Page 133 of Brutal Vows
Kieran tries to stifle a laugh by coughing.
Positioning me more comfortably between his legs, Quinn says, “So where should I take you shopping first?”
“The Neptune Society.”
“What’s that?”
My smile is acidic. “A cremation company. Did you know they’ll pick up a dead body from anywhere in the world?”
“You’re being funny again.”
“Yes, but you often mistake threats for humor, so there’s really no telling.”
Dismissing that, he changes the subject. “Speaking of sex—”
“We were talking about where to go shopping!”
“—what kind of birth control are you using?”
Blindsided by that, I stare at him blankly.
He stares back at me with a patient, curious look, waiting for my answer.
My answer which will make not one damn ounce of sense, so I take a page from his playbook and change the subject. “Why do you think Alessandro was so interested in what happened at the house last week? That was strange, wasn’t it?”
“Aye. What’s even stranger is why you’re trying to get out of answering my question about birth control.”
“Rewind to the part in the conversation where you said you’d have an answer for me, but might not admit it, and we’ll go from there.”
He furrows his brows, gazing at me with growing concern, then murmurs, “Oh.”
“What do you mean, ‘Oh’?”
He glances out the window and gives me a squeeze, saying softly, “It’s all right. We don’t have to talk about it.”
“I can tell you’re formulating some kind of bizarre and utterly incorrect hypothesis in that lump of coal you call a brain, Quinn. Stop thinking so hard. It doesn’t suit you.”
He glances back at me, his look wary. “So there’s not a bigreasonyou don’t want to tell me?”
I sigh. The man is hopeless. “Just tell me what the big reason is that you’ve manufactured, and I’ll tell you if it’s right.”
Hesitating, he licks his lips. “Are you…?”
I lift my brows. “Breathless with anticipation? Yes. Spit it out before I faint.”
He sends a furtive glance to my lap, then looks at my face again. When he winces, I know what he’s thinking.
“No, I’m not infertile.”
His pause is so loud, I need earplugs. “Did you have your tubes tied?”
“No.”
“So everything is in good working order. Down there.”
I say drily, “I’ll have my gynecologist send you the records, Doctor. You can pore over them yourself.”
Looking relieved and also a little sheepish, he admits, “I just didn’t know if you… if Enzo did something… fuck.” He looks out the window again, his cheeks ruddy.
