Extending Family (House of Garner Book 5)

by Erin R Flynn

  Table of Contents

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  Find A New Series To Love…

  About the Author

  Other Titles by Erin R Flynn

  A Supernatural Script Inc. Book

  If you bought your copy, thank you. OR if you used your Kindle Unlimited, thank you. OR if you read this from Kindle lending, thank you. Any legal means, thank you. Thank you for respecting me and other authors for their hard work, understanding this is our job, and while we love it, we do deserve to be compensated for all the hours, and hours, and hours we put into it.

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  My name is Inez Garner, and I’m a vampire princess, wife to two vampire nobles, fiancée to two more, and girlfriend to another. I’m the leader of a new coven that is made up of mostly shifter clans and thriving better than established covens and they love that. But we’re still in a precarious position as our main location for the coven only has the castle.

  And what a castle it is, built by my husband who abandoned me. I’m not bitter.

  I’ve come a long way from barely surviving, and I think we’ve reached the point where we have survived the apocalypse and crossed into the post-apocalypse phase. We’re still debating that, but the zombies—or the corrupted, as some idiot named them to be PC—are under better control and not constantly trying to eat me.

  Unfortunately, I think that means those who survived will come out of hiding and be stupid, which is dangerous. No matter how strong we are, someone will always find an opening or make a move we’re not ready for.

  Does this mean I finally get to play with the fighter jets?

  House of Garner is an apocalyptic, hot burning, WhyChoose romance with darker elements, strong language, violence, and a heroine who doesn’t let anyone get in her way.

  1

  Darius

  “What are you doing?” Moon asked me as he sat next to me.

  In the bar in the castle I’d designed and built for my princess. Just thinking of that made my eyes itch and I took another deep swig of rum. “I lost her. My princess no longer loves me.”

  “You didn’t,” he sighed, patting my shoulder. “She loves you, Darius. She wouldn’t hurt so much if she didn’t love you.” He reached for the bottle when I went to drink more. “Enough, Darius. It’s been two months of this. The castle is built. The coven is blooming, and soon we will have guests for her accepting of Kristof and Cerdic.

  “If you don’t fix this before then, you might lose her as she might never forgive you if you don’t stand next to her then. I say this as your friend, and not a noble who wants her as well, and frustrated she won’t look at any of us in fear you will judge her for replacing you. You both hurt and for what? You didn’t understand and handled it badly. We’ve discussed this. Tell her that and she is kind enough to forgive you.”

  He stormed out and I felt about two inches tall. I hadn’t once thought about how others wanted to court her, but she would of course shut all that down with us being on the outs.

  I was such an idiot. Of course she would. I got so lost in my head, spiraled out so badly when she was abducted and almost died, that somehow I fixated on this one thing that I found shocking and… I couldn’t lose her.

  The fact that I hadn’t lost her already was a damn miracle. I’d lost everyone I’d ever loved and fear kept me from trying to make amends, only to find out I lost her too. But Moon was right; we had guests arriving soon and if I wasn’t at her side, I wouldn’t forgive me either.

  I left the bar and went to her tower. I didn’t take the elevator, but the stairs to clear my head as I thought of what to say. I kept coming up blank, but Inez liked it when I spoke from the heart and was honest.

  I ignored the looks from Petre and Sisay who were guarding her room, both of whom were completely in love with her, and went in.

  “Finally, you git,” Cerdic muttered, scooting away from her in the huge custom bed we’d had made as she’d seen in her dreams. “Don’t fuck this up or she won’t be the only one pissed at you forever. It’s our wedding too.” He paused before leaving. “She asks for you in her sleep. Every night and you’re not here where you should be.”

  I nodded that I had heard him and moved closer, staring at her, missing seeing her sleeping face and how peaceful she was. She stirred and patted the bed before rolling over, confused and looking for whoever’s turn it was as we never left her alone at night.

  Well, they didn’t. I hadn’t been in this bed with her yet even. I moved closer and, after taking off my boots, I climbed on the bed with her. I was about to lay next to her, but I found myself above her, remembering the night she first let me into her bed, even if it was that stupid blow up mattress. How far we’d come since then, months and months later, and still her beauty struck me speechless.

  She inhaled sharply and her eyelashes fluttered before she stared up at me with a sexy, sleepy gaze. “Darius?”

  “Do you still love me?”

  “What?” She reached up to wipe her eyes, but I caught her hands and linked our fingers as I leaned down to kiss her. The moment our lips touched she shoved at my chest, not strong enough to move me, but I backed off. “You’re drunk? You ignore me all this time and come to bed drunk for a fucking booty call? Is that what you think I am? Just a whore to fuck when you drink now?”

  “What? No, no,” I gasped, my eyes going wide. “I needed you.”

