The Brightest Night (Origin #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,71

naturel childbirth had nope written all over it. There was absolutely no way I could do that without being high as a kite.

The wind kicked up the heavy canopy, and outside the carport, the night was dark and silent with the exception of the occasional cricket … or pain-filled scream. Snuggling under the quilt, I glanced over my shoulder to the side door that hadn’t opened in quite some time. I hadn’t gone inside with Luc, because even though Kat and I had gotten to chat the day before, I didn’t know her like that. I didn’t want to intrude in moments meant to be shared with family and friends. I didn’t want to be in the way, and well, I hadn’t been invited.

Not to mention I really didn’t want to see what was going on in there.

The strange tickling sensation danced its way over the nape of my neck, and this time, I didn’t do the is-there-a-bug-on-me dance. I waited to see if a Luxen showed up or if a giant spider crawled across—

I jerked my head toward the side door as an exhausted scream shattered the calm, ending in a weary groan. I grimaced, lifting the quilt to my chin. I really, really needed to find out if Origins and non-Origins could make babies, because there was nothing about any of what was going on inside that house that I wanted a part of. Ever.

“You look officially traumatized.”

Gasping, I spun my head around. Grayson stood just inside the canopy, the string lights casting a warm glow over his form, and yet, he still reminded me of one of those carvings done in ice. Wariness trickled through me. After today, I was confident he was fantasizing about turning me into an episode of Forensic Files in which I was murdered and my body fed to hogs.

He arched an eyebrow that was only a shade or two darker than the swept-back blond hair. “I scared you.”

“No.” I still held the quilt to my chin. “You didn’t.”

“Is that so?” Grayson smirked, and boy, he could deliver some of the most impressive smirks I’d ever seen. He glanced over my shoulder to the closed door, and then his glacial-blue eyes settled on me. “You do look traumatized.”

Slowly lowering the quilt, I mulled over how to answer that question. Grayson and I had probably only had one almost noncombative conversation since I had known him, and while he might’ve said that the dotted effect my skin took on earlier was beautiful, he also could’ve been suffering from extreme brain trauma at that point. I had no idea what he’d been doing before he’d joined Luc and me. He could’ve been repeatedly banging his head against a wall for all I knew.

“Listening to someone in labor is a little traumatizing,” I finally said.

Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he pulled out a Blow Pop. One of his Luxen talents had to be conjuring an endless supply of those things. “Then I hope you and Luc are being careful.”

My brows lifted.

“Or you’ll find yourself screaming into the wee hours of the morning.” He leaned against the side of the carport, meticulously unwrapping the sucker. “Because it’s not entirely impossible for you two, so you and Luc had better be engaging in some Teflon-level protection.”

For a long moment, all I could do was stare at him, and then finally I was able to formulate a coherent response. “I really do not want to talk you about what Luc and I do and how we do it—”

He held up a hand as he said, “I don’t need details, but thanks.”

“I wasn’t offering details,” I snapped, my fingers now digging into the edges of the quilt.

“All I’m saying is that it’s not impossible. He’s an Origin and you are … well, you’re whatever you are, but I’m betting you have enough alien DNA in you to make it probable.” Sliding the discarded wrapper into his pocket, he raised the Blow Pop as if he were making a toast. “So, congrats.”

I shook my head, dumbfounded. Luc and I hadn’t exactly discussed protection, even though we’d come close to actually doing it a time or two. And yes, we probably should’ve had that conversation long before it even got close to the actual act, but neither of us would go into having sex with just thoughts and prayers as our only protection. “Let me say it again: what Luc and I are doing or not doing isn’t any of