“Can I use this room?” he asked, as they stared at him holding a dead Jolie.
They both smiled before packing up their game.
“Sure thing, Master,” Mina stated.
Flynn sighed. “Thanks.”
As they were walking out, the women were giggling. Well, that was fine with him. Let them assume he was going to have sex. He knew the truth.
Resting on the couch, he held Jolie against his torso. When she woke, he wanted her to not be freaked out. After all, he’d technically abducted her from their bed.
With his palm, he pushed energy into her lifeless body. He could feel his soul flickering in his chest as it released her portion.
Jolie took a deep breath.
She was confused. What she wanted to do was sit up, but her body was trapped against someone’s. Then, she picked up his scent.
“Morning, Flynn,” she whispered, stretching like a large cat coming out of its nap.
“Bonjour, mon amour,” he crooned into her ear in French, as he licked across her jaw. It never ceased to amaze him how she immediately warmed to his touch.
“I see you’ve abducted me. Are we having a date?”
His mouth sought hers, and the kiss was fiery hot. If he didn't have something serious to discuss, he might have enjoyed waking her with his body.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we are.”
Her hands wandered up and down his torso. When she got closer to the button on his jeans, he did something unthinkable.
Flynn stopped her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, looking up into his eyes.
He had to be crazy. A sexy vampyre wanted in his pants, and he was going to stop her.
He laughed.
“Yeah, I didn't steal you away for sex. I wanted to talk.”
Jolie did sit up. That one sentence scared the hell out of her. It made her wary and sick to her stomach.
Flynn let her go, waiting as she moved toward the other side of the couch. This didn't bode well, but it was too late. If he stopped now, Flynn wouldn’t ever get the nerve to do this again.
“What do you want to talk about?” she finally asked. Jolie noticed he looked incredibly sexy. His hair was disheveled, he was wearing a simple pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Even his bare feet made her heart thump.
“Us.”
“Okay,” she said, never looking away from him.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Jolie waited for it.
“Sure, what’s on your mind, Flynn?” she asked, getting more and more nervous.
“Can I get you pregnant?”
Okay, this wasn’t what she was expecting. Jolie didn't know how to approach this. She saw his face in the car the other day when Jasmine brought up marriage, and she shouldn’t be shocked. After all, Flynn was human.
Why wouldn’t he put marriage and kids into play?
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m pretty old. Our kind usually has all of their offspring early--like in their two hundreds. I may be too old to have babies.”
“If you could have kids?”
Jolie stared at him.
“What are you asking, Flynn?”
“I want more than just killing hunters and running for our lives, Jolie. I want the happily ever after.”
There.
He said it.
“We have a really good life,” she offered.
“You’re evading. Yes or no. It’s a simple question.”
Really, it wasn’t.
Not for her.
Jolie was afraid she couldn’t give him his heart’s greatest desire. Then what?
“I don’t know, Flynn. I wish I had an answer for you. I’ve never really given children a thought. I didn't take a human lover when others did because I didn't think kids would ever be in my future.”
“I see.”
“I never pondered being a mother.”
“So, then you don’t want children?” He felt a sudden emptiness that he couldn’t explain. It was to the point that it overwhelmed him.
“I didn’t say that I didn’t want children, Flynn. I love them, but I never found a human who I wanted to have them with,” she said, watching him go carefully blank.
He had to admit--that stung.
Obviously, he was included in that tally, or she would have said otherwise.
Right?
“Oh,” he said softly, his heart being crushed by the woman he loved.
“Do you want children one day, Flynn?” she asked, trying to be calm. From this conversation, she already knew the answer.
He obviously did.
Jolie wanted to cry.
“Someday I would. I’d like to think that I’d be a good father like mine was.”
Jolie’s heart was breaking, and she knew in that moment that if she couldn’t fulfill his wish, she’d have to let him walk away. How could she keep him trapped if children would make him happy?
One day, she’d have to let him go.
Jolie could barely contain her emotions. “If we’re done talking, I’d like to go.”
He simply nodded. “Sure, Jolie. You can go. I see that we’re done.”
His words hurt her.
The clock had begun ticking on the time she would have with him, and Jolie knew it.
It suddenly occurred to her that maybe forever wasn’t always meant to be…
“I’ll go wake Jacques,” she said, as her voice quivered. Jolie couldn’t even look back at her other mate. If she did, she’d burst into tears.
He watched her leave.
Well, this had been a bad idea. It was probably good he didn't bring up marriage too. That would have made even more of a mess.
He closed his eyes and reached for her mind.
There was a wall.
She’d blocked him out.
Great.
There was so much pain in his heart over her words.
‘I just never found a human who I wanted to have children with.’
What could be more final than that?
Jolie somehow managed to make it back to their quarters without breaking down in tears. Jacques was lounging on their bed, a book in his lap, as he waited for them.
