Page 162 of Terror Tuesday

His cock throbs repeatedly as he plants sweet kisses along my shoulders, my neck, my back…wherever he can reach while still holding me in his embrace. He softens until he slips out, and I turn to face him, gathering his lips with mine in a haze of post-orgasm high.

“We should go upstairs for dinner,” he says. “You okay?”

I look down at the drain where the birth control lays, my heart pounding powerfully. This could really happen. I may be a mother soon. A smile comes over my lips. “Yes, I am.”

My mom gathered some of Ryan’s old clothes for Valen and took his to the dryer. As we sit around the table and discuss thelatest Northview news of the interim president, Valen remains quiet for a while.

I’m sure he’s worried about the future just as much as all of us. What will things be like now?

“It’s officially winter break. Are you all going to hurry back to your place?” Mom asks.

“Yeah, it’s late and getting dark. It’ll take us a while to drive over there.”

“Can we see it sometime?” Alice asks.

Valen pipes up, “Absolutely. All of you are invited.”

“It’s a little ruined at the moment, but the construction workers are on it.”

Valen helps me and my sister clean up, while Ryan, Aiden, and Henry talk hockey. Dad and Mom settle on the couch and then tell us goodbye.

Ryan and Aiden walk with us outside, into the crisp winter air.

“No hard feelings,” Ryan tells Valen. It’s not a question.

Valen smirks. “No, none at all.”

“Next time, you’ll have to stay and watch the game with us. You missed a good one today,” he says, holding out a proverbial olive branch.

“Sorry,” Valen says as he opens his car door. “I was too busy downstairs making your sister a mother.”

forty-eight

“My brother’s mad at me,”I tell the ghost of Naomi. Her shadows loom in the corners of the mansion. It’s where I brought her memory so I always have someone to talk to who doesn’t want to turn the conversation into one about the genetics of insects.

Don’t get me wrong; Valen fascinates me.

Bugs do not.

Though I haven’t even needed my butterfly, I still have it. In my pocket. Just in case. In fact, I haven’t really thought of Reggie Blackwell at all. When I’m reminded of what happened, it feels like so long ago. Or perhaps it happened to someone close to me…

But I’m not her anymore.

“Of course he’s mad at you. Everyone knows Aiden’s a dick. When is henotangry?” she asks.

“True. But I think I messed up big time. I promised Ashlyn something she shouldn’t have had… And now I think I caused an issue.” I sigh, glancing out at the soft snow falling on our lawn.

Giggles bubble up my throat at the thought of having alawn. It’s more likeacreage. And it’s gorgeous covered in its white blanket.

Formidable arms slip around my waist and tug me back into a firm chest. Valen hums low against my neck as he presses a heated kiss there. “Mm, talking to Naomi?”

I smile. “Yeah…”

“It’ll be Christmas soon. I’m sure it will be hard on you and her family more then, too. Why don’t we do something special for the Adesanyas?”

My fingers lace through his, holding him tighter. “That sounds like a perfect idea. Maybe I’ll start a scholarship just for women in journalism.”

Valen spins me to face him and presses his lips to my forehead. The gesture warms me up until I shiver out all the cold air from the living room. Or what will be the living room. “That’s so fucking smart. Love that idea.”