Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Adeline
“Latham, stop antagonizing her. She bites you, it will be your own fault,” Eli tells him.
“She is not the only one that can bite. Besides, if she needs something to stuff her mouth with, I have the perfect thing,” Latham taunts.
I am not going to survive around this man. He is impossible.
“When will we be moving?”
“In a week. If I am moving the base, I am best off doing it as quickly as possible. Bella will probably pitch a fit when we get back because I will have to adjust the entire floor she manages,” Cyrus says, and I chuckle.
Yes, Bella won’t like that. She’s apparently kept everything under a strict schedule and has recently moved to the tech floor, showing she is quite capable in her new position.
“This Bella, is she hot?” Latham asks.
“Human,” Eli says.
“I didn’t ask what species. I asked if she was hot.”
Cyrus and Eli don’t answer, and I roll my eyes, knowing they are not answering because I am sitting in front of them.
“Yes, Latham, she is gorgeous,” I answer him.
“But human, and no, you are not fooling around with my employees,” Eli tells him.
“Why not? You did,” Latham says.
“Addie is our mate. She doesn’t count,” Cyrus says.
Latham huffs before stealing my son from my arms again.
“God, that looks strange. Aren’t you meant to be some evil badass? I thought demons are meant to be evil, yet here you are playing nanny to my son,” I say.
“You just eat. I like kids,” he says, stroking my son’s nose with his index finger to put him to sleep.
I finish eating my dinner before changing Eason and putting him down for a nap. I am about to head back out to the living room when I feel a warm chest press against my back.
Warm hands grip my hips before I feel his lips on my neck. Eli’s scent wafts to my nose, and I turn around in his arms before wrapping my arms around his neck.
“He just went down,” I whisper to him.
“We will be quiet.”
I scoff, knowing that won’t happen, when Cyrus walks in and grabs the bassinet.
“Wait, what are you doing?”
“Latham is babysitting,” Cyrus says and is gone before I can say no.
“Latham loves kids. He will look after him,” Eli says, and I press my lips in a line and am about to protest when he kisses me. His lips are demanding while I glare at the door, debating whether or not to retrieve my son from the demon when Cyrus returns.
“Addie, we would never put our son in danger. Latham would die before he let anything happen to him. You may not know him, but we do, and we both trust him with our lives and yours. He is safe,” Cyrus says, and I growl, but I know better than not to trust them.
If they say Latham can be trusted, I know I can trust him, too.
Yet I feel strange handing my son over to someone I don’t know.
But that doesn’t last long when the scent of blood fills the room.
My eyes snap to Eli and away from the door to see he no longer has his shirt on.
Cyrus is standing behind him and pulls his teeth from his neck, Eli’s blood trickling down his chest and over his pecs, leaving an enticing trail down his skin.
I watch his blood trickle all the way down, stopping at the waistband of his pants.
I feel like I am in a trance, locked in place and frozen.
I can hear his blood pulsating around his body, hear his heart beating in his chest as overwhelming hunger consumes every rational part of me.
Eli tugs me closer, forcing me out of my frozen state.
My hand runs across his chest, his blood smearing, wet and warm.
Cyrus’s fangs slip into his neck, his eyes watching mine, and Eli moans, tugging me closer as I watch Cyrus feed on him before he pulls away and grips the back of my head.
His hands tangle in my hair as he crashes his lips down on mine, forcing me to taste Eli’s blood on his tongue.
A growl escapes me, and Cyrus’s eyes sparkle at me, dangerously turning crimson.
I sink my teeth into Eli’s neck. His hands grip me before he lifts me, and I wrap my legs around his waist, the movement making my teeth leave his neck.
I go to sink my teeth into him again when Cyrus’s hand stops me as he places it over my bite mark, letting Eli’s skin heal over.
I growl at him, and he chuckles before Eli tilts his head, baring his neck to me.
“Higher,” Cyrus says, running his finger down Eli’s neck over his mark.
Eli shivers while I try to contain the urge to attack them, and he squeezes my ass, jolting me out of my head.
Cyrus grips my chin before turning my face into Eli’s neck.
I run my tongue over Cyrus’s mark on Eli’s neck, and he shudders with a deep groan, my fangs grazing his skin before I sink them into him.
He doesn’t even flinch, just pulls me closer, forcing my teeth deeper into his neck.
His blood floods into my mouth before I feel the bond snap into place, his emotions rushing into me, so much stronger than when I would bite him while pregnant, the full effects of the bond kicking in like an extension of me, and I can feel both of them as if their emotions are my own.
“That’s it, love,” Eli says.
His hands run up my sides, making me shiver when I feel Cyrus move behind me before pushing my hair over my shoulder.
I feel Eli’s emotions shift to worry when I feel Cyrus sink his teeth into me.
I moan, pulling my fangs from Eli’s neck at the feel of teeth in my neck, making me roll my hips against Eli when Cyrus pulls his fangs from me.
“I have control, Eli,” I hear Cyrus tell him, making me confused.
“Vampires shouldn’t drink from vampires. It can be addictive,” Eli explains.
