Page 281 of The Devil's Fire

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just… do you ever think about it? What it would have been like if we hadn’t…”

“I do. All the time.” I responded right away, knowing what she meant. A flicker of surprise crossed her face at my answer.

“You do? But you don’t talk about it.”

“I know. I try not to think about it, but sometimes it creeps into my mind. There was nothing more I wanted when I found out.”

“Me too.” She sighed, and I pulled her into me. “When Nonna mentioned babies, it just made me wonder what it would have been like now. I would probably be way too big because you would force me to constantly eat.” Althaia chuckled.

“Most definitely.” I smiled. The image of her being pregnant invaded my mind once again, and this time, I let it linger for a bit.

“Do you… do you still want one?” She shifted around on her feet, another nervous trait of hers.

“No.”

“Oh…” Her expression fell and disappointment filled her face. She tried to look away, but I softly grabbed her chin to hold her still.

“One is not enough.” I let out a playful smile when she scowled before slapping my arm.

“Why would you say it like that?!”

“I wasn’t done talking. Your fault for assuming I was.” I joked.

I intentionally did it to help her relax when her body started to get tense as we talked about it. It worked because her body slowly relaxed against me, but not before commenting how I was a jerk for pulling that on her.

“So, how many are we talking about? Three?” Althaia asked, and I scoffed at the number.

“No, my love. At least ten.” I told her.

“Ten?!” She exclaimed with her eyes wide, and I nodded.

“Yes. I want as many as possible with you.” I said in all seriousness.

“But ten is a lot… I’m still the one who needs to push them all out! Let’s say four for now.” She stated as if we had come to an agreement.

“No. It’s too little. Six children, and I won’t ask for more.” I said as a final offer.

“I will meet you in the middle and say five.” She offered, and I shook my head.

“No, it needs to be an even number, so six.”

“Why six then? Four is somewhat of a manageable number.”

“Go big or go home.” I winked.

“I would say that too if I wasn’t the one pushing them out.” She pointed out and raised her brow.

“I’m the one who needs to keep my aim sharp every time we have sex. That’s a lot of pressure.” I joked.

“Yeah, I don’t think that will be a problem. You got me pregnant without even trying.” She chuckled.

“It was partially your fault. I meant to pull out, but you felt too good not to come inside of you. The way you clenched your pussy around my cock…” I lowered my voice, giving her a sly grin as I trailed my hands down and playfully squeezed her ass.

“My God, it’s a miracle you don’t faint considering your blood rushes to your dick several times a day.” She placed a hand on my chest and pushed me away. “Besides, you need to get going before Nonna wakes up.”

"Fine." I sighed, the heaviness in my voice reflecting my discontent at the thought of her not sleeping in my arms.

I turned around to steal one last glance at her before stepping out. Placing my hands gently on her cheeks, I caressed them, allowing myself to become entranced by the depths of her green eyes.