Page 87 of Shielded Heart

Samantha stared down at him, her vision blurry from the tears welling in her eyes. Those tears spilled when she blinked. Her lower lip trembled against the power of the emotions roiling inside her; they were too strong to bear, too strong to hold in, but she couldn’t speak past the tightness in her throat. So, she did all she could—she threw herself against Arc, pressed her face against his neck, and clung to him.

Arcanthus might as well have saidI love you; his words carried the same weight as such a declaration, the same passion. And Samantha loved him, too. She couldn’t imagine life without him.

Oh, Icanimagine…desolate, cold, lonely.

Arcanthus had brought more laughter into her life than anyone or anything else, had given her safety, friendship, and—though she had a long way to go—her first taste of self-confidence.

Arc wrapped his arms around her. “Thatis closer to the reaction I’d hoped for when I said you were my mate.”

Samantha laughed; she could hear his arrogant grin in his voice. Her tears dampened his skin, but he didn’t seem to mind. “How though? We’re…two different species.”

“Doesn’t matter, my flower. Especially considering the tretin side of my ancestry.”

“What do you mean?”

Arcanthus shifted back and propped his head on his hand so he could look down at her. “That depends on how in-depth a lesson you desire on biology and history.”

She lifted her hand and brushed her fingers over his face, tracing theqalmarkings around his left eye and cheek. He closed his eyes as though her touch was bliss.

“I want to know everything, Arcanthus,” she said. “I want to know all about you, your past, your people. The good and the bad. Everything.”

“I suppose we should take all that one step at a time, shouldn’t we?” he said with a soft smile, opening his eyes. “The tretins are a race of…well, they call themselvesintergalactic conquerors, but their real drive seems to be to interbreed with every intelligent species in the universe. They have extremely adaptive reproductive systems that allow them to impregnate more or less anything they choose to mate with. They’re particularly fond of seeding hybrid races, and there are cases of them essentially outbreeding entire species by creating new strains.”

Samantha’s eyes rounded, and she slid her hand down to her belly.

Arc’s smile widened, showing his devilish fangs, as his eyes dipped to follow her hand. “Though I find the thought of you carrying my offspring immensely satisfying, you don’t need to worry. I have measures in place to prevent that situation.” He lowered his hand to cover hers; the metal of his palm was warm and strong. “Wholly reversible measures.”

She never would’ve considered the possibility of interspecies breeding had he not said anything; it had seemed a given that they couldn’t reproduce with one another. But now that the subject was out in the open, she couldn’t help thinking about it.

James hadn’t wanted anything to do with children—something for which she was incredibly thankful—and had forced birth control injections upon her. As soon as she’d left him, she stopped the treatments. Why would she have bothered? She hadn’t expected to be with anyone else—hadn’twantedto be with anyone else—especiallyin an intimate manner.

The thought of having children with Arcanthus… It was a sweet one, and it filled her with warmth and joy.

What would their babies look like? Would they have horns, tails, and markings on their skin just like their father’s? They’d be…adorable.

But what kind of mother would she be? Samantha’s mother had died while she was a baby, and though her grandmother had done the best she could, her age and failing health had limited her severely. Sam’s father had never remarried. She’d never really had a strong maternal role model to learn from.

Still, Sam would do her damnedest to be the best mom she could be… When the time was right.

I would be a good mom…Iwillbe a good mom.

Arcanthus’s husky chuckle pulled her out of her thoughts. “I see the idea appeals to you, my flower.”

Samantha blushed and smiled shyly. “It does… But not yet.”

“No, not yet. We’d be getting a bit ahead of ourselves, wouldn’t we? It may be some time before I’m willing to share you.”

She reached up and brushed his hair out of his face, tucking it behind his long, pointed ear. “I…don’t want to share you, either.”

Hisqalglowed bright as he tipped his head forward and kissed her with more tenderness and affection than she’d ever experienced. His kisses had always been scalding, hungry,arousing, but this one was different—this was a gesture telling her he was here for her, that he’dalwaysbe here for her.

“Tell me more,” Samantha said when their lips separated. “Tell me about your childhood and your life. I want to know you, Arc.”

He shifted his hand as he leaned back on his elbow again, trailing his fingertips across his mouth. “I find myself torn between my desire to know more aboutyouand the open invitation to talk about myself. You’re feeding into an already dangerously large ego, Samantha.”

Laughter bubbled up from within her. “I didn’t think youcouldpass up a chance to talk about yourself.”

His grin rekindled the light in his eyes. “You already know me so well. But as interesting as I seem, there’s not terribly much to tell. My people are a relatively new race in the eyes of the universe. Our holdings are small, like those of your people, and life on sedhi planets is…stressfulmight be a good word. By virtue of our history and lineage, we have strained relations with the volturians and outright hatred of the tretins. Both races are far greater in number and power than us.

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