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  A child. She could ask herself when this had happened, or even how this had happened, but she knew. The exact moment she’d opened herself up to the possibility of a child was when Jack had asked her if she wanted any, and the clear vision of her daughter had come to her. Apparently, she’d inadvertently shut down the magic potions that were supposed to keep her from getting knocked up. Wonder suffused her, which didn’t quite cancel out the shock she had yet recovered from. Over four hundred years old and she was going to be a mother for the first time.

  This child’s life would be so very different from hers, she would make sure of it. This child would never be called a bastard. She would have parents who loved her and loved each other. This child would know she was wanted. The depth of feeling that shook Selina was both heady and terrifying.

  It was another bond, when she’d spent so many years refusing to open herself to any of them. She’d been drifting since Bess died, disconnected from any other person. Grim had been a slim tether to the here and now, but as much as she loved the damn dog, he wasn’t the same as human contact.

  But Jack.

  Gods, Jack had been like a hand reaching into the darkness of her world, grabbing hold of her and refusing to let her drift away entirely. He was a connection she couldn’t escape, couldn’t deny, even when she had wanted to, even when she’d been ready to let go.

  All those people and familiars spilling into the courthouse to be there for her wedding had shaken something deep inside her. The loneliness, the isolation. She’d been alone for so long, just her and Grim, that she’d stood there stunned for a moment, just staring around at the joyous noise and chaos. Her familiar had sat in the middle of it all, a kitten pouncing on his tail and one of the most powerful witches in the world stroking his ears. He’d looked about as dumbfounded as she’d felt.

  But it wasn’t bad. She might even learn to get used to it. The mattress dipped as Jack shifted in bed, returning her to the present. He squeezed her to him, brushing a kiss over the back of her shoulder. His hand moved down to settle over hers, covering where their child grew within her.

  Yeah. She could definitely get used to this.

  APHRODISIA BOOKS are published by

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  Copyright © 2012 by Crystal Jordan

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  ISBN: 978-0-7582-7790-9