Page 124 of Claim of Blood
“Look at us.” Adam’s lips quirked. “I believe Elisabeth has been expecting this development for some time.”
Elisabeth and Johan were indeed waiting in the morning room when they arrived, coffee steaming from elegant porcelain cups. The knowing smile that spread across Elisabeth’s face when she saw them together made Lander want to turn and walk right back out.
“Well,” Elisabeth said, amusement clear in her voice. “This is cozy.”
Heat crept up Lander’s neck. His mother’s expression cut through his defenses in a way only a parent could manage. Johan merely nodded in greeting, but his eyes tracked the way Adam’s hand rested against Lander’s back, and how Leo leaned slightly into Adam’s side.
“Good morning,” Adam said smoothly, guiding Leo to a seat before settling between him and Lander. The seating arrangement felt deliberate. Adam at the center, connected to them both.
“I trust you slept well?” Adam continued, as if this were any normal morning.
“Quite,” Johan replied, his Norwegian accent thickening slightly as he suppressed a smile. “Though perhaps not as... thoroughly as you three.”
Lander wished the floor would open and swallow him whole.
Two and a half centuries, and he still felt like an embarrassed teenager under that knowing gaze.
“Coffee?” Elisabeth offered, already pouring a cup for Leo.
“Please,” Leo said, accepting the cup eagerly. He seemed remarkably comfortable, considering the circumstances. Lander watched as Leo’s leg pressed against Adam’s under the table, an unconscious seeking of contact that Adam immediately reciprocated.
“You look well-rested,” Elisabeth observed, her eyes on Leo. “More present than yesterday.”
Leo nodded, stirring cream into his coffee. “I am. It’s different with Lander there. I come back faster.”
“Back?” Johan asked, leaning forward with interest.
Leo’s cheeks colored slightly. “When Adam and I... when we’re together, I kind of go somewhere else. In my head. Like drowning in sensation.” He gestured vaguely with his free hand. “Everything gets hazy and distant. My thoughts disappear. But this morning, with Lander there, it was like having an anchor. I could still feel everything, but I stayed more... me.”
“Interesting,” Elisabeth murmured, exchanging a glance with Johan that spoke volumes about their own experiences. “That aligns with what we experienced.”
Lander stared intently at his coffee cup, desperately wishing they could discuss literally anything else. The coffee suddenly seemed fascinating, the swirl of cream creating patterns that demanded his complete attention.
“Can we not talk about sex at the breakfast table? With my parents?” he muttered, knowing full well his plea would be ignored.
“It’s a natural part of the blood compatibility bond,” Johan said, entirely too comfortable with the topic. “Nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“There’s everything to be embarrassed about,” Lander countered, feeling like he was caught in some bizarre nightmare.
Adam’s hand settled on Lander’s thigh under the table, a grounding pressure that did exactly the opposite of grounding him. “Lander provides stability,” Adam said. “For both of us. I don’t feel the overwhelming need to—”
“Consume me?” Leo offered with a wry smile.
“Precisely,” Adam agreed, not looking remotely abashed by the description.
Lander tried not to think about how that hand on his thigh felt like a brand, or how naturally he’d adapted to Adam’s touch in such a short time. The faint marks on his neck seemed to pulse with awareness.
Elisabeth leaned forward, curiosity bright in her eyes. “But you’ve had Lander present before, haven’t you? Why is it different now?”
Silence fell over the table. Adam’s fingers tightened slightly on Lander’s leg, a silent communication he understood instinctively. Truth time.
“Because Adam claimed me,” Lander said finally, the words falling into the quiet like stones into still water.
Both Elisabeth and Johan went completely still. Even their breathing paused—a distinctly vampire reaction that Lander had witnessed countless times but rarely seen in his own parents.
“You... claimed him?” Johan asked carefully, looking directly at Adam.
Adam nodded once, expression calm but watchful. “It wasn’t planned.”
