I’d been sitting on the floor in the bathroom attached to my hospital room for two hours. After Jordyn had left to call Carly, Dr. Vieira’s lab tech, Giselle, had brought me a handful of over-the-counter pregnancy tests.
I hugged my knees tighter to my chest, tears flowing like water from a faucet. The atmosphere was cold and sterile, and the air had an alcohol scent to it that was making me sick to my stomach. Oh, wait. That wasn’t it. The pregnancy tests were the reason.
I’m pregnant by a vampire. A fucking vampire.
I rocked back and forth. I wanted my mom so badly. I was willing to dig her up just to yell at her for not telling me about the bloodsuckers on her side then ask for her advice. Oh fuck. I was losing it.
I stared at the blinding-white tile, crying like a damn baby. I hadn’t bawled my eyes out since my dad’s funeral. I tried to make sense of how my life had changed with one stupid decision. If I could rewind back to the day my sisters and I had agreed to the job, I would walk away. I would’ve told Wyman no then joined the police academy. Ha, the police academy. That was a pipe dream.
Knuckles rapped on the door, severing my pity party. “Layla.” Sam’s husky voice made my heart flutter.
What the hell? The man was irritatingly sexy. How can I go from self-pity to butterflies and giddiness over a vampire? “Go away.” My voice was barely a whisper.
“Baby doll, please?” He sounded as desperate and messed up as I was. “You know I can open this door easily.”
I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see me. “Then open it.” I wasn’t ready to stand on wobbly legs or have the room turn like a washing machine on the spin cycle. My brain was rather fuzzy, whether from the impossible pregnancy, my head injury, or Rianne. Argh! I wanted to scream, run, and disappear. I wanted to strangle my dead father, shoot my uncle Jack, kill Noah, knock some sense into Rianne, and disappear again.
The knob turned once. The lock was flimsy, so anyone could open it, even Jordyn. Tears spilled again. I really didn’t want her to leave me, but I couldn’t stand in her way. Hell, if Rianne was happy in her mission to join the family business, I wouldn’t stop her, either. I would, however, cut her off at the knees if she hunted Sam and me.
I was getting ahead of myself. Maybe Rianne regretted what she’d done to Sam and that was why she’d taken off. Or she’s scared.
Meanwhile, I was stuck with a vampire.
Stop whining and rise up like the woman your parents raised you to be—tough, confident, determined. Take no prisoners. You can handle anything. Famous words from my mom to her daughters.
I wasn’t sure I could handle a child who would eventually become a vampire.
The popping sound severed my thoughts when Sam tore the doorknob off. He swaggered in like an ethereal being, six plus feet of sexiness on a damn stick. Shut the fuck up, brain. Get your mind out of the gutter.
That crooked grin of his along with his forest-green eyes, which seemed darker in the light of the bathroom, sent waves of heat to my belly. Who was I kidding? My lady parts were drooling to have him inside me.
Shut the hell up, brain! I’m supposed to be mad at him. He did this to me. A crazy laugh thundered in my head. It takes two, darling.
He swept his gaze over the sea of boxes surrounding me.
Sam picked up one pregnancy stick. “Mm.” Then he examined another.
My arms were numb from hugging my knees to my chest. “They’re all positive.”
“I see that.” He joined me on the floor and kicked out his muscular jean-clad legs. He seemed out of place in the small bathroom.
Silence ensued as we each fixated on something ahead of us, which for me was the toilet paper. I smiled as a memory surfaced of when my sisters and I were just barely teenagers with rebellious streaks.
“Come on, Lay,” Rianne whined. “I want to TP her house. She’s such a bitch.”
“Yeah,” Jordyn had chimed in. “It will be fun. And I don’t like Kari, either. She stuck a dead rat in Taylor’s locker.”
I would have given anything to go back to happier days when life was simpler than it had become. A tear slid down my face. I hated that Sam was witnessing a weaker side of me. But the tears wouldn’t stop. “Jordyn is heading to Chicago for a job interview, Rianne hates me, and I want my mom.” I sounded so pitiful. I had no idea why I was telling him all that.
