“Oh, yeah.” I cleared my throat and did my best not to piss my pants. “Ms. Leanne, I was wondering if I could have your permission to marry your daughter?”
She screamed so loud, Benny and I both winced and covered our ears.
“Mama. Mama. Stop yelling.”
“I’m sorry. Oh my Lord! Yes, Cleo. You have my complete permission. Oh, I’m so happy. I was just telling Benny the other day I was so sad when you two split.” I looked at Benny. She rolled her eyes and nodded again. “You are so welcome to be a part of our family any day, hon. Oh, I’m so happy.”
“Mama, calm down.”
“Thank you, Ms. Leanne. That means a lot to me. Really.”
“Where is Daddy?” Benny asked. I wondered the same thing. I didn’t sense him anywhere in the house. I hadn’t sensed him for a few hours.
“He left during the night in a huff. He’s not speaking to me now, but don’t worry about him. He’s just being a grumper. What I want to know is when’s the wedding? Where are you two planning to live? How can I help?”
“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Benny said. “Mama, what should I do about Paeno?” I looked down at the mark on Benny’s arm. I traced my fingers over the intricate design. Not only was it still there, but it looked like it had gotten a little darker over the course of the night.
“Oh, who cares about your daddy and his demon sister?” Ms. Leanne said. She came over to the bed and touched Benny’s cheek. “I’ll talk to him and you won’t have to worry a bit about Paeno.”
“Are you sure? I know you are happy for us, but Daddy seemed really upset, and I know that Paeno is going to take this tu’lah very seriously.”
“You’re right, but I don’t want you to worry. You and your daddy made a promise that I don’t think was meant to be kept. You and Cleo belong together. I’m not going to let him or Paeno pull you apart. I want you to start thinking about wedding dresses.”
“I think we’ll only be looking for a dress for Benny,” I said.
“Oh, don’t worry, Cleo,” Ms. Leanne said. “Benny’s daddy has the best man for suits. You’ll be looking so sharp. Oh, girls. I’m so happy. What time do you need to get back to school?”
“Two hours ago,” Benny said. She’d already missed one of her classes.
“Eat up and I’ll have Douglas go get your car. Cleo, you’ll ride with her?”
I preferred to drive, but the sun was already up. I didn’t have much of a choice. “Yeah. I’ll shift and go back to the house with you.”
“Great. Oh, you girls.” Ms. Leanne tossed her hands in the air. “So happy!”
Once Miss Leanne left, Benny moved her tray and straddled my legs. I couldn’t help the sudden urge I had to cry. I pulled her closer with my hands on her ass. Benny wiped my face. “I knew she would love you.”
“Thank you for that,” I replied. “I didn’t really think I would want her approval so much, but I did.”
“And you got it.” Benny kissed me again and wiped the last of my tears away.
“How in the hell are you this subdued and that woman is your mama?”
“Yin and yang, baby. Yin and yang.”
*
A couple hours later, Benny and I pulled up to the house. She followed me to Omi’s quarters where I shifted back from my form as a fluffy dog and changed my clothes.
“My next class isn’t until two.” I looked up from tying my boots. Benny had a certain glint in her eye. I definitely could have gone for another round of fucking and feeding, but there was another conversation that needed to be had. I’d left Camila in the lurch big-time.
“Let’s go talk to them and then we’ll find some place to have a little fun.” I grabbed Benny’s hand and led her down the hall.
Camila opened the door to her apartment and glared at me.
“We come in peace. I swear. Please don’t punch me again.”
She let us in, but did me the sweet favor of punching me in the shoulder as I came through the door. She hugged Benny.
They were watching some Shirley Temple movie on TV Land. Ginger didn’t look up from the TV, but she said hey as she let out a yawn, which wasn’t like her at all. Ginger was anal about the amount of sleep she and Camila got. I prayed I wasn’t the reason she’d been skimping on her rest. I flopped down in their armchair and pulled Benny into my lap. She wiggled the way she used to when she was trying to distribute her weight on my thighs. But that was before I could lift a small car with no effort.
