Forbidden Blood (39 page)

She laughed.
“Fine. I do have an alternative agenda—besides meeting Naya, that is. But you know I’m not out to get you or anything.” She stuck out her bottom lip. “I’m kind of hurt you would think otherwise.”

He laughed.
“No, you’re not.”

This produced a
, “Vaughn,” from Naya.

“
But you can stay,” he said.

Payton clapped her hands in mock celebration.
“I came over to plead with you to come home and talk to Mom and Dad. They are driving me crazy.”

Vaughn grimaced and sighed.
“How’s Mom?”

“
Having a conniption. She’s afraid you’re never going to let her meet Naya and her grandbabies.”

He scoffed.
“I would never do that. I just needed some time.” He looked at Naya. “We needed some time. This is new for everyone.”

“
I know. But do you think you could tell her yourself?”

Naya grabbed a towel to wipe her hands a
s she turned around. “I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t we arrange a meeting with everyone? Then, we can discuss everything with both sets of parents at the same time. I know they don’t normally spend time around each other, but they’re all going to be grandparents together. Plus, with my parents being the king and queen and your parents the alpha and alphena of Minnesota, it will be good for everyone to see them getting along.”

Vaughn smiled at
Naya. “You just don’t want to meet with your parents by yourself.”

“
Shut up,” she said as she elbowed him.

Payton laughed. It was fun to hear someone tell her big, bad brother
—and future alpha—to shut up. He was a dominant, and there weren’t many who could talk to him like that—besides their parents and herself, but that was only because he allowed it.

“
Okay, let’s do it.” Vaughn turned back to Payton. “Hopefully, we can set it up for a couple of days from now.”

“
Yes,” Payton said, folding her hands together. “Thank you.”

She came around the island and gave her brother a hug
, and he hugged her back.

When they separated, she asked,
“So, when do we eat?”

Vaughn gave her a br
otherly push, and Naya laughed.

“
Where are we going again?” Naya asked Vaughn as they walked hand in hand along Eighth Street on their way to Hennepin Avenue the next night.

“
Only the best restaurant in the world. I thought you deserved a night out before the meeting tomorrow. Fogo de Chao has fifteen cuts of meat, and while it’s kind of expensive, it’s all you can eat. I figured since you’ve been eating more meat lately, especially steak, we should go check it out.”

She smiled up at him.
“You sure love your meat, don’t you?”

“
Baby, I’m a cat.
Obviously
, I love meat.” He grinned.

“
I’ve found myself craving—”

Vaughn stopped them midstride and pulled her against him. His body tensed, and he lost all humor.

She looked around, but she didn’t see anything. “What’s wrong?”

“
Wolf.” He lifted his nose to the air and sniffed.

She tried to get a whiff of what he
’d detected, but she didn’t know what a wolf smelled like, and her senses were nowhere near as developed as his.

He scanned the area.
“This way.” He dragged her into a nearby parking ramp. He led her toward a couple of big SUVs in the corner. He wrenched off his jacket and shirt and handed them to her.

“
What are you doing?”

“
I’m going after him.” He paused with his pants unbuttoned and pointed a finger at her. “You are staying here. I don’t know what the hell a wolf is doing in downtown Minneapolis, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

She
sighed. Did he forget she was a vampire and couldn’t get easily injured? “Vaughn…”

He kicked off his shoes, yanked off his jeans, and tossed them in
to her arms. “Don’t argue with me, Naya.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll be right back.
Stay here
.” He shifted to his cat and disappeared.

Naya frowned and folded his clothes, giving herself something to do while she waited. She pulled out her phone and noted the time. She would give him ten minutes before she went after him. She didn
’t care what Vaughn had said. She wasn’t breakable. Even pregnant, she wasn’t anywhere near as fragile as a human. She wasn’t even that far along. Her belly had just popped out, and she wasn’t very big. She could still protect herself. And what if he got hurt? He’d be out there all alone.

Eight minutes
had passed, and she decided not to wait any longer. “Screw it.”

