Chapter 314

Joseph’s POV

“I think I might be pregnant…”

Those words invaded my head for what felt like an eternity. I stared at her as her watery gaze peeked up at me through her long lashes and I could see how terrified she was. I was completely frozen, and I didn’t know what to say in return.

Neither of us really spoke about kids before and I wasn’t even sure if it was something Tessa truly wanted. I always wanted to be a dad though; but would Tessa want to be a mom to a potential vampire child?

I would be lying if I said the thought didn’t scare the living shit out of me. I didn’t mean to react poorly to Tessa’s announcement, but I was terrified of this outcome. I was terrified of what this meant for us and our future.

I followed Tessa up the stairs and into our bedroom; it was the longest walk of my life. I couldn’t bring myself to go into the bathroom with her. How could I face her if she was upset about this? I should have worn condoms; I knew she was only the pill, but that wasn’t 100% guaranteed birth control.

Did she hate me for not being more careful? She was so quiet, and it was obvious she was afraid to tell me about this possible outcome.

I’m not sure how many minutes ticked by, but when I heard the timer going off in the bathroom, I couldn’t just sit on the bed and wait anymore. I needed to be in there with her. I needed to apologize for not being careful and redeem myself. I needed to make sure she didn’t hate me and that was going to be okay.

It would be a lot easier if I knew what she was thinking,

I tapped on the bathroom door, and when I didn’t hear her, I decided to just let myself in.

She was seated on the toilet, staring down at her hands and it tugged at my heart to see her so broken and afraid. When she heard me enter the bathroom, her gaze lifted, and she met my eyes. I wasn’t sure what to say to her, so I remained in the doorway with my hands shoved in my front pockets, probably looking like a child afraid of being scolded.

I glanced at the test on the counter and then back at her, knowing that she hadn’t even looked at the results yet.

“Ready to see the results?” I asked, breaking through the silence that consumed us.

That seemed to get through to her because she blinked a few times, releasing the few teras that collected in her eyes and then she nodded.

“I don’t think I can look,” she whispered, her voice coming out broken. “Can do you do it?”

I nodded, wanting to take some of the stress off her. I stepped toward the test and took it in my hands, lifting it to my eyes.

When I saw the 2 pink lines across the small screen, I furrowed my brows. I’ve never had to look at pregnancy tests before; these didn’t exist when my late wife was pregnant with our children almost 2 centuries ago.

I saw the box on the counter, and I grabbed it to look at the instructions. Tessa remained silent while I examined the words and pictures on the box.

One line means not pregnant.

Two lines mean pregnant.

My breathing hitched as I dropped the box back onto the counter. Tessa’s eyes widened, reading my expression.

“Two lines,” I told her out loud. “Tess, you’re pregnant…”

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands; tears flooded out of her eyes now and ran down her flushed cheeks. She let out a sob and it broke my heart into pieces.

She must be so upset with me. I hung my head in shame, hating how I made her cry because I was careless and didn’t use protection.

“I’m so sorry…” I whispered.

Her brows furrowed together as she stared at me, tears still flooding out of her eyes.

“You’re sorry for getting me pregnant?” She asked, a small whimper escaping her lips. “Do you really not want this?”

I snapped a look at her, confused.

“Are you kidding me? I want nothing more than to be a father… but I’m sorry that I put you in this position. I should have been more careful. I don’t blame you for being upset with me,” I told her, feeling a heavy weight on my shoulders.

Tessa stood at her feet; her arms wrapped around her body like she was desperately trying to hold herself together. As if she might fall apart at any moment.

“You want to be a father?” She asked, stepping closer to me; her voice barely above a whisper.

I met her eyes, and I could see that she wasn’t angry, but worried.

“Of course, I do,” I told her. I was bold and put my hands on her arms, rubbing my fingers up the flesh of her arms and watching as goosebumps formed on her skin. I loved having this effect on her, even when she was upset with me. “I love you, Tessa. I want nothing more than to be the father of your children and live eternity with you and our family.”

