No matter how much he wanted her, he knew she’d had a long night and needed sleep more than anything. His erection would have to wait. She came first. He needed to get out of there soon, or all his good intentions would end up being just that—intentions.
“Well, I’d better get going. Can I get your keys, so I can pick up your car while I’m out?”
“Oh, sure.”
They went back downstairs, and she grabbed her purse off the couch. She rummaged around until she pulled out the keys. “Here you go.”
“Do you mind if I pick up your car first and use it to save time?”
“No problem. I’ll call Hans after you leave.”
“Thanks.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be back soon. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay.”
He kissed her forehead again and said good-bye. Once he was in the hall, he called a cab to take him to her house. The sun began its ascent when he got to her parents’ house, making the operation easy. Hans opened the garage for him, and Naya’s parents didn’t make an appearance. He picked up her car and headed to the grocery store. On the way, Vaughn made a quick call to his shifter healer.
After Dr. Montgomery had asked Vaughn why he hadn’t sensed that Naya was ovulating, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. There must be something he’d missed. He continued to replay the night they’d slept together in his head, and he felt bad for waking up Dr. Bennett, but the situation was bothering him. He liked Dr. Bennett, trusted his opinion, and could count on him to keep the pregnancy quiet.
After he answered, Vaughn apologized for waking him and explained what had happened. The doctor clarified a few things, and Vaughn felt a little like an idiot. He had made assumptions about Naya and him, which he shouldn’t have. At least he had an explanation of what had happened that night.
Vaughn made his trip to the store quick, grabbing as much food as he knew would fit in his fridge, and then he had a key made for her. He returned home, parked Naya’s car in a guest spot, and hauled the groceries to this apartment. After he walked in, he noticed her suitcases were still sitting by the door. She must have just grabbed the things she’d needed before she went back upstairs.
He put the groceries away, making sure to be quiet. Then, he carried her suitcases upstairs and set them by the dresser. She lay in his bed, buried underneath the covers. All he could see was her hair sticking out. His cat-half liked her in his bed. It was right where she belonged. His human-half wanted to get in there with her, wake her up, and make love to her.
Instead, he let her rest, and he went to take a shower. Once finished, he briefly considered putting something on before climbing into bed, but he’d never been able to sleep unless he was bare. Plus, it wasn’t like she hadn’t already seen him naked. She was pregnant with his babies after all. He climbed into bed next to her and pulled her flush against him before relaxing into a deep sleep.
After Vaughn had left to run his errands, Naya glanced at the clock and saw it was six in the morning. She didn’t want to worry about the sun rising while she slept, so she went through and closed all the blinds and curtains in the apartment.
By this point, she was completely exhausted. She used the last of her energy to walk up the stairs and take a shower. After quickly washing her hair and body, she got out and realized she had left all her stuff downstairs. Too drained to face the stairs again, she searched through Vaughn’s bathroom drawers until she found a comb she could use. She hung up her towel and looked around Vaughn’s room, realizing she didn’t have any clothes because they were all in the suitcases by the front door.
Not only was she without clothes, she was also unsure of where she should sleep. He never mentioned if she should take his bed. It seemed trivial to worry about since they’d already had sex, and he’d invited her to stay with him, but this was definitely a new experience for her. And once they had gotten to his apartment, there had been an almost uncomfortable awkwardness between them. She’d thought he wanted to touch her a few times, but he hadn’t, except to hold her hand while he’d shown her around.
It was becoming apparent that they were two strangers now required to live together.
However, the bed looked big and comfortable, and her fatigue outranked her worry. She’d have more time to think after getting some rest, so she climbed in, sans clothing, and buried herself underneath the sheet and comforter. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Several hours later, she awoke from a deep sleep, forgetting where she was and only realizing she wasn’t in her bedroom at her parents’ house. Lying on her side with her eyes closed, she noticed a heavy weight across her middle, warmth against her back, and a loud rumble coming from the back of her. She took a deep breath, smelling cloves and man.
Vaughn.
The night before came back to her, and she opened her eyes. She realized the noise was coming from him. Was he…purring? She lifted the covers and saw the heavy weight she felt was Vaughn’s arm, which was connected to the big, naked male behind her that explained the warmth.
She tried to peek over her shoulder at him, but she couldn’t see from her current position. She slowly rolled over, hoping not to wake him. Her movements caused him to roll onto his back, and his purring stopped. She paused, but he didn’t wake up, so she took the opportunity to really study him.
His thick black hair fanned out on the pillow. She liked that it was a little longer around his ears. All the vampires she knew wore clean, short haircuts. Vaughn’s hair was slightly wild, like him. With his eyes closed, she could see he had been blessed with long eyelashes that framed the gorgeous cobalt eyes she knew. She briefly wondered if their babies would have his sapphire eyes or her amethyst ones. Either way, they would be beautiful.
