I blink. Simone is looking up at me, her brows drawn together.
“What's wrong? Your heart is beating like a war drum.”
I press my palm flat against her stomach, grounding myself in the life growing inside her.
“I was thinking,” I say slowly, “about what I did to you.”
She goes very still.
“Three years, Simone. I took you. I kept you. No one but me, day after day, for years.”
“Az—”
“Let me finish,” I nearly growl. “If someone did that to our child, little fairy, I would not stop until there was nothing left of them.”
She watches me, eyes wide.
“And I did that to you.”
“Az.”
“I'm sorry.” The words come out raw. I haven't said them often in my long life. I'm not sure I've ever meant them quite like this. “For all of it. The cave. The wards. All those years where the only voice you heard was mine. It was cruel. And selfish. And I knew it, and I did it anyway, because I wanted you, and I have always taken what I wanted.”
Her eyes shine with tears, but she doesn't look away. She swallows, her hand coming up to cup my jaw.
“It was cruel,” she says, and I close my eyes. “But… If you'd done it differently, if you'd let me go that day in the ravine, taken me back to Abaddon…”
“You'd be better off,” I say bitterly.
“I'd be scared.” She waits until I look at her again. “I'd still be looking over my shoulder for the next Thomas. I'd still flinch every time a man raised his voice. I wouldn't havethis.” Her hand goes to her belly. “I wouldn't have us.”
I blink at her, awed by her generosity. But I also file away the name of her abuser, more than willing to get revenge for the scars he caused her.
“I'm not saying it was right,” she continues, shaking her head. “But if you asked me if I would undo it?Merde… I don't think I would change much. Not if it meant not havingthis.”
I gather her up against me, careful of her belly, and bury my face in her hair. She smells of orchids and vanilla and warm skin. The scent that's been ruining me for everyone else since the moment I first caught it on a hot wind in my brother's territory.
“I love you,” I murmur into her hair, feeling like my heart will explode from the emotion.
She tips her face up. “I love you, Az.”
I kiss her. My hand drifts down, over the swell of her belly, pausing there because I can't help it.
“Lie back, little fairy,” I order quietly.
She does, settling against the pillows with her hair fanned out around her. I move down her body, kissing her skin as I go. When I reach her belly, I press my lips there. Long. Reverent. Worshipping.
“Hello, you,” I murmur against the taut skin. “Yourmamanand I are very happy you're here.”
Simone makes a small sound above me. When I look up, tears are spilling over her cheeks.
I move back up her body, gather her against me, and turn her gently so her back fits along my chest. Her belly is too round now for most positions, but this is comfortable.
I pull her thigh up over mine, opening her, and slide my hand between her legs. She's already wet for me, so I notch myself against her opening and ease in. I don't stop until I bury myself to the hilt, surrounded by her wet heat.
“Fuck,” I breathe.
Simone moans. “Move. Please.”