“Stop,” I whispered. “You’re fine.”
“Sorry.”
“How are you feeling?” Camila asked her. She slid onto the couch and pulled Ginger’s legs across her lap.
“Fine now, but I had a really close call. Thank you for helping me,” Benny said.
“You know I’d do anything for you and for you, asshole,” Camila replied, nodding to me.
“I said I was sorry.”
“Still angry.” Camila opened her mouth to keep chewing me out, but I held up my hand.
“I know. I fucked up royally. I put her in danger. I put all three of us in the path of Dalhem’s almighty vengeance. I am sorry, but you would have done the same for Ginger, and if I recall correctly, you practically did.”
She did, Ginger whispered into my mind, but of course, Camila heard her too. Her anger faded as Ginger flashed her a huge smile.
“Both of you. Even you, Red.” Camila bent and kissed Ginger on her lips. “You drive me fucking crazy.”
“Really. I had no idea what my bite would do to her, and you know I would never intentionally steal a feeder from you.”
“I know. If it were anyone but Benny I would have happily told Dalhem to kill you. But it seems like you two have really worked things out.”
“Are you guys like a couple now?” Ginger asked with a mocking grin.
“Yes,” Benny said.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” I told Camila. “Well, one of the things. After B graduates, I want to leave the house.”
“What?” Benny and Ginger said at the same time.
“Are you sure?” Benny asked. “I thought you’d at least want to see Skylar and Hollis through to their senior year.”
“No. You and I need to start fresh. I want to keep Andrew, but I think it would be better if I had feeders who were new to us both, didn’t know our history and shit.” It was a compromise for Benny. I had to feed, and I couldn’t help the sexual nature of those feedings, but Benny had been through so much drama in this house, drama I had dragged her through. If we could start over with new humans who knew us as a couple and not two dysfunctional exes who couldn’t seem to get their shit together, it would only help our relationship.
Benny leaned down and kissed me. “I really appreciate that.”
“Aww, you two are so cute. Yay, I’m so happy you made up.”
“Shut up, Ginger.” I chuckled. Then I asked Camila, “So what do you think?”
“Uh, yes. I guess that makes sense. I assume you’ll be joining Dalhem’s nest, unless you have plans to move somewhere else.” I fucking hated my soon-to-be father-in-law, but what Camila suggested made the most sense. I deferred to Benny just to make sure.
“What do you think?”
“That would be the easiest thing to do. Before my meeting with Paeno, I thought he would bind me to one of his demons near home anyway.”
“What were you planning to do?” I asked her. Jesus, I had no idea what her plans for after graduation were.
“There’s always a human liaison who works with the Feds in their ‘paranormal’ department. The man in that position is planning on retiring soon. I was going to take over for him.”
“Do you still want to do that?”
Benny hesitated for a moment. She glanced up at Ginger and Camila, and I could tell she was having a hard time really opening up in front of them, but I wanted her to feel free to speak her mind. They were on our side. After a few more moments, she shook her head. “I wa
nt to focus on us. And…our baby.”
Ginger sprang all the way up then. “Wait! Did I miss something? Are you pregnant? What the hell happened last night?”
“No.” Benny laughed. “I’ve just…” She took a breath and spat it all out. “When Cleo and I were together before, we talked about having a baby after I graduated. I still want that. We still want that.”
“You ready for a kid?” Camila asked me.
“Hell no,” I said honestly. I was terrified I was going to screw the kid up beyond repair. I reached up and smoothed Benny’s hair off her neck. “But I want to try. I think I can figure it out with you.”
“You two are rather adorable. It’s disgusting. Please stop it,” Camila said.
“You going to adopt or are you going to go looking for some sperm? I know a black guy.” Ginger jiggled her eyebrows. Her brother Todd was indeed a very handsome black man. He had married a nice Indian woman named Tejal a couple years ago. But Tejal was a demon, and Ginger had told me Todd was only waiting a few more years before he planned to join her.
