Page 6 of House of Blood and Roses: Vol. 2

"Then maybe we should..."

He pulls my hand away from him and takes the book in one swift movement. It's so fast that I barely register lying back until he's hovering above me. Linc leans in and captures my lips with his, kissing me deeply. It's full of need and desire, making me feel like I'm about to explode from the inside.

I wish I could blink and my dress be gone. I want to feel his hands against my skin even if I'm not entirely sure what it is that I want him to do with them.

He breaks the kiss, moving down until he's at my throat, his fangs brushing against my skin. My own are poking out and cutting against my bottom lip, but I don't care.

"Linc," I murmur.

"Mmm?"

I push him back so I can sit up. "I don't know what I want."

He raises an eyebrow.

"I mean, I do know what I want, but it's all kind of blurry and I'm not sure what to make of it," I admit.

He nods and sits up. "Sorry, I should have thought."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," I respond. "It's just that when I say I don't know what I'm doing, I really don't know. And that makes me a little confused."

He nods. "I mean, I don't really either. I know what I want to do."

"Drink my blood?"

"I want to be close to you," he responds earnestly.

"Bella also said something about pregnancy," I say, shuffling backwards and hoping that I'm not about to destroy the mood.

"What about it?"

"I'm not ready for a baby," I blurt out. "I know that it's not likely to happen for us very quickly, if it ever does, but I don't want one now, and not likely feels...dangerous to toy with."

"Ah. I can't say I've thought about it."

"Have you ever been in a position where you could make a child with someone?"

"No."

"Then I suspect that could be why," I say. "Do you want children?"

"I've not thought about that much either. I wanted to avoid marriage completely and never had any intention of going into the villages and siring dhampirs. I suspect that Father would prefer it if we didn't have a child before Marcus does, if at all. It would only complicate the line of succession."

"Is there even one? Can't your father say who he wants to be his heir?"

"Yes. And Marcus will be able to appoint his afterwards. But if Marcus, Agnes, and I all have children, it'll likely split the royal line into fragments, and the court with it. Even House Rothorne will be split. Who would they support? Our child, who would be half-Rothorne, or Marcus' child who would still be part-Rothorne."

"All right, so for our safety, it's best not to have a child, at least until we can be certain that we're ready and that it's safe to do so."

"I think so."

I let out a relieved sigh. "I was thinking it would be harder to make the decision."

"Maybe because it's not something either of us have had to talk about before," he says.

"But what do we do now? If I don't want to get pregnant, then there are things we can't do." I look at the closed book.

"Yes."