“I wish I would’ve known my mom.”
The pain in his voice made my own heart hurt, but underneath that—shock. The vampire had feelings, strong ones, for his mom. Not that Sam hadn’t given me glimpses of a softer and caring side of him. He’d all but begged me not to return to Montana. He’d shown up to protect me for fear that Roman would kidnap me. He’d texted me nonstop and tried to check on me. He would die for his sister. He didn’t just talk a big game. His actions definitely showed who he was, despite whatever stupid shit that came out of his mouth.
His hand slid over to settle on my thigh. I had yet to take a shower. I was still in an ugly hospital gown. Blood was caked in my hair. I probably smelled like a dead cat, and I needed a pedicure.
He rubbed a path up and down my leg. “Want me to take a shower with you?”
I snorted, and spit sprayed out. “Are you in my head?” Surely, he couldn’t read my mind. That wasn’t his specialty. “And how can you think about sex?”
“Who said anything about sex?” He sounded appalled that I would say such a thing.
My eyes widened at his profile—sharp jaw, patrician nose, and a five-o’clock shadow that was more than a shadow. My hand was on the move before my brain caught up with my actions. As soon as I touched his face, he leaned in and moaned.
Oh, for all that was holy. The man—the vampire—would be my undoing.
I traded his jaw for the hand he had on my leg. I interlaced my fingers with his, and minutes ticked by as a calming silence hung over us. As much as I had no idea what tomorrow or the next nine months would bring, I knew one thing—I would forever be tied to Sam, and at that moment, I was beginning to realize that might not be so bad. He was protective. He loved hard, at least according to Harley. Oh my. When the strawberry blonde found out I was pregnant, she would be giddy.
“How’s Harley?” I asked.
He whipped his gaze at me. “We’re pregnant, and you want to talk about Webb’s assistant?”
“Let’s get one thing straight, vampire. I’m pregnant. Not you.” Just articulating that out loud made me shiver. “She’s my friend. Friends ask about each other.”
Before I could take a breath, he lifted me up onto his lap as though I was light as a feather. He curled my hair behind my ear before his calloused fingers danced down my neck to settle on my carotid artery.
“Are you hungry?” Normally, his eyes changed from green to silver when hunger struck or his emotions changed. But he was still in human form, no fangs or anything.
“I want to taste you.” He traded my neck for my inner thigh and circled a spot he wanted to sink his fangs into. “But here.” Then his fingers lightly brushed my clit. “And here.”
I quivered as lust consumed me then I flattened my palms on his face. “Why am I drawn to you?”
He propped his head against the wall, grinning. “You tell me.” I thought he would answer with some snarky remark about his blood or being a god among gods, but his tone had a curious lilt to it.
I brushed my fingers over his lips. “I like these on me. Your eyes are mesmerizing, especially when they change colors.” I shifted my gaze back and forth, studying him and thinking.
He smirked, and his dimples emerged.
I gently poked my finger into one of them. “It’s these babies. And I’m a sucker for asshole men.”
He cupped my breasts. “You say the sweetest things. So you’re only attracted to me for my dimples and asshole ways?” He fake pouted. “Not my dick?”
I sucked my bottom lip in between my teeth as I grabbed his cock through the fabric of his jeans. “Maybe.”
“Careful, baby doll. I have no problem fucking you right here.”
“Tease,” I returned.
In a flash, he was on his feet with me in his arms. Then he set me on the small counter to the right of the sink. “Not much to take off.” He lifted my hospital gown.
I swatted at him. “I haven’t had a shower.”
He snarled, raising an eyebrow. “You’re assuming I’m about to eat you.”
It was my turn to pout. “You’re not?”
He chuckled as his fangs lowered.
My stomach dipped as butterflies flapped their wings, and I opened my legs like a puppy who wanted her belly rubbed.
