“What? Why did we come back? Did you forget something?”
He exited the car, came around to open her door, and helped her out. “There’s something I want to take care of inside. I don’t think it should wait, and we have some time before the movie.”
She followed him into the elevator and caught herself eyeing his neck again. She’d done it a few times at the restaurant, too, and she forced her gaze away from him. She looked down at her hands instead, wishing she had stayed in the car while he did what he needed to do.
When they got to their floor, Vaughn grabbed her hand and led her into the apartment. He took her purse and set it on the kitchen counter. He took off his jacket and button-up shirt and hung them over one of the kitchen stools. This had left him in just the T-shirt he’d worn underneath, and with his neck exposed, all she could think about was his blood—the smell and the taste.
Vaughn clasped her hand again, pulled her upstairs, and stripped off their remaining clothes. Vaughn liked sex, so it didn’t surprise her too much that he wanted to take care of his craving before the movie, but it was a little odd that he couldn’t just wait until later. She knew it would be harder to control her hunger when they were close, but still, her anticipation spiked for what was to come. She loved when they were together, and the feel of him inside her made her feel beautiful and desirable.
He sat on the edge of the bed and guided her down until she was straddling him, but he didn’t enter her.
He put his head back to expose his neck as he told her, “Feed, Naya. Take what you need from me.”
She gasped. “How did you know?”
“I can sense your need, baby. Now, feed from me.”
He didn’t have to tell her again. She leaned in and licked his neck before she sank her fangs in. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he offered himself to her or that her pregnancy had created a specific need for his blood or because she hadn’t been able to recall the exact flavor, but he tasted better than she remembered. Vaughn had sat still while she fed, letting her take all she needed, but she could tell he liked it. She couldn’t miss the enormous erection pulsing between her thighs. She felt herself moisten in response, and she rubbed against him as she sucked on his neck.
She finished and licked his wound closed. “Thank you,” she said to him.
“Baby, you don’t ever need to thank me. I am happy to give myself to you and the babies. Next time, tell me when you need to feed. I don’t want you to ever hold back from me. Are we clear?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Now that we’ve satisfied your need, it’s time to focus on mine.” He lifted her hips and impaled her as he let out a loud groan. “Goddamn, you feel good.”
They held each other close, getting lost in one another, and the movie had all but been forgotten.
That part of their relationship was wonderful.
But there was the other part of her that worried he only took care of her because of the babies. She knew he liked her and definitely liked her body, considering he would make love to her multiple times every night. And when he did, he would put all his focus on her. She never felt as if she was simply a willing body or just someone to sate his needs, and he always saw to her pleasure first. Yet, at times, she would wonder if she would be living with him if she weren’t pregnant. His blood running through her had told her almost nothing. She could feel his affection because it was strong in his blood, but she wasn’t sure whom it was for. Was it for her, the babies, or possibly both? And as she’d promised, she wouldn’t pry through their bond.
He would make her laugh and feel attractive and special, and they got along great. However, in the back of her mind, the thought lingered that he never mentioned love or a desire for anything permanent. She’d tried to push it away as being ridiculous because they’d only known each other for three months. They had really only spent time together as a couple in the last two weeks. But it was hard to ignore her worry when she’d fallen in love with him back when she’d thought she would never see him again, and every day since then, she had fallen a little harder.
She was perfectly aware she hadn’t made any mention of her feelings or of them being together for the long-term either. But she was the one who was pregnant and vulnerable already, so she didn’t want to put herself out there more if he didn’t want that. Plus, the last night she had seen him at the club, she’d told him that if it were possible, she would want something more permanent. Now, with her betrothal over, it was possible, and she wanted more. Yet, he hadn’t said anything.
She supposed that if he didn’t, she would have to bring up the idea herself sooner or later, but right now, she was too fearful of rejection. It wouldn’t matter how kind Vaughn would be when he let her down. Besides, it was necessary to take care of other things first before worrying about the status of their relationship.
Arianna continued to call and tell Naya she needed to talk to her parents. Naya had figured her parents put Arianna up to it because her parents had also had Hans phone her to say they demanded she come home. But they hadn’t bothered trying to talk to her themselves. Whenever Arianna had brought up her parents, Naya would make up an excuse to get off the phone.
She knew the Council and Emerson were aware of the courtship ending, but no one knew the reason yet. She knew she couldn’t hide from them forever. In less than six months, there would be two glaringly obvious reasons as to why her parents hadn’t set her up with a suitable male.
She just wasn’t sure if she was ready to face everyone yet. She still felt hurt and angry. The worst part was she knew her parents didn’t think they’d done anything wrong, which had been made more apparent by their lack of communication. Her pregnancy hormones weren’t helping the situation. She was afraid she would cry in front of them, and she didn’t want them to see her as weak. She wanted to be strong and confident when she faced them. They were still her parents, and she would always care for them, but she didn’t want them to take advantage of her emotional state.
