Dragos Goes to Washington (Elder Races #8.5)(4)

She went over to him willingly enough, but somehow, as she got closer, her head grew heavier, until she was looking down at his feet.

Long, dark fingers curled underneath her chin and lifted her face gently.

At the same time, she lifted her gaze to meet his.

So many things had happened to them. Their relationship wasn’t even two years old. Her pregnancy with Liam had happened as a result of their mating. Dragos didn’t choose to become a father. He had adapted to it.

She told him, “Forget about my outburst of emotion at the school. I want you to know, whatever you say, it will be okay.”

“Yes.”

His response was so breathtakingly simple, at first it didn’t register. When it did, her heart started to pound. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“That’s it—just yes?” she demanded, half laughing. “That’s all you’ve got to say about it? I think I feel cheated out of a long, angsty conversation.”

He raised one sleek eyebrow. “I didn’t say that was all I had to say about it. I just thought I would cut to the chase.” He studied her while he rubbed his thumb along the edge of her jaw. “You know as well as I do that the odds are against us. You also know that even if we do get pregnant, we would likely face many of the same challenges as we did the first time, and another baby isn’t going to take Liam’s place.”

She shook her head. “Of course not. Liam is perfect just the way he is. Yes, it shook me at first to discover how fast he would mature, but I’ve dealt with that. Truly, that’s okay.”

“I believe you.” He slid his hand away from her chin, his fingers caressing her neck. “And I believe that you want another baby for that baby’s sake. Parenthood took us by surprise, and that’s okay too. This time, though, I would like to make the choice.”

“Exactly,” she whispered. His touch began to drug her senses, soothing and arousing her at once, and she began to feel heavy for other reasons. Standing upright took more effort. Swaying forward, she spread her hands across the broad expanse of his chest.

He put his arms around her. “I think what we should talk about is how we will deal with the disappointment if it doesn’t happen. Because chances are, it won’t.”

“You never know,” she told him. She peeked up at his face. “There’s no real rhyme or reason to how difficult it is for the Elder Races to conceive and carry children to term. Some families end up having more than one child. Maybe your sperm is so mighty, you shoot magic bullets.”

His intent expression splintered, and he burst out laughing. Almost as quickly, he sobered again and told her with a completely straight face, “Of course I do.”

Then it was her turn to laugh. She threw her arms around him. “Yes, we might be disappointed, and we’ll deal with that if it happens. At least you want to try.”

“I do.” His voice deepened. As he cupped the back of her neck in one hand, he cupped the curve of her ass with the other. “Trying to get pregnant is one of my very favorite things to do. We’ll have to practice frequently, and with great enthusiasm.”

She snickered, while happiness danced inside. Maybe they would have a small intense girl with Dragos’s gold eyes. Maybe they might have another dragon. She adored her fierce, loveable dragons.

There was still so much she wanted to talk about, and so much they needed to consider. As Dragos had pointed out, another child might very well have the same capabilities as Liam and grow at the same accelerated pace.

And as they had just both said to each other, there was also a very real chance they might not be able to get pregnant again. Liam had come as a result of their original mating frenzy. They might not be so lucky this time.

If that were the case, she wanted to consider adopting a Wyr baby. She would actually be happy to adopt any kind of baby, but their household and lives were so predominantly Wyr, she didn’t want any child of hers to feel like an outsider, as she had when growing up.

But that could be saved for a future conversation. For now, her thoughts fragmented as Dragos ran a light finger underneath the neckline of her tank top. The tiny friction of his callused skin against hers caused a shiver to run down her body.

They might have a lot to talk about, but she had a feeling that, for now, the time for serious talking was over.

“We have a while until supper,” he murmured. His gaze had turned heavy-lidded and predatory. “Perhaps we should start practicing to get pregnant.”

She licked her lips. For the Wyr, contraception was not something they needed to do externally, like taking birth control pills or using condoms. Instead, it was an internal, inborn trait. Once, she had needed to use an IUD before she had managed to change into her Wyr form and fully access her Wyr side. Now, trying to get pregnant was as simple and fundamental as telling their bodies to let go.

Just let go.

It was a heady experience, like releasing the throttle on a high-speed engine. The need she felt for him never eased. It was a driving, unrelenting force that drove the definition of her days and nights. She had never been so obsessed about anything or anyone before. It had marked her so indelibly, she couldn’t imagine living without it, without him.

Attempting to sound nonchalant, she said, “Yeah, I think you could use some pointers on that.”

His eyes narrowed, and he tightened a massive fist around the delicate shoulder strap of her tank top, a gesture at once both very gentle and unabashedly dominant. “I’ll make you eat those words.”