  Deep pain filled her eyes as her lower lip quivered. “You mean your dick does. Get off of me.”

  I sat back on my feet, pulling her to sit up as well. “No, I want my wife. I want to—please, I miss you.”

  She turned like I’d slapped her, yanking her hands away to the point she was going to hurt herself if I didn’t let go so I did. “Get out of my room. You are not welcome here.”

  Now it was my turn to react as if I was slapped. Punched. Stabbed in the heart. All of it. I moved off the bed and reached for my boots. “I am so very sorry. I will love you forever and always stand at your side, even if you no longer love me.”

  I turned and left, hating myself for letting this go on and wounding her as I had. I didn’t deserve her.

  I never had.

  I found myself outside drinking again and realized I was at the lake where I’d first met her back in North Carolina. The sun was just starting to come up over the horizon when I
felt someone join me.

  “What did you do?” Jaxon seethed. “What did you do to her now? She’s sobbing, Darius! You show up wasted, slurring, and saying you need to feel her? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

  I blinked at him. “I wasn’t slurring.”

  “You were according to Petre and Sisay,” he snapped. “You’re slurring now!”

  I simply stared at him a moment and then down at the now empty bottle. “I didn’t…” I tossed the bottle away, scrubbing my hands over my face.

  “When was the last time you slept?” he asked, understanding I had no idea if I was coming or going.

  “I don’t remember,” I admitted. “I see her crying if I do.”

  “Pass out and sober up. I’ll bring her to you here after you do. Don’t fuck this up again, Darius, or I swear to fuck I’ll beat you bloody. This is your last chance from me and I only do it for her. I thought you were a better man than this.”

  I had thought so too. Tears fell as I stared up at the sky, begging Aether and my family for help, the strength to win back the woman I loved. I ended up passing out there and for several hours based on the position of the sun when I got up. I felt as gross as I probably was, peeling off my clothes and taking a dip in the lake, thinking of how I snuck glimpses of her back then.

  “What are you—we don’t have time for this,” Inez said from the shore.

  “I agree you need to talk,” Kristof told her, kissing her forehead. “You forgave me again and again because I didn’t understand and we needed to talk. Listen to the idiot who took too long and punish him as you did me.”

  “Why? So he can make me feel shitty again? No thanks,” she rasped.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was drunk,” I called over, hurrying towards her. “I’m so sorry, Inez. I would never treat you like an easy fuck or anything disrespectful.”

  Kristof tossed me a towel along with a look that said to fix the situation or he might fix me… Permanently. I nodded, wrapping it around my waist and moving closer, noting she turned her back so she didn’t see me naked. Ouch.

  “I haven’t been sleeping and for a while,” I muttered. “I’m sorry. I thought I was fine and making sense that I wanted to hold my wife and beg for my place next to you again.”

  She didn’t answer for several moments before unfolding the blanket and grabbing the basket from Kristof. “You’re grounded. You said we were having a romantic picnic before the crazy and I wanted that. Instead, you brought me into this. I don’t like the lying as clearly you guys can fib. You should have just told me. I haven’t been the one avoiding this. We should handle it before people arrive.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  She let out a frustrated noise. “You just want to be grounded again. What is with you and that?”

  Kristof shrugged, giving me an angry look. “Yes, well, we still enjoy that together at least.” He gave the slightest nod when she flinched and my eyes went wide.

  She hadn’t let him play the way he wanted in the weeks we’d been on the outs. Holy fuck, I was shocked he didn’t pound me already.

  “I haven’t been in the mood for that,” she mumbled, plopping down with the basket. “It’s not fun anymore.”

  “Enjoy the romantic picnic I was supposed to have with her,” Kristof said, his tone warning before he left us with just her guards.

  Both again in love with her. Vitor and Tian watched her always, their eyes following her in that way Kristof used to watch her, as if unable to look away but not knowing it was how he felt. Though I was pretty sure Vitor knew.

  Tian, I worried, would rather squash her before giving her his heart.

  “May I join you?” I asked, sighing when she didn’t respond. “You didn’t agree to this. I’m not about to just assume I’m welcome, especially after how I acted last night.”

  “You can sit,” she agreed, her tone stiff. She started pulling out containers, careful not to get too close to me after I sat. “Why haven’t you been sleeping?”

  “I miss my wife,” I admitted, not sure what to say when she flinched. Did she think that was a line? “I really am sorry about last night. It all came out and went wrong.”

  She nodded. “I can forgive that as long as you didn’t feel how you were treating me.”

  “I don’t, Inez. You are so far from some cheap fling or meaningless fuck to me.” I waited until she nodded, opening the container she set in front of me and diving into the pasta salad since I’d not had breakfast. “Did you know oral sex isn’t allowed to most in Islam? It’s seen as dirty and impure?”