He leaned in and licked a path from my collarbone to my ear. “Tell me what you want, Layla. Tell me you want me as badly as I want you.”
I gripped his silky hair then guided his head down to my breasts, where he tugged a nipple with his teeth. Damn hospital gown was in the way.
I whimpered. “We shouldn’t do this here.” With the exception of Jordyn and me, I would guess that everyone in the building was a vampire, which meant sharp hearing.
He ignored me as he kissed his way down to my inner thigh.
I opened my legs as wide as I could.
Then Jordyn called my name, and Sam froze.
I sighed. “I’ll be right out.”
The door was ajar since Sam had torn the knob off. Jordyn peeked in. “Oh. Never mind. I’ll wait out here.”
Obviously flustered and with beads of sweat on his brow, Sam straightened. “You and I are leaving town for a couple of days.” He eyed the door. “Alone.”
I opened my mouth to speak, ready to tell him he couldn’t order me around, when he snarled at me.
I flipped him off. “You don’t own me, vampire.”
A slow wolfish grin emerged on his face as he brushed his lips over mine. “How many times do I have to tell you? You’re mine, Layla.” Then he rubbed my stomach in gentle strokes. “Baby or not. You. Are. Mine.” He emphasized each word in his last statement.
Delicious shivers racked my body at the huskiness in his voice and the conviction in his tone.
We locked eyes. The sounds around me diminished as a dull noise pounded in my ears. I swallowed what felt like a ball of fur, searching for some snarky retort that I couldn’t find. So I bit his lip, drawing blood.
He chuckled. “You and I are going to have a great time in Maine.”
I stuck out my chin, staring at the blood. “Not happening. I’m going with Jordyn. She needs me with her.” Liar.
He didn’t bat an eye. Instead, he palmed the back of my head as he leaned and brushed his mouth over my ear. “Stop fighting what you’re feeling. Your lust is gripping my balls. Your desire is off the charts, and your heartbeat is racing with excitement at the thought of you and me alone. Do whatever you need to do today, but come morning, your sweet, gorgeous ass will be in my Jeep… with me.” After a hard and fast kiss that took my breath away, he left, melting me into a pile of mush.
I adjusted my gown and closed my legs as Jordyn came in, brown eyes bright and appearing less downtrodden than earlier. “See, he loves you. You two make a great pair.”
The need to flip her off was strong, but the banter of love that Sam and I had was rather fun. The next nine months would certainly be a test of patience and every other emotion. We would either kill each other or fight to protect one another. For the time being, I guessed it wouldn’t hurt to have some alone time with him. Just the thought of screwing his brains out had me hot all over. Regardless, we did need to be on the same page with the baby. And a getaway to sleep and think sounded like heaven.
Jordyn eyed the boxes that littered the floor. “Are you a believer now?” She picked up one and then another. “Yep, you’re definitely preggo.” She tossed them in the trash then sat on the lid of the toilet seat. “I talked to Carly. I fly out in the morning. I also talked to Webb. He’s agreed to have Conrad meet me at the airport in Chicago. He’ll be my bodyguard.”
“That’s great news,” I said, trying to inject as much sisterly excitement as I could into my words, when in truth, my brain was concentrating on the baby and how in the heck I’d been cursed with Vel-negative blood.
“I heard something interesting before I came in here. Jo was talking to Dr. Vieira about women who have gotten knocked up by vampires. He asked her to check out the archives at the library they have here in Boston. Maybe they have records on Mom’s family, the Drakes.”
Excitement stirred. “I’ll talk to Jo.” After all, she was studying genetics and hematology, if memory served me correctly.
A small weight fell off my shoulders, making me feel like I had a sense of purpose rather than just being Sam’s baby mama. What continued to nag at the deep recesses of my being was not knowing what Rianne and the Aberdeen clan were up to.
“Jordyn, please. You cannot say anything about the baby to anyone.”
She huffed. “You told me that already. I won’t.”
There was no question in my mind that if the Aberdeens learned about the pregnancy, a war would erupt.