Chapter 30
Eight months later
“Oh my God, could you two be any more embarrassing?”
Ben and I snickered from our place behind Hannah and Erin, arms loaded with plastic bins and moving boxes. We’d just finished reminiscing about when we were Hannah’s age; Ben in college, and me raising hell in Salem and the surrounding cities.
“I hate to tell you this, hon,” Erin said, wrapping her arm around Hannah’s shoulders, “But you asked for two dads. That means double the embarrassment.”
“Don’t forget your uncles are coming next week!” I added—which earned a groan heard ‘round the world, from both Hannah and Erin.
I shared a look with Ben behind the stacks of Hannah’s belongings.
The year had been a journey. Erin and I had mended our relationship, each arriving at a point where we semi-understood the other’s actions and decisions from eighteen years ago.
We’d been able to put the past where it belonged, and she’d given Hannah and I the space we needed to work out our relationship—the way that was best for us.
Which, it turned out, was spending every weekend camped out on my couch watching episodes of 90 Day Fiancé and its many spinoffs while stuffing our faces with copious amounts of junk food.
I can neither confirm nor deny that Carlos also benefited from that arrangement.
I’d been trying for months to get Raleigh and Angel to get out to Salem to see how I’d settled in and to meet James. They were finally making the journey out, their newborn baby girl in tow. I was excited for Hannah to get to know her baby cousin.
Hannah graduated with honors—no surprise there.
She had multiple scholarships, and Ivy League colleges across the country were beating down the door with offers.
Everyone secretly hoped she’d stick close to home, but no one voiced it; the girl had too much potential, and we didn’t want to hold her back.
You’d think, after the hellish events of last year, that her first priority would be to get out of Massachusetts.
Imagine our surprise when she chose to attend Harvard, which was less than an hour away.
Being a first-year student, Hannah was required to live on campus.
Kian chose to follow, finding an apartment near campus that Hannah would move into after her first year.
It turned out he’d lived with his brother, and once Luke went MIA following Dani’s death, Kian hadn’t wanted to stay anymore.
Even after all of Luke’s vampire hunting paraphernalia was cleared out, the place just had an eerie air to it. I didn’t blame him for wanting out.
“Hannah, is your room in Narnia?” I asked, nearly colliding with Erin’s back as she stopped in front of me. My arms ached.
Finally, my daughter stopped and unlocked a door.
Her parents—all three of us—stood back while she squealed loud enough to break the sound barrier and introduced herself to her roommate.
While both Ben and Erin eyed the campus with nostalgia, I could honestly say that I didn’t feel like I’d missed anything.
I didn’t regret my decision not to go to college.
I didn’t regret anything I’d done up to that point.
Yeah, life sucked sometimes, and the past year harbored some of my lowest moments.
As I set down the armful of boxes and saw my daughter hugging her new roommate, though, I knew I wouldn’t change a thing.
If someone had told me a year ago that I’d move back to my hometown, raise a kid, and settle down with a vampire, I would’ve been concerned for their mental health.
“… And these are my dads.”
Only when Ben elbowed me in the ribcage did I register what Hannah had said. I met her eyes but before I could say anything, she added, “Don’t make it weird.”
“So, wait,” her roommate interjected, gesturing to me and Ben. “Are they…?”
Erin, Ben and I all spoke at the same time. “No!”
“We could be,” I said, grinning devilishly.
Ben shook his head. “I don’t think James is inclined to share.”
He sidled up to my side and threw his arm around my shoulders, and I wrapped mine around his waist.
He squirmed in my grip. “Stop it! I’m ticklish!”
“Ugh! The three of you can leave now!”
Ignoring Hannah’s roommate, who was now stifling her laughter, Erin stepped in for a hug. Ben followed suit, and I hung back, patiently waiting for my turn. It was Hannah who came to me, stepping into my arms as I pushed off the wall.
I still got a little teary-eyed whenever Hannah hugged me. I could hardly believe that in one short year, I’d gone from a bachelor living it up in Vegas to a dad in the suburbs living with his boyfriend. His vampire boyfriend.
I wouldn’t give it up for the world.
“Thank you for everything, Ryder,” she mumbled into my chest before pulling back.
I thought back to the first hug we’d shared outside The Devil’s Hopyard.
Looking back on it now, I could see how scared we both were.
We’d pulled away with tears in our eyes, unsure what the future held.
This time, there was nothing but hope in Hannah’s blue eyes.
Even under the crappy dorm lights, they sparkled.
“Give ‘em hell, kid,” I told her, stamping a kiss to the top of her head as we separated.
