Page 105 of Love Lives

"We need to ask Puck about a birth control spell," I murmured, watching him.

"First thing in the morning," Aldrich agreed as he crawled back into bed with me. "You know he'll want something for it."

"Whatever. Let's just promise him our firstborn and then never have one, thanks to his birth control spell."

Aldrich laughed. "I like the way you think."

I smiled and let my eyes fall shut, cuddling up to him. I hadn't been serious, of course, we both knew that, but I'd made him laugh. That was enough.

Neither of us got up again that night.

* * *

As it turned out, we did end up seeing Puck early the next morning, but not for the reason we’d thought. Jared had gone into labor shortly before sunrise, and—same as with Nix’s birth—Puck had assisted.

By the time Aldrich and I made it over to the family home, Silas was already holding a healthy baby girl in his arms. We congratulated the new parents, both of whom seemed to be floating somewhere above the clouds, judging by the joy in their eyes.

I grinned at Silas, who was gazing at his daughter as if she was the sole reason the sun rose in the morning. “What are you naming her?” I asked.

“Chloe,” Jared spoke up from the bed.

“Good choice.” If I remembered correctly, it had been his mother’s name. I took in the newest member of our family once more, now that I knew her name. It fit her. She had inherited Silas’s soft features and light eyes, but her nose was all Jared’s.

Idly, I wondered what she would look like once the fangs grew in.

Standing only one step behind me, Aldrich took my hand, drawing my attention back to him. “I guess this is how vampire kind is going to continue,” he mused, eyes fixed on the baby before darting to me. “You were joking about birth control, right?”

I laughed, because seriously, this vampire was so damn impossible.

“This house has room for more children,” Puck said. “If you were considering—“

“Oh, shut up, you,” Aldrich interrupted him. “We all know there’s only one thingyouwant.”

“How rude.” Puck huffed, but his lips twitched, letting me know even he wasn’t immune to the positive energy in the room.

I looked to Aldrich again. “You really want kids?”

Aldrich’s grin showed his fangs. “Only if they’re yours.”

A whipping sound came from somewhere. I whirled around, only to see Talon in the door, holding up his phone.

Aldrich’s mouth opened as he stared at his former partner. “Where the hell did you get that?”

“Collin put it on my phone, said to play it for you when the moment’s right.”

Aldrich shook his head as if he still couldn’t quite believe Talon had just done that. “I guess payback is only fair,” He muttered, before he focused his attention back on me. “So, what do you think? Babies?”

I huffed a laugh. “We’ll see if you can convince me.”

Aldrich’s grin returned in full force, because, yeah, we both knew I might as well have said yes, but this was more fun. Aldrich pulled me close and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You’re on.”

I let myself lean into him, smiling.

Finally, the future I saw before my eyes looked bright.