She held his clothes to her body and made her way out of the parking
garage. She poked her head around the corner just as two humans walked by. Both sent her odd looks, and she pulled herself back inside.

After the humans passed, she stepped out and tried to determine Vaughn
’s location. He’d almost fully blocked the blood bond, and all she could determine was to head left. She turned and met the eyes of a very irritated, large black cat. His ears lay flat against his head, and his teeth were bared.

Uh-oh
.

She lifted her chin in the air, turned around, and sauntered back into the parking garage. She wasn
’t going to let him intimidate her. She was a big girl, and he was not the boss of her. A big head nudged her rear, and she picked up her pace toward the hiding spot where he’d left her.

He glanced around to ensure their privacy before shifting back into a human. He gripped her arms and hauled her against him.
“What the fuck were you doing out there?” His eyes burned with anger.

“
I was looking for you. I waited for a while, but you didn’t come back. I was worried.”

“
You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

She jerked her chin up again.
“Well, so can I.”

“
Naya, you might be stronger than a human, but what would you do when teeth and claws are coming after you? Run? Can you run faster than forty-five miles per hour?”

She lowered her gaze.

“I didn’t think so.”

She looked back at Vaughn as he let go of one of her arms
.

He
dragged his hand through his hair. “And what about the babies, Naya? What if the stress alone caused you to miscarry?”

He didn
’t bother to hide his worry, and she even felt it in her blood. She put her hand on his bare chest while the other hugged his clothes to her body.

“
You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.” She took a deep breath. “I hate being fragile. I’m not used to it.”

He cupped her face.
“Baby, it’s not forever. And you’re not fragile. You’re just more susceptible to things right now. I don’t know why the wolf was here. He might have been harmless, but I can’t take any chances. Even if I had caught up to him, I probably wouldn’t have confronted him alone. I know it’s smarter to go in with a team and backup.”

“
So, you didn’t find him?”

Vaughn grunted and dropped his hands.
“No, he was already gone.”

Naya wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.
“I’m sorry.”

He enfolded her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.
“Please just don’t do that again.”

She smiled.
“I won’t.” She noticed something hard poking her in the belly, and she looked up at him. “Don’t you need to get dressed?”

“
I suppose.” He put his finger under her chin. “But first…” He kissed her.

He tasted marvelous, like wildness and sex. She was glad he was safe, and they
had survived their first real argument. It made her feel good to know he cared, even if most of his concern had been for the babies.

He shifted her body to turn her back to his front, but
he turned her head to keep his mouth on hers. He unbuttoned her jeans, slid his hand inside, and cupped her. She shifted her hips toward his hand, and he groaned against her lips when he felt her wetness there. He separated their lips, pressed her forward until she leaned her chest over the hood of an SUV, and tugged her jeans to her knees.

“
Vaughn?”

He curved his torso over
her back and entered her, his broad head stretching her tender muscles.

“
Shh…I need this.”

She used his clothes as a pillow
while he stroked in and out of her, keeping his upper body wrapped around hers. She should care that they were in public, but once again, all her attention was on him. He slid his fingers between her legs to massage her swollen flesh as he nipped her ear.

“
Come on, baby, give me what I want.”

Loving how big he felt inside her, it only took two more thrusts
for her to do just that. She came apart around him as he emptied himself inside her. Not wanting to literally get caught with their pants down, he withdrew before his barbs receded. She felt the second small orgasm sweep through her body while he pulled her pants up and buttoned them.

She turned to hand Vaughn his clothes, but
she remained propped against the car, her legs not ready to hold her yet. He chuckled at her and quickly dressed himself. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. He used his other hand to cup her head as he kissed her.

“
Thank you,” he said.

She got it now. When he
’d said he needed this, she understood he’d needed to be close to her and feel her alive and well.

“
You’re a dirty, dirty man, forcing me to have sex with you in public,” she teased, not bothering to hide her smile of satisfaction.

He laughed
. “Let’s go. I thought I was hungry before, but now, I’m starving.”

Naya
’s smile teetered, and she blinked. “We’re still going to the restaurant?”

He looked at her like she was crazy.
“Of course. A man’s gotta eat.”