A small smile formed on her lips, which surprised me.

“I want to have a family with you too,” she said, closing the gap between us and wrapping her arms around my neck.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me, basking in the warmth of her body and feeling every curve of her pressed against mine. She cried as I held her, and I couldn’t tell if she was happy or upset.

“Are you upset?” I decided to ask her.

She pulled away from me for a moment so she could look up into my eyes.

“I’m terrified,” she said softly. “But I’m happy to be having this baby with you. I’m so happy.”

I smiled; my smile grew so wide that it hurt my cheeks.

“I’m happy too,” I whispered, bending down to kiss her lips gently. I deepened the kiss as my tongue explored her mouth, twirling around with her tongue. “I love you so much,” I said against her lips as I nibbled her bottom lip, making her chuckle.

“I love you too,” she said in return, nuzzling her face against my neck, inhaling my scent like she was committing it to memory.

“I guess we have a lot to discuss now,” I told her.

I guided her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom; she clung to my side like I was her lifeline and I didn’t want her anywhere else because I needed her just as badly as she needed me.

“Austin already said he will move into the attic apartment with Derek so we can turn his room into a nursery,” she chuckled.

“So, everybody is already aware of this?” I asked, trying hard not to smile.

She shrugged.

“They all suspect and were with me when I bought the test. But we won’t announce anything officially until we are ready,” she assured me.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her close to me. I conquered her lips with mine, kissing her deeply and passionately. She moaned in my mouth, and I couldn’t help the smile on my lips knowing I had this effect on her.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close to her, deepening the kiss even further and tugging on me until I was seated on the bed. She straddled me, making me harder by the second as she ground her hips against me.

“Joseph…” she murmured against my lips as my tongue swiped across her bottom lip. “I need you.”

I needed her too and I was ready to show her just how badly I needed her. I ran my lips down the nape of her neck, licking and nibbling every corner that I reached. I needed to taste her, to be inside of her, to ravish every part of her.

I flipped her over until she was on her back, and I was on top of her. I couldn’t help but trail my lips down her body, pausing at her cleavage and pulling her shirt down to expose her breasts. She wasn’t wearing a bra and that made me even more erect as I took in her exposed breasts, I took her nipple between my teeth, sucking on it until the little pink nub pebbled in my mouth.

She gasped at the sensation and arched her back as I toyed with the other nipple, licking, sucking, and nibbling it until I could no longer take it.

She shimmied out of her shorts and without removing her panties completely, I pulled them ot the side and pleased her with my tongue. She moaned out my name, digging her nails into my hair and massaging my scalp as I licked her clit and all the juices that flowed freely from her. Her desires were evident, and my cock twitched in my pants at the sight of her naked and at my mercy.

It didn’t take long until we were both completely naked and taking one another in. She ran her fingers up my torso until they were around the back of my neck, and she was pulling me in for another deep kiss. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I easily slid inside of her core, feeling her gasp with pleasure.

She was so warm and inviting that I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold myself back. I thrust into her deeply, loving how her breasts bounced from the motion. She scratched her long nails down my back, marking me as hers as she ground her hips against mine, fighting for that sweet release.

I felt my cock swelling within her and I knew it wasn’t going to take long before I exploded.

Thankfully, her orgasm came quickly as she threw her head back and yelled out my name. I quickly joined her as we were pushed over the edge and into sweet oblivion.

As we held one another, desperate to catch our breaths, I felt Tessa’s demeanor change and sadness wash over her. I ran my fingers down her spine and cupped her chin between my thumb and pointer finger, lifting her gaze to meet mine.

“What is it?” I asked her, seeing tears pooling in her eyes.

“I always thought that when I got pregnant, Ruby would be the first person I told besides you,” she admitted, a small blush creeping along her cheeks and nose. “But I guess that’s not possible.”

My heart swelled for her, and I knew this wasn’t easy for her. After a breath of silence, I said, “What if I said you might be able to visit her tomorrow?”