Chapter 17
seventeen
BLAIR
Our game quickly became one of my favorite parts of my life. Not because of the sex—though that was incredible—but because it was just fun .
Damian tried to catch me off guard.
I made him hunt me down.
We both walked away from it grinning, every time.
I tried harder to integrate myself into vampire society, as well. We went to the movie nights in the pool every week, and though my sisters were there, I tried to get to know other people too.
My sisters would always be my sisters, and we would always be close, but I wanted to be part of the community too. Not just as Vamp Manor’s Big Mama B , or the siren who was mated to the king. But as myself.
So, I socialized.
The time passed quickly.
I realized it had been an entire month since we made our agreement one morning, while I was sitting at breakfast.
Damian wasn’t there, but he’d texted me about a video meeting he had with some backwoods vampire clan that morning. So I’d known he wasn’t going to make it.
I considered bringing him something to eat, but didn’t want to make things weird.
And what if he’d already asked someone to bring him something?
Then again, it wasn’t weird when he brought me food.
It wouldn’t hurt just to ask if he’d eaten, would it?
I was eyeing my phone when someone dropped into the empty seat beside mine. I glanced over at the man, offering a smile in greeting.
“Hey, Mama B.”
Everyone had started calling me that. It was annoying, in an endearing way. At least they’d dropped the Big part. That bit never felt like a compliment.
“Hi, Colby. I remember asking you to call me Blair.”
He set his arms on the table, leaning closer to me. He seemed to have learned his lesson about putting an arm over my shoulders when we were in the pool, and hadn’t violated my personal space since then. “You haven’t replied to my proposition.”
My forehead creased.
“I don’t think you want that line getting back to her mate,” Izzy drawled from the seat beside mine. She didn’t seem any more comfortable with the vampires than she’d been a month earlier, even though the rest of my sisters had all made friends and settled in.
“Hale knows I’m not after his woman. He’s the one who sent me to talk to her,” Colby clarified. “It’s a pool proposition.”
I raised my eyebrows.
That was the first time Damian had sent someone to me. Especially someone male. Usually, if an important conversation needed to be had, he was the one who would talk to me.
“I sent you a request about using the pool to build some bridges between us and some of the other factions. I’m good friends with a bunch of fae who are suffering through the effects of the eclipse on their land, and water helps them. Because of your magic, and your pool, we’ve got the best water in the city.”
Oh.
Wow.
“I never got a request,” I said.
“Hale’s office said to submit it to your manor number.”
“Manor number?”
“They said they assigned you one.”
I bit my lip. “Even if they did, shouldn’t that be Hale’s decision? Letting fae in seems like something he should decide.”
“They would be vetted for connections with the wolves before our security team would let them through, but it’s never been a problem in the past,” Colby said.
“I’ll figure out what’s going on with the manor number and talk to Hale. Give me a few hours.”
“I’ll check in again tomorrow.”
Something told me he wasn’t going to let it go until I gave him a solid decision. And while I was used to taking a reluctant leadership position where my sisters were concerned, I was absolutely not prepared for it as it applied to Vamp Manor.
He plucked a strawberry off my plate and strode away, saying over his shoulder, “Thanks, Mama B.”
“Don’t call me that,” I called out behind him.
“Your magic’s radiating again. Snack on Hale while you’re up there,” he hollered, loud enough that the entire dining room had to have heard.
One of my sisters snorted, and I ran a hand over the top of my hair, sending a quick text to Damian.
Me
Do I have a manor phone number?
“He’s not letting you starve again, is he?” Avery asked me, slightly concerned.
“No, but we still have that agreement. I’m only drinking from him once a week, and the blood booster injections seem to have made me permanently hungrier.”
“It makes sense that you’d need more food with your magic working overtime to make more blood,” Zora remarked.
“I guess. But I’m reluctant to start a conversation about feeding more when we’ve managed so long without any real fights,” I admitted.
He was still an asshole, but not in a way I couldn’t handle. If he’d been much nicer, I would’ve walked all over him, because I wasn’t exactly someone who could just go with the flow.
