rushes to me. “Gemma, I can fix it. You’re going to be okay.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about!” I cry, tears streaming down my face as I rock back and forth.
“Gemma . . . I don’t . . .” Aislin’s brows knit as she stares down at me. Then her confusion shifts to total and utter horror when she notes how protectively I’m hugging my stomach. “Oh, my God.”
“What’s wrong?” Laylen’s expression bounces between worried and puzzlement as he looks back and forth between Aislin and me.
Aislin crouches down in front of me and leans in, keeping her voice low. “Gemma, are you . . . Are you pregnant?”
I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to deal with the reality I’ve kept trapped inside for weeks now. “I don’t know . . . Maybe. Sometimes I swear I can hear this heartbeat, and Nicholas said . . .” I give a shrug then shake my head, fighting back a sob.
A moment or two ticks by where Aislin simply gapes at me in shock. Then, in the snap of a finger, she collects herself and stands to her feet. Her fingers fold around my arm before she gently pulls me up and steers me toward the doorway.
“Where are we going?” I let her guide me out of the kitchen with a very baffled Laylen tailing behind.
“I’m going to help you first,” she says with determination in her eyes.
“And then what?” I ask.
She pauses, her gaze dropping to my stomach. “And then we’re going to find out for sure what’s going on with you.”
I nod, feeling the slightest bit of relief that I’m no longer completely alone in this. But what I really want is Alex here with me to help me go through whatever lies ahead.
Maybe that’s why when Aislin lays me down and orders me to rest while Laylen keeps an eye on me. I fall asleep, finally dreaming of Alex and not my death. Maybe it’s the stress, but whatever the reason, I welcome the break and let myself tumble into dreamland.
“What’s going on?” Alex asks, appearing in front of me. He glances around at the flat, grassy field around us that seems to lead to nowhere.
Seeing him here, standing in front of me, even if it’s just a dream, sends my body into a mad frenzy. There’s no spark or electricity flowing between us, yet somehow the need to be close to him is more potent than it has ever been.
“I have no idea,” I say then crash my lips to his.
He groans, grips my waist, and pulls me close. Our legs, hips, chests align perfectly as he slides his tongue deep into my mouth.
“I’ve missed you,” he says between kisses, his hands wandering all over my body. “God, I can’t believe we’re here.”
“Me, either,” I whisper against his lips, my fingers trailing down his chest to the bottom of his shirt. Gripping the fabric, I lean back and tug it over his head.
His lips pull into a lopsided grin as his hands travel to the bottom of my tank top. With his eyes trained on me, he slowly lifts the shirt over my head and discards it on the ground. His palms are searing hot as he glides them up my spine then unhooks the clasp of my bra. He throws that on the ground, too, and then presses me closer, kissing me slowly, deliberately, as he lowers me to the ground.
The grass brushes my back as his warm body covers mine. Beneath him, I feel safer than I have in weeks.
We kiss for what feels like hours, only breaking apart to strip off the rest of our clothes. With a thrust of his hips, he then slips deep inside me as I grip onto him for dear life
“I just want to stay here,” I whisper as I struggle to catch my breath.
“Then let’s stay here forever,” he says then kisses me passionately, rocking his hips against mine.
I groan, my nails clawing into his shoulder blades as I drift farther and farther from reality.
“Harder,” I beg. “Please.”
He gives me what I want while I try to hold on to him for as long as I can, but I suddenly feel him slipping away from me.
“No . . .” I plead, but it’s too late. He’s already gone . . .
My eyes snap open, and I jolt upright in bed.
“What’s wrong?” Laylen asks, quickly getting to his feet and hurrying over to my bed.