“Nothing wrong being addicted to my own mate, and she likes it,” Cyrus says, sinking his teeth into my neck again.
My entire body tenses as pleasure washes over me.
* * *
One Week Later
It is scorching hot. Of all the days to move, it has to be one of the hottest days we have had in ages.
I know if I weren’t a vampire, I would be red from the sun shining down on my exposed shoulders.
I pull the door down on the back of the truck before locking the handle in place and walking through the gates.
My mother comes out from inside Eli and Cyrus’s house and walks down the porch steps with my Eason.
“That is the last box,” I sigh, walking over to my mother, who is holding my son and feeding him his bottle.
I don’t even think she’s heard me as she is too busy gazing down at him. We have been back home for two days. The truck arrived this morning, and it has taken all day to unload it.
“Yeah, from this truck. We still need to move all the tech equipment in at work tomorrow,” says Taylor as she comes out of the house after helping Porter carry all the boxes to the spare room.
We have so much junk. Two households are now trying to be squished into one, and half the stuff is already in the storage locker that looks like it is about to burst. It takes some maneuvering to close the door while they list their house in Soya for sale.
Maya is running around the front lawn playing hide-and-seek with Latham.
“That’s cheating. I saw your shadow. You misted,” Maya says when he appears behind her instead of where he’s been hiding behind the barbecue.
“Since when are there rules in hide-and-seek?” he asks her.
I shake my head at him. Eli and Porter walk out before tossing a beer to me, and I catch it.
“Want one, Debbie?” Cyrus asks, handing one to Taylor.
Taylor pops the cap off before taking a sip, and Latham snatches one from Cyrus’s hand.
“No, I have to work tonight,” she says, shaking her head.
Eli and Cyrus tell her to retire, as they will take care of her, but mom insists on working, and I know why. She will get bored, especially once she moves and is on her own.
We have finally moved back. It is quite an adjustment but feels right.
Taylor and Porter are staying at mom’s for now until they find their own place.
Though mom’s asked them just to stay there, and she will downsize, saying she doesn’t need a big empty house after Eli and Cyrus offered to give her one of their apartments in the city.
Taylor is considering it because there isn’t much to choose from in today’s real estate market.
So, it looks like I will be moving mom in the next couple of weeks.
Still, tomorrow, we have the truck arriving at work, or should I say multiple trucks, because Cyrus moved the base to here.
And that means a heap of transfers will be coming from Soya and moving here, so Eli has to buy an entire apartment block to house them.
And then the painstaking task of moving the equipment they bought after Sam burned down their old office.
Eli also handed the pack over to his sister in Soya, and Maverick would be down to visit us here once everyone was settle in.
Mom is excited to have answers for what happened to my dad but is also glad we to be done with the what-ifs.
It has already been one hell of a week, but I am excited for the future, especially with my mates.
“What time do the trucks get into work tomorrow?” asks Taylor. She has adjusted quite well to being a Lycan. Then again, she doesn’t crave blood, so besides getting used to shifting, she doesn’t have much to worry about.
“Blaine and Xavier said by nine,” Latham says.
“More demons?” Taylor asks. She has been putting up with his constant harassment, too, though I am used to it now, having been living with him.
“Why? Is that a problem, Taylor? Worried you will throw yourself at them like you did with me?”
Taylor growls at him, not liking the reminder, and Porter shoots him a look.
“They will be on their best behavior, I promise. Besides, they will be heading back the next day anyway, and you can have me all to yourself,” he purrs at her, and Porter mutters something I don’t quite catch under his breath.
“Settle, Porter. Plenty of me to go around,” Latham teases.
Porter turns red while Taylor giggles at her embarrassed mate.
“Mommy, can I stay here tonight?” Maya asks, rushing over and tugging on Taylor’s shirt.
“Not tonight, maybe once settled in,” Porter tells her, and she pouts.
“On the weekend, Maya. Give us a chance to get a swing set for you,” Eli tells her, and she claps, jumping on the balls of her feet excitedly.
“Well, I need to go. I have to get ready for work, but I will come to see you tomorrow afternoon before work again. I have a night shift all this week,” my mother explains. She hands Eason over to Cyrus, and I give her a hug and walk her to her car.
“We should head off too,” Taylor says, now that everything is packed inside the house.
I nod before giving Maya a big hug and kissing my sister on the cheek.
Once they leave, I turn back to the house, leaving just Latham with us and his running commentary.
I have to admit he is good to have around and always helps.
I can tell he is close with Cyrus and Eli, and surprisingly, their relationship before me doesn’t bother me.
Though if he keeps walking in or watching our bedroom activities, I might just smack him one.
Eli and Cyrus say he is just feeding off our energy, but why does he have to mist into the room and sit there, watching like a creeper?
The first few times, he scared the crap out of me.
Still, I am actually growing immune to his presence and find his watching not as creepy as long as he keeps his hands to himself though sometimes I can feel my mates longing to touch him or have Latham touch them.
Still, they never do, worried about how I would react, and I am not yet sure.
Latham doesn’t bother me. I worry I might lose control and attack him if he does.