Bled Dry Read Free Page B

sexual fantasies about George Clooney or her mean unkind thoughts about her dental hygienist’s butt and the way it looked in white pants.
    This was panic time.
    “Corbin, you can’t experiment on our child! God, this is horrible, I’m going to be sick.” She clutched her stomach. “We were both so stupid! I’m never having sex with you again.”
    “But it is not as if you can get pregnant a second time,” he pointed out, looking a little mystified. “There would be no reason we’d need birth control if we lay together now.”
    “Arrgh!” How did you say idiot in French? Idi-ote? She turned to the window, tears blinding her. “I want to talk to my sister.” Fumbling in her pocket, she pulled her cell phone out of her jeans and pressed number one to call Alexis.
    “Alex?” she sniffled when her sister answered.
    Alexis swore. “What did the bastard say to you? Where are you?”
    “I’m still in the suite you told me to come to. Alexis, Corbin says our baby is going to... going to... ” She choked on the words and dissolved into a fresh round of tears.
    “I’ll be right there.”
    When Alex hung up, Brittany let the tears take her over. She sobbed, overwhelmed, frightened, scared for her child. Totally flipping freaked out.
    Suddenly Corbin was behind her, arms wrapping around her. “Shh. It is all right now, ma chérie . I did not mean to frighten you. Everything will be just fine, and we will have the most beautiful child. After all, look at his mother.”
    Corbin’s voice was soothing in her ear, his embrace confident and strong. She shouldn’t lean on him, should try to be strong, but she couldn’t. And she had no right to place all the blame on Corbin. She had been there that night. She had encouraged him, enjoyed their time together, and she had never hesitated or considered that there could be ramifications of their actions.
    She tried to stop crying. “I did always want to be a mother.”
    “Now you will be, and you will be fantastique . It will all work out.”
    “I hope so.” Brittany relaxed a little. Corbin was pretty damn old, and he was a scientist, after all. He had said he was really close to an antidote to revert vampires to mortal. If anyone knew how to deal with the situation, it was him. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him. Maybe this would be okay.
    “And we will get married, yes?”
    Her eyes flew open. “No!” Why was he stuck on that?
    There was a pounding on the outside door. Corbin moved away from her. “We are not finished discussing this.”
    If he was talking about marriage, she was finished discussing. She was not going to bind herself to a man she barely knew. She didn’t even really know how old Corbin was, let alone what his personal likes and dislikes were, whether he was neat or a slob. She’d never even seen him naked, and how sad was that?
    She checked out his butt as he left the room. It was very sad.
     
    Ringo wondered if they knew he could hear every word they were saying.
    Since his voluntary entry into rehab to quit the drug blood habit, he had gotten really damn good at meditation and the other new age crap his pseudo-girlfriend, Kelsey, kept encouraging him to do. The end result was that he was way more comfortable sitting still, listening, than he had ever been in his life, and with his vampire hearing, he had caught most of Corbin and Brittany’s conversation.
    He had to admit, he’d had no clue vampires could knock women up. That was good info to have, if he didn’t want to create headaches for himself along the way.
    And he also wondered if anyone would be interested in hearing that an Impure was carrying a three-quarter vamp bundle of joy. Like someone willing to pay for that information.
    Like maybe his old drug pusher, now in New York awaiting his trial for treason.
    Donatelli.
     
    Brittany heard her sister’s voice at the door and went to save Corbin. If she knew Alexis, she’d have Corbin on the ground in a karate