“We’ll let you know, but thanks for offering up his gonads for us,” I replied.
“Hey. No problem.” Ginger yawned again.
“Have I been keeping you up?” I asked her.
She shook her head and yawned again. “No. Jill and Sam are.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ginger said, waving me off.
“So this means you’re breaking off your engagement to your aunt?” Camila asked Benny.
“Yeah.” Ginger sat up again. “About that. Isn’t Paeno your aunt? That’s so gross.”
“No. She’s not,” Benny replied.
“I’m joking. She’s right, Red.” Camila snickered. “Abrah was Dalhem’s only blood-bourne sibling. Paeno is no more his sister than Natasha and I are blood related. It’s just a familial term they use.”
“See,” Benny said, nudging my shoulder.
“Whatever. It’s still gross,” I replied before I kissed her again, feeling that lovesickness swirl through me.
“Eww. Stop,” Ginger said.
Much to my disappointment, Benny pulled away. “Excuse me. All the times I had to watch you two make out good-bye. Make out hello. Make out it’s Tuesday.”
“For real, though. You two define get a room. Come here, baby.” I grabbed Benny’s cheeks and playfully shoved my tongue into her mouth.
“Okay. We get it.” Camila chuckled.
“You’re really going to leave?” Ginger asked me.
“Yeah,” I said, unable to mask the sadness in my voice. “I’ll miss you dickheads, but it’s time to go. Plus I think I need to get away from Tokyo for good.”
“Ha. Good luck with that. She’s gonna go postal when you tell her she’s not getting any more—what did she call it that one time?” Ginger asked Camila.
“Your sweet dark chocolate cock.”
I closed my eyes and shuddered. Out of one mess and still left to clean up another. “She’ll have to get over it. But I don’t think she’ll be my biggest problem.”
“You worried about Dalhem?” Ginger asked.
“You should be,” Camila added.
“No, actually.” And I wasn’t. I knew for a fact that Benny had him wrapped around her finger. I’d follow his orders, sometimes, but I wasn’t afraid to tell him what I thought and how I felt for his daughter. If he really wanted to keep us apart, I think dealing with Benny and her mother would be more of a pain in the ass than it was worth. I had other things on my mind. “But that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Do you know anything about Paeno?”
“No. I’ve never met any of Dalhem’s brothers and sisters, save Abrah,” Camila said. “But she orchestrated their escape. She brokered the deal with God. She’s extremely powerful.”
“I was afraid you’d say something like that.” I flopped back in the chair and prayed that Paeno was as forgiving as she was persuasive. Something told me she wouldn’t be. “Do you know anything about the tu’lah?”
“Not much,” Camila replied. “I know of them, but I’m not that old. I wasn’t around for their last exchange.” I wanted to be annoyed with Camila’s lack of knowledge, but it wasn’t her fault that she was nearly the most powerful vampire in this hemisphere and also one of the youngest.
“Natasha and Kina were, though,” Benny said.
“It’s worth a shot.” I shrugged.
“I’m on it.” Ginger closed her eyes and made a show of wiggling her nose. A few moments later Kina and Natasha appeared. Kina was covered to her elbows in paint. Natasha was half-dressed in a loose T-shirt, and she smelled strongly of blood and other bodily fluids.
“Oh sorry.” Ginger, grimaced as she caught sight of what Natasha was wearing and the way she smelled.
“No matter at all, my queen. This feeding was simply recreational.”
“I was painting something for you,” Kina said to Camila. “I’m sure you won’t mind if the paint dries all fucked up.”
“I’ll double your commission,” Camila said.
“What’s up?” Kina took a seat on the other end of the couch and Natasha joined her on the armrest.
“Do you know anything about tu’lahs?” I asked them.
Natasha basically froze. Kina stopped picking the paint out from under her fingernails. “Why?”
“I have been marked for exchange to Dalhem’s sister Paeno.” Benny pulled up the sleeve of her sweater and showed them Paeno’s mark. “But I’m bound to Cleo and I want to keep it that way. We’re gonna get married.”
