Her Chosen Mate: A Quarantine Romance (Venus Quarantine Initiative Book 1) Read online

  He grows anxious, clearly wanting me to leave, but I don’t care how uncomfortable I make him.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  It slips out unexpectedly, though my sole reason for being on his lap was to tell him this news.

  His eyes light in surprise, his mouth gaping ever so slightly.

  “I know you probably don’t care, or fuck, maybe you do. It’s so hard to tell with you. All I ask is that when the baby finally gets here, you try to connect with it on some level.”

  His massive hands cup my cheeks, and his lips press against my forehead. “That’s…wonderful,” he finally says.

  I want to be happy at his lukewarm enthusiasm, but one could hardly call it that. It’s more like shock.

  After an awkward minute, I get up to leave, but he grabs my arm before I can get away.

  “You’re going to be an amazing mother,” he says earnestly.

  I force a smile and say, “Thank you,” before heading to the washroom to cry an ocean of tears.

  Chapter Eleven

  Colton

  I wait until Eva’s asleep before I begin to pack the few items I’m bringing with me. I consider writing her a letter, but I don’t think she’s going to care much about what I have to say, so instead, I write a short letter to my future child, hoping Eva will one day give it to them.

  The Venus Initiative made good on their word of providing a safe place for a family to raise their children. I hate thinking of my child growing up without a father, but there’s no way I fit into this. It’s not that I don’t love Eva; in fact, she’s the only woman I’ve ever fallen in love with, but that doesn’t change the situation.

  Hopefully, Venus will place another man in my stead, and my child will grow up in a stable, safe environment. As they deserve to.

  I cast Eva one last look before heading out the door, determined to put as much distance between me and the cabin as I can before sunrise, but I hardly make it to the tree line before I hear Eva scream.

  Adrenaline courses through my veins as I rush back toward the house. She meets me halfway, her eyes red-rimmed and frantic.

  “Why?” she pleads.

  I hate myself for hurting her, but what other choice do I have?

  “Eva, this is for the best—”

  “The best for who? Me? The baby?”

  “Eva—”

  “You’re a selfish asshole.”

  “I will agree with you on that one.”

  “Just tell me, what’s out there for you? What makes this place so insufferable? Am I so terrible?”

  “Eva, it was never about you. If anything, you’re way too good for me. My desire for you is unquestionable, and so is my love.”

  “Then why are you leaving?”

  “When we met, the fear in your eyes struck a chord with me. You were terrified. No part of you wanted me, not in the way a woman should want a man. It put me in a bind because if I left, I didn’t know if they’d be able to find you another, and it was clear you had no desire to go back into the world.”

  “So you stayed to get me pregnant,” she finishes.

  “I wanted to give you the future you wanted, but I can’t be with someone because they’re desperate. I want to be with someone because they want to be with me.”

  She nods her head. “That makes sense. For a long time, I thought there was something you didn’t like about me, but as you said, things were different in your time, and I guess that’s something you can’t give up.”

  I long to hold her one last time, but that would be a grave error on my part. There’s no way I’d ever be able to let her go.

  “Can you stay for just one minute?” she asks. “I want to give you something.”

  “Sure.”

  She rushes back to the cabin while I wait, looking up at the moon and wondering if I qualify as being certifiably crazy for giving up this little slice of heaven.

  A few minutes later, I hear her approaching and look over to see Eva running toward me carrying three bags with her.

  “What is all this?” I ask.

  “I said I had something for you, well here it is—me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re both healthy, and if Venus is correct, genetically strong. We can make it out there. Me, you, and the baby.”

  “Eva, no—”

  “Colton, I don’t think you realize how much I’ve fallen for you. I’ve damn near grown to hate you because you’re all I’ve ever wanted in a man, and you never seemed to want me. Well, at least in the way I wanted you.”

  Her confession takes my breath away. There are no words for the feelings coursing through me.

  “Let’s get on with it, then.” She walks past me towards the woods.

  “Eva—you’re pregnant. You can’t leave. It’s not safe!”

  “You gonna stop me?”

  “Do you remember on the boat when I told you about my sister?”

  “Yeah?”

  “For the longest time, she was my rock. A beacon in my dark world. But she was physically frail…”

  “And you lost her.”

  “She got pregnant by some guy she half liked, and then, she got dead. You need Venus to help you deliver the baby.”

  “Then stay with me,” she pleads.

  She’s everything you ever wanted. Don’t fuck this up.

  After a long minute, I pull her into my arms, letting her sweet scent fill my nostrils.

  We walk back to the cabin and climb into bed together. It feels good having her in my arms, and I hope to God that this isn’t a mistake, because I don’t know if I can handle losing her.

  “Colton,” she whispers as she curls against me.

  “Yeah.”

  “I love you.”

  I swallow hard, knowing that this isn’t just some desperate experiment to save mankind. This is real. This is us.

  “I love you too.”

  * * *

  The End

  * * *

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  About the Author - LJ aka Lark

  Lark Anderson was raised near Syracuse, New York. She joined the USAF at 19 as a Flight Manager and eventually discharged in pursuit of a college degree. Her passion for writing manifested in elementary school, but she waited until she was in her 20's to pursue her dream. Now, she not only writes contemporary romance and fantasy, but she also writes for a sitcom! More information about her work can be found on her website, on her social media, and in her newsletter.

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