Hope Awakened by Charlene Hartnady

Chapter 37

Hope sighed, trying to adjust the pillow under her head, unable to get comfortable even though the sofa was large. She closed her book, placing it on the coffee table. She’d read the same page over and over. If anyone had asked her what she had read, she still wouldn’t be able to tell them. With another sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.

They’d made it back late the evening before, the Royals with their three bundles of joy in tow. Those baby boys were just about the cutest little things she had ever seen in her life. They were about half the size of a human baby, but perfectly formed. Perfectly healthy and gorgeous.

She felt a pang, putting her hand on her stomach. Berating herself, she snatched her hand away. Even if she was ovulating, nothing much would have happened yet. There would be a bundle of cells traveling down her fallopian tubes. It would take days for them to reach her uterus. Then again, Reece wasn’t human. Still, there wouldn’t be much. Nothing worth getting all teary-eyed over.

The fact of the matter was that she was married to another man. She and Reece weren’t together. The Morning After Pill would be there soon, and she needed to just take the thing. No thinking…just doing. It was on the off chance that something was happening inside her. The very, very off chance. She needed to stop with all the drama.

Reece hadn’t even bothered to come and check on her, anyway. She squeezed her eyes shut. That wasn’t fair. He was a good guy…a great guy. He would make a fantastic father one day. She really needed to stop! Her brain had immediately pictured them together, like a total idiot. Rewind! Reece would make a fantastic father with some other woman. Just thinking about it made her feel jealous, which was stupid. He was her rebound guy. It was over…he’d said as much. Their…thing had run its course.

There was a knock at the door.

That was her delivery. She checked her watch. A little later than she expected, but still on time. She opened the door. “Hi, you can put that— Reece!” Her eyes widened.

He was so cute, standing there, a big cardboard box in his hands. “Hi.” He smiled. “I thought I would bring you this.” He looked down at the box of supplies.

“Oh…um…yeah, thanks.” She stepped to the side. “You can put that down on the chest of drawers.” Her cheeks flamed when she remembered the amazing sex they had on that particular piece of furniture.

Reece walked all the way into the house, putting the box down on the dining room table. “I thought I would deliver this myself. It has those pills you need to stop the pregnancy.”

Reece took a step back and looked pointedly at her packed bags stacked by the wall. “Are you leaving?” He sounded like he was accusing her of something. His eyes were narrowed.

“I’m going home tomorrow. I’m—”

“Running away?” His voice was a deep growl. There was definitely accusation in his stare.

“No!” she half-yelled. “I’m going to sign those divorce papers since I’m not needed here right now. I’m going for one night. I’m not running anywhere.” What was his problem?

He seemed to relax. “You’re coming back, then? The queen needs you.”

The queen. Right. She nodded.

“Your pill is in that box,” Reece said.

“I know why you came.” He was probably there to make sure she took the Morning After Pill. Hope wasn’t sure why, but that pissed her off. “You didn’t need to bring them, you know.”

“I know, but I wanted to.” He pushed his hands into his pockets.

“You really are a control freak. I told you I would take the pill, and I meant it. I will do it. Levonorgestrel is highly effective in stopping a pregnancy from happening. We are well within the five-day window. You can go, Reece. I will do what I need to do to—”

“That’s just it, Hope. I don’t want you to take the pill,” he blurted.

For a second, what he had just said didn’t register. “I said that…um… What?”

“I don’t want you to take the pill. If you are with clutch, I want you to have the eggs. To have our young.”

That didn’t make any sense. “We’re not together.”

“We could be. For the sake of our young,” he added.

Holy shit!He hadn’t just said that, had he? Hope made a noise of irritation as she walked away from Reece, trying hard to focus on the view. Trying to regain her composure. “That’s very nice of you to…um…offer, Reece.” He thought he was doing the right thing. Giving her an option. He wasn’t. Not even close! “But it’s not necessary. I don’t like the idea of trying to make it work between us for the sake of children. I’m probably not even going to become pregnant.”

“We have very powerful seed. A female very rarely doesn’t become with clutch if she is on heat.”

“That’s just it. I probably didn’t go on heat…um, ovulate.”

“Our seed can live for a long time in a female’s body. Much longer than a human male,” he pointed out. “You will more than likely become with clutch.” His eyes glinted.

“That’s a great point. I should probably take another pill in a couple of days just to be sure.”

“No! Don’t do that. Our species needs young. It would be a shame—”

“Do I look like a breeding machine to you?” She knew she was being harsh, and that this was another one of their cultural differences coming to the fore. But these were babies he was talking about, not commodities.

Babies she longed for, babies she wanted so badly she could hardly breathe. For a second, she wanted to throw caution to the wind and just jump. That second was over quickly, and reason took over.

“No, Hope.” Reece shook his head. “You definitely don’t look like a machine. You are too soft…too beautiful.”

Holy shit!Now he was saying all the right things. Things she had secretly hoped he would say. Unfortunately, he was saying them for the wrong reasons. “Thank you, but we can’t do this. We hardly know each other. We aren’t in a relationship.”

“We could be.” His beautiful golden eyes shone with sincerity.

“No!” she said, too harshly. “I just got out of a bad marriage…an awful marriage. Sex is one thing. A relationship?” She shook her head. “Children?” She shook her head harder.

“It could work.” He took her hands. “I know you are afraid. I’m afraid too. Think about it, please. Don’t take that pill. We could be together; we could be a family.”

Family.

It was all Hope had ever wanted.

She shook her head. “No. We haven’t even dated. We’re not even together, let alone married. I’m still married to Emmet. There is a way that things should happen, and this is not the way.”

Reece smiled.

“Why is that funny?”

“You tried to follow a pattern before, with that Emmet prick. You did everything right, am I correct?”

She nodded.

“How did that work for you?”

“I know where you’re going with this,” she groaned.

“Humor me.” Reece raised his brows. “How did that work for you?”

“It was terrible. My marriage sucked. It was a farce…all of it.”

Reece was frowning heavily. “Sucked? I’m going to assume that you aren’t being literal.”

She choked out a laugh. “My marriage sucked, which means that it was revolting on all levels. You’re going to tell me that we should do everything the wrong way around.”

“I’m saying that I have strong feelings for you.”

“Strong feelings?” Why was he so darned cute?

“Yes. I suspect you have strong feelings for me too, and not just for my cock.”

“It’s not just your cock,” she admitted. “You also have great biceps, and a chest that—"

“It has nothing to do with my body. Okay, maybe a little to do with my body.”

She giggled. “I’ll admit that there is something between us, but I don’t think it’s enough to bring a child – children – into this world. There would be three.” She felt panic well. “I worry, because you guys are programmed to procreate. Maybe this is some of that programming in action.”

“All I know is that I like you very much. Don’t get nervous when I tell you this…” He licked his lips. “I’m falling for you, Hope. Really, really falling. The thought of you taking that pill…” He pointed at the box. “It makes me feel sick to my stomach. It makes me feel sad to my core. I find myself hoping that you’re with clutch. I want this…I want you.”

“You do?”

Reece nodded. He put his arms around her, looking into her eyes.

Okay, so this didn’t sound like he was doing this because it was the right thing. It sounded like he truly wanted it.

Hope put her hand to her stomach. This time, she didn’t snatch it away again.

“Please say yes. Let’s be together. Let’s—”

“Yes.” Hope smiled.

Reece picked her up, holding her tight. “Yes!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Hope laughed. They both did.

This was probably the craziest thing she had agreed to since coming here. Coming to Feral lands had been good for her. Perhaps this would be too.