On top of that, she also fielded phone calls from Second Chances—Marilyn, in particular. Naya felt incredibly guilty for not going to see Leo and the other animals, and she didn’t know what to do about the job offer yet. Everything was up in the air with her life right now, and she neglected making time to visit. She didn’t want to make the wrong decision about the job, but she knew time would run out, and she’d have to give an answer soon.
One bright spot was that the doctor had been right. Naya’s energy started to pick up, and her appetite improved. She felt embarrassed about her lack of knowledge on cooking, but she’d grown up having meals made for her. Thankfully, Vaughn was an excellent cook, and he took the time to teach her. It was nice to enjoy the food she’d prepared, and she enjoyed learning from him. She turned out to be not too bad of a cook—as long as they focused on preparing the meal. Her sexual appetite had picked up with the second trimester as well.
Tonight, Vaughn was in the middle of showing her how to make lasagna, one of his favorite meals. She always found him attractive when he was in the kitchen. He was unbelievably masculine with his imposing height and impressive muscles and build, so when he would do something as domestic as cooking, her desire for him intensified. She watched as he concentrated on lining up the noodles in the pan.
“Naya?”
“Hmm?”
“Baby, quit looking at me like that, and stop thinking about sex, or we’re going to have to order in again.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
He looked up from the food with passion in his eyes. He wrapped his arm around her, hauled her against him, and rubbed his erection against her. “I can smell you, and you’re making it hard to focus on the food.”
Who cares about another take-out meal when I can have awesome sex with this man?
She gave him a seductive smile, hoping he would kiss her, but she was interrupted when someone knocked on his door.
Whoever was there had better be
important.
PAYTON RAPPED HER knuckles against Vaughn’s apartment door. It was imperative she have a chat with her brother or insist he let her move in. Everyone at home kept talking about what they thought would happen with Vaughn now that Naya was in the picture, and if she had to hear her mother complain one more day about Vaughn leaving home, Payton would throw something—perhaps herself out the window. Taking matters into her own hands, she figured the only way to accomplish anything would be to show up in person, tell her brother to stop being such a jackass, and demand he call his mother before she suffered a heart attack or stroke.
As she waited, she heard laughter behind the door. She knew the woman Vaughn impregnated had pretty much moved in with him, and they were having twins, but she didn’t know much else. Vaughn was secretive about the woman. He hadn’t even shared much with Sawyer or Saxon, his two closest friends. He’d kept up with the Pride business by attending the meetings via phone, but so far, he hadn’t said anything about her, except that things were good.
Vaughn swung open the door, looking irritated and then surprised. “Payton? What are you doing here?”
“Don’t you mean”—she clasped her hands together, Southern belle style—“Payton, my beautiful sister, oh, how I’ve missed you. Won’t you please come in?”
Vaughn scowled at her. The vampire princess Payton had seen at her parents’ house came to the door. She was wearing yoga pants and a fitted T-shirt that rounded over her pregnant belly. She gave Payton a large smile, and she thought maybe she saw fangs peeking out.
“Payton”—she held out her hand—“it’s nice to meet you. I’m Naya.”
Payton smiled back and shook her hand. “Hi, Naya.” She looked at her brother. “It’s nice of you to introduce yourself.”
Vaughn rolled his eyes.
“Won’t you please come in?” Naya asked.
“Thanks.” She pushed past Vaughn and strolled in.
“Would you like to join us for dinner?” Naya asked. “We’re having lasagna.”
Payton swung around, and her brother shot her a look that told her to say no.
So, of course, she said, “Yes, thank you.”
Naya witnessed Vaughn and Payton’s exchange and laughed at the two of them, and Payton immediately knew she was going to like Naya.
Vaughn huffed, shut the front door, and returned to the kitchen. Payton walked over and took a seat at the kitchen island as Naya went to join him. They positioned their backs to her and spoke in hushed tones. Vaughn commented on Payton’s presence and how he wanted her to leave, and Naya dabbed sauce on Vaughn’s nose with her finger, telling him to be nice. Payton held her breath as she watched to see what he would do. He just laughed and wiped it off. Then, he leaned in and kissed Naya rather thoroughly, causing Payton to look away.
Gross.
Payton cleared her throat, and they broke their kiss. Vaughn glared at her over his shoulder, and Payton now understood why Vaughn hadn’t wanted her there. He was protective of Naya. He must really care for Naya, considering his own sister had never seen him this way with any other female.
Vaughn explained the next few steps to Naya, so she could continue cooking, and then he kissed the top of her head. Turning around, he leaned against the counter, put one ankle over the other, and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want? Why are you here?”
Payton straightened and slapped her hand against her chest. “What? Can’t I just come over to visit my wonderful big brother? Maybe I missed you.”
Vaughn dropped his arms and grudgingly smiled. “Brat.”
She laughed. “Fine. I do have an alternative agenda—besides meeting Naya, that is. But you know I’m not out to get you or anything.” She stuck out her bottom lip. “I’m kind of hurt you would think otherwise.”
He laughed. “No, you’re not.”
This produced a, “Vaughn,” from Naya.