“I’d put money on someone telling him what Colby just said, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem much longer,” Zora put in.
My phone buzzed.
Damian
Yes. It’s connected to the tablet that’s been waiting for you on my desk since we sealed our bond
Me
You didn’t tell me there was a tablet
Damian
I was waiting for evidence that you were interested in getting involved
Why did I just get dozens of texts about you being hungry?
Me
Colby
Damian
Colby what?
Me
Yelled about it to the crowd
Damian
So your magic isn’t radiating?
I’m so attracted to you, I can’t tell when it is anymore
I bit my lip and stood up, heading toward one of the doors that led into the kitchen.
Me
It might be
I need to come grab the tablet, and talk to you about Colby’s proposition
Damian
Colby’s what?
I will fucking kill him
Me
It’s a pool proposition
Not a sex one
Just stay in your office. I’ll be there in a minute. Did you already have breakfast?
Damian
No, but I’m not hungry anymore
I’m logging into the security cameras as we speak
Me
I’m rolling my eyes, because there’s nothing sexual about this situation
Damian
Your ass looks good in those jeans
I snorted, putting my phone in my pocket and rolling my eyes at the nearest security camera for good measure.
I made a quick stop in the kitchen. After politely requesting a plate of whatever was cooked and ready at the moment for the king, someone put a tray in my hands, and I headed to the elevator. I’d only been to Damian’s office a few times, and never for more than a few minutes, but I wouldn’t have a problem finding it.
Damian met me at the elevator on the floor of his office, smoothly taking the tray from my hands. “You didn’t need to get me breakfast.”
“You bring me food all the time.”
“I’m your mate.”
“And I’m yours.”
“Well, thank you,” he said, letting me step into his office in front of him. I noticed that a second desk had been set up in the large room, and frowned.
“You’re sharing an office with someone now? Who?”
“You.” He set the food down on “my” desk.
I opened drawers, looking for proof that it wasn’t actually mine, but didn’t find anything. “Why do I need a desk in here?”
“My decorator seems to think you’re going to be involved with running my wing of the Manor. She couldn’t be convinced otherwise. I think Lou’s whispering in her ear. I’ve just been using it as a table.”
He sat down in “my” chair, cutting into his food immediately.
I took his seat, my gaze moving over the mountains and valleys of paperwork. “I’m surprised you guys don’t do everything online.”
“Almost everything is. These are just the things that have to be printed.”
“Like what?”
“Case files I’ve been sent by the neutral territory’s reception desk, formal requests, and documents that have to be signed in person. A lot of them have to do with my nightclubs and other properties.”
I picked up a stack and leafed through it, whistling when I saw all the colored tabs indicating where to sign. It looked like a real estate contract of some kind.
“Your tablet is in the top left drawer,” he said.
I opened it up, finding an expensive device in a glitter-encrusted case.
“It matches you,” he said with a wink.
“Hey, I’m not glittery anymore.”
“Just a little. There’s still some on your side of the bed. I see it on the backs of your thighs and in your hair sometimes.”
“You enjoy that, don’t you?”
His lips curved upward. “Immensely.”
I smiled, opening the cover on the tablet.
The screen lit up, fully-charged and showing a few dozen notifications. Most were calendar requests, but a handful of them were messages.
“How much am I supposed to be in charge of?” I asked him, skimming the messages and requests.
“Just the pool.”
I lifted my gaze to him, raising an eyebrow. “Your vampires wouldn’t have given me a desk in the King’s office if all I was expected to do was run the pool.”
“Historically, a mated leader pair handles everything related to their people together. Equally,” he admitted. “But considering the situation, I don’t expect that from you. You like the businesses you run with your sisters. I can take care of everything on my own.”
“But you did assign me the pool.”
“Technically, my activity planner resigned when she learned why I built a pool instead of a monstrous mini-golf course. My assistants are the ones who assigned you the pool and set up the tablet. Convincing them to take it back and put someone else in charge hasn’t been a priority.”
“The mini-golf course was that important?”
“Not to me.”
I grimaced. “Who else resigned when you mated with me?”
