Chapter 20 #2
They shed the rest of their clothes slowly. His hands shook as he helped her out of her leggings, awed by her trust. She lay back on the blankets, firelight painting her skin gold. One hand rested on her belly, protective even now.
“Are you sure?” He had to ask one more time. “We can stop if—”
“Victor.” She reached for him. “I want this. I want you. Please.”
The please broke him.
He covered her body with his, careful not to put weight on her belly.
His hands bracketed her face as he kissed her deep and slow.
Her legs parted to accommodate him and his breath stuttered.
So close. She was so close and warm and willing.
Hyde surged but didn’t take over. Instead he seemed content to share—to experience everything without demanding control.
Careful, Hyde murmured. Precious. Ours.
He agreed completely. He entered her slowly, giving her time to adjust. Her breath caught and her nails dug into his shoulders. He immediately froze.
“Are you okay? Am I hurting you?”
“No.” Her hips tilted, taking him deeper. “God, no. Don’t stop.”
He buried his face in her neck and tried not to come apart.
She felt incredible—hot and tight and perfect around him.
He moved carefully, conscious of her belly and the baby.
Long, slow strokes meant to please rather than take.
Her soft cries urged him on as her hands roamed his back, his shoulders, his changing arms without hesitation.
“Victor.” His name on her lips sounded like prayer. “More. Please.”
He gave her more. Deeper thrusts that made her gasp and arch. His hands slid under her hips, tilting her for a better angle. The baby kicked against his stomach and he laughed breathlessly.
“Someone’s active tonight.”
“I can’t blame her.” She gave him a wicked smile. “This is exciting.”
He kissed her to hide his grin, then found a rhythm that made her moan and cling to him.
His control frayed at the edges. He could feel himself beginning to change—muscles thickening, skin heating, bones shifting subtly under the surface—but he didn’t lose control.
He didn’t let Hyde take over completely.
Instead they existed in the space between, human and Hyde sharing this moment.
She seemed to know, her hands stroking his changing body with wonder rather than fear.
“So beautiful,” she breathed. “Both of you. So perfect.”
He groaned and thrust harder.
“Chloe.” Her name came out strangled. “I’m close. I don’t want to hurt—”
“You won’t.” She pulled him down for a kiss. “Let go. I’ve got you.”
Permission. Trust. Love.
He surrendered to it. He stopped fighting and just let himself feel, the pleasure building to impossible heights.
He thrust deeper, faster, chasing the edge.
She gasped and tightened around him. Her climax hit suddenly, back arching as she cried out his name.
The sound pushed him over. He came with a roar that was more Hyde than human, body shuddering as release flooded through him.
For one perfect moment they were completely unified—Victor and Hyde and Chloe tangled together. Then reality crashed back.
He collapsed beside her, breathing hard, careful to keep his full weight off of her. His body felt strange—larger in some places, still human in others. A partial transformation. He’d shifted without losing control. The enormity of what had just happened swept over him.
“I’ve never…” He started, then stopped, his voice raspy. “I’ve never done that before.”
“What?”
“Never had a physical encounter with a woman. I never trusted myself enough, and there was never anyone who made me want to take the chance.” He shifted, his weight settling more comfortably, his hand coming to rest on her belly. “I thought it would be… violent. Uncontrolled.”
“But it wasn’t.”
“No. It was… right. Because you make it right.”
He turned his head to look at her. She was flushed and satisfied, her hair mussed, and her lips swollen from his kisses. And she still wasn’t afraid.
“Are you all right?” he asked, still not quite believing. “I didn’t hurt you?”
“I’m amazing.” She rolled toward him, belly bumping his side. “That was incredible.”
“Part of me shifted.”
“I noticed.” She traced one clawed finger with wonder. “You stayed in control though.”
Triumph roared through him. “I did.”
“Told you,” she said smugly. “Not dangerous.”
He wanted to argue, and point out that one time wasn’t enough data, but the words stuck in his throat because she was right. He’d been terrified of losing control and hurting her, convinced his monster was barely leashed. Instead Hyde had been gentle. Protective. Present without being destructive.
Maybe his father’s legacy didn’t have to be his future. Maybe control wasn’t about suppression but acceptance.
He pulled her closer, careful of her stomach, and buried his face in her hair. “Thank you.”
“For the sex?” Her laugh vibrated against his chest. “You’re welcome but I think I should be thanking you.”
“For trusting me,” he said roughly. “For not giving up on me when I gave you every reason to.”
Her hand found his, curving around his fingers. “I told you. I’m stubborn.”
“I’m starting to appreciate that quality.”
They lay in comfortable silence, watching firelight dance across the ceiling.
His body slowly shifted back to fully human, the transformation painless now that he wasn’t fighting it.
The storm still raged outside but it felt distant and unimportant.
In here, wrapped around Chloe with her trust warming him better than any fire, he felt something he hadn’t experienced in years.
Peace.
Hyde settled contentedly in the back of his mind. No longer raging or demanding. Just… content. Safe, Hyde murmured. Ours. Home.
Home. Yes.
He’d spent his whole adult life running from this feeling, convinced that belonging meant danger, but lying here with her—pregnant and vulnerable and absolutely fearless—he started to believe differently. Maybe home wasn’t something to fear. Maybe it was something worth protecting.
The baby kicked against his hand and he smiled. “Active little one.”
“Takes after her mother.” She yawned. “Stubborn and inappropriate timing.”
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “I should let you sleep.”
“Don’t you dare move.” She burrowed closer. “I’ve gone a week without you. I’m not letting go now.”
“Bossy.”
“You love it.”
His heart clenched because yes, he did. He loved her bossiness and her courage. He loved how she demanded better from him while accepting him exactly as he was.
“I do,” he admitted quietly. “Love it. I love you.”
She went still, then she tilted her face up to meet his eyes.
“Say that again.”
His throat tightened but he didn’t look away. “I love you. Both of you.” His hand settled protectively over her belly. “I’m terrified and still convinced I’m going to mess this up, but I love you.”
Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I love you too. Have for weeks now.”
“I don’t deserve—”
“Yes, you do.” She kissed him firmly. “You deserve to be loved and wanted and trusted. And I’m going to keep reminding you of that until you believe it.”
He pulled her closer, emotion flooding his chest. “Might take a while.”
“Good thing I’m patient.” She gave him a soft smile. “We have time.”
Time. Yes. For the first time in forever, he believed they did.
He was pulling the blankets more securely around them when the world exploded.
A crack like thunder split the air and the cabin shuddered violently.
Then something massive crashed through the roof.
Wood splintered and glass shattered as freezing air and snow poured in through a gaping hole overhead.
His body reacted before his mind caught up.
Hyde surged free in an avalanche of protective fury, the transformation slamming through him like lightning.
His bones cracked and reformed and his muscles swelled.
His skin thickened as his body expanded.
The last thing he saw before Hyde took over completely was Chloe’s wide eyes as his shadow fell over her.
Then everything went green.