“Uh. Well…” Kina glanced at Natasha, who cleared her throat and sat forward on the couch.
She cleared her throat again. “Technically, Dalhem has to answer for the tu’lah.”
“But I’ll be honest, Benny. I’ve never heard of a tu’lah being broken. Like ever,” Kina said.
“So what does that mean?” I asked.
“That could mean anything. If you refuse to leave Cleo, then Dalhem will have to give Paeno something or someone she wants even more,” Kina replied. “But there is a chance that Paeno might let you call it off. Just because it hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean it can’t. I guess it just depends on why she wants you in the first place.”
“Well, she wasn’t exactly clear on that. You know how they talk all strange.”
“Yup,” Ginger said.
“She made it sound like she wanted me just because I was linked to Dalhem. The rest of it seemed a little carnal and cryptic.”
“Shit,” I muttered.
“I’ll call Daddy tonight. I want to be with you,” Benny said.
“I know. I won’t let her take you. I promise.” I prayed to God it was a promise I could keep.
*
After our talk with my sister-queens, and a few minutes with my fangs in Benny’s neck and my fingers between her legs, she had to take off and get ready for class. I had no idea what I was going to do about the shitty situation with Paeno. I understood the seriousness of the tu’lah. Dalhem and his demon family didn’t take any pledges lightly, but I refused to believe that Dalhem would just ship Benny off against her wishes. He hated me, but he loved Benny and her mama more than anything. I just had to hope that his anger with me didn’t tear Benny and me apart in some other way.
From what Benny told me, we had three and a half months to figure shit out with Paeno. In the meantime, we had a few more issues to deal with in the house, like shuffling a few of the girls around, and I knew Hollis and Skylar would throw a Class A temper tantrum when I told them I was leaving, but once they were bound to Camila, they’d be fine. I had to talk to Andrew, though.
I called Rodrick.
“Hey, can I use your basement common room?” I asked. Rodrick was two hundred years older than me, wiser and more even-tempered than I could ever wish to be. He was so cool to me, and he always understood when I needed special time with my boy in his house. Rodrick made my relationship with Andrew so much
easier.
“Of course, my sister-queen. I will call Andrew down.”
“Thanks, man.” I hung up the phone and vanished across the street. After I took a seat on one of their couches, I wondered how often Rodrick had them reupholstered. I couldn’t imagine the size of the cum stains after their movie nights. A few minutes later, Andrew came through the open archway with their house dog, Motherfucker, at his feet. The puppy ran over to me and licked my hand.
“He stop shitting on the rug yet?” I patted the couch beside me. Motherfucker thought I was talking to him and jumped up on the cushion. Andrew sat on the arm of the couch instead.
“When the freshmen remember to walk him, yeah. What’s up? We never meet down here.”
“Benny and I are getting married and I think we’re moving to D.C. at the end of the semester,” I said almost in one breath. “And I want you to come with us.”
Andrew blinked, then looked to the side. “Uh, so you’re marrying Benny, but you want to keep me as a feeder?”
“Yes.”
“I’m happy for you. I know how you feel about her, but she hates me.”
“No, she was mad at me. She and I already talked about it. We want you to stay with us. If you want to.”
“We or you? I’m not trying to be a dick, Cleo. She really doesn’t like me. She was really pissed that you were sleeping with a guy.”
“Well, that’s part of it.”
“Right, like I said.”
“See, I didn’t want to do this to you. I have to be a wife to her, ya know, and I…I sound so selfish.”
Andrew just stretched his neck and huffed out a deep breath through his nose. He was really upset.
“Listen. I love you and I just want you to be happy. I want you to do whatever you’re comfortable with, and if you’re not comfortable with being with Benny and me together, I understand.”
“No. You’re my only family. That’s all. I just don’t want to come with you and then Benny decides I can’t even talk to you anymore.”
“That won’t happen. I promise.”
“Can I think about it?” he asked.
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