“No one irreplaceable.”
“Damian,” I warned.
“The activity manager, facility manager, and my public relations chairman. Someone else filled the chair, though.”
“Was it Colby?” The requests I’d seen from him about using the pool for the fae had been written formally enough for that to seem plausible.
“Unfortunately.”
I sighed. “You should’ve told me this sooner.”
“I didn’t give you a choice about mating. I wasn’t—and am not—going to force you into a leadership role that you don’t want just because your blood quiets my lust.”
“Do you pay your leaders?”
“Of course.”
“Then asking me to take a job is nothing like forcing me to be your mate. I’ll talk to my sisters about it, but they really don’t need me to run the shops. We only started them because we needed a way to make money, and liked having that independence. I’m sure I can handle running the activities and managing the facility—unless you have someone else doing that already.”
“I’m doing it,” he said grudgingly.
“Would that help ease some of this?” I gestured to the mountain range of paperwork.
“Tremendously. But…”
“But what?”
He drummed his fingers on my desk, his lips pressing in a line and his breakfast momentarily forgotten. “Both of those roles require interacting with my vampires consistently.”
“I thought the goal was for me to get to know people and establish myself here.”
“Of course it is.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“You’re radiating magic.”
I sighed. “I can’t stop that.”
“You can.”
“Not without feeding. And last I checked, you didn’t want me drinking from anyone but you.”
His eyes narrowed. “That will never change.”
“Then our problem has a solution. Agree to drink from me six out of seven days, and I’ll feed from you twice a week. I won’t have to radiate magic anymore, and you won’t have to fight your fangs back every other day like you are now. You know you feel much better with our current schedule than you ever did before.”
“Your blood was made for me. I don’t need as much as I’m already taking,” he said, though I could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe himself completely anymore.
“Your body was made to drink from me. Frequently.”
“Four days a week is frequently.”
“It’s not enough. I can see it in your eyes when you’re hungry now, and you’re hungry every day.”
“I crave you constantly. That doesn’t mean I need to drink from you all the time.”
“Alright,” I said, opening up my messages with the same code I used to get to our room. “What are your assistants’ names?”
“Rachel and Rodger.”
I found their contacts already programmed in, and sent them both a quick message letting them know about the jobs I’d be taking over.
“What are you doing?” He eyed me suspiciously.
“Messaging our assistants. Looks like they’re going to send me the information I need.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Not if you’re radiating magic.”
“Then you’re going to have to change our agreement,” I said bluntly.
“Stubborn little siren,” he growled, rising to his feet.
Though I was significantly shorter than him, I stood too, to even the playing field between us a little. “I’ll wear that title with pride.”
Damian grabbed my hips, his grip a little rougher than usual. “If you want me to drink from you six days a week, I’m going to need a better deal than the one you’re offering. You’re trying to control me, and I’m highly aware of it.”
“I’m not trying to control you, asshole. I’m trying to take care of you,” I bit out. “What do you want?”
His eyes flashed. “I want you feeding on me every time I drink from you.”
I scoffed. “No way. If you want me to feed anywhere near that often, you have to drink from me every single day.”
“I’ll feed six times a week in exchange for feeding you just as often. That’s my offer. You can take it or leave it. But if you meet with anyone about the jobs while radiating magic like this, I will lock you in our room.”
I glared at him, grabbing my tablet off the desk. “Fuck you. I’m not your prisoner.” I strode out of the room, slamming the door behind me as I headed for the elevator.
Just when I’d started to think he wasn’t that much of an asshole, he had to go and do something like that.
Bastard.
I knew my sisters would be working, so I stopped by their rooms to let them know I was going to have to work with the vampires instead of helping them with the shops. None of them seemed surprised or bothered by the news, so at least that went well.
From there, I went up to mine and Damian’s room. I hit the button to prevent the elevator from opening on our floor, and twisted the lock that blocked entry to our room from the staircase.
Then, I abandoned my jeans on the floor and curled up in bed with my tablet. Throwing my anger into the reading, I pulled up the information the assistants had sent me about my jobs. I started with the activities one, because I already had those pool requests.
