Forbidden Blood (32 page)

F
EELING TROUBLED
, A
RIANNA lay in bed with her thoughts. She sensed the sun setting and knew it was time to get up soon. Tonight, she wished she could either stay in bed or be anywhere but home. She did not want to be the one trapped with her uncle and aunt after last night. Her mind reeled with everything that had transpired, and she did not have the energy to babysit them again. However, she knew Naya had not returned before dawn, leaving her on her own.

Arianna emerged from her bed and stepped into the shower. She needed to prepare for whatever was to come with a clear head. Last night, after the arguing
had died down, Arianna had ushered her uncle and aunt to their car, and she had driven everyone home. She did not drive often, and the trip had been especially tense, listening to her aunt’s incoherent rambling and her uncle’s stony silence. She hoped she would not have to relive something like that again.

Arianna realized they were not Naya
’s responsibility either, but it would be nice to have support. Still, she did not blame Naya for leaving last night and not coming home.

She considered it terribly careless of
Uncle Marek and Aunt Celeste to not tell them about shifters. It would be very difficult for Naya to be an effective queen if she did not know what transpired in her own city.

Arianna had determined vampires and shifters were not friends, but there was peace between the two as long as they stayed on their own sides. The King and Queen
had never bothered explaining why the vampires stayed away from Minneapolis. This information could be important if a vampire were to cause a stir in shifter territory.

To top it off, they
had not even told Naya she was pregnant until they had been in front of others. It was as if their rational thinking would cease to function when their daughter was concerned. Naya would have been better prepared if they had explained why they took her to the clinic in the first place.

U
ntil last night, Arianna had not realized exactly how much her aunt and uncle still treated them like children. Naya was twenty-eight, and she was twenty-seven. By vampire law, they were considered adults at twenty-five. Her aunt and uncle had obviously thought Naya was old enough to be mated. Therefore, she should be old enough to be told what was happening with her own body?

She might understand Naya
’s decision, but she was also disappointed Naya would not answer her calls. After all, Naya was upset with her parents, not Arianna.

Arianna departed the shower,
got dressed, and combed her hair. At least she did not have to worry about what her aunt and uncle would think of her wanting to mate with Emerson. The Council would never approve of Emerson and Naya’s betrothal while she was unmated and pregnant by another male. Arianna could barely imagine what would happen when the Council found out the male was a shifter. The Council was very traditional and would not like the royal bloodline tainted with non-vampire blood.

Walking downstairs,
Arianna heard the house phone ringing.

Hans answered and seemed distressed, but then he spotted her
, and relief flooded his face. “Miss Arianna, it is the Council again. They insist on speaking with a vampire of the house.”

When they returned from the shifters
’ home last night, her aunt and uncle had headed straight to their bedroom, and they had not come out since. The Council had called about an hour after they arrived home, and they had demanded to know why they had not heard from the King and Queen upon their return to the United States.

Fredrick Hutton, the head
councilman—and a man Arianna did not care for due to his overbearing attitude—made the phone call. Arianna had explained that her aunt and uncle were exhausted from their travels, and they would be in contact the next night. He had tried to intimidate her into giving out more information than she had offered, but she would not put up with an interrogation, so she had repeated herself and said good-bye.

“
Where are Aunt Celeste and Uncle Marek?” Arianna now asked Hans.

“
They have not come down for the night. They have ordered first dinner to be brought to their room.”

Arianna sighed. She was left with the responsibilities of the house again.
“Is it Councilman Hutton on the phone again?”

“
No, miss. I believe it is Councilwoman Vanderbilt.”

Momentarily frozen, Arianna was struck with nerves. Councilwoman Glenda Vanderbilt was more intimidating than Fredrick since she was Emerson
’s mother. Arianna did not want to get off on the wrong foot with her future mother-in-law. She could influence the Council to not approve their mating.

“
Okay, Hans, I will take the call in the sitting room. Please hang up after I answer.”

“
Yes, miss.”

She gave herself a mental pep
talk as she walked to the phone. If this woman was going to be her family someday, she would need to get used to speaking with her.

Arianna picked up the phone and said,
“This is Arianna. How may I help you?”

“
Miss Kensington, this is Glenda Vanderbilt.”

“
Good evening, Councilwoman.”

“
I would like to speak to your uncle or aunt.”

“
I am sorry, but they are unavailable at the moment.” Arianna hoped this would be enough to end the conversation.

“
But I insist I speak with them. It is very important,” she said crisply.

“
Councilwoman, I do sincerely apologize, but they are indisposed and cannot make it to the phone. They are exhausted from their trip. However, I promise I will relay whatever message you have as soon as they are available.”