The second she entered, the smile on his face disappeared.
Uh oh.
Something bad had happened.
“Hello.” It was all she could muster as she moved past him into their bathroom. When the door slammed behind her with enough force to knock the vase from above the fireplace, he cringed.
Yeah, this didn't bode well.
He could feel their human mate approach. When he entered the room, he didn't look good.
In fact, he looked…tortured.
Something had happened while he was with death, and he assumed it was more than just a sweaty bout of sex.
“Flynn?” he began, seeing the man’s misery.
He didn't hear him. Instead, he only saw the shattered vase on the floor. Ironically, his heart was in far worse condition.
At that moment, he really wished that he had never asked Jolie about kids.
Damn it!
Lesson learned. Jolie plus having children was a bad conversation and a very dead end.
“Flynn?” Jacques said again, finally getting his attention. “Are you okay? What happened?” he asked calmly.
Flynn turned around, and suddenly all he could hold on to was the anger brewing in his gut.
“You know what, Jacques? I wish I bloody well knew.”
Jacques lifted a brow at his tone. It was very un-Flynn-like. The detective always kept a level head. This had to be a very bad fight.
“I had the stupid idea of talking to Jolie. Instead of having sex, I really wanted to have a conversation about something important to me.”
“I see that it didn't go well.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well, I asked the question, and she got mad. Then she left! It’s the end of the story.”
Jacques wanted to ask what it was about, but his
mate was distraught. It was best to let this go.
Flynn randomly grabbed clothes from his closet. “I’m going to shower in Mathew’s room.”
That said it all.
“I see.”
“Well, freaking good for you. Maybe you can explain it to me. I have no idea what I did wrong.”
He started angrily pacing.
“No, I take that back. I know exactly what I did. I actually relaxed into this relationship,” he said, pointing at his mate, himself, and then the bathroom door.
“Flynn.”
“No! I was only thinking about our future!” He stalked over to his dresser and grabbed both guns with the clips before slamming them into the gun. “I was being honest, and now I’m being punished, and that’s not fair.”
Jacques was dying to peek into his head.
But he didn't do it.
“Forget it,” Flynn hissed. “William will be here soon, and I need to shower so I can be ready to follow Montclair. If you need me, call my cell,” he said, slamming the door behind him as he left.
Jacques knew if he was this mad, then Jolie would be too. Confronting her now would be a tactical mistake on his behalf.
It would have to wait until she regrouped.
This didn't look good.
Hopefully, it would all blow over. They had big shit to worry about, and this was going to be distracting.
And dangerous.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Jolie sat in the Mercedes saying nothing.
It was an uncomfortably silent drive to Belladonna’s home and their meeting with Detective Montclair.
Many times, Jacques wanted to ask her what was wrong, but it wouldn’t come out. Jolie was upset, and he was afraid to turn the heat up on this boiling kettle of misery.
Finally, he grew a set.
“You’re worked up.”
“Yes.”
“At Flynn?”
She didn't answer. For the last hour, so many things were going through her mind. The most prevalent was their scary conversation, and the revelations it brought to light.
Eventually, she was going to lose one of the men she loved. One day, he’d leave to start a family, and it wouldn’t be with her.
Jolie’s eggs were dust in the wind.
She wanted to laugh, but it hurt too much.
Over and over, she replayed the conversation in her head, and each time, it sucked.
“You should get it off your chest,” he offered.
“Let it go, Jacques,” she said testily, as the French countryside flashed by the window.
He drew a hard line in the sand. “That’s fine with me. Both of you can fight this out between yourselves and be as mad as you wish. This time, I won’t get any wounds from the collateral blowback.”
She glanced over.
“I’m not mad at, Flynn.”
Jacques looked over quickly. “Well then, you have two big problems--whatever is bothering you, and that Flynn believes that he’s done something to make you angry with him.”
“I’m upset, but not with him.”
Jacques shrugged before going back to driving. He knew that she’d discuss it if she wanted to, or she’d let it go.
“He wanted to talk.”
“Okay, and?”
“Everything was fine. I woke up in his arms, he wanted alone time to discuss life, and then he dropped THE question.”
Jacques was confused. “THE question?”
Jolie nodded, “He asked about children,” she said sadly. Her heart was really broken over this.
“I see.”
“Good, then explain it to me because I don’t understand why he thinks I’m angry,” she said.
“What was said?”
“He asked if I could get pregnant, and I told him the truth, which is--I don’t know if I can.”
“Well, the chances aren’t likely, since you’re an ancient. Honestly, I don’t know any of our kind who’ve had children past four hundred.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what I said. Then I told him I never got pregnant by a human because I never found one worthy.”
He glanced over. Jacques sincerely hoped that she didn't phrase it like that.
“It’s the truth. At four hundred, I was just starting our family. I’d survived Goethe, and I couldn’t bear a great deal of intimacy.”
