TRADING MY CHEATING HUSBAND FOR THE LYCAN KING novel Chapter 104

CHAPTER 70–DE YOU WANT KIDS?

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CHAPTER 70: DO YOU WANT KIDS?

EMBER’S POV

“Ember?” His voice shifts from playful to panicked in half a second. He pulls back, trying to see my face in

the darkness, his hands cupping my cheeks. “Baby, what’s wrong? Did I say something? Fuck, was it the

goat joke? That was too soon, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No.” I’m laughing and crying at the same time, which is humiliating and messy and I can’t seem to stop

either one. “No, it’s not you. I just…”

“Just what? Talk to me. What do you need?”

“I’m just…” The words come out broken, hiccupping. “It’s actually over. I’m never going back to him. I’m never going to wake up wondering if today’s the day he finally kills me. I’m never going to flinch at footsteps or hide bruises or lie about how I got hurt.” The tears are falling faster now. “It’s over. It’s actually

over.”

Knox pulls me against him so hard I can barely breathe. His arms wrap around me like he’s trying to hold

me together, like he’s afraid I’ll shatter if he lets go.

“It’s over,” he confirms against my hair. “He’s never touching you again. I’ll kill him myself before I let that

happen.”

“I know.” I burrow into his chest, letting myself fall apart in the safety of his arms. “I know. That’s why I’m

crying. Because I actually believe you. Because for the first time in eight years, I feel safe, and I don’t know

what to do with that.”

He holds me tighter and says nothing. His shirt is soaked through, probably ruined with tears and snot, and

he doesn’t care. He just lets me cry.

When the sobs finally slow into something more manageable, I pull back just enough to look at his face. His expression is wrecked. Like watching me fall apart hurt him more than anything the council could

have done.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“F–For what?”

r

“For everything. For giving me the strength I needed when I had none left. For standing beside me in that

courtroom. For making me feel like I was worth fighting for.” I touch his face, tracing the sharp line of his

jaw. “I don’t know where my shitty life would have gone if I’d never met you on that plane. If I’d never

asked you to fuck me in that bathroom like a desperate idiot.”

“You weren’t desperate. You were brave.”

“I was definitely desperate. I was also spiteful and sad and my mascara was running everywhere.”

“It was.” The corner of his mouth twitches. “You looked like a raccoon.”

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CHAPTERZO DO YOU WANT KIDS?

“A hot raccoon.”

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“The hottest raccoon I’d ever seen,” he agrees solemnly. “I saw you crying in that bathroom and I thought, that’s it. That’s the most beautiful disaster I’ve ever witnessed. I have to have her.”

I laugh wetly. “You’re such a liar.”

“I’m not lying.” His thumb brushes a tear from my cheek. “People crying makes me nervous. Always has. I never know what to do. I either freeze or I say something stupid that makes it worse.” His voice drops,

softer now. “But when I saw you crying… I just felt this desperate need to make it stop. It was irrational.

Overwhelming. I only knew you were someone else’s woman and yet, I would have done anything to take that pain away.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.” His eyes hold mine in the darkness. “If you hadn’t asked me to fuck you, if you’d asked me to

hunt down Gale instead and bring you his head on a platter… I fear whatever possessed me in that

moment might have led me down that path.”

“You’re psychotic.”

“That’s honest.” He pulls me closer, his forehead dropping to rest against mine. “I’m grateful I met you,

Ember. I’m so…” He takes a deep breath, like the words are costing him something. “I’m so glad. You’re so

brave. And stubborn. And beautiful. And so much smarter than you give yourself credit for.”

“Knox…”

“I wish I’d met you earlier.” The confession comes out rough, almost pained. “Maybe a simpler time.

Maybe before I ever met Celeste. Before even Rayana. Before Gale ever got his hands on you. Maybe that version of me, the one who still believed in things, maybe he could have…”

He stops. Swallows hard.

His forehead presses harder against mine, and then he’s kissing me. Soft and slow and achingly tender.

“You’re like a drug to me,” he whispers against my lips. “You do things to me. Make me feel things I’d

convinced myself I’d never feel again.”

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I kiss him back, pouring everything I can’t say into it. When we finally break apart, I stay close, our breath

mingling in the dark.

“Can I ask you something?” I whisper.

“Anything.”

“Do you ever want kids?”

The question hangs between us. I don’t know why I asked it. Maybe because I’ve been thinking about it since the trial. Since I said out loud what I’d never told anyone.

“I always wanted to be a mother,” I admit before he can answer. “Even when things were bad with Gale.

CHAPTER ZO be YOU WANT KIDS?

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Even when I knew bringing a child into that house would be cruel. Some stupid part of me kept hoping.” My voice cracks slightly. “And then I was pregnant. And for a few weeks, I let myself believe maybe it would fix everything. Maybe he’d be different. Maybe I’d finally have someone who loved me without

conditions.”

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