  “I didn’t know that and not to sound culturally insensitive, but why bring that up when that’s not your religion? I mean, you pray to Aether, right?” She finally looked at me. “And you gave me oral sex all the time. Like the first day we spent together. So what does that have to do with anything?”

  “I’m trying to explain where my head was.”

  “Was?” she pushed, focusing on her food. “That sounds like you’re fine with it now, and really, I’m not buying that after you just walked away and have avoided me for two months almost. But sure, okay, go ahead.”

  Wow, damn, she was really, really pissed. I couldn’t blame her, but it made me exceedingly nervous which was normally when I said something stupid. “That’s not my religion, but I grew up with it as an influence given where I lived.”

  “Okay, I can see that,” she accepted, but kept eating.

  “And yes, I gave you oral sex, but I didn’t for a long time. I thought—not because of the religion—but so many believed it was dirty, friends I had, people around me. Humans mostly, but whatever. It wasn’t until I left home that I even saw it. I was at a brothel in Europe and this man was being paid to perform oral sex on ladies of wealth because their husbands wouldn’t.

  “It was some dirty secret of the city that everyone kept hush-hush. And they loved it. They went wild for him and I could hear it, see it through the gaps of the curtain. I bought him a drink later and asked him how he could do something so dirty, even for money. He actually laughed at me, asking where the hell I came from that I would have sex with a woman and not make sure she was tended to.

  “It was such a difference and I wanted to learn. I was a hundred years old and this whole world of fun opened to me. But even there, whores gave blow jobs and wives would never do something so dirty. Other places, other regions and beliefs and still it was dirty.”

  I sighed, running my fingers through my hair to shake out the extra water. Hope filled me as I saw her glance over and watch. She blushed when she saw me watching her and focused on her food again.

  “I didn’t want you to be dirty. You’re pure, you’re light, and the woman I love, my wife,” I whispered. I held up my hand when she went to object. “You were also kidnapped and almost died. I spun out. I spun out badly and focused on giving you what you needed because I was worried I’d hurt you again. I feel like the next thing I know, the castle’s built and it’s been weeks.

  “And then it was too long. I’d completely fucked up and there was no way you’d forgive me, castle or not. I spun out worse. Each time I tried to get my head together and figure out how to fix this, I spun out worse. And I had moments like you did after the time we tripped up and embarrassed you. I kept thinking if you still wanted me, you’d come to me.”

  “Why? So you could walk away again?” she rasped, killing me deep in my soul.

  “I’m jealous of Kristof,” I admitted, finally saying the words. “He gave you what I couldn’t and there is some bond there that I kept seeing grow and I felt left behind from.”

  She shook her head, wiping her eyes. “And he’s jealous of you.”

  “What?” I gasped, almost dropping my container in shock.

  She nodded. “He thinks I’d pick you over him and I love you most. I won’t play like that with him because you object, and I’ve told him it’s not me picking you over him. If there are objections to something I do with any o
f you, I vowed to listen, to not do things or be with people you didn’t agree to. If he objected to something, I would listen to him too.”

  “Do you still love me at all after what I’ve done?” I breathed, floored he was jealous of me. He was… Another level.

  “You should have more faith in me than that.”

  “I have all the faith in you ever. It’s not about that, but how horrible what I’ve done is.”

  She shrugged. “You can’t help the way you feel.”

  “No, but I said things I didn’t mean and hurt you. That’s never okay, no matter my objections or what I feel. I didn’t walk away because I disapproved after I saw it. I left because I was jealous you shared something with him you didn’t with me.”

  “You idiot,” she whispered, stabbing her food harder than she needed to. “You’re all stupid assholes. No, you are. We’ve shared the same sort of play and naughty just not exactly like that. We started this together, so I get his jealousy of you because our love is deeper; it’s had more time to grow—well, not anymore given you abandoned me basically—but you’re an idiot.

  “Instead of being jealous and walking away and breaking my heart, you should have talked to me. All you guys push me to talk, but you don’t with me. Only when shit blows up or it gets to these crazy levels. Kristof did the same. You guys are fairly alike in several ways, so really, it shocks me that you’re not seeing we have the same sort of closeness you’re jealous of the other for.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t know what to do with that,” she admitted as she finished the first container and went to the next one. “I don’t. I’m not trying to make this harder or more difficult for any of us, but I have no idea what to do with that.”

  “I don’t know what to do next either,” I confessed. “I’ll do whatever you need, Inez.”

  “For what? What are you asking me for?”

  “I want my wife back,” I choked out, dropping the container and going to her, cupping her face in my hands. “I want to be next to the love of my life. I want us to be an us again.” My soul shattered when she pulled away.