Lupi 04 - Night Season

that already?”
    Her mouth opened—then closed again.
    Temper sighed into exasperation. “You did. You really did forget.”
    â€œLook, as far as you’re concerned, I’ve been pregnant for four and a halfweeks. But for me, it’s been…” She glanced at her wrist, then pushed a button on her watch. The dial lit up. “Nine hours and thirty-one minutes.”
    If she hadn’t spent those past four and a half weeks denying reality…Cullen scrubbed his head with one hand and reached for the slippery reins on his temper. “I get it. You need time to adjust. While you’re adjusting—”
    You didn’t ask if you could bring someone with you.
    The voice was deep, disapproving, and oddly resonant, considering it happened inside his head. Inside Cynna’s head, too, judging by her expression. “Hi, Mika,” Cullen said. “The human with me is Cynna Weaver. I told you about her. We have a bargain we’d like to offer you.”
    â€œYou can hear him?” Cynna asked. “You’ve dropped your shield?”
    â€œShields, plural, remember? One of them’s specifically for mindspeech. I usually leave that one down.” He still couldn’t separate the other shields enough to use them individually. Shit, he wasn’t even sure how many there were. But the mindspeech shield was the topmost, the easiest to peel away from the rest. Once he caught the knack, opening it was like opening the gate to the front yard while keeping the house locked. Your timing is lousy, Mika.
    She is the womb-rich one?
    Dragons could mindspeak one person, two, or everyone in their vicinity. This time the mental voice felt as if Mika stood at Cullen’s shoulder, addressing him privately. The thoughts were, as always, clear and crisp as a knife blade.
    Yes, he answered silently.
    You may approach, Cynna Weaver. I have not yet met a gravid human person.
    Cynna rolled her eyes. “Great. I’m a curiosity.”
    â€œBetter than being a snack.” I’ve something to say to Cynna privately , Cullen told Mika, and mentally closed the gate to his front yard. He grabbed Cynna’s hand. “Two things I want to say before we join Mika. Don’t look him in the eye—”
    â€œI know that.” She tugged at her hand.
    He didn’t let go. “And there’s one more option I want you to consider for our child.”
    She stilled, watching him warily.
    â€œYou could marry me.”

EIGHT
    A breeze tickled the naked trees, making limbs and twigs rub together like sandpaper fingers. The same breeze plucked at Cynna’s hair and chilled her cheeks. Overhead, the sky was a watercolor smear, black with charcoal streaks where the city bounced its lights off ribbons of cloud. A few stars poked through the haze.
    It wasn’t enough. She couldn’t see Cullen’s expression, only the place where darkness paled into the smudged oblong of his face. “You proposed,” she said blankly. “You just proposed to me.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œMarriage.”
    â€œIt’s a reasonable solution.”
    â€œLupi don’t marry. Ever.”
    â€œOh, that’s right. Thanks for reminding me. I’d forgotten.”
    Cullen’s sarcasm slid right past in the total strangeness of the moment. She didn’t know how she felt…yes, she did. She was happy. She didn’t know why, but his proposal—pointless and mysterious as it was—made her happy.
    Which made her as foolish as him, but who cared? Cynna smiled at their mutual folly and patted his arm. “I’m not going to marry you.”
    He frowned at her hand as if he’d never seen it before. “Why not? It’s a tidy solution. We’re friends, we enjoy each other sexually, and we’ve made a child. Marriage gives us equal rights to that child, and if…well, Lady forbid it should happen, but if you were injured, I’d have rights there, too.”
    She hooted with laughter. “You mean, if I end up brain-dead you can tell them to keep me on life support until the baby’s born? Now, there’s an appealing notion!” She shook her head. “Wow. My first proposal. Likely my last, too, but I never thought I’d have even one. Thank you.”
    He tilted his head up and sighed loudly. “Why do I get the feeling you’re not taking the idea seriously?”
    â€œBecause you’re