Forbidden Blood (38 page)

Vaughn
clasped her hand again, pulled her upstairs, and stripped off their remaining clothes. Vaughn liked sex, so it didn’t surprise her too much that he wanted to take care of his craving before the movie, but it was a little odd that he couldn’t just wait until later. She knew it would be harder to control her hunger when they were close, but still, her anticipation spiked for what was to come. She loved when they were together, and the feel of him inside her made her feel beautiful and desirable.

He sat on the edge of the bed and guided her down until she
was straddling him, but he didn’t enter her.

He put his head back to expose his neck a
s he told her, “Feed, Naya. Take what you need from me.”

She gasped.
“How did you know?”

“
I can sense your need, baby. Now, feed from me.”

He
didn’t have to tell her again. She leaned in and licked his neck before she sank her fangs in. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that he offered himself to her or that her pregnancy had created a specific need for his blood or because she hadn’t been able to recall the exact flavor, but he tasted better than she remembered. Vaughn had sat still while she fed, letting her take all she needed, but she could tell he liked it. She couldn’t miss the enormous erection pulsing between her thighs. She felt herself moisten in response, and she rubbed against him as she sucked on his neck.

She finished and licked his wound closed.
“Thank you,” she said to him.

“
Baby, you don’t ever need to thank me. I am happy to give myself to you and the babies. Next time, tell me when you need to feed. I don’t want you to ever hold back from me. Are we clear?”

She nodded.
“Yes.”

“
Now that we’ve satisfied your need, it’s time to focus on mine.” He lifted her hips and impaled her as he let out a loud groan. “Goddamn, you feel good.”

They held each other close, getting lost in one another,
and the movie had all but been forgotten.

That part of their relationship was wonderful.

But there was the other part
of her that worried he only took care of her because of the babies. She knew he liked her and definitely liked her body, considering he would make love to her multiple times every night. And when he did, he would put all his focus on her. She never felt as if she was simply a willing body or just someone to sate his needs, and he always saw to her pleasure first. Yet, at times, she would wonder if she would be living with him if she weren’t pregnant. His blood running through her had told her almost nothing. She could feel his affection because it was strong in his blood, but she wasn’t sure whom it was for. Was it for her, the babies, or possibly both? And as she’d promised, she wouldn’t pry through their bond.

He
would make her laugh and feel attractive and special, and they got along great. However, in the back of her mind, the thought lingered that he never mentioned love or a desire for anything permanent. She’d tried to push it away as being ridiculous because they’d only known each other for three months. They had really only spent time together as a couple in the last two weeks. But it was hard to ignore her worry when she’d fallen in love with him back when she’d thought she would never see him again, and every day since then, she had fallen a little harder.

She was perfectly aware she hadn
’t made any mention of her feelings or of them being together for the long-term either. But she was the one who was pregnant and vulnerable already, so she didn’t want to put herself out there more if he didn’t want that. Plus, the last night she had seen him at the club, she’d told him that if it were possible, she would want something more permanent. Now, with her betrothal over, it was possible, and she wanted more. Yet, he hadn’t said anything.

She supposed
that if he didn’t, she would have to bring up the idea herself sooner or later, but right now, she was too fearful of rejection. It wouldn’t matter how kind Vaughn would be when he let her down. Besides, it was necessary to take care of other things first before worrying about the status of their relationship.

Arianna continued to call and tell Naya she needed to talk to her parents. Naya
had figured her parents put Arianna up to it because her parents had also had Hans phone her to say they demanded she come home. But they hadn’t bothered trying to talk to her themselves. Whenever Arianna had brought up her parents, Naya would make up an excuse to get off the phone.

She knew the Council and Emerson were aware of the courtship ending, but no one knew the reason yet. She knew she couldn
’t hide from them forever. In less than six months, there would be two glaringly obvious reasons as to why her parents hadn’t set her up with a suitable male.

She just wasn
’t sure if she was ready to face everyone yet. She still felt hurt and angry. The worst part was she
knew
her parents didn’t think they’d done anything wrong, which had been made more apparent by their lack of communication. Her pregnancy hormones weren’t helping the situation. She was afraid she would cry in front of them, and she didn’t want them to see her as weak. She wanted to be strong and confident when she faced them. They were still her parents, and she would always care for them, but she didn’t want them to take advantage of her emotional state.

On top of that
, she also fielded phone calls from Second Chances—Marilyn, in particular. Naya felt incredibly guilty for not going to see Leo and the other animals, and she didn’t know what to do about the job offer yet. Everything was up in the air with her life right now, and she neglected making time to visit. She didn’t want to make the wrong decision about the job, but she knew time would run out, and she’d have to give an answer soon.