It was a basic instruction book, so I ended up emailing back and forth with them to figure out how security worked, what was allowed, and what wasn’t.
It was dinner time when I finally felt like I had a small understanding of what I was allowed to schedule and what I should turn down.
The assistants added me to the activity calendar before they quit for the day, so I scrolled through the massive list of requests.
Damian was clearly overwhelmed with all the work he had done, because some of them were more than a month old. They hadn’t been rejected—they just hadn’t been accepted either.
Considering that he had things to do with financial and security impacts, it didn’t surprise me that the activities had been at the bottom of his priority list. That was exactly what he should’ve done.
But it couldn’t be ignored indefinitely.
My eyes blurred by the time I finished going through the list. I had to double-check the existing schedule and the rules I’d scrawled out every time I got to a new request. When I had to turn something down, I made sure to add feedback explaining why it wasn’t allowed or that it overlapped with something else that had been planned first.
I was positive I’d piss some people off in the process, but I’d figure it out as I went. And given who my mate was, I couldn’t see anyone in the Manor having the balls to attack me for rejecting their activity.
It was nearly midnight when Damian tried to unlock the door leading into the stairwell. My lock prevented it from opening more than a fraction of an inch.
He pushed against it a few times, before my phone rang.
I sent it to voicemail.
He called again.
I sent it to voicemail again.
My anger had faded, but I wasn’t letting that bastard in without a sincere and meaningful apology.
He tried to open the door a few more times—then sent me a text.
Damian
Let me in
Me
No.
If you can threaten to lock me in our room, I can damn well lock you out of it.
Damian
I shouldn’t have threatened that
Let me in so we can talk
Me
There’s nothing to talk about.
Damian
Have you eaten dinner?
I hadn’t.
I hadn’t had lunch, either.
I’d been too pissed at him to eat in the middle of the day, and too lost in figuring out one of my new jobs to even think about dinner.
My stomach rumbled, but I ignored it.
Damian
It drives me insane to imagine other vampires lusting after you because of your hunger. I feel like your magic should be mine and mine alone. I should’ve taken a few minutes to calm down instead of arguing with you. I’m sorry.
I blinked down at my phone, reading and then rereading the message.
Damian
Please open the door. I’d like to have a better conversation about it than the one we had earlier. And you do need to eat. I saw on the security cameras that you’ve been up here all day.
After letting out a long breath, I set my tablet down on the bed and padded over to the door, undoing the lock and pulling it open. I still didn’t have any pants on, but between my top and underwear, I was covered enough not to feel like I was showing too much skin.
He'd already seen it all anyway. So many times.
Damian was leaning against the door’s frame, his gorgeous blue eyes dark as they moved up and down my figure like he was making sure I was okay.
“I can’t handle knowing that your magic makes other people want you as desperately as I do,” he said. “I can’t think straight. I’m sorry.”
“Do you think it makes me feel good to know that you’re weaker than you could be? That if there was an attack, someone could die because you’re not at full strength? That you could die? We’ve had enough bullshit around this subject, Damian. A licensed doctor studied your blood to determine how much you need to eat to stay on top of your health, and you refuse to follow her advice.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m fucking terrified of what that will cost me. What it will cost you, too. What if I hurt you? What if I become reliant? What if I get too comfortable and something happens to you?”
“Nothing is going to happen to me. We’re mates, remember?” I stepped closer to him, reaching for the mark on his throat.
My mark.
I dragged my fingertips lightly over the length of it, and he let out a slow breath.
“Fear is a normal part of life, Damian. We can’t predict the future, and we can’t control it either. But there’s no point in hiding from it, or living like the worst is just around the corner. If life goes to shit, we’ll figure it out together.”
“Alright,” he said, his eyes meeting mine again. “I’ll drink from you every day. No extra requirements or exceptions. But I do want you topping off your magic every time I drink from you.”
“That’s fair.”
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly. “And you need to eat three meals a day, too.”
“I usually do, so that’s not a problem.”
