Page 85 of Love Bites
The witches kept their word. Standing three stories tall and containing eight bedrooms, the house they provided for Talon and Collin was more than big enough to suit their needs. The house wasn't as close to Collin's sister's house as Collin might have liked, but other than that WAFFER came though, in spite of their ridiculous name. The only thing they did not provide was a housekeeper to keep all that space clean—and the blackout curtains that Talon needed in their bedroom during the day.
Luke had moved in with them without putting up a fight. Collin was still working on convincing the rest of his siblings, but Talon figured they'd come to them if they needed to. For now, they might just be fine. Especially because the witches helped Collin recharge his father's precious blood crystal, which would lower their chances of detection as they moved about in the world.
Things were definitely looking up.
Even if Puck insisted on dropping by at least once a week to make sure that the wards were still working as intended. It had taken them a couple of days to work out the spells to create a ward that would protect against vampires without blocking Talon's access to the property. Puck claimed that these modifications made the wards a little bit unstable so he had to keep checking them.
Talon thought the witch was probably lying, but he wasn't going to risk it.
"I love this color," Collin said, pulling him back into the present. They were painting the nursery since Collin had gone into full-on nesting mode, ordering baby supplies and furniture from various online retailers like crazy. Not that Talon minded. They had the money, and it was fun to watch Collin's eyes light up as he inspected each new item they received. He'd looked at their crib as if it was a Ferrari.
"It's an intense color," Talon commented, spreading more paint on the wall with a medium-size brush. Flecks of the color had already ended up on his clothes and he was sure he looked ridiculous. Why had Collin had to choose pink? "Are you sure the baby is going to be a girl?"
Collin laughed and patted his belly. He'd grown positivelyhuge."I don't even care. Boys can love pink too." He pointed at himself. "Case in point."
"Very well." Talon supposed it really was only a color. For a few minutes, they continued their work in silence, then Collin turned to Talon again.
"About the baby, though..." he started.
"Yes?" Talon let his brush sink.
"I've been thinking. Can we name him or her after my mom or dad? I kind of want to keep their memory alive now that I've lost it once."
"Absolutely."
"You don't even know their names. What if you hate them?"
"I'm sure I won't." Talon set his brush on the lid of the paint bucket so he could give Collin a hug and a quick kiss. He didn't even care that this resulted in him getting more paint on his clothes.
Collin gasped and Talon chuckled. His love got horny so quickly these days. Not that Talon minded.
It was only when Collin pushed him away to clutch his belly that Talon realized that might not be what this was.
"Collin!" What was wrong with him? Was it the baby? He certainlylookedbig enough to pop.
"I think it's coming," Collin confirmed Talon's fears, a pained look accompanying his words. "Call Puck."
"Are you really sure you wanthimhere for this?"
"He said he could help with the pain and right now, that'sexactlywhat I want." Collin glared at Talon. "Don't fight me on this. Not right now. I know you don't like him. I don't care."
Seeing as Collin was the one about to give birth, Talon figured it was his call to make. "Do you also want me to call your siblings? Luke?" The boy was at school. It had taken two weeks of prompting to get him out of the house, but he'd finally agreed to continue his education.
Collin hesitated. "No," he said then. "I don't want that many people around."
Talon was whole-heartedly on board with this. The birth of their baby felt like it should be an intimate event. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Whatever you wish, love."
As he dialed Puck's number, he noticed that his hand was shaking. How curious. He laughed.
"What?" Collin asked.
"Nothing. I just haven't been this excited in a very long time."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
My body glowed. I wasn't sure if that was something Puck had done or if it was related to the same magic that I'd used to pulverize Zenon. Either way, I felt warm andalmostcomfortable resting on the bed in mine and Talon's bedroom. Puck had made me take off my shirt and pullover. There was a red line stretching across the lower half of my belly. Probably what had hurt so damn much earlier.
The pain had mostly gone away, though, the moment my skin lit up with this strange, soft glow.
