamot, and sage as Rhys leaned in, kissing my throat. Heated breath fanned thedelicate, vulnerable flesh as my legs pressed together tightly, staving off the aching throb he created between them.

“I’ve never thought of fucking an Oompa Loompa before. Until now,” he growled in a raspy tone that made my clit pulse painfully, needing his attention.

“Put on a potato bag for all we care, Silversmith. Just do it before these horny bitches have Conrad’s cock out and start slobbering on it!” Acyn bellowed, then moaned loudly. “Not now, Nyx. I’m already struggling not to bend your pretty ass over my brother’s couch. Be a good girl and put it on the back burner for an hour. You wanted to visit your‘bestie’, remember?”

“We mayactuallywant to sterilize the entire apartment once they depart,” I muttered as Rhys threaded his fingers through mine, then brought them to his lips, brushing a kiss over them. “Stop worrying about what others think, Love. You’re beautiful.”

“I love you, Rhys,” I declared, then felt heat singe my cheeks. The realization of what I’d just blurted out caused my stomach to somersault, before it dropped to the floor at my feet. “Shit. Iloveyour cock. Jesus rice on animal crackers. Shut up, Remington!” I felt my stomach twisting as all emotion left Rhys’ face.

It was so quiet after I’d blurted it out that I could hear the violent beating of my heart as it thundered against my chest. I couldn’t believe that I had just word-vomitedthatfrom my lips!

The entire apartment went silent after what I’d blurted out. Sweat trickled down my neck as nausea burned the back of my throat, threatening to heave up what I’d managed to keep down this morning. My head slowly moved from side to side, searching for a way to assure him I hadn’t meant those words.

“You should go entertain our guests,” he returned in a cold, dark rasp of sound. All the emotions his tenor held moments ago had vanished. “I guess they’re your guests.” Rhys released my hand, turned on his heel, and started from the room without another word.

“She just said—” My face turned mottled as every immortal with enhanced hearing heard me blurt out my feelings for Rhys. The sound of footsteps told me everyone was exiting the bedroom, moving back toward the living room.

Pacing within the bathroom, I wrung my hands together as I physically shook with the uneasiness I felt. The walls of the chamber seemed to push in, threatening to close in around me. Each step I took created more discomfort as I inhaled the earthy, ghostly scent in the tension filled air of the small space.

The entire room spun around me, as if my world was careening off its axis. Blood throbbed between my ears, like drums beating to a chaotic beat. Tears pricked my eyes, burning with the threat of falling.

Feminine laughter followed Acyn’s hesitant statement. Nyx cut him off before he finished. “She didn’t mean to say it. It doesn’t count. Right?” Bless her heart.

“Remington’s supposed to loveyou, Alpha! Nothim. It’sourbaby!” One of the omegas whined as tears flooded her eyes, threatening to fall.

“That was straightforward of her,” Hunter grumbled. I could imagine him shoving his fingers through his dark hair as he commented. “Lucky fucker.”

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