Forbidden Blood (44 page)

Zane threw his phone in his lap.
“You’ve been out for half the night. It’s just after seven already,
and your female is here.”

“
What?” Vaughn jumped up.
What is Naya doing here?

“
Yep. She’s inside with your parents.” Zane had a big smirk on his face, his dark brown eyes full of humor. “You’re in trouble, dude. Naya’s been calling your cell all night. She’s got some big news.”

Vaughn looked down at his phone. It was dead.
“Fuck.”

He walked past Zane to go outside, noticing the sun would be up soon. He made his way through the back door into the large kitchen and informal dining room.

“Naya? Dad? Mom?”

What’
s the big news? Had something happened to the babies? Is Naya okay?

“
We’re in the living room,” his father called out.

Through the living room doorway, he noticed his mother sitting in a chair and his father standing beside her with his hand on her shoulder. They both looked very happy. This was good. They wouldn
’t be smiling if something were wrong.

As he got closer, he saw Naya on the end of the couch. She and his parents
were all facing someone or something on the other end of the couch.

“
Naya, what’s going—” He rounded the corner and saw Max Thompson sitting there. Now, he understood what the big news was. “Max?”

“
Hi ya, Vaughn,” Max said.

The teenager was already over six feet, but
he was still gangly, all arms and legs. Vaughn recognized some of his old clothes hanging on Max’s too-thin frame.

“
Wow. It’s good to see you safe, kid. Where have you been? Does your mom know that you’re okay?”

“
His mother is on her way,” his dad said. “He’s been at an animal shelter in St. Paul this whole time. All the searching we did, we never looked at animal shelters or hospitals. We just checked the human ones. Apparently, Max here was running home from school in his cat form the day he disappeared. He got lost, and some woman found him before he could turn back into a human. She thought he would make a nice pet, and she put her deceased dog’s expensive silver collar on him, which prevented him from shifting. When he escaped from the lady, he unfortunately ran in the wrong direction and ended up outside the animal shelter where Naya volunteers. She’s been helping take care of him all this time, and when she went to the shelter today, she realized he might be a shifter. Then, when she couldn’t get a hold of you, she brought him here.”

They
hadn’t checked the places with animals, never considering Max would be stuck in his cat form. The myth about werewolves and silver had come from shifters. Silver couldn’t burn or kill them, but it would prevent them from shifting into either form. Shifters couldn’t wear any silver necklaces, bracelets, or belts.

Vaughn
was amazed Naya had found Max and felt brave enough to bring the cat to his parents’ house. Vaughn knew Naya was still intimidated by his dad.

“
You should be proud of her, son,” his father added, his smile wide.

It l
ooked like she no longer had to worry. His father was beaming with pleasure.

Vaughn was proud of her. He tried to catch her eye to let her know how he felt, but when their eyes met
, she glared at him.

Ah.
This was what Zane had meant by Vaughn being in trouble.

She looked back at his dad and smiled.
“Thank you. I’m just glad I could help.” She looked at Max as she reached over to give his hand a squeeze. “I sure am going to miss Leo though. He was my favorite animal at the shelter.”

Max grinned.
“She named me Leo since no one knew my name,” he told the room. Looking at Naya with teenage admiration, he said to her, “I’ll miss you, too.”

Vaughn narrowed his eyes. It was obvious the kid had a crush on her.

“But I’m sure we’ll see each other again now that you’re joining the Llewelyn family.”

Naya stiffened
and paled slightly as her smile wavered. “Well, I don’t—”

“
Naya, the sun is going to be up soon,” Vaughn interrupted, wanting to get Naya and Max away from each other.

Vaughn
knew Max was only fifteen, but he didn’t like the way he and Naya were smiling at each other while still holding hands. They were too comfortable with one another. Max might be young, but he was already turning into a man and coming into his cat. Vaughn’s human half knew he wasn’t being rational, but his cat didn’t care, not with Max’s interest in her and her reaction to his statement.

What in the hell
is wrong with joining my family?

Vaughn stepped closer to Naya, ready to take her upstairs, when he smelled Max all over her. He immediately went from irritated to
pissed.

“
I already told Naya she can sleep in your old bedroom for the day,” his mother said. “Would you like me to show her—”

“
Thanks, Mom. I’ve got it from here.” Vaughn grabbed Naya’s hand, yanked her up until they were chest to chest, and gave her a look, telling her not to argue with him.

He spun and pulled her toward the stairs. She tried to tug her hand out of his, but he dragged her behind him
.

S
he quickly turned around to the room. “Thank you for letting me stay here. Good luck with everything, Max.” She pivoted back to him and tried to slow his movements as she hissed, “Let go of me. I can walk by myself.”

He ignored her
, and since he was stronger, he kept walking. He realized she was mad, but his anger trumped hers. Naya and Max’s friendliness toward each other—their familiarity, their touching, and the smell of Max all over her—had made the possessive predator in Vaughn stand up and roar.

Obviously, she needed reminding about whom she belonged to.

