Emphasis on try.

He stood, needing to move. Or better yet… “I’m going to check on Caro.”

“She’s fine,” Gabriel murmured. “I can sense her peace.”

Right. Ethereal bond or whatever. “As I don’t possess the same bond, I’ll be checking for myself.”

He’d left Caro in his bed at her request. If it were up to him, she’d live there. Naked. Pregnant or not, he still wanted her, and he had spent the last two weeks teasing her. He wanted her to beg him to fuck her, and she would. He just needed to up his game.

But first, they had a future to discuss.

Unreal.

Yet, he felt oddly okay with the notion.

It should have scared the shit out of him, but a child provided something new. An experience he’d not yet lived.

I’m going to be a father.

His lips curled with the thought. Then flattened at thoughts of his own maker. Did Osiris know? Was Skye, even at this minute, telling him about Sethios’s future progeny?

He stopped in the doorway of his room and studied Caro. Her blonde hair popped against his black pillow, while the rest of her appeared soft and delicate beneath his silky sheets.

The mother of my future child.

His heart skipped a beat with the thought. On some level, he must have known. That explained his innate need to protect her, even when he barely knew her. Some hint of fate fucking with his instincts.

A sigh fell from her full lips as she burrowed more into his blankets.

So beautiful, yet deadly.

The perfect mate.

Mine, a dark part of him whispered. Perhaps not for eternity, but for now.

A piece of him grew inside of her—a future he would do anything to protect.

11

Pleasurable Teamwork

Hot chocolate.

A sweet indulgence—one that would be frowned upon and ridiculed.

But Caro didn’t care. Not when it tasted like pure heaven sliding down her throat. She cradled the mug against her chest, luxuriating in the warmth it brought her.

Seraphim didn’t imbibe or eat anything without purpose. Her kind could survive on base nutrients alone, thereby not requiring luxuries such as chocolate. To indulge was considered impractical.

She took another sip and hid a grin. The decadent drink soothed her senses, which she determined to be a practical reason to enjoy it.

“Are you smiling?” Sethios asked, his head tilted in a curious manner.

“No.”

“And now you’re lying?” He chuckled. “Fascinating.”

She pulled the mug away from her mouth and settled it in her lap. “Where did Gabriel go?”

Caro expected him to still be here after her nap, rather instead it was just Sethios waiting for her with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Her brain told her to refuse while her nose forced her acceptance, and oh, how she approved.

“To scout out Osiris’s estate. He wanted to see the security measures for himself. I suspect he’ll return once he realizes I was right about needing Ezekiel.” Sethios didn’t sound all that concerned. If anything, he appeared amused. “Can I get you anything else? Lunch, perhaps?”