Devlin smiles. “That might work, but there’s also the?—”
“The problem of making sure the womb remains stable.”
A twinkle shines in his eyes. “Exactly. All of that.”
Wow. This is an amazing project. So much going on with spells plus the actual mechanical invention itself. Ideas are bouncing around in my head. I haven’t had to problem solve spells or anything even remotely like this in years.
“Can I touch it?”
“Sure.” He’s staring at me. Do I have cheese on my face? Quickly, before I have time to ask, he sucks in a breath and moves out of the way so that I can get a better look. “But be careful. It’s temperamental. There’s a lot I haven’t figured out.”
I lightly graze my fingers along the smooth surface. The womb is pliable, and when I gently press on it, it resists slightly, like an overinflated balloon.
It’s warm and looks cozy inside. Where I touch it, ripples form in the interior, and liquid sloshes.
I give it another gentle tap and it pulses.
“Get back,” Devlin demands.
“What?”
The pulsing turns into a jiggling, and the whole womb wobbles like there’s a tsunami inside trying to get out.
Hands jumps off the table frantically and runs under it.
“What’s going on—oh!”
Devlin picks me up and rushes me back against the wall, covering me with his body. Just as I’m about to ask what’s going on, the womb explodes behind him. It sounds like a million lightbulbs shattering at once, and the light that flashes is as blinding as a hundred suns collapsing in on themselves.
Okay, maybe it’s notthatbright—but it is bright.
The light hurts my eyes, so I clutch Devlin’s shirt and bury my face in his chest. The explosion is over as quickly as it began, and I blink to find myself staring up at Devlin and him staring down at me.
His pupils are blown. Like, where did they go? He runs a thumb over my cheek, whispering, “Are you okay?”
“Me? Are you? It’s right behind you.”
There’s that lopsided grin again. “I threw up a force field. I’m fine. I’m used to it.”
“Exploding?”
“Yeah.”
From the corner of my eye, I spot Hands crawling out from under the table and leaving the room.
“Is Hands okay?”
He shrugs. “He’s just disappointed that the womb exploded. You’d think he would be used to it, it happens so much.”
Our faces are close. Our lips are closer. He’s a magnet, and I’m being pulled into him. He’s cradling my face with such tenderness, and it doesn’t help that his eyes have literally become liquid pools of want.
Just like my body.
My pelvis throbs; my palms break out into a sweat as he cradles my face, tipping it one way and then the other.
Before I can ask what he’s doing, Devlin says, “I’m making sure you’re not injured on your temple.”
He brushes his lips over the spot, and my entire body reacts. I tighten my core as my spine convulses under his touch.
