Page 52 of Pucking Vamps

I know that, in theory. The Garlic Pandemic we’ve been trying to contain began around the time my father took his own life.

“Traits carry over. Tendencies. Just like appearance. You are so much like him, and it scares me sometimes.” Her eyes go distant and for the next few moments she seems lost in some memory I am not privy to.

Auntie and my father were best friends, siblings in the truest sense of the word. Some part of me misses both my parents even if I spent so little time with them, but for her it’s different. I can sense the heartbreak any time my father is brought up, the bond and kinship they shared. It’s different to that of a lover and not something I will ever truly understand since I’m an only child, but that’s fine.

“Ah.” She claps her hands, pulling me out of my thoughts. “But I don’t need to worry anymore it would seem. Or bug you to get married.”

I try to reel it in, to contain it and appear unaffected, but the smile breaks out on my face anyway. “You don’t.”

She joins me near the window and squeezes my arm. Tilting her head to the side like a curios dog, she studies my face in an unnerving kind of way that I can’t read. “The way he looks at you and the way you look at him, Leander… It cannot be faked. No matter how good both of you think you might be at fooling those around you.”

Adrenaline snaps to life inside me, my eyes going uncharacteristically wide. “So you knew?”

“Does it matter? It would seem things worked out in the end, did they not?” She folds her arms over her chest, her bracelets dangling. Age doesn’t really matter to us, vampires, but it does make us vain. “Or are you telling me you intend to let him go? To let him return to being a normal human and live his days out until Fate rips him out of yours?”

A growly hiss tears out of me, my fangs protruding as I fist my hand and send it crashing into the wall. I’ve never experienced this before, emotions so strong and deep that my vampiric side wins over. It is scary, but also exciting. Freeing. Right. Because it stems from my soul’s yearning for the one person in this entire world who’s meant to be mine.

Auntie chuckles, but there is only affection behind it despite her conceited grin. “If I was one of your friends, or a product of this century as you are, ‘I told you’ is the exact response I would give you. But I am more mature than that, dear Leander. Now shoo.” She waves me off, still smiling. “You have a flight to catch. And don’t rush things with Hayden or overwhelm him with your particular brand of intense. I swear, you take after your father when it comes to character flaws. Your mother was a sweetheart.” Nodding at something she seems to find funny about it, she strokes the fat emerald stone she keeps on a leather string under her clothes and lets her gaze travel me from head to toe. “But then again, Hayden did strike me as the type that can handle it.”

I wonder about my aunt’s words as I retrace my steps back to the car. My human—my mate—is sleeping with his head against the cool glass of the window, his brows slightly furrowed. What is he dreaming of, to make him look so grumpy?

“Ready to depart, Master Adetu?” the driver asks me from the front. I instructed Montgomery to stay, seeing no reason to deprive him of the remaining fun the ball has to offer.

“Yes. I believe you’ve booked the flights?”

He nods, guiding the car down the paved driveway. “As requested.”

Good. I lean back into the seat and let my body relax now that I’m close to Hayden. His presence soothes any remaining agitation, his even breathing lulling me into a haze that will make the journey go in the blink of an eye. But something is missing, I realize, as a strange pulsating sensation of need sizzles across my skin.

My gaze locks on Hayden’s sleeping form, his chest rising and falling on deep inhales. Extricating his head carefully so I don’t wake him up, I guide it to my shoulder and place it there. I cradle the rest of his body as close to me as it’s physically possible, bliss and contentment flooding me when he mumbles my name in his sleep and tosses an arm possessively over my stomach.

Inhaling his scent that still carries a hint of my own, I close my eyes and enjoy the rightness of falling asleep with my mate in my arms.

Hayden doesn’t truly wake until we arrive at my mansion. It makes for an entertaining experience at the airport, his groggy confusion as to where we are and how we’ve gotten there causing more than a few huffs of laughter. I let him sleep in the car, tucking him against my side again, at least until we stop by a gas station to pick up some food.

He’s ravenous, if a little out of it still, but once the food has settled in, his pretty eyes regain their focus.

“I can’t believe I slept the whole way back! I vaguely remember the awkwardness at the airport, but that’s about it… Why not wake me up?” He stretches, causing the hoodie to ride up and expose the area of delectable skin right above his hips.

My cock gives a twitch as I spy one of the marks I left there, a lovely pink splotch that won’t disappear for a few days. It’s rather obvious, so his teammates will likely see it. Satisfaction rears its head. Good. Hayden is mine. He’s taken, and everyone needs to know it.

“Because you were tired,” I reply, hoisting our suitcase and the wrapped painting from the car’s trunk. I am the cause of it, the reason he passed out from pleasure.

He scrunches his nose, pausing at the door to wait for me to catch up. As I reach him, I can’t help but touch him, running my fingers along the curve of his sharp jaw. He sighs, the exhale betraying how much he enjoys it even before he leans into the contact.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, my voice coming out a little raspy.

His body mostly suppresses a shiver, but it can’t fool me. Gently, I place my hand at the low of his back, then slide it lower, dragging my fingers down his crease until they locate his hole. Rubbing it with just enough pressure so I can feel it through the fabric of his clothes, I lean close and breathe in a lungful of him.

His brilliant eyes cut to my face, the three colors enchanting and vivid under the midday sun. “A little sore and tender.” He licks his lips, leaving them glistering and wet. “And if you carry on doing that, horny too.”

“I’d be happy to help with that”—I press a little harder, just enough so I can sink the tip of my finger past that tight rim of muscles.

He lets out a tiny moan, biting that plump bottom lip. “I don’t think this is a good idea. I need to pack and go.”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he jerks away as if bitten. Something stormy passes over his beautiful face, clouding the hazel of his eyes. The sliver of a smile disappears into a downturn of his lips, his brows slanting. He steps back, panting and clenching his hands into fists.

My world narrows down to him. To the sadness that engulfs his presence, to the despair that bleeds through every pore of his skin.

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