She yearned to touch him, but she didn’t want to wake him. His breathing continued to be slow and relaxed, so she gave in to the temptation. She lightly traced his eyebrows and then went down his nose and over to his full lips. She moved on to his almost hairless muscular chest and then proceeded lower to his washboard stomach. She hadn’t seen him fully naked for three months, and she’d forgotten how striking and toned he was. She paused to see if he was still sleeping before she gently lifted the covers.
They’d had sex a few times, but she never really looked at his penis. Even soft, it was big and long, and she wanted to touch that part of him, too. What would he feel like in my hand? What would he taste like? Naya had never performed oral sex before. She never really had any desire to do so until now. Would I even be any good? It was such a silly thing to think about, but she didn’t want him to find her skills lacking.
Biting her lip, she reached out and hesitantly touched him between his legs. Her eyes widened along with his penis. She quickly glanced up again at his face to see if he’d caught her ogling him. He shifted around some but remained asleep, and she released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
She shifted her focus back to his lower body and lightly wrapped her hand around him. He was as thick as her wrist, and she was amazed he could fit inside her. His skin was soft, yet he was hard underneath. She moved her hand just a bit to experiment, and he moaned. He also moved his hips, so she knew he liked it. She did it again, but this time, she used slightly more force.
Without warning, he picked her up, startling her, and she screamed out as he flipped her onto her back. She’d been concentrating so hard that she hadn’t noticed when he’d woken up.
Landing on top of her, he asked, “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to mess with a sleeping cat?”
She slapped her hand over her chest. “You scared me.”
“That’s what happens when you molest someone in his sleep.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t—” She stopped when she spotted the corner of his mouth twitching. She hit him playfully on the arm. “You jerk. Quit messing with me.” She chuckled.
He just laughed as he scooted down her body, and then he sucked her nipple into his mo
uth. Hard. The atmosphere went from playful to sexual in an instant, and she let out a loud moan as she arched her back. He didn’t let go, and he continued to suck while she grabbed his hair in one hand and fisted the sheets in the other. She opened her legs and rubbed herself against him. He released her nipple with a loud pop, and she was sure it would be sore the next day from all the wet friction.
“Goddamn, I love how you respond to me,” he said.
He moved back up her body and intertwined their fingers as he bit down on her neck. Then, he drove himself home, showing her exactly how much he loved it.
FEELING TROUBLED, ARIANNA lay in bed with her thoughts. She sensed the sun setting and knew it was time to get up soon. Tonight, she wished she could either stay in bed or be anywhere but home. She did not want to be the one trapped with her uncle and aunt after last night. Her mind reeled with everything that had transpired, and she did not have the energy to babysit them again. However, she knew Naya had not returned before dawn, leaving her on her own.
Arianna emerged from her bed and stepped into the shower. She needed to prepare for whatever was to come with a clear head. Last night, after the arguing had died down, Arianna had ushered her uncle and aunt to their car, and she had driven everyone home. She did not drive often, and the trip had been especially tense, listening to her aunt’s incoherent rambling and her uncle’s stony silence. She hoped she would not have to relive something like that again.
Arianna realized they were not Naya’s responsibility either, but it would be nice to have support. Still, she did not blame Naya for leaving last night and not coming home.
She considered it terribly careless of Uncle Marek and Aunt Celeste to not tell them about shifters. It would be very difficult for Naya to be an effective queen if she did not know what transpired in her own city.
Arianna had determined vampires and shifters were not friends, but there was peace between the two as long as they stayed on their own sides. The King and Queen had never bothered explaining why the vampires stayed away from Minneapolis. This information could be important if a vampire were to cause a stir in shifter territory.
To top it off, they had not even told Naya she was pregnant until they had been in front of others. It was as if their rational thinking would cease to function when their daughter was concerned. Naya would have been better prepared if they had explained why they took her to the clinic in the first place.
Until last night, Arianna had not realized exactly how much her aunt and uncle still treated them like children. Naya was twenty-eight, and she was twenty-seven. By vampire law, they were considered adults at twenty-five. Her aunt and uncle had obviously thought Naya was old enough to be mated. Therefore, she should be old enough to be told what was happening with her own body?
She might understand Naya’s decision, but she was also disappointed Naya would not answer her calls. After all, Naya was upset with her parents, not Arianna.
Arianna departed the shower, got dressed, and combed her hair. At least she did not have to worry about what her aunt and uncle would think of her wanting to mate with Emerson. The Council would never approve of Emerson and Naya’s betrothal while she was unmated and pregnant by another male. Arianna could barely imagine what would happen when the Council found out the male was a shifter. The Council was very traditional and would not like the royal bloodline tainted with non-vampire blood.
Walking downstairs, Arianna heard the house phone ringing.
Hans answered and seemed distressed, but then he spotted her, and relief flooded his face. “Miss Arianna, it is the Council again. They insist on speaking with a vampire of the house.”
When they returned from the shifters’ home last night, her aunt and uncle had headed straight to their bedroom, and they had not come out since. The Council had called about an hour after they arrived home, and they had demanded to know why they had not heard from the King and Queen upon their return to the United States.