“And?”
“Then I asked Flynn if he wanted children, and he said someday. It’s obvious that ‘someday’ won’t be with me. I’m too old.”
Jacques sat silently, weighing the conversation. He didn't know if he should add his opinion, or let her continue to vent.
“Well? What did I do to make him think I was mad?” she asked, frustrated and angry over it all.
“May I ask you a question?”
“Sure, why not? I’m doing so well with males today. What’s one more I can upset and piss off?”
“Would you have children with Flynn if you were able to conceive?”
Jolie didn’t even need to think that through. Immediately, she answered with her heart. “OF COURSE! I love him. I don’t want to lose him, Jacques. If I can’t get pregnant, what right do I have to keep him tied to us? He’ll have to give up one more dream. We already stole his humanity.”
He understood.
“We, of all species, know the value of procreation and producing progeny. I’d be forced to let him go, and that hurts me to my core. I’m going to have to let him find someone who can give him what I can’t. How do I not go crazy over that?”
“Did you tell him all this?”
She paused. “No. I was so caught off guard, and my first instinct was to run. When he said ‘someday’, I knew he wouldn’t be happy without that part of his life being fulfilled.”
“Jolie, I’m surprised at you. You’re not giving Flynn enough credit. I think if you’re honest, he’ll see it from your perspective.”
She opened her mouth.
“He probably thinks you don’t want him to be the father of your children. I don’t think he understands why you’re upset.”
She closed her mouth.
Could that be?
Was her Flynn that damaged that he thought he was unworthy?
Well shit.
This was horrible timing.
CHAPTER twenty-four
Detective William Bevier and Detective Flynn Brogan sat in the shadows of the trees a short distance from the house. They were in position and waiting for Jolie and Jacques to safely arrive.
It didn't take long for the SUV to pull into the private driveway.
Flynn could feel his heart constrict in his chest as he watched her step from the Mercedes. He stopped breathing. Jolie was wearing the same suit that she wore the very first day he had ever seen her.
Well, here was the second kick in the balls for the day. Seeing her brought back memories, and it almost made him want to run to her and beg for forgiveness.
Now, if he could only figure out how to fix what he’d done wrong.
“Can I ask you something, William?”
“Sure, but please call me Will. William is my dad,” he answered, looking through binoculars.
“Are you and Jasmine going to have children?”
Bevier looked over surprised at the question. “I don’t know. From what Jasmine has told me, due to her age, she might not be able to conceive.”
Curious.
“How old is she?”
“She just turned six hundred and sixty three.”
Silence.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” William asked.
“Does it bother you that you might not be able to have kids together?”
He looked at Flynn like he was out of his mind. “Are you kidding? There are other options like adoption or by surrogate vampyre.”
Shit!
Flynn never thought of that.
“Are you upset because Jolie is older and might not be able to conceive?”
He wasn’t quite sure. Had s
he just told him that was the possible problem, none of this would be an issue. Instead, she dropped the worst sentence ever spoken.
Maybe he wasn’t worthy after all.
“Honestly, I don’t know what I’m upset about.”
“Well, get ready. Here comes Montclair, so the fun is about to begin.”
Good.
He needed a distraction.
The minute Jolie exited the safety of the Mercedes, she could feel her other mate close. Jolie wished this wasn’t sitting between them. There was nothing worse than being at odds with the men you loved.
Her focus was divided, and Jolie disliked going into dangerous situations in disarray.
It didn't matter now. It was about to begin.
“Doctor Harcourte, I thought we’d be alone to work. I didn't expect him,” he said, pointing at Jacques.
“I believe my fiancé made it clear that I’d have an escort.”
“Yes, I guess he did. It must have slipped my mind.”
Jacques wanted to roll his eyes, but what would it matter. Beneath the dark sunglasses, the man wouldn’t get the point.
“Shall we?” she asked.
He didn’t look pleased, but he continued toward the house. “I’d like you to take a look at the scene in the basement, and then tell me your opinion. I want to see if we’re on the same page.”
“I can do that, Detective.”
Jolie and Jacques followed him to the lower level of the house. Without hesitation, Jacques placed himself between Jolie and the detective.
“What do you think?” he asked.
The room looked exactly how they’d left it.
“A coffin?” asked Jolie, trying to act surprised.
“Yes. This was made to look like a vampyre attack.”
Jolie threw her head back and laughed as Jacques smiled. They tried to look amused.
“A vampyre? As in Bram Stoker’s vampyres? Everyone knows, Detective, that there’s no such thing. Anyone who tells you otherwise is delusional.” She saw something flash in his eyes, but then it was gone.
Oh yeah, she offended him.
Good. A pissed off maniac was an easy one to catch.
“I didn’t say it was a vampyre attack, Doctor. Only that it was made to resemble one.”
“Maybe it was a cult?”
Dangerous Misery (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 3) Page 39