One bright spot was that the doctor
had been right. Naya’s energy started to pick up, and her appetite improved. She felt embarrassed about her lack of knowledge on cooking, but she’d grown up having meals made for her. Thankfully, Vaughn was an excellent cook, and he took the time to teach her. It was nice to enjoy the food she’d prepared, and she enjoyed learning from him. She turned out to be not too bad of a cook—as long as they focused on preparing the meal. Her sexual appetite had picked up with the second trimester as well.

Tonight
, Vaughn was in the middle of showing her how to make lasagna, one of his favorite meals. She always found him attractive when he was in the kitchen. He was unbelievably masculine with his imposing height and impressive muscles and build, so when he would do something as domestic as cooking, her desire for him intensified. She watched as he concentrated on lining up the noodles in the pan.

“
Naya?”

“
Hmm?”

“
Baby, quit looking at me like that, and stop thinking about sex, or we’re going to have to order in again.”

“
How do you know what I’m thinking?”

He looked up from the food with passion in his eyes. He wrapped his arm around her, hauled her against him, and rubbed his erection against her.
“I can smell you, and you’re making it hard to focus on the food.”

Who care
s about another take-out meal when I can have awesome sex with this man?

She gave him a seductive smile, hoping he would kiss her, but
she was interrupted when someone knocked on his door.

Whoever was there had better be important.

P
AYTON RAPPED HER knuckles against Vaughn’s apartment door. It was imperative she have a chat with her brother or insist he let her move in. Everyone at home kept talking about what they thought would happen with Vaughn now that Naya was in the picture, and if she had to hear her mother complain one more day about Vaughn leaving home, Payton would throw something—perhaps herself out the window. Taking matters into her own hands, she figured the only way to accomplish anything would be to show up in person, tell her brother to stop being such a jackass, and demand he call his mother before she suffered a heart attack or stroke.

As she waited, she heard laughter behind the door. She knew the woman Vaughn impregnated had pretty much moved in with him
, and they were having twins, but she didn’t know much else. Vaughn was secretive about the woman. He hadn’t even shared much with Sawyer or Saxon, his two closest friends. He’d kept up with the Pride business by attending the meetings via phone, but so far, he hadn’t said anything about her, except that things were good.

Vaughn swung open the door, looking irritated
and then surprised. “Payton? What are you doing here?”

“
Don’t you mean”—she clasped her hands together, Southern belle style—“Payton, my beautiful sister, oh, how I’ve missed you. Won’t you please come in?”

Vaughn scowled at her. The vampire princess Payton had seen at her parents
’ house came to the door. She was wearing yoga pants and a fitted T-shirt that rounded over her pregnant belly. She gave Payton a large smile, and she thought maybe she saw fangs peeking out.

“
Payton”—she held out her hand—“it’s nice to meet you. I’m Naya.”

Payton smiled back and shook her hand.
“Hi, Naya.” She looked at her brother. “It’s nice of
you
to introduce yourself.”

Vaughn rolled his eyes.

“Won’t you please come in?” Naya asked.

“
Thanks.” She pushed past Vaughn and strolled in.

“
Would you like to join us for dinner?” Naya asked. “We’re having lasagna.”

Payton swung around
, and her brother shot her a look that told her to say no.

S
o, of course, she said, “Yes, thank you.”

Naya witnessed Vaughn and Payton
’s exchange and laughed at the two of them, and Payton immediately knew she was going to like Naya.

Vaughn huffed, shut the front door, and returned to
the kitchen. Payton walked over and took a seat at the kitchen island as Naya went to join him. They positioned their backs to her and spoke in hushed tones. Vaughn commented on Payton’s presence and how he wanted her to leave, and Naya dabbed sauce on Vaughn’s nose with her finger, telling him to be nice. Payton held her breath as she watched to see what he would do. He just laughed and wiped it off. Then, he leaned in and kissed Naya rather thoroughly, causing Payton to look away.

Gross
.

Payton cleared her throat, and they broke their kiss. Vaughn
glared at her over his shoulder, and Payton now understood why Vaughn hadn’t wanted her there. He was protective of Naya. He must really care for Naya, considering his own sister had never seen him this way with any other female.

Vaughn explained the next few steps to Naya, so she could continue cooking, and
then he kissed the top of her head. Turning around, he leaned against the counter, put one ankle over the other, and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

Payton straightened
and slapped her hand against her chest. “What? Can’t I just come over to visit my wonderful big brother? Maybe I missed you.”

Vaughn dropped his arms and
grudgingly smiled. “Brat.”