Page 51 of Pucking Vamps

It’s too much, too intense, too strong, too perfectly overwhelming. My world is no longer just me, it’s Leander too, he’s part of it, a piece that slots right in as we move together and slowly come down off our high.

We rock lazily, chasing after the lingering bliss, his mouth skimming across any part of me it can get to. The kisses are languid, unhurried, full of all the things I want. They lull me, his hands so very gentle as they rub circles across my damp back, as they touch the place where we are still joined.

“This was amazing,” I slur, running my fingers through his hair. I pull on it and tilt his head, claiming his lips in a barely-there ghost of a kiss. In my defense, it’s all I can manage with how boneless I feel. “I just need… a moment… before I can function again.”

He strokes the back of my head, his green eyes lovely and sated. “Shh. Do not worry, Hayden. Sleep. I’ve got you.”

Sleep… does suddenly sound good, my body already half-there. “Okay, but only a few minutes. And then we can go talk to that Viscount and tell him to fuck off because we are madly in love.”

He chuckles. “I believe there is no need. The whole room just witnessed it.”

With the last of my strength, I shoot him a wide grin. Or as wide as I can manage when moving even a single muscle is a feat. “I’m good, aren’t I?”

He kisses my forehead, then each of my eyelids. “No. You are perfect.”

Chapter 20

Leander

I clean Hayden up and change him into the pair of shorts and the hoody I packed for him while he was fretting over my collection of belts and watches back home. A hum has settled into my bones, occasionally sending little zaps of prickling pleasure along the expanse of my skin.

I’ve not felt like this before. So right, like I’ve found a missing part that I hadn’t even known I had lost. Perhaps… I was too harsh on Auntie. Too cynical. Because since Hayden came into my life everything changed.

I don’t even know how or when. It simply did. I had no power to fight it, Fate had its way. My world shifted to have him in it. To want him there.

It wasn’t supposed to happen, our arrangement had an expiration date. But it did and I’m not taking it back.

I scoop Hayden up and carry him to our car, trepidation spreading across me as I leave him there so I can bid an early goodbye to my aunt. We were supposed to stay the night, but I want to take him home. I think he would prefer that. We need to talk.

I run into the painter from earlier, the one I instructed to do a piece for me while Hayden was gobbling up food and drinks. He’s flushed and still excited, his murky green eyes studying me with both curiosity and awe.

“Master Adetu! This was indescribable. I have to say that it’s been centuries since I’ve been so utterly enchanted by a claiming. I hope you and your mate visit us again.” He chuckles, rocking back and forth on his heels. “It would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone shares the sentiment.”

My mate. Giddiness and a tinge of yearning swell in my chest at the recognition. I want to go back to Hayden, to be near him, so I better make this quick.

“I will speak to Hayden about it. If he wishes to, I will make arrangements.” I dip my head in respect at the older vampire. “Now if you will excuse me, I must speak to my aunt before we depart.”

“Ah, do hold up a moment. I have finished the painting.” He scurries into the room he came out of and comes back with a framed painting already wrapped for travel. “The muse was vicious but generous in her blessing today. I do hope you like it.”

“I do not doubt that for a moment, Master Kehler. I will make sure to send an endorsement your way when I am back in the States.”

I exchange a few more words with the other vampire, then make my way to my aunt’s office. My entire being is buzzing with post-sex bliss and the need to return to Hayden.

“Leander!” Auntie beams at me from her leather chair, her eyes curious and fond. “Hayden is truly charming. Look what he got me!” She hands me a magnet with the Tampa Scarecrows crest, looking impossibly thrilled. “It will look so good next to the Eagles one I got when I visited San Francisco.”

When did Hayden manage to do this? I remember mentioning my aunt’s obsession with fridge magnets, but it didn’t cross my mind that he’d actually get her one.

My mouth stretches into a wry smile. Pride balloons inside me. “When did he give it to you?”

“The magnet? Hmm, I think it was when I ran into him at the drinks bar, while you were talking to Meredith.” She chuckles. “Told me to keep it a secret from you so you don’t accuse him of trying to charm me behind your back.”

I prop the painting against the bookshelf overflowing with old tomes and first editions that probably cost as much as the pedigree horse that I got, then cross my arms and lift an eyebrow at her. “Did he manage to?”

Auntie stands up, her graceful face scrunched in an attempt to restrain the goofy expression trying to burst out of her. “You know… I was worried when Montgomery first told me you found someone. And so close to the ball, no less.” She drums her fingers along the oak top of the desk, the claws slightly protruding and thus making a scraping sound. “I thought that perhaps you might try to fool me into believing you’ve found your mate, so I would leave you alone. I do know how opposed you are to the arranged marriages I’ve been trying to push you into.”

Maintaining as neutral an expression as I can, I move over to the ornate windowsill and lean my hip against it, glancing out at the murky garden where candlelit lamps illuminate an eerie path into the pine forest around us. “If you know, then why keep doing it?”

She sighs. “Because I worry, Leander. Losing your father the way we did… You were too young to truly grasp the gravity of it, but it changed things.”

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