“I’m sorry, Diana.” A shadow settled in Matthew’s eyes, one that I thought was gone forever. “I have to put Jack’s needs first.”
“What needs?” Jack stood in the door. He yawned, tufts of hair standing up in apparent alarm.
Lobero pushed past his master and went straight to Matthew, looking for acknowledgment of a job well done.
“You need to hunt. There’s a full moon, alas, but not even I can control the heavens.” Matthew’s lie flowed from his tongue like honey. He ruffled Lobero’s ears. “We’re all going—you, me, your father, even Gallowglass. Lobero can come, too.”
Jack’s nose wrinkled. “Not hungry.”
“Don’t feed, then. But you’re hunting nevertheless. Be ready at midnight. I’ll pick you up.”
“Pick me up?” Jack looked from me to Hubbard. “I thought we would stay here.”
“You’ll be just around the corner with Gallowglass and Miriam. Andrew will be there with you,”
Matthew assured him. “This house isn’t large enough for a witch and three vampires. We’re nocturnal creatures, and Diana and the babies need their sleep.” Jack looked at my belly wistfully. “I always wanted a baby brother.”
“You may well get two sisters instead,” Matthew said, chuckling.
My hand lowered automatically over my belly as one of the twins gave another strong kick. They had been unusually active ever since Jack showed up.
“Are they moving?” Jack asked me, his face eager. “Can I touch them?”
I looked at Matthew. Jack’s glance slid in the same direction.
“Let me show you how.” Matthew’s tone was easy, though his eyes were sharp. He took Jack’s hand and pressed it into the side of my belly.
“I don’t feel anything,” Jack said, frowning with concentration.
A particularly strong kick, followed by a sharp elbow, thudded against the wall of my uterus.
“Whoa!” Jack’s face was inches from mine, his eyes full of wonder. “Do they kick like that all day?”
“It feels like it.” I wanted to smooth down the mess of Jack’s hair. I wanted to take him into my arms and promise him that no one was ever going to hurt him again. But I could offer him neither of these comforts.
Sensing the maternal turn my mood had taken, Matthew lifted Jack’s hand away. Jack’s face fell, experiencing it as rejection. Furious with Matthew, I reached to jerk Jack’s hand back. Before I could, Matthew put his hand at my waist and pulled me against his side. It was an unmistakable gesture of possession.
Jack’s eyes went black.
Hubbard pitched forward to intervene, and Matthew froze him in place with a look.
In the space of five heartbeats, Jack’s eyes returned to normal. When they were brown and green once more, Matthew gave him an approving smile.
“Your instinct to protect Diana is entirely appropriate,” Matthew told him. “Believing you have to shield her from me is not.”
“I’m sorry, Matthew,” Jack whispered. “It won’t happen again.”
“I accept your apology. Sadly, it will happen again. Learning to control your illness isn’t going to be easy—or quick.” Matthew’s tone turned brisk. “Kiss Diana good night, Jack, and get settled at Gallowglass’s house. It’s a former church around the corner. You’ll feel right at home.”
“Hear that, Father H?” Jack grinned. “Wonder if it has bats in its belfry, like yours.”
“I no longer have a bat problem,” Hubbard said sourly.