“But you can stay,” he said.
Payton clapped her hands in mock celebration. “I came over to plead with you to come home and talk to Mom and Dad. They are driving me crazy.”
Vaughn grimaced and sighed. “How’s Mom?”
“Having a conniption. She’s afraid you’re never going to let her meet Naya and her grandbabies.”
He scoffed. “I would never do that. I just needed some time.” He looked at Naya. “We needed some time. This is new for everyone.”
“I know. But do you think you could tell her yourself?”
Naya grabbed a towel to wipe her hands as she turned around. “I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t we arrange a meeting with everyone? Then, we can discuss everything with both sets of parents at the same time. I know they don’t normally spend time around each other, but they’re all going to be grandparents together. Plus, with my parents being the king and queen and your parents the alpha and alphena of Minnesota, it will be good for everyone to see them getting along.”
Vaughn smiled at Naya. “You just don’t want to meet with your parents by yourself.”
“Shut up,” she said as she elbowed him.
Payton laughed. It was fun to hear someone tell her big, bad brother—and future alpha—to shut up. He was a dominant, and there weren’t many who could talk to him like that—besides their parents and herself, but that was only because he allowed it.
“Okay, let’s do it.” Vaughn turned back to Payton. “Hopefully, we can set it up for a couple of days from now.”
“Yes,” Payton said, folding her hands together. “Thank you.”
She came around the island and gave her brother a hug, and he hugged her back.
When they separated, she asked, “So, when do we eat?”
Vaughn gave her a brotherly push, and Naya laughed.
“Where are we going again?” Naya asked Vaughn as they walked hand in hand along Eighth Street on their way to Hennepin Avenue the next night.
“Only the best restaurant in the world. I thought you deserved a night out before the meeting tomorrow. Fogo de Chao has fifteen cuts of meat, and while it’s kind of expensive, it’s all you can eat. I figured since you’ve been eating more meat lately, especially steak, we should go check it out.”
She smiled up at him. “You sure love your meat, don’t you?”
“Baby, I’m a cat. Obviously, I love meat.” He grinned.
“I’ve found myself craving—”
Vaughn stopped them midstride and pulled her against him. His body tensed, and he lost all humor.
She looked around, but she didn’t see anything. “What’s wrong?”
“Wolf.” He lifted his nose to the air and sniffed.
She tried to get a whiff of what he’d detected, but she didn’t know what a wolf smelled like, and her senses were nowhere near as developed as his.
He scanned the area. “This way.” He dragged her into a nearby parking ramp. He led her toward a couple of big SUVs in the corner. He wrenched off his jacket and shirt and handed them to her.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going after him.” He paused with his pants unbuttoned and pointed a finger at her. “You are staying here. I don’t know what the hell a wolf is doing in downtown Minneapolis, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She sighed. Did he forget she was a vampire and couldn’t get easily injured? “Vaughn…”
He kicked off his shoes, yanked off his jeans, and tossed them into her arms. “Don’t argue with me, Naya.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll be right back. Stay here.” He shifted to his cat and disappeared.
Naya frowned and folded his clothes, giving herself something to do while she waited. She pulled out her phone and noted the time. She would give him ten minutes before she went after him. She didn’t care what Vaughn had said. She wasn’t breakable. Even pregnant, she wasn’t anywhere near as fragile as a human. She wasn’t even that far along. Her belly had just popped out, and she wasn’t very big. She could still protect herself. And what if he got hurt? He’d be
out there all alone.
Eight minutes had passed, and she decided not to wait any longer. “Screw it.”
She held his clothes to her body and made her way out of the parking garage. She poked her head around the corner just as two humans walked by. Both sent her odd looks, and she pulled herself back inside.
After the humans passed, she stepped out and tried to determine Vaughn’s location. He’d almost fully blocked the blood bond, and all she could determine was to head left. She turned and met the eyes of a very irritated, large black cat. His ears lay flat against his head, and his teeth were bared.
Uh-oh.
She lifted her chin in the air, turned around, and sauntered back into the parking garage. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. She was a big girl, and he was not the boss of her. A big head nudged her rear, and she picked up her pace toward the hiding spot where he’d left her.
He glanced around to ensure their privacy before shifting back into a human. He gripped her arms and hauled her against him. “What the fuck were you doing out there?” His eyes burned with anger.
“I was looking for you. I waited for a while, but you didn’t come back. I was worried.”
“You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
She jerked her chin up again. “Well, so can I.”
“Naya, you might be stronger than a human, but what would you do when teeth and claws are coming after you? Run? Can you run faster than forty-five miles per hour?”
She lowered her gaze.
“I didn’t think so.”
She looked back at Vaughn as he let go of one of her arms.
He dragged his hand through his hair. “And what about the babies, Naya? What if the stress alone caused you to miscarry?”
He didn’t bother to hide his worry, and she even felt it in her blood. She put her hand on his bare chest while the other hugged his clothes to her body.
“You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.” She took a deep breath. “I hate being fragile. I’m not used to it.”
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