Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(28)

“So Dev offered to make the sacrifice?” I asked sarcastically.

“You know I will do anything to keep the three of us strong.” Dev gave me a lecherous grin. He bent down and licked my nipple before sucking it into his mouth. I let my eyes close and my hand find his hair. I had a hand on both my men. I was a happy girl.

Dev sat up all of a sudden. “Seriously? I don’t know that he’s going to go for that. You can do that?”

I stared at my faery prince.

Daniel shook his head. “That freaks me out a little. He’s started having these whole conversations with himself in the middle of talking to me.”

Bris. He was talking to Bris.

Dev rolled his eyes. “We’ll get better at it, Dan. Eventually I’ll remember I don’t have to talk out loud.”

“Yeah, so you’ll just zone on me. That’s going to be so much better,” Daniel complained.

They were ruining my perfectly happy morning. “Dev, what is Bris saying? Or better yet, why doesn’t he just say it himself?”

“He isn’t sure he should come out during intimate situations.” Dev frowned.

Daniel huffed. “Uhm, he’s a little late for that. Pregnant wife, anyone?”

“That was a ritual,” Dev pointed out. “Obviously we need him for those. He’s not nervous about Zoey. He’s nervous about you, Dan. He doesn’t want to offend you with his presence, but he has a solution to our problem.”

“I thought sex was the solution.” I kind of liked that solution.

A slow, sexy smile crossed Dev’s face. “Sex is always the solution, my goddess.”

Daniel sat up, moving much more slowly than usual. He settled his back against the headboard of the bed. Now that I looked at him, it was easy to see how tired he looked. I’d done that to him. My heart ached. “If he can help out, then please bring it on.”

Dev’s eyes changed in a heartbeat, his body relaxing, becoming more languid, his features softening slightly. I’d begun to see that there were subtle differences between Dev and the Irish fertility god who had taken up residence in his body. There were not so subtle differences as well, and that included his eyes becoming fully green without a hint of white.

“Hello, Daniel.” He turned to me, his expression infinitely warm. “Hello, my goddess. You are happy about the pregnancy?”

“Have you known about it?” He was a fertility god. He might just know when he’d done his duty and aided in population growth.

He frowned. “Yes, but I thought it best to allow you to discover the truth on your own. I understand now I made a mistake. You did not want children. I apologize.”

Daniel held up a hand. “Stop. No apologies. We weren’t ready for kids. No one ever is. We’ll welcome this child with open arms, all three of us.”

“You aren’t angry with me?” The ancient god turned his eyes on Daniel.

“It’s your nature, but we have to talk about what happens after this one. She can’t stay pregnant all the time, man.”

That was a horrifying thought. “What?”

Bris’s laugh was as rich as the darkest chocolate. “I can protect her. The small devices humans use are remarkably helpful.”

“Are you talking about rubbers?” Daniel asked, his lips quirking up. “That’s kind of low tech compared to other methods of birth control.”

“Ah, but those methods manipulate a woman’s hormones. Believe me, I can manipulate those far better and more accurately than any chemical. I can have a woman ovulating in no time at all. Trust me, those rubber things are your best bet against my magic.” He turned serious. “I don’t want to give you more children than you want, Daniel. But I can help you with your current problem.”

I leaned forward because our current problem included Daniel’s inevitable death. “You can fix the problem with the transference?”

Bris shook his head. “Oh, my goddess, he doesn’t want that fixed.”

“I don’t.” Daniel put a hand on my shoulder. “We went over this, Z.”

“I don’t have to be inside Daniel’s body to see through to his soul. He’s happy about the transference, though he has to know to protect you all the same. It won’t work if someone uses one of those guns on you. Barbaric weapons. So put it out of your head. No, I was talking about our vampire’s weakness. Even if she eats, the pregnancy will be hard on her. And by hard on her, I mean hard on you, Daniel. Her weaknesses will affect your ability to daywalk.”

“So even if I feed properly I’ll struggle?” Daniel asked with a long sigh. “I’m not used to being weak. It’s been a long time since I felt so human.”

“Like Devinshea said, sex is the solution.” He held his hands out, showing off Dev’s body. “I am sex, Daniel.”

My ears perked up. Well, my whole body perked up because I would pay so much to see that show.

Bris chuckled. “That wasn’t what I meant, my curious goddess.” He turned, his right palm facing us. “I can channel the energy through Devinshea’s hands. I can give you a boost that should last several days.”

That was disappointing, but it could be helpful all the same.

“I’m up for that, man. I hate feeling like this. I’ve gotten used to seeing the sun. It was hard to wake up this afternoon.” Daniel struggled to get to his knees.