With that, the three of us left her to settle in. Hannah had always been independent, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when she asked us not to linger.
The other two stayed a few steps ahead of me as we made our way back across the Harvard campus. It was still summer, only mid-August, but the leaves on the trees were already turning delicious shades of red and orange. The wind blew, and I was grateful for my old leather jacket.
For the first time in a while, I appreciated the beauty of New England. I’d been so eager for something different by the time I’d left that I’d forgotten what it could be like to slow down and take everything in.
“What do you say, Ryder?”
I snapped out of my reverie to find Ben looking back at me. “Hm?”
“NYU is only a four-hour drive. You up for a road trip?” He tugged Erin closer. “You can see my old stomping grounds.”
I considered it. “You two go ahead. I’ve got someone waiting for me at home.”
“Carlos will be fine on his own for one night,” Erin said.
“Cute that you think I’m talking about the dog,” I laughed.
We stayed together until the parking lot, then said our goodbyes. It’d taken a week to drive across the country, but that didn’t hold a candle to the way I vibrated in my seat as I made the drive home.
Home.
Salem hadn’t been “home” in a long time. I’d built another in Vegas, with family I chose. I didn’t think I’d ever return to the East Coast. I loved Raleigh and Angel, but now, I couldn’t imagine leaving what I had in Massachusetts.
Carlos was screaming behind the baby gate in the kitchen when I let myself in. We’d nailed house training, but we had yet to figure out how to distinguish food from inedible objects, so he stayed behind the gate. I stood at the back door while he inspected the yard, waiting for that familiar sign.
A chill down my spine had become an anticipated sensation, and I instinctively leaned back when I felt it, connecting with a brick wall of muscle. “You made it,” I whispered.
“I did.” James snaked his arm around my waist, leaning in and nuzzling my neck. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. I hope Hannah wasn’t disappointed.”
“Nah, I think she was too excited to notice much of anything.” I wrapped my arm around James’s neck to pull him closer as his lips found the sensitive skin above my collarbone. “Everything go okay today?”
James had spent the day interviewing candidates for Dani’s position at the bar. It’d taken months of insurance claims and contractor work to rebuild Liz’s, and for the few weeks since we’d reopened, James and I had been splitting responsibilities—which didn’t leave much time for ourselves.
“Mm-hmm. I found someone.” He nodded against my neck, tongue darting out to wet the skin. “Their name is Shiloh, and they start next week. I’d like for you to meet them before then though.”
“F-fine by me.” I don’t know how he expected me to hold a conversation about work when he had his tongue on my neck and his cock digging into my ass. “Are you staying tonight?”
“I’ll stay as long as you want me.” He glared at Carlos, who was literally barking up a tree. “Now, get that thing inside so I can take you to bed.” He growled, slipping his fingers through my belt loops and tugging, making sure I felt every inch of his erection.
“Or you could ignore him and keep your thing right where it is.”
He spun me around and pinned me against the doorway. “I will take you right here, love. My restraint is only out of respect to your neighbors.”
“Fuck,” I groaned. I was so hard it ached. “Carlos, inside!” He screamed at me, which I interpreted as some form of protest, but I didn’t care. “Come here now or you’re sleeping out there!”
I heard the jingle of his tag, then James dropped my hands and leapt out of the way as Carlos barreled through the back door. “No way am I letting your fear of dogs get in the way of you touching me,” I said, pulling James to me, my back against the doorframe.
“I’m not scared of—”
“Shut up.” I leaned in and claimed his mouth, pressing into the curves of his body. I dropped his t-shirt, working one arm around his waist and the other into his hair. He broke the kiss with a sigh, grinding his hips into mine. “Now, I believe you mentioned taking me right here?”
James feigned innocence, brushing his nose across mine. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I chuckled, fingering the clasp of his silver chain. I wanted my vampire tonight. With an expert twist, the clasp fell apart and the chain dropped to the ground between us.
“Take me to bed,” I ordered.
His growl started as a low rumble in his chest. “As you wish.”
I yelped as he effortlessly lifted me off the ground, my legs wrapping around his waist. I held on tight as he kicked the door shut, then carried me through the house and to my bedroom.
He threw me down on the bed. I grunted as I connected with the mattress.
I watched, mouth watering, as his hands flew to his belt.
He moved slowly for my benefit, so my eyes could keep up with what he was doing.
Piece by piece, he discarded his clothes. I drank in his flawless, ivory skin. Every dip and curve of his muscles flexed when he moved. I yearned to trace them with my tongue. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Mine. He was all mine.
My vampire.