Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,4
to use something as complex and mind-bending as a seatbelt.
Deciding to take pity on the poor ancient thing, I bit back a smile and cut the sucker loose. Honestly, how the hell was he going to stop the world from ending if he couldn’t even figure out how to take a seatbelt off?
“I heard that,” he gritted out as he hurled his massive body out of the front seat of my machine—car. I had to roll the seat all the way back just to get his legs to fit inside the vehicle. “I may not know very much of your modern world, but that does not mean I am not able to carry out the very task I was created for.”
“So, are you going to be listening in on my thoughts the whole time we’re together?” I asked offhandedly as I strolled up Nikki’s walkway. “Because if so, I can make it really unpleasant for you.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
“Not to mention, it’s really rude to eavesdrop,” I added as I rang the doorbell and took a step back.
“I’m not eavesdropping. It’s how I am built,” he quickly retorted, the crossness prevalent in his voice now.
I held his gaze incredulously. “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. Life lesson number two,” I said, holding up two fingers. “That one is free, but the next one is going to cost you.”
Before he could voice the confusion that was clearly written all over his face, the door ripped open, causing both of our gazes to snap to a very pissed-off looking Nikki.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She was standing at the entrance with her arms folded across her chest as she glared down at me like I was vermin infesting her front porch.
“So good to see you, too,” I muttered as my eyes immediately began scanning her mid-drift for any sign of a bulge or baby bump. But of course, she was wearing yet another frumpy sweater that looked about three sizes too big. Come to think of it, she’d been wearing these kinds of ill-fitting clothes for quite a while now. Even her school uniform had been hanging off her body the last time I bothered to notice.
If that wasn’t a major clue, I don’t know what was, because let’s face it, Nikki was a lot of things but modest wasn’t one of them.
“Why are you staring at me like some pervert?” she asked as her eyes slid over to War. “And who’s the juice head?”
I decided to ignore both her questions and take control of this conversation. You know, finesse some truth right out of her mouth. “For the love of all things good and holy in this world, please tell me you are not pregnant!”
Well, that certainly came out a little more pitchy and direct than I’d intended. War appeared to agree judging by the crazy look he was giving me.
“Excuse you?” Her head snapped back a good five inches.
No sense in backtracking now.
“Pregnant,” I repeated ridiculously slowly as though she were hard of hearing. “You know, with child. Expectant. Preggers. Do I need to go on?”
“No, but you can get the hell off my property,” she shot back and tried to slam the door in my face, but I quickly kicked my foot out and stopped her.
I wasn’t going anywhere until I got what I came here for. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Nikki. Just answer the goddamn question.”
Her aquamarine eyes twitched with irritation, like she was getting ready to blast me off her front steps by way of her witchy powers. I resisted the urge to recoil from her. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I am not pregnant.”
My questioning gaze slid to War. Someone wasn’t being straight up with me.
“She is lying,” answered War, his voice as thick and smooth as gravy. “I can sense the child.”
Nikki’s eyes all but bulged out of her head as her arms instinctively wrapped themselves around her belly. “What the hell are you?” she asked him as the light from her foyer flickered above her head.
That was never a good sign.
“He’s just an old friend,” I lied, emphasis on the old. My eyes were fixed on the baby bump she was cradling which was clearly visible with her arms wrapped around it.
Her eyes followed mine and then quickly dropped to her side. But it was too late.
“You are pregnant.” I ran a hand down my face as though trying