Jagger (Blood Brothers) (6 page)

Chapter Six

“It’s okay, Uncle Marco. I’ll let Camryn know what’s happened as soon as she arrives,” Jagger assured the older vampire.

GianMarco who was understandably distracted merely nodded as he ran around the house making sure everything was in order. Maggie seemed to be handling the situation much better. “Baby, calm down. Everything will be fine. This isn’t my first time having a baby. There’s nothing to be nervous about,” she assured her husband.

Niccolo patted Maggie on the shoulder. “You must indulge my brother in his panic; after all, he hasn’t been a father for many centuries. Besides, this is your first child together so naturally this will be a very special event for the both of you.”

Maggie sighed. “I understand but if we don’t get out of here soon, I’ll end up having the baby right here in the living room since we have an hour’s drive ahead of us. I doubt everyone wants to see that spectacle. And, I think GianMarco is too much of a wreck to drive us to the hospital.”

“Which is why Sasha and I will come with you two,” Niccolo said.

Finally, GianMarco slowed down and moved to his wife’s side. “You’re right, Maggie but as my brother pointed out, I don’t want anything to go wrong. When my son was born, we didn’t have the modern conveniences of today so I’m sure everything will go off without a hitch.”

Maggie rubbed her protruding belly with a smile. “Of course it will. Besides, I’m a vampire now. I’ll heal pretty quickly as you’ve already pointed out.”

GianMarco nodded. “You will, but I also told you, you’d lose a lot of blood. You’ll be weak for at least a couple days.”

“I still don’t see why I can’t have the baby at home. I’ll be just fine.”

“Because this particular hospital caters to our kind and I want you to have as stress-free an experience as possible.”

“Well, now that you two have that settled, I think we should go,” Niccolo ushered them toward the door. “Go ahead and I’ll be out in a minute.” Once the others left the house, Niccolo turned to face his son. His expression was serious and Jagger wasn’t sure if he’d like what his father had to say.

“I won’t ask you if you’ll be alright alone because I know you will. You mother has placed wards on the house so no one uninvited can get in. And there are Underground agents around who will be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.”

“I know, Papa. You forget I’m an adult and capable of taking care of myself.”

Niccolo nodded. “Of course, but we’re not dealing with ordinary circumstances here. There has already been an attack on Maggie and GianMarco by a couple of rogues so we have to be extra careful.”

“I get that but I get the distinct impression my security isn’t the topic you wanted to discuss.”

“You’re right, it isn’t. From what I gathered, Camryn will arrive shortly. I know the temptation is great but you must tread lightly.”

Jagger frowned at the implication of Niccolo’s words. “Do you think I would take her by force?”

“Of course not I—”

“Because trust me, anything that happens between me and Camryn will be consensual.”

Niccolo raised a brow. “You sound certain.”

“Because I am.”

“Did something physical happen when you went to Atlanta?”

Seeing no need to lie to his father, Jagger nodded. “Yes.”

His father gave him a long assessing stare before commenting. “That would explain it then.”

“Explain what?”

“When you came to L.A. a few weeks ago, your symptoms seemed to indicate you were on the verge of
la morte dolci
, but when you returned from Atlanta you seemed fine. Did you two consummate this thing you have? Completely, I mean?”

“Not completely, no. Does it make a difference?”

“Yes. Your symptoms will eventually return until it happens. So getting back to my original statement, tread lightly. I know you may want her badly but this is a delicate situation. Promise me, you will keep your hands to yourself until she gives you her absolute consent.”

“Papa, I would never—”

Niccolo clutched Jagger’s wrist. “Promise me.”

“Okay. I promise.”

“Good. We’ll be in touch when the baby arrives.”

“Of course.”

Once Jagger was alone, he let out a long sigh of relief. The beginning of this visit wasn’t quite turning out how he thought it would. Chaos had reigned in the household when he and his parents had arrived. They’d been greeted by his frantic uncle and exasperated aunt. Though they’d expected the baby to arrive within a few days, no one thought it would be tonight. But, it was as if some divine intervention had occurred in his favor for this to happen the way it did. He’d be alone with Camryn and he could finally explain to her what he’d meant to in Atlanta.

