The Reluctant Goddess (The Montgomery Chronicles Book 2) Read Free Page B

pregnant with a vampire's child.

C HAPTER T HREE

    Lassie, is that you, boy?

    The knock on the door woke me up. I had spent most of the night in the bathroom and when my stomach finally settled it was nearly dawn. I glanced at the clock. Ten. I hated waking up that late, because it meant everything was pushed back a few hours. Even though I wasn't working any longer, I still wanted a routine, some feeling of normalcy.
    The knock came again. I got out of bed, opened the door, peering around it. Dan stood there with a tray in his hands. The smell of coffee and waffles drifted tantalizingly toward me.  
    "I'm not dressed," I said while looking longingly at the waffles.  
    My stomach grumbled, but I didn’t know if it was from hunger or nausea at this point. All I knew was that everything hurt below my chest. I don’t get sick very often, but when I do I seem to make up for all the healthy times.  
    “We need to talk.”  
    “Okay,” I said. “Give me a minute to get into the bathroom. I’m really not dressed.”  
    I’d changed into a clean nightgown around three and it was one of those short things with matching panties.  
    He nodded.  
    I closed the door on him and scampered to the bathroom.
    I was presentable, if the word encompassed jeans and a top, in record time. I finger combed my hair. Makeup? Oh, who cared right now?  
    He had set the tray on the circular glass table on the broad balcony. My borrowed room overlooked the front of the castle and beyond, to the lake. I averted my eyes, not willing to recall the events of the night before. I might consider myself a strong woman, but I'm intermittently strong. I have weak moments, too.
    He poured me a cup of coffee and placed the plate of waffles in front of me along with three different colored syrups.  
    Once upon a time I had been cautious about how much sugar I ate. I wasn't low carb, per se, but I did avoid certain foods. I don't suppose it mattered anymore. Did vampires get diabetes?  
    Another question – how many questions did I have? A hundred? Coming up on a thousand?  
    Maybe I should be one of those people who simply accepted everything without curiosity. But I'd never been that way even when…my thoughts stuttered to a halt. Even when I was alive. Although my version of vampirism hadn’t altered my life all that much it seemed to be affecting the people around me.
    My grandmother had defaulted to a witch. My mother had become a killer.  
    “I didn't have a chance to debrief you last night," he said. “How did it go with Maddock?”  
    So we were going to pretend that he wasn't a golden retriever and had the power to shape shift. Or maybe in his canine guise, he didn't understand the world with human knowledge. Did I need to tell him he’d rescued me?  
    “As well as I expected," I said.
    "Were you able to inject him with the virus?"
    I nodded. "I stuck him, but it was through his clothes. It felt like I made contact, but I'm not sure. I wasn't about to let Il Duce get naked.”  
    He only nodded at that. “He's not going to leave you alone."
    That didn't require any comment on my part. I knew that. He knew that. The whole world knew that.
    According to Niccolo Maddock, I was one and a half times a vampire, a creature who, because of her nature, might be the savior to all vampires. I could walk in the sun. I had a menstrual cycle. Ergo, I was fertile. To test out his theory, Niccolo did his best to impregnate me. Which was why I was diligently taking my grandmother's potion morning and night. I was going to have to take the gawdawful stuff again, as soon as Dan left.  
    "I can protect you here, Marcie," he said.
    I didn't argue with that, either. I felt safe at Arthur's Folly or maybe it was simply being around Dan. A tall muscular kind of guy, the former Ranger exuded confidence I clung to, especially now. I wasn't feeling all that brave and adventurous and most definitely not kick ass.
    Plus, he smelled good, like sandalwood,