Death.
Lathan had smelled it the moment he entered the house.
And now he stood with his arm around the woman he cherished at the bedside of a living corpse—a decaying, rotting body whose heart just realized it was pumping blood to dead organs.
He turned his attention to the SMs. One day when he told Honey about his genetic defect, he could share her mother’s last memories. Choosing an SM was as easy as selecting a DVD off a shelf. Watching it would only take a few seconds. He inhaled deeply through his nose and allowed her mom’s SM to encompass both eyes.
A full moon hung above them, casting silver over the world and illuminating the shadows in shades of midnight. The night sounds—insects and tree frogs—were the perfect accompaniment to Evan’s low humming. He held her tightly to him, swaying in a slow dance under the dome of the sky.
She pressed her nose against his bare chest and inhaled the smell of him. There weren’t any words she could use to describe his actual scent, but warm and smooth fit best.
She kissed him right over his heart. Her lips swollen from his kisses, her body aching in that delicious way only a well-fucked woman can feel.
Evan whispered. “A hundred years from now, when we’re dead and gone, somewhere in time, in space, maybe in heaven, this moment will continue to exist.”
Her heart was full, painfully full of love for him. He was her moon and stars and night sky. He was her sunshine and green grass. He was her entirety. There was no her without him.
*
She could barely eat, she was so nervous. No, she was excited. No, scared. She was all three.
Evan didn’t notice her watching him eat. He was always hungry after his shift at the sheriff’s office, and today she’d cooked his favorite meal. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and homemade rolls.
“Evan.” She waited until he looked at her.
A my god, woman, you can cook smile was on his face as he chewed.
“I’m pregnant.”
His smile tumbled off his face—she swore she heard it splat in his gravy. He swallowed, then looked at the table she’d set with her fancy dishes, platters of food, candles, and flowers. “That’s what this is about.” He jabbed his fork toward everything.
Not what she was expecting him to say. Not at all. Disappointment poured tears into her eyes. “Well, yeah.”
Evan shoved back his chair and stood.
She wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure what to say. He seemed…mad. But why would he be mad? They hadn’t exactly talked about having kids, and it wasn’t like she’d planned to get pregnant, but it had happened.
“Evan—”
He threw his fork across the room. It clattered and clanked against something.
Her heart slapped against her sternum.
He picked up his plate, threw it with just as much violence. Before she could utter a sound, he flipped the table over. The crashing of dishes and splintering of furniture hurt her ears, and she shrunk back in her chair—the only chair still standing.
Evan stalked from the room out the door. She sat in stunned silence. In less than five seconds, he’d destroyed her meal, their kitchen, and her life.
Part of her wanted to pack her bags and leave. The other part—the part reminding her that she was having his baby—couldn’t let go so easily. Maybe she’d said something wrong. Maybe he’d misunderstood her.
She ran after him and caught up with him just as he was about to get in his truck. “Evan. Wait. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
He grabbed her arms, his fingers digging into her muscles painfully and backed her against the driver’s door, trapping her with his body. In his eyes, the man she loved was gone, replaced by a rabid beast.
“Whose is it?” he shouted, his breath smelling of mashed potatoes.
Distantly, she heard a car approaching, but she couldn’t focus on anything but Evan. Tears washed her cheeks with their salt. She could barely speak around the terrible sobs racking her body. “Yours, baby. Yours.”
He was a jealous man. She’d known that from the beginning, but it had never been an issue. He was the sun she revolved around. There was no one else. Never would be.
He grabbed her chin, his fingers no more gentle than they’d been on her arms. She whimpered and tried to pull away, but he forced her to look at him—in his eyes. “What was the meal about?”
“It was supposed to be a celebration.” Messy sobs strangled her words, but she knew he heard them. Her entire world had been ripped apart. Everything she’d envisioned for their future—gone. He let go of her chin. She turned her head to the side, couldn’t bear to see the beast inside him.
“Evan. Let her go. You’re scaring her.” Rob, Evan’s best friend, stood close beside them with his son, Junior. The kid watched her and Evan with wide, apathetic eyes.
Stupidly, she felt embarrassed that a kid would see her in such a powerless position.
The rigid length of Evan’s body mashing against her relaxed. The anger in his eyes faded until the man she loved returned.
Gently, slowly, he gathered her to him, wrapping his arms around her, holding her close, but it felt different—she felt different. She felt stiff as a two-by-four and couldn’t make herself relax into him, couldn’t hug him back.
“I’m so sorry. I just love you so much and I thought—I was being crazy—I thought you were telling me someone else got you pregnant. I don’t know why I thought that. Maybe because you surprised me.” He whispered the words against her ear, then drew back. His gaze locked on her jaw, on the place he’d grabbed, on the place that still hurt. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.” He knelt in front of her and put his forehead on her stomach.
The fear, the hurt that had clenched her tight loosened.
“Forgive me. Say you forgive me.” He kissed her belly. “Both of you.”
He won her over with both of you. “I forgive you.”
“You two are having a baby?” Rob asked.