Halfway up the stairs, Naya stopped struggling for Vaughn to let go of her hand. She was still fuming and upset that he’d been unavailable all night, and she hadn’t forgiven him yet. It had been their first night away from each other, and already, he hadn’t answered his phone. The worst part was how he acted like he hadn’t done anything wrong. And now, he was angry with her? Maybe she should rethink wanting to be with this male. Being alone wasn’t looking so bad anymore.

She didn’t know what he could be upset about. She felt his irritation
deep inside herself as it vibrated through her blood, and the fact that he actually thought he had a reason to be angry only fueled her rage more.

The top of the stairs led to a big hallway. At one end, Vaughn guided her through a door
in front of him. It was a good-sized bedroom, which included a queen bed with a thick mattress. The room was decorated in greens and blues with trophies on the shelves and posters on the walls. She turned around and gasped.

“
Your eyes,” she said.

They were no longer human
. His sapphire irises encompassed his eyes, leaving no trace of white behind. “They’re…”

“
My cat is close,” was his only explanation. Vaughn shut the door firmly behind them. “Take off your clothes.”

She sputtered.
“What?” She put her hand on her hip and shook her head. “No.” If he thought she would simply obey him, he was in for a shock.

“
Naya, don’t fuck with me right now. I’m serious. Take off your clothes.”

He looked big and scary, but she wasn
’t afraid. He would never hurt her.

She squared her shoulders.
“Why?”

“
Because you smell like him. His scent is all over you, and I don’t like it.”

She scrunched her forehead and wrinkled her nose.
“Who?”

“
Max.”

“
What?” She dropped her hand. “He’s just a kid. Yeah, he rubbed himself on me, but it was when I first got to the shelter tonight and let him out of the kennel. He was a cat at the time, and I didn’t even know what he was yet. I don’t think he meant anything by it.”

Vaughn stepped closer, and she took a step back in response.

“Oh, he knew what he was doing when he rubbed himself all over you. I know he smelled me on you, and I’ll be talking to him later. That little shit might be young, but he’s already shifted, which means he has hormones raging through his body.”

Vaughn had once explained
that shifters started their transformation at around age fifteen. It wouldn’t end until they were in their early twenties and able to reproduce.

“
I saw the way he smiled at you. He likes you. And my cat doesn’t care if he’s fifteen or fifty-one. He doesn’t like smelling another male on you.” Vaughn clenched his teeth and curled his hands into fists. “Now, take off your goddamn clothes.”

“
Fine.”

She removed her sweater and threw it at him. He didn
’t so much as flinch, and it fell to the floor. She gritted her teeth as she continued removing her cami, her jeans, and her socks, but she kept her underwear and bra on.

“
I really think you’re overreacting,” she told him.

He motioned her to continue.
“All of it.”

She hesitated
, and her anger turned to unease. She knew Vaughn didn’t view nudity like she did. He was a shifter, and that meant he was naked a lot, even when in front of others. Shifters couldn’t shift and keep their clothes on, so it didn’t bother him to walk around nude. Although he’d seen her naked plenty of times, it was never when he was mad. It made her uncomfortable even if the anger wasn’t directed at her.

Sensing her unease, he ran his hand down his face.
“Naya, I’m just going to throw everything in the wash.”

She gave in
. She removed the rest of her clothes and handed them over. He set them on the floor by the door. Then, he took her into the attached Jack and Jill bathroom and closed and locked the door to the opposite bedroom. He turned on the shower and made sure the water was warm before urging her to get in. He spun around and left without a word.

Looking around, she noticed a lot of
girlie stuff in the shower. The other bedroom must be Payton’s, and Naya was grateful for the sweet-smelling shampoo, conditioner, and clean-scented body wash.

She
had just begun to lather up her hair when the shower curtain opened, and Vaughn got in. His cat had retreated, and his blue eyes were human again. The shower was average-sized, and with Vaughn inside it with her, it felt tiny. There was no way to be anything other than close to each other. He helped her wash and condition her hair. Then, he used body wash to cleanse her all over.

Soon
, her anger started to melt away, regardless of her attempt to hold on to it. She was never one to stay mad, and the whole shower experience was very sensual as he paid special attention to her neck, nipples, and between her thighs. Surprised he wasn’t trying anything with her since they were both naked, she stood speechless as he washed his hair and body when he was done with her.

While he rinsed his hair, his eyes were closed
, and she took the opportunity to study him. He didn’t seem as mad, but he wasn’t being his normal self either. Looking at his face, she noticed Vaughn hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. He looked extra sexy with his scruffy facial hair, and along with him being naked and wet, his arousal was standing up from his body. She rubbed her thighs together as the last of her anger slowly faded. Now, she wanted to wrap her fingers around him, but not knowing where his head was, she resisted.

Once they were both clean, he shut off the water
and snagged a towel. He dried her off and then himself. Next, he grabbed something from the bathroom drawer. He led her into the bedroom and sat her on the bed. He took a seat behind her and towel-dried her hair before gently combing through it. She loved having someone do her hair, and she felt herself relax.

After he finished, he
picked up the towel and comb and took them back to the bathroom.