He takes my hands and dips his head to draw my attention back to his face. “Ivy?”

“We shouldn’t pack the christening gown away just yet.”

He cocks his head, draws a deep breath in as understanding begins to dawn. “Are you—?”

“We’re having another baby.”

He hesitates.

“I’m pregnant,” I say, just to be clear. He lets out a laugh and hugs me so tight, it hurts. But to hear him laugh and to feel him hold me like this, and to feel his happiness, it makes that same feeling of joy almost burst inside me, and tears are streaming down my face by the time he draws back. He’s using his thumbs to wipe them away as he kisses me, telling me how happy he is, how proud he is of me. And when my tears stop, we rest our foreheads against one another’s, and I touch his cheek.

“I love you so much,” I whisper.

“I love you even more.” We stay like that for a long moment before we pull apart. “Let’s keep this secret to ourselves for a little while.”

“Yes.”

“We’d better go in,” he says, pulling me to my feet.

I nod, and he places one hand at my back as we walk to the door. He opens it, and I step out.

“I’m not surprised, you know,” he says as we walk through the courtyard to the reception room.

“No? Because you seemed surprised.”

“Well, the De La Rosa virility is a legendary thing,” he says as he opens the French door and gives me a wicked grin. “I’ll show you again tonight.”

I put my hands on his shoulders, lean up on tiptoe and give him a one-sided grin. “I only hope your stamina is as legendary.”

Want More of The Society?

Sample from His Rule by Natasha Knight and A. Zavarelli

His Rule is the first book of The Rite Trilogy and tells the tempestuous story of Mercedes De La Rosa and Judge Montgomery.

Blood.

Every time I close my eyes, I see it. That pungent metallic odor still burns my nostrils, and it’s seeped so deep into my flesh, I can’t wash it away. I know because I’ve been trying for well over thirty minutes. My skin burns as the spray from the shower pelts the areas I’ve rubbed raw, but I can’t feel sorry for myself. This is the least of what I deserve.