Bled Dry (Vegas Vampires #3)(59)
Author: Erin McCarthy

“What?” Brittany didn’t consider herself up on vamp politics, but she’d been forced to learn enough to know that Donatelli had previously been Ethan’s opponent, and he had lobbied for population growth, something Ethan didn’t support. “Why the hell would he join Ethan’s campaign? Why would Ethan let him do that?”

“Because Gregor is still running against Carrick, and he has something of a celebrity status in the Nation. Sort of like an Oprah of the vampires. With Donatelli on his side, he had the potential to win. But with Donatelli switching camps, going over to a sworn enemy, everyone will be suspicious of Chechikov. And together, Carrick and Donatelli make a powerful statement of unity. Everyone—Impures, ancients, conservatives—is happy.”

Everyone but her, that is. She was more confused than happy, but it wasn’t her arena. It wasn’t her political battle. If Corbin and Ethan thought it was the right step to take, she would have to trust them. Her concern was her child. “So since Donatelli knows about the baby, there isn’t much use in me running off and hiding, is there?”

Corbin shook his head, his green eyes troubled. “No. I see no real value in you cutting yourself off from friends and family who care about you and can help you with the baby.”

But not him? Brittany’s heart started to pound. Corbin didn’t look right. “What about us? Where do we go from here?”

“It is still dangerous, I will not shield you from that this time. We must be cautious, vigilant, where the baby is concerned. I have not yet decided which is better—to live in Vegas, where you have friends to protect you, or to start anew somewhere else, where no one will be watching you.”

“If it’s not clear-cut, I’d rather stay in Vegas. It would be lonely raising a baby in a new place.” And since she was getting no sense of whether he had meant he would go with her or not, she couldn’t assume he would be helping her.

“I understand. And I will protect you, of course, if that is necessary.” He ran his finger down her thigh. It was an odd gesture, like he wanted to touch her, claim her, but hesitated to take all of her.

He made a pattern on her knee with his fingertip. “And after the baby is born, I could turn you. That way we can be together, forever. All of us.”

“Corbin!” She hadn’t expected him to say that, knowing how he felt about immortality. Yet it immediately was a tantalizing concept, a carrot of eternity dangled in front of her… forever with her child and her lover. It was a happy thought for a simple moment. But reality intruded. What he had suggested was wrong, unnatural, and given the expression on his face, he knew it, too. That was not the way to raise a child.

“You know we can’t do that, as much as I would like to be with you, as much as it hurts to say no.” She put her hand over his, wanting to touch him, wanting to soften her words, and the ache in her heart. “We have to do what’s right for the baby. With you immortal, and me mortal, working together, we can ensure the baby is both safe at night, and being raised in a normal manner, in the day.”

“You think being a vampire is abnormal? You think we cannot be good parents if we are immortal?” His voice rose in indignation.

Brittany fought back the lump in her throat that kept rising. “You know what I mean… every vampire I know was raised by mortal parents, during the day, with schools and friends and birthday parties. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be raised only at night, in a world filled only with adults, who don’t eat regular food and can leap off buildings. No children, no playmates, no sunshine in the park. That has nothing to do with us and the kind of parents we will be. It just wouldn’t be right to force our child into that kind of abnormal, isolated life.”

The image of raising her child in the darkness made her want to weep. It meant being apart from Corbin, at least during the day, but she would sacrifice that for her baby. “With you immortal and me mortal, our child gets the best of both worlds.”

His eyes were dark, troubled. “Except for her parents together. We cannot give her that.”

Tears made him blur in front of her. “Corbin… don’t say that. We can and will be together. Just like we talked about before. We’ll get a house, we’ll live together.”

“Of course we will,” he said. “But it will be but a pale shadow of a normal life. I can never give that to you.”

“Normal is what we make it. We’ll have the same amount of time together that a lot of couples do… some work swing shifts from each other so they don’t have to pay for day care, other women have husbands who travel. This is no different.”

He nodded, even as his eyes told her otherwise. There was defeat there, sorrow. “You are right. Of course. It will be no different.”

Without warning, his fist bunched in the sheet, and he tore it down, off of her. “I want you.”

Men could so easily shift their emotions to sex, it was astonishing. But Brittany could use the touching, the distraction, the feel of him inside her, the promise of being together. “What do you want me for?”

“For everything.” He kissed her, lips hard and aggressive. “For forever.”

“You have me,” she told him, putting her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She loved the way he smelled—like rich, confident, and sophisticated man—and she liked how his smooth, polished control always disintegrated in bed with her.

In two seconds he had her tank top off, and her bare ni**les beaded in anticipation as the cool air hit her skin. She was forced to lift her backside off the bed as he immediately went for her panties, dragging and tugging them down.

His mouth was hot and urgent, his tongue thrusting deep into her as he undid his pants. Brittany fell back on the bed, gripping the taut muscles in his biceps. He pulled his mouth off hers long enough to ask, “Is it okay on your back?” His fingers, hands that had known two hundred years of life and had held that sword so confidently, fluttered carefully over her belly, over their child.

The position didn’t feel uncomfortable, and she liked the way he rose up over her, the way she could see every inch of his face, his expression, when he filled her. “It’s okay.”

That was all he needed to hear. His pants disappeared, and he entered her, his body covering hers, his urgency and desperation and love pressing on her, in her, and Brittany gasped in pleasure, at the intimacy of being connected to him, their child between them.