He stepped closer, cupping my cheek in his palm and tilting my head back. “I’m going to bring our food upstairs. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No.”
Leaning down, he kissed me lightly. I deepened the kiss, and he pulled me closer. His erection was against my abdomen, but neither of us acted on his clear desire.
When he released me a few minutes later, I was breathing a little faster.
“Don’t run or hide from me tonight, little siren.”
“I won’t.”
He kissed me one more time before he left me in our doorway, striding down the stairs.
I watched him go until he turned the next corner, then stepped back into the room. After hitting the button to unlock the elevator, I went back to bed and slipped into the cocoon of blankets I’d formed earlier.
Eating dinner in bed wasn’t the most sanitary of decisions, but we threw manners to the wind and did exactly that. While we ate, Damian asked me about the schedule I’d been going through, and helped me figure out what to do with a few things I’d been unsure about.
He promised to teach me how to do my other job the next day, and after we set our dishes on the floor next to our bed, he pulled me into his arms and held me close.
Something about the physical contact was exactly what I needed.
I held him tightly, closing my eyes and breathing in his scent. Though I was still wearing nothing but my panties and top, there was nothing sexual about the moment.
It was just nice.
Really nice.
“You smell like peppermint,” Damian murmured into my hair.
“I’ve been adding it to my water like it’s going out of style.”
He chuckled. “It’s a nice scent.” His hand moved slowly over my back, and we fell quiet for a few minutes before he admitted, “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“I am too.”
My admission felt big.
Important.
And I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
Thankfully, Damian gave me the best kind of distraction
His lips brushed my ear. “Open your legs for me, little siren.”
It was technically a command… but one I wanted to follow.
So, I did.
One of his hands smoothed over my ass and slipped between my thighs, rubbing over my center lightly through my panties. “That feel good?”
“So good,” I whispered.
“Open wider.”
I followed the order.
His lips brushed my cheek before his fingers finally dipped beneath the hem of the fabric between us, brushing over my wet heat.
I pressed my forehead to his throat a little harder as my hips arched, moving with his hand. He murmured, “Take what you need.”
I pulled on his emotions without hesitation.
Lust.
Gratitude.
Devotion.
His magic flooded me as he bit down on my throat, and I sucked in a breath.
If I’d been in my right mind, the intensity of his feelings would’ve caught me off guard. But with his teeth in my veins and the hunger in my lower belly, I was lost in the ocean of his emotions.
I drank while he touched me, sending my orgasm spiraling through me fast. I cried out in pleasure as I came, my body tightening around nothing.
I wanted him.
Needed him.
When I said as much, he rolled me onto my back, freeing his cock and tugging my panties to the side. He filled me without bothering to remove either of our clothes, and I gasped as he hit every sensitive place inside me like the expert he’d become.
My pleasure rose until we shattered together, and he rolled us back over as we came down from our highs, panting.
He released my throat, licking the sensitive place where he’d bitten me. I let go of my hold on his emotions, insanely sated.
“You like it when I’m in charge, don’t you?” He asked, his voice edging on playful again.
I loved it when he got like that.
“Maybe a little,” I mumbled.
“Or a lot.”
“Maybe.”
He chuckled, running his hand slowly down my back. “Do you want to watch a movie or something? I’m not ready to sleep yet.”
I had the feeling that he was holding something back.
Maybe holding a lot back.
Part of me wanted to call him out on it, but I didn’t know if I was ready to deal with the consequences of that.
“Sure,” I agreed.
With his magic fading out of my system, I was starting to remember what he’d been feeling.
One thing in particular.
Devotion.
I didn’t know what to do about that. On one hand, we were going to be mated for the rest of our lives. We would be together in the next life, too, thanks to the bond we’d created. Some amount of devotion or connection seemed natural, given the bond between us.
But how much of that could he feel before devotion became something more?
How long until the line between that and love grew too fuzzy to tell one side from another?
Damian turned a movie on, but my thoughts were somewhere else altogether. Somewhere far from the action that played on the screen.
Somewhere new.
And somewhere more than a little bit terrifying.