Fredrick Hutton, the head councilman—and a man Arianna did not care for due to his overbearing attitude—made the phone call. Arianna had explained that her aunt and uncle were exhausted from their travels, and they would be in contact the next night. He had tried to intimidate her into giving out more information than she had offered, but she would not put up with an interrogation, so she had repeated herself and said good-bye.
“Where are Aunt Celeste and Uncle Marek?” Arianna now asked Hans.
“They have not come down for the night. They have ordered first dinner to be brought to their room.”
Arianna sighed. She was left with the responsibilities of the house again. “Is it Councilman Hutton on the phone again?”
“No, miss. I believe it is Councilwoman Vanderbilt.”
Momentarily frozen, Arianna was struck with nerves. Councilwoman Glenda Vanderbilt was more intimidating than Fredrick since she was Emerson’s mother. Arianna did not want to get off on the wrong foot with her future mother-in-law. She could influence the Council to not approve their mating.
“Okay, Hans, I will take the call in the sitting room. Please hang up after I answer.”
“Yes, miss.”
She gave herself a mental pep talk as she walked to the phone. If this woman was going to be her family someday, she would need to get used to speaking with her.
Arianna picked up the phone and said, “This is Arianna. How may I help you?”
“Miss Kensington, this is Glenda Vanderbilt.”
“Good evening, Councilwoman.”
“I would like to speak to your uncle or aunt.”
“I am sorry, but they are unavailable at the moment.” Arianna hoped this would be enough to end the conversation.
“But I insist I speak with them. It is very important,” she said crisply.
“Councilwoman, I do sincerely apologize, but they are indisposed and cannot make it to the phone. They are exhausted from their trip. However, I promise I will relay whatever message you have as soon as they are available.”
Arianna heard Councilwoman Vanderbilt huff through the phone.
“Very well. My son has been courting your cousin for many weeks now. I expected the King and Queen to speak to me about announcing a betrothal upon their return, but I have not heard a word, nor has my son heard anything. Is there going to be a mating ceremony soon?”
Anger was not an emotion Arianna experienced much, but she could feel her patience reaching the edge of its limits. The King, Queen, or Princess Naya should be the one to field these phone calls and questions. Arianna was the last person in the house who should be burdened with this.
Yes, she was a princess and part of the royal family, but she was not the queen or the first in line. Now, Naya was pregnant, so she was not even the second in line. Naya’s first born child would inherit the throne after her. Yet, here Arianna was, shouldering the burden.
“I am sorry, Councilwoman, but I do not have a lot of information for you. I think the King and Queen would like to set up a meeting with Emerson tomorrow night. Are you agreeable with this?”
Uncle Marek and Aunt Celeste could not hide in their bedroom forever. Sooner or later, they would have to tell Emerson there would be no betrothal.
“Yes, sounds wonderful. I will send him over at nine o’clock sharp,” the councilwoman said.
“I will let them know, and they will be expecting him. Thank you.”
Councilwoman Vanderbilt hung up without another word. This was fine with Arianna, and she breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the phone call was over. Her reprieve was met with dread a moment later. She had less than twenty-four hours to figure out what to do about tomorrow night and how to convince her uncle and aunt to get out of bed and face the situation head-on.
Lying in bed next to Vaughn, Naya held her eyes closed as her breathing slowly returned to normal. She didn’t know if it was her pregnancy, the knowledge she was pregnant, or a combination of both, but it was as if all her nerve endings were hypersensitive. Her body tingled al
l over from their lovemaking. He had withdrawn from her body, but it was as if she could still feel him inside her.
She opened her eyes to find him resting his head on his elbow, studying her naked body. She reached to pull the covers over herself. She knew her clothes fit tighter, and she had gained weight because of the pregnancy. She felt self-conscious about her changing body.
He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye. “What are you doing?”
As a male, he would never understand what it was like to be a female, but she tried to explain anyway. “My body…it’s not the same. I know we were intimate three weeks ago, but you haven’t really seen me naked since our first night.”
He probably thought she was being a silly female, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want him to find her less attractive.
“I know. I can tell you’re different,” he said as he looked at her body again.
She narrowed her eyes and felt her face flush. He did find her unattractive. She tugged on the sheets again, but he stopped her.
He added, “Your breasts are fuller, and your nipples are darker.”
Oh. Maybe she’d been overreacting. She blamed it on the hormones.
She released the sheets and relaxed. He moved his hand from hers and traced his finger around her areolas.
“And they’re more sensitive”—he smiled—“which I didn’t even think was possible since they had been pretty sensitive before.”
She closed her eyes. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”
He grunted, and she looked at him from beneath her lids.
“You’re insane. It’s fucking awesome. The fact that I can get you off just by sucking on one of these beautiful things?”
And he had earlier. He’d been inside her, unmoving, while lavishing attention on her breasts when, out of nowhere, an orgasm had hit her.
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