Arianna heard Councilwoman Vanderbilt huff through the phone.

“Very well. My son has been courting your cousin for many weeks now. I expected the King and Queen to speak to me about announcing a betrothal upon their return, but I have not heard a word, nor has my son heard anything. Is there going to be a mating ceremony soon?”

Anger was not an emotion Arianna experienced much, but she could feel her patience reaching the edge of its limits. The King
, Queen, or Princess Naya should be the one to field these phone calls and questions. Arianna was the last person in the house who should be burdened with this.

Yes, she was a princess and part of the royal family, but she was
not the queen or the first in line. Now, Naya was pregnant, so she was not even the second in line. Naya’s first born child would inherit the throne after her. Yet, here Arianna was, shouldering the burden.

“
I am sorry, Councilwoman, but I do not have a lot of information for you. I think the King and Queen would like to set up a meeting with Emerson tomorrow night. Are you agreeable with this?”

Uncle Marek and Aunt Celeste could not hide in their bedroom forever. Sooner or later, they would have to tell Emerson there would be no betrothal.

“Yes, sounds wonderful. I will send him over at nine o’clock sharp,” the councilwoman said.

“
I will let them know, and they will be expecting him. Thank you.”

Councilwoman Vanderbilt hung up without another word. This was fine with Arianna, and she breathed a sigh of relief, grateful
that the phone call was over. Her reprieve was met with dread a moment later. She had less than twenty-four hours to figure out what to do about tomorrow night and how to convince her uncle and aunt to get out of bed and face the situation head-on.

Lying in bed next to Vaughn, Naya held her eyes closed as her breathing slowly returned to normal. She didn
’t know if it was her pregnancy, the knowledge she was pregnant, or a combination of both, but it was as if all her nerve endings were hypersensitive. Her body tingled all over from their lovemaking. He had withdrawn from her body, but it was as if she could still feel him inside her.

She opened her eyes to find him resting his head on his elbow, studying her naked body. She reached to pull the covers over herself. She knew her clothes fit tighter
, and she had gained weight because of the pregnancy. She felt self-conscious about her changing body.

He grabbed her hand and looked her in the eye.
“What are you doing?”

As a male
, he would never understand what it was like to be a female, but she tried to explain anyway. “My body…it’s not the same. I know we were intimate three weeks ago, but you haven’t really seen me naked since our first night.”

He probably thought she was being a silly female, but she couldn
’t help it. She didn’t want him to find her less attractive.

“
I know. I can tell you’re different,” he said as he looked at her body again.

She narrowed her eyes and felt her face flush.
He did find her unattractive. She tugged on the sheets again, but he stopped her.

He
added, “Your breasts are fuller, and your nipples are darker.”

Oh
. Maybe she’d been overreacting. She blamed it on the hormones.

She released the sheet
s and relaxed. He moved his hand from hers and traced his finger around her areolas.

“
And they’re more sensitive”—he smiled—“which I didn’t even think was possible since they had been pretty sensitive before.”

She closed her eyes.
“It’s kind of embarrassing.”

He grunted, and she looked at him from beneath her lids.

“You’re insane. It’s fucking awesome. The fact that I can get you off just by sucking on one of these beautiful things?”

And
he had earlier. He’d been inside her, unmoving, while lavishing attention on her breasts when, out of nowhere, an orgasm had hit her.

“
It’s pretty incredible.”

He smiled at her, and she couldn
’t help but smile back.

He continued his perusal.
“I can see your belly has a small bump, which I know is from the babies. It’s remarkable to think two little beings—part you, part me—are inside there, growing as we speak.” He cupped her belly and lingered there, rubbing her, as he grinned down at his hand.

He looked back at her and moved his hand lower
. His smile dissolved as his eyes filled with heat. “And down here? I can smell your arousal. It’s stronger than before. Not to mention, you are so wet now.” He slipped two fingers inside her with little resistance. “Fuck, you feel incredible,” he said with a groan.

He stroked her until she moaned. He withdrew his fingers and used
the wetness to paint each of her nipples. Then, he leaned over and licked and sucked them clean. She closed her eyes and whimpered. He made her feel so incredibly desired. If he kept it up, she’d soon want him inside her again.

He lifted his head
. “In case you haven’t figured it out, I loved your body before, and I love your body now. And just for future reference, I’m going to love your body when you’re nine months pregnant. Don’t ever hide from me, okay?”

“
Okay.”

He dropped a kiss on her nose
before standing and stretching, not the least bit embarrassed by his nakedness. “Let’s get you something to eat.”