Page 51 of Embrace the Darkness

I was unsure what he was getting at. “We did. Quite a bit, actually.”

He nodded in agreement, then rubbed the back of his neck.

Why would he be uncomfortable?

Then it hit me. He had a history of pouncing and bouncing. My heart rate spiked. It took everything in me not to sound hurt and keep my voice calm. “If you’re here to end this—”

“No.” The one word was said curtly, leaving zero room for argument.

I inwardly relaxed. He wasn’t endingthis.I didn’t know what else to call what we were doing. We hadn'texactly discussed it. I wouldn’t say it was just sex. Feelings were on the line. We’d been friends for so long, there was nothing to stop that from happening. This little scare, however, revealed my feelings were stronger than expected, unsettlingly so.

“We didn’t use protection.” My eyebrows shot up, surprised. “I always remember to wear a condom, but when I’m with you…nothing else exists. You mess with my head.” He sighed. “I’m clean and I trust you are as well. I just want to know if I should be preparing for a baby?”

Understanding washed over me. “There will be no baby. I’m on the pill.” Kids were the last thing I wanted. Ever. I wasn’t the maternal type and I refused to subject a child to this life.

He visibly relaxed.

“It’s nice to know I have the same effect on you that you have on me,” I admitted.

“I told you I wanted this. Have I given you the impression I felt otherwise?” He didn’t sound upset or accusatory. His tone was gentle while implying I shouldn’t doubtthis, us, or him.

I shook my head. He hadn’t given me that impression at all. I felt bad at how quickly I'd assumed the worst.

“Get your beautiful ass up and let’s go to breakfast. We’re already late as it is, and I don’t trust myself to be alone with you behind closed doors.”

That put a smile back on my face. I stood. The entire world tilted, and my vision became spotty.

“Maura?”

I immediately sat back down and waited for my vision to clear along with a weird pulsating pressure in my face.

“Maura?” Jamie called out to me. Then I felt hands cupping my face. I blinked the last of the spots away and saw him kneeling in front of me, worry etched around his eyes. I quickly plastered a smile on my face.

“I think I stood up too fast. I got a little dizzy, but I’m fine now.” I didn’t know who I was trying to convince more, him or myself.

Slower this time, I got back on my feet. When nothing unusual happened, I believed what I'd said to be true. As we made our way down to breakfast, I added a bounce to my step, showing Jamie I was fine. It seemed to help ease the tightness around his eyes, but once we approached the stairs, he took ahold of my hand. His concern was sweet and made me grin like a loon.

It was crowded at the breakfast table. Louie, Rourke, my uncle Conor, my aunt Kiara, and, of course, Stefan were all seated and already eating. Stefan noticed us right away, eyes flicking from my aunt sitting across from him to Jamie and I, or more specifically, our joined hands. I released Jamie’s hand and we went our separate ways with him heading for his seat and me making my way over to my aunt.

“Maura, how are you?” she asked, beaming with warm affection as she got up and hugged me. My aunt Kiara was awe-strikingly beautiful with long golden-brown hair and the Quinn green eyes. She was Stefan’s baby sister and had an aura about her that radiated grace and sophistication.

“I’m great, Auntie. How are you?”

“I’m good, honey,” she replied. She touched the bruises on my cheek, then turned to glare at Stefan. “She is the Banphrionsa,” she seethed disapprovingly at him. “Papa would have never allowed one of his men to put their hands on me or their whole family would be dead. You need to educate your men, Stefan.”

The whole room muted. I noticed Conor had his elbow resting on the table with his face planted in the palm of his hand. Rourke was wide-eyed but staring down while biting the inside of his cheek. Louie was clearly feeling awkward as he pushed the food around on his plate.Jamie looked bored and Stefan regarded his sister with a displeased frown.

I sighed, feeling the need to ease the tension. “He was new and didn’t know who I was.” I put a hand up to stop before she could argue. “I know it’s no excuse and I made sure he got what he deserved. I appreciate your concern, Auntie, but times are different. I can fight my own battles. Stefan respects this and so should you.”

Kiara pursed her lips, clearly not happy. I gave her a forced smile before walking around the table to sit to the right of Stefan. “Morning,” I greeted him out of politeness.

“Good morning.”

I could feel him staring at me. I chose to ignore him. I was still pissed. “What’s for breakfast?” I asked, peering at Rourke’s plate next to me. He had bacon, eggs, hash browns, and toast. I reached for his last slice of bacon. He intercepted me by scooping it up and shoving the whole thing into his mouth.Pig! He smiled triumphantly with his cheeks puffed out around his food.

“You’re going to eat breakfast?” Stefan asked, sounding surprised.

I shrugged. “I woke up starving.”