Page 90 of Claim of Blood
“Several bottles,” Lander muttered, trailing after him with a small hitch in his step that made Adam’s blood hum.
Adam followed last, his gaze fixed on the sway of their shoulders, the uneven gait, the bruises he’d left behind.
They were his.
And the night was still young.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lander
Thefireplace’swarmthwrappedaround Lander like an unwelcome embrace as he pretended to study the flames. The soft cotton of his most casual clothes, jeans and a t-shirt Adam had deliberately selected from the depths of his closet, felt like a constant reminder of just how thoroughly the ancient vampire had upended his world. These were clothes he wore alone, not in company. Without his usual armor of crisp shirts and tailored suits, he felt unmoored. Exposed, in a way that had nothing to do with skin.
Through lowered lashes, he watched Adam lounging against the pool table, bronze forearms bare where he’d rolled up his sleeves, dark eyes tracking Leo’s every movement with quiet, predatory focus.
The sharp crack of billiard balls cut through the parlor as Leo, to Lander’s growing amazement, continued to decimate Adam. For someone who’d witnessed the game’s invention, Adam played with appalling ineptitude. Though perhaps that had more to do with how Leo bent over the table, those borrowed jeans—Adam’s pick—hugging his curves in a way that made even Lander’s mouth go dry.
Lander shifted restlessly, bare feet against the cool hardwood. Leo looked perfectly at home in his casual clothes, padding around like he’d been born to it. But Leo had always been more at ease in simplicity. Lander, by contrast, used his wardrobe like a shield. And now that shield had been deliberately stripped away. Adam’s doing. Another layer of control. Another reminder of what had changed.
The blood-bourbon burned a path down his throat, grounding him as his thoughts spiraled. The tug he felt toward Leo was confusing enough, but Adam? That was a labyrinth he wasn’t ready to navigate. Vampires didn’t feed during sex lightly. It meant something. Intimacy. Bond. Lovers. Claims.
Which they weren’t. Right?
Heat crept up his neck. He’d topped plenty of men—his height and build made him a natural for it. But with Adam... the way those dark eyes had flared when Lander admitted he’d never bottomed, the way the doorframe creaked under Adam’s grip...
Lander fidgeted, body still aching from memory. From how easily he’d submitted. How much he’d wanted to.
No. He shut the thought down hard. This wasn’t real. Just a side effect of blood compatibility or whatever magical nonsense governed their current situation. He wasn’t looking for more than that. Didn’t want it. Didn’t—
The parlor door swung open, interrupting his spiral.
His parents entered, looking entirely too pleased with themselves. The scent of recent sex followed them in like a smug ghost, and Lander immediately tried to bleach the knowledge from his mind.
His mother’s expression shifted from relaxed to shocked to downright delighted in under a second. Before he could move,she crossed the room in a blur and swept him into a hug that compressed several ribs.
“Oh! OH! This is wonderful!” she cried, practically vibrating. Behind her, his father clapped a confused Adam on the shoulder. Leo flinched mid-shot, the cue ball skipping wide as he straightened with flaming cheeks and instinctively drifted closer to Adam.
“Mor, what—” Lander began, but her delighted gasp cut him off.
“The third!” she exclaimed. “Just like when we found Andreas! Oh, he was such a delicious little man. So perfectly small and compact.”
Johan hummed in fond agreement. “We both rather enjoyed his size...”
“NOPE.” Lander clapped his hands over his ears. “We are not discussing your sex life.”
Elisabeth waved him off. “Don’t be such a prude, darling. Andreas was with us nearly two decades before you were conceived.” She turned toward Adam, eyes sparkling. “He was another vampire. Found his match in the most exquisite shifter. They still join us occasionally for the most incredible—”
“MOR. PLEASE.” Lander’s voice broke on the second word. “I’m begging you to stop.”
“Fine,” she said with a sigh, though her expression turned sly. She looked radiant, Lander noticed. Not just pleased—glowing. “I’m just so happy for you, sweetheart. Every third I’ve known eventually found their own blood-compatible match.”
Adam leaned forward slightly, interest flashing in his gaze. “Sit. Explain.”
They settled onto the couches, Adam reaching for Leo with casual certainty. Leo hesitated, eyes flicking to the parlor door as if gauging distance. But after a beat, color rising in his cheeks, he allowed himself to be pulled into Adam’s lap. He curled againstthe vampire’s chest with a quiet sigh that spoke of equal parts resignation and comfort.
Lander’s parents exchanged one of those ancient, wordless looks that only centuries of partnership could produce. Elisabeth’s hand drifted to her stomach—soft, unconscious, familiar. Something about the gesture tugged at Lander’s memory, but he couldn’t place it.
“It’s perfectly fine with us,” Elisabeth said, her tone turning gentle, “if you need Leo more... intimately. We understand.”
