Chapter 68: A New Day

Chapter 68: A New Day
Nelly

We both fell asleep still joined. I thought that I would have nightmares over the ordeal that I had just survived, but I didn’t. Vincent chased all of those demons away. He killed for me, and I would kill for him. However, I hope that all of the darkness is finally behind us and we can bask in the light together as we welcome a new life into this world. I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl. I am going to have to go have a chat with Quinn since his nose knows all.

We also must change humans’ perceptions of the Dark Ones. I know that it won’t be an easy feat. In the days that followed, Vincent was absent more and more. I felt trapped. I know that he is trying to make a better world for us all, but I feel as if he is tuning me out again. I won’t run as I did before, but I won’t let him ignore me. "You've done it again, Vincent," I accused, my voice barely concealing my irritation. "Creeping back into my bed like a thief in the night, expecting me to play along with your secrets."

Vincent, leaning against the doorframe with an infuriating calm, watched me with hooded eyes. His crisp white shirt, untucked and unbuttoned, revealed a tantalizing glimpse of his tanned chest. "You make it sound so dreadful," he drawled, a smirk playing on his lips. "Coming back to you, to this..." His eyes swept over the room, the grand four-poster bed, the velvet drapes, the ornate mirrors. "Paradise."

I scoffed, "Paradise, Vincent? It's a gilded cage. And I'm done being locked in it." I was standing now, my full lips pressed into a thin line, my hands balled into fists at my sides. "I deserve more. I deserve honesty."

Vincent pushed off from the doorframe, sauntering towards me with a predator's grace. "Honesty, Nelly? You want honesty?" His eyes flashed, his voice dropping to a low growl. "Very well." He caught my wrist, pulling me against him, our bodies aligning in a way that sent a jolt through us both. "I am a man bound by secrets, by promises made in blood. I cannot... will not... jeopardize the safety of those I care about by unburdening myself." His thumb stroked my pulse point, a promising gesture that belied his harsh words.

I glared up at him, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. "And what about me, Vincent? Don't I deserve to be in on these 'secrets'? Don't I deserve to know who you truly are?"

“You know who I am. I am trying to make a better world for us and our children. I…” Before Vincent could fully respond, the sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway. We sprang apart, turning to find the source of the disturbance. A man stood in the doorway, lean and tall, his eyes looking between us, a mischievous smirk on his lips.

"Nelly, doll," Quinn drawled, pushing off from the doorway. "Vincent." He nodded to us both, his eyes lingering on my disheveled state. "I must say, I do wish you'd inform me of your little... trysts. It wouldn't do for me to walk in on something more... explicit." His suggestive tone left no room for misunderstanding. “Unless you want me to join,” he quipped.

I blushed, my hands flying to my hair, trying to tame the wild curls and put my hair into a braid really fast. Vincent, however, merely scowled. "Quinn," he acknowledged stiffly, turning to me. "I'll leave you to...it." And with that, he strode from the room, leaving me flustered and Quinn smiling enigmatically.

Once Vincent was gone, Quinn closed the distance between us, his hand reaching up to cup my cheek. "He is such an asshole. But it isn’t safe for you to leave without all of us with you.” His voice dropped to a whisper, “I've missed you, Nelly."  

“I thought you had business with your pack. Why are you back here so soon?” I inquired. 

Quinn's gaze dropped to my lips, a hunger in his eyes that had nothing to do with food. "You, Nelly," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I've come back for you."

My heart pounded in my chest, my breath catching in my throat. I should push him away, should remind him of Vincent, of propriety. But instead, I was frozen. “Why me?”

Quinn's lips ghosted mine, soft and insistent, coaxing a whimper from my throat. “Because of this…I shouldn’t still be drawn to you. You aren’t human, and I can’t make you a shifter. You are a married vampire and have my friend’s children. But yet…when you ran, I found you. I have yet to tell Vincent about our talk when you were pregnant with Alexis. I kept that secret. I don’t keep secrets, Nelly. But I kept that. I didn’t fully understand why until Peter and Stephen tried to take you away from us. I feel bound to you, not as a friend…as something more,” Quinn confesses. 

“I…” I couldn’t find words.

Quinn hugged me. “Nelly, it is okay. I can control it.”

“You shouldn’t have to. We need to tell Vincent before anything we can’t control happens.” He nodded, but part of me is afraid to tell my husband because he is very possessive, but so am I. I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I won’t force them to choose either. There has to be a way to navigate this very sticky situation.