DISCLAIMER: THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE HOLLOWS AND ALL CHARACTERS THEREIN ARE OWNED BY THE LOVELY KIM HARRISON.

In the Bedroom

CHAPTER 9

My stomach continued to revolt from whatever foul mixture Newt had forced me to drink so it took me a while before the weight of Al's words hit me. But when they did, they hit me like a bus.

Brow creased, I raised my eyebrows. "A… chastity curse?"

A few bubbles of laughter escaped me like fizz in a glass of champagne before I broke down and nearly collapsed from laughing so hard, a virtual torrent of tears streaming down my face.

"Oh…" I said, holding my middle as I straightened and tried to get hold of myself, bracing my weight on Al for support. "Whew…! You're an ass, you know that?" I said, punching Al lightly in the bicep.

Al was watching my hysterics with a growing frown. "Rachel, this isn't a joke."

His grip on my shoulder was painful as he shook me, making it clear he was serious.

I squinted up at him before my eyes widened, stone cold sober as I took in his reaction.

"Oh my god you're serious," I said.

"Deadly."

"Newt cast a chastity curse on us? I didn't even know there was such a thing."

Al grunted his reply and his frown deepened.

"What about the potion she gave me? Why didn't she make you drink one?" I asked, my chin nudging in his direction.

Al's jaw twitched and his red, goat-slit eyes met mine. "That," he said, "was something else. What did it taste like?"

"It was awful. Like bitter greens steeped in fish oil."

"Mmm," he said, releasing my arm.

Al stepped away from me and walked to the claw-foot tub, reaching down to pick his sopping wet robe up off the floor.

"Al?" I said, cocking my hip to the side.

Al rung his robe out over the bathtub and turned to look at me, his eyes wandering up to my head. "Your hair's a mess, love," he said.

I huffed. I could tell my hair was mostly dry and I'm sure Al was right and it was a tangled, frizzy mess, but it pissed me off that he wasn't answering my question.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "Al…" I persisted. "What," I said, "was in that potion?"

Al crossed his arms and perched his butt on the edge of the tub. "I haven't made one in a long, long while, itchy witch. But that," he said, playing with a loose thread on the hem of the garment, "was a demon contraception curse."

"Contraception," I said. I smacked my hand to my forehead. "Shit."

How could I have been so stupid? I'd forgotten to pack an earth magic contraception amulet amongst everything else I brought with me. But, then again, I hadn't counted on sleeping with Al. Had I?

Seeing my reaction, Al said, "I take it you hadn't brought one of your own."

I shook my head.

"Yes, well," he sighed, "it probably wasn't a horrible idea, then, that Newt dosed you with one of hers."

I nodded before crossing my arms, fidgeting a bit with the sleeves of my scarlet robe.

"Al?"

"Hmm?" he said, tossing the robe back onto the floor and meeting my gaze.

I grimaced, feeling for the first time a twinge of despair I couldn't keep from showing on my face.

"What if I wanted to have a baby," I said quickly, before I lost the courage to put thought into words. "Um. Someday."

Al balanced his left elbow on his right arm, which he had crossed in front of his body, bring two fingers to rest at the side of his face like a professor deep in thought about how to answer a question from a precocious student.

He looked at the floor briefly before meeting my eyes. When he spoke his voice was soft as newly spun cotton. "Do you want to have a baby, Rachel?"

I shrugged and my eyes sunk to the floor. I didn't want to see Al's reaction to my answer. "I don't know. I mean… maybe."

I bit my lip and a small frown creased my brow. "No, I guess… I guess not," I said, partially defeated. "How would I even raise a demon baby, right?" I asked, finally braving a glance at him.

The beginning of a smile curved one side of Al's mouth. "Demon women have done it before," he said.

Looking at him, I wondered what kind of father Al would be. How fucked up was I that I was silently assessing Al's fatherly qualities?

A ruthless alpha male demon with a hair-trigger temper didn't seem like it should be my first choice when thinking about the father of my unborn child. But Al was also smart, disciplined, a skilled teacher (even if not the most patient), and was fiercely protective of things that were important to him.

We left unspoken the one factor that would effectively prohibit any further procreation of demon kind – the factor that evidently just cursed us into chastity.

More than a few moments passed in silence before I inhaled sharply, determined to change the topic. Sort of.

"Do you really want to talk about this?" I asked.

Al licked his lips and set his jaw. "No," he said, tilting his head down and peering at me from under his brow.

"So about this chastity curse," I said.

"What of it?" he said.

"How does it work?"