During his entire plane ride here, he’d thought about little else but seeing her again. He remembered how she’d felt in his harms, how she’d screamed his name and how she’d tasted. His cock jumped to attention as he remembered how beautiful she’d looked beneath him. It was gratifying to know she was not as adverse to him as she pretended and Jagger was determined to get her to admit that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

Jagger glanced impatiently at his watch wondering where the hell she was. It was nearly midnight. He could have sworn Maggie had told him Camryn would be here by now. He hoped she hadn’t changed her mind and decided not to show up because of him. At that very moment, the loud clanging of an engine drew closer to the house. Hurrying to look out the window, Jagger could just make out the driver behind the wheel. His heart pounded in anticipation of seeing her face again.

His prick was so stiff, it strained against his pants, threatening to split them open. He had to relax and appear as non-threatening as possible. Despite what had happened in her apartment, he wasn’t foolish enough to assume she’d simply fall into his arms just because he wanted her to. It was helpful that his symptoms for the onset of
la morte dolci
had abated some but not much. Unbeknownst to his father, it wasn’t that his symptoms had gone away completely, he was just able to handle them better. But Jagger wasn’t sure for how much longer.

He glanced out the window and was appalled that she’d driven her wreck of a car such a significant distance. It was fine for local driving, he supposed, but not from Georgia to Virginia. He made a mental note to find her a safer form of transportation. He shook his head in disgust as he watched the death trap sputter up the driveway louder than he remembered. Jagger desperately wanted to go outside and greet her but he decided his best course of action would be to let her come to him, despite wanting nothing more than to yank her out of the car and fuck her right on the ground until nothing else in the world mattered.

The car finally came to a halt, but not before releasing a menacing pop. He paced the floor waiting for her. It seemed like an hour to Jagger while he waited for her to get out of the car and reach the front door, although he knew it had to be only a couple of minutes. His heart pounded faster than ever at the sound of the doorbell. Taking a deep breath, Jagger opened the door.

Camryn took a step backward and shook her head. “No. Not you. Not tonight.” Her jaw practically fell to the ground and her dark eyes widened to the size of saucers.

“Welcome, Camryn. I’m glad to see you’ve arrived safely, although I’m sure your car has seen better days.” He moved back enough to let her by, but not enough that she could avoid brushing against him.

If possible, Camryn was even prettier than he remembered her being from their last encounter; her smooth mahogany skin was free of makeup except for a light coat of gloss on her curvy lips that smelled like strawberries. He steeled himself to not pounce and taste the sweetness of her mouth until it was bare. Unlike the last time, her hair was loose and big, like a dark fluffy cloud framing her beautiful face and resting on her shoulders. He barely managed to stop himself for reaching out and running his fingers through it.

He allowed his gaze to drift over her body and admired the way her tight yellow t-shirt hugged her breasts and skimmed her slender waist and how her jeans accentuated the curve of her hips. Though she was facing in, he could only imagine what her ass looked like in those jeans, which were begging to be torn off. Camryn had a magnificent ass. It was only after meeting Camryn, did Jagger finally understand why so many rappers paid homage to women’s asses in their song lyrics. Many a night he’d lain in bed with his fist wrapped around his cock as he imagined riding her plump bottom.

“Are you finished?” she questioned with raised brows.

“Huh?” Jagger hadn’t realized he’d been staring but he wasn’t ashamed of showing how much he desired her.

“Are you finished staring at me? Or should I turn around so you can stare at my butt?”

Jagger grinned. “Now that you mention it…”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s called sarcasm. Where is Mom and why did you answer the door?”

“And hello to you, too, beautiful.”

“Please don’t start.”

“Start what? I was simply being polite. Do you have any bags I can bring into the house for you?”

“Don’t worry about them. I can get them later.”

“I insist. Why do any extra lifting if you don’t need to. Give me your keys.”

For a moment, she looked as if she’d refuse but finally relented. Camryn dropped the keys into his hand. Jagger headed outside, to get her belongings and used the time to get himself under control. Just being in her presence had him so hard, he wasn’t sure how he’d make it through these next weeks without slamming her against a wall and taking her hard and fast.

Jagger gave himself a few extra minutes before heading back inside. He placed the bags by the door. Camryn paced the floor looking none too pleased.

“You seem anxious. Are you worried I might bite or that you’ll like it?” He grinned.

“Jagger, we’ve discussed this already. Nothing is going to happen between us. What happened before was a mistake that won’t be repeated.”

“You call it a mistake, Camryn, but I think it was meant to be whether you care to admit it or not.” He stepped closer until they were practically touching.

“Please, don’t,” she whispered.

