Chapter 4 #4
My hips snap forward once more, jetting my load deep into Claire’s womb. Groaning, I fill the condom with my seed. We lie there in silence, hearts racing from the amazing sex we’ve just had. I tenderly rub her wrist that had been handcuffed. I gently plant soft kisses all along her jawline.
“That was..." Claire starts, “Incredible.” I gently kiss her, then roll onto my back so that we are facing each other again, both still breathless. She cuddles into me, her hand coming to rest on my chest.
“I don’t think… I’ve ever had sex like that.” Claire giggles, running her hand up and down my stomach. “That is beyond anything I thought was possible.” I chuckle, pulling her closer into my embrace. "You have truly transformed my world, my Kameliablomst.”
Claire
The next morning…
My skin hums, tender and warm, like my body has switched over to a new language and is still testing the alphabet. There’s a subtle heaviness across my chest now. The sensation is not overwhelming, but it is undeniably there.
I take my supplements, note the time in the little journal, and curl up beside him on the couch. His body is a familiar anchor now. His body is solid and warm, emanating a scent of soap, masculinity, and an essence that is uniquely Erik.
He’s reading one of his endless reports, glasses low on his nose, shirt open. I rest my head on his shoulder and trace idle circles over the fabric.
“What are you working on?” I ask.
“Security review,” he murmurs. “That glitch with your shop’s server, I’m still tracing it.”
My brows pinch. “You really think someone’s hacking a bookstore?”
His arm slides around me, pulling me closer. “I think people target what matters,” he says simply. “You matter.”
The way he says it sinks into all the tender places inside me and settles there.
Outside, I hear the sounds of the inner city bustling around. Inside, all I hear is his heartbeat under my ear and the quiet hum of the air conditioning.
I shift, feeling that new fullness again, the faint echo of tingling where his hands and mouth were last night. Pride unfurls at the notion that my body is doing something remarkable. We’re doing this together.
“This is phase two, right?” I mumble. I am eagerly anticipating the first drops of colostrum and all the associated benefits.
He huffs a soft laugh. “Phase two,” he repeats. “You make it sound like espionage.”
“You’re the one who called it a protocol.”
He reaches over and turns off the lamp. Sunlight spills through the windows, sketching his profile in pale gold and shadow. In that soft light, he looks like both the storm and the shelter.
“Let’s take a walk,” he says, brushing a kiss over my forehead. “Tomorrow, we can refine our schedule to increase the chances of your lactation.”
“You and your schedules,” I murmur.
“Everything worth protecting has one,” he answers.
Wrapped in his warmth, with my body quietly buzzing and my future slowly reshaping itself, I let my eyes close for a moment to bask in this feeling of emotional security.
For the first time in a long time, the future doesn’t feel like something I’m bracing against.
It feels like something we’re building together.
Erik
When her breathing evens out, I wait a full minute just to be sure. She was exhausted after our walk, so I tucked her into my bed so she could take a nap.
Claire has sprawled half across my lap, one hand resting unconsciously over her chest, fingers curled protectively, as if her body already knows what it’s learning to carry. Not pregnancy… not yet.
I ease away carefully and tuck the blanket around her. She sighs, but doesn’t wake.
At my desk, I flip open my laptop. The security dashboard for her bookstore blooms across the screen, with rows of camera icons and scrolling timestamps.
Camera 1: Online.
Camera 2: Online.
Camera 3 Alley: Offline → reconnecting…
Then: a three-second delay.
“Damn it,” I breathe.
Three seconds doesn’t sound like much. But it’s long enough for someone to step into frame and step back out without leaving a trace on the live review.
Someone is testing the perimeter, and to me, that means someone is testing her.
I screenshot the anomaly and reroute the feed through our private server array. Then I send a brief message to Bjorn.
Node 3 is lagging by three seconds. The probe appears to be of the Veritek type. Check for SableCorp signatures
.
I hit send and close the laptop.
When I look into the bedroom, she’s curled on her side now, hair fanning over the pillow, face softened in sleep. Even in rest, her arm remains curved over her chest like a shield.
Everything that makes her luminous also makes her a target. Not this time. I move back to her, kneel, and press a kiss to her temple.
“We build life,” I whisper against her skin. “They build fear. Let’s see who lasts longer.”
City sounds flare beyond the glass, creating a type of white noise. She doesn’t stir.
I remain there, vigilantly monitoring the woman whose body is transforming into a sanctuary and a silent revolution, while also thinking about the war brewing at the boundaries of our tranquility.