“Don’t what? Tell you the truth? That what happened actually meant something to me and I think it meant something to you, too?”

She shook her head and took several steps back. “People have meaningless sex all the time. Don’t think make more of it than it actually was.”

“There was nothing meaningless about what happened between us. You might deny it now, but need I remind you, how you screamed my name or how wet your pussy got? You can lie to yourself if you want, Camryn, but don’t lie to me.”

She looked around, anxiety seeming to take over. “Where is everyone?”

Jagger realized her abrupt change of subject was a tactic to distract him which he would allow, for now. He gestured to the sofa. “You should probably have a seat first.”

“I won’t sit down until you tell me what’s going on. Where’s Mom? Is she okay? Oh, no! Mom is okay, isn’t she?”

“Your mother is fine. I suspect that in a few hours she’ll be more than okay. Uncle Marco, on the other hand, I’m not so sure. He’s the one in need of help, I should imagine.”

Confusion washed over her face before comprehension dawned. Her voice was no more than a whisper. “The baby?”

He nodded with a smile. “Very soon your new little brother will be here.”

“What makes you think it’s going to be a boy? It could be a girl as well, in fact, my mother is sure of it.”

Jagger shrugged. “The chances of her having a daughter are slim to none.”

“Why is that? Aren’t there female vampires?”

“Yes, there are, and most of them have been made rather than born.”

“But there have been some who have been born right?”

“Only a handful. For some reason unknown to anyone, the X chromosome isn’t produced but every so often in a vampire’s sperm.”

“Oh.” Her disappointment was clear.

“You really wanted a little sister, didn’t you?”

“I already have a brother, one I love very much, but Mom was so sure about the sex of the baby, I began to believe it, too. I was getting used to the idea. Oh, well, I’ll be just as happy with a little brother. I’m glad for Mom no matter what the sex of the baby is, and for Marc, too, of course.”

“Of course.”

An awkward silence fell between them, the light ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room corner the only sound. Jagger couldn’t tear his gaze away from her beautiful face to save his life. Camryn, on the other hand, made every attempt to look anywhere but in his direction.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, you know.”

She laughed nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Camryn, let’s stop playing foolish games. The chemistry between us is real. What happened in Atlanta only proves it.”

“I thought I made it clear I don’t want to talk about that. It was an aberration on my part. Besides, I’m not completely blind to the fact that you’re a very skilled lover. I’m sure you could wring that response out of a nun.”

“I’m not concerned with anyone else but you.” Jagger sighed with frustration. He could have insisted they talk it out right then but with the impending arrival of the baby, they had phone calls to make. “Okay, Camryn. You win for now. But this conversation is far from over. In the meantime, we need to contact friends and family and notify them of the joyous event which is about to occur. Uncle Marco left his address book and marked the people he wanted me to get in touch with. It’s a pretty big list and I figure we’ll get through it faster if we work together. Do you think we could call a truce for the sake of the family? After all, we will soon have another relative in common.”

Warring emotions flashed within the depths of her eyes. Her gaze finally met his, making Jagger’s heart skip a beat. The incredible heat he hadn’t fully experienced since Atlanta resurfaced. The hot flash tore through his body but he managed to remain calm without alerting her as to what was going on within him.

Jagger licked his now dry lips, taking a step back as much for his sake as hers. The movement must have taken her by surprise because she eyed him with suspicion.

“How can I trust you?”

“You’ll just have to go on faith. I promise not to touch you...unless you want me to.”

“That will never happen.”

Jagger smiled. “If you say so.”

“I do. No funny stuff, okay?”

“How could I try anything when the rest of the family will be here by tomorrow morning?”

“Well...if you realize nothing will ever happen between us, I guess we could call a truce, but don’t get any ideas.”

“You don’t sound like you trust me.”

“With your track record it’s pretty hard to.”

“Well, if you recall, you were also a willing participant.”

Camryn glared at him. “Don’t start.”

“Okay, I’ll behave…to the best of my abilities. Friends?”

She seemed hesitant, probably wondering if she could accept his offer at face value. He, of course, had no intention of simply remaining her friend but friendship was at least a way for him to get himself through the metaphorical door. “I...”

His smile widened. “You want to say yes.”

“Okay but you don’t get to mention what happened at my place again. Okay?”

“Deal.”

“You said that too quickly.”

“Because, I will still have my memories.”

“Jagger…”

“What?” he asked in mock confusion. “You said I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. You never said anything about me thinking about it.”