Chapter 16
Benjamin did the best he could in the situation. He’d completely forgotten his own birthday. And he certainly hadn’t expected a surprise party, particularly since there was a larger party planned for the following week, to which the older generation was invited as well.
At the surprise party, only the hybrids and their blood-bonded mates were in attendance.
Since five of them were humans, there was food as well as actual drinks available.
But he also saw human blood that those hybrids who weren’t blood-bonded were gulping down.
He could smell it. They had poured the blood into glasses instead of drinking it straight from the glass bottles Scanguards used to distribute the donated blood in.
He was grateful for that. At least from afar, it made the blood look like red wine.
While Catalina was distracted with putting food on a plate, he managed to tell Nicholas, Adam’s brother, to make everybody aware that Catalina had no idea that he and most of the guests were vampires, and to be careful with the blood.
“She’s beautiful,” Zach, one of the New Orleans triplets, said to him, while giving him a brotherly slap on the back. “You exclusive?”
“Like I said to Adam: she’s off-limits.”
He lifted his hands in a show of surrender. “Just checking. Guess you’re not gonna hit the bars with us afterward, are you?”
“Definitely not. I’ve got better things to do.”
He cast a loving look at Catalina, who devoured another slice of pizza. He made a mental note to be more aware of her need to eat real food. Which reminded him of his own hunger. Turning so that she could only see his back, he leaned closer to Zach.
“Let me have your glass. I need to replenish while she’s not looking,” he murmured to his friend.
Zach handed him the nearly full glass of blood. “Be my guest.”
Benjamin gulped it down quickly, then returned the glass to him. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“I can see why.” He motioned in Catalina’s direction. “I know what I would like to have her do with those plump lips—”
“I wouldn’t finish that sentence,” Benjamin warned.
He knew exactly what she’d already done with those gorgeous lips, and just the thought of it made him want to toss his guests out and Catalina onto her knees so she could wrap her lips around— Fuck! That was exactly the kind of thinking he’d wanted to avoid.
“Ooh, you’ve got it bad, bro,” Zach said with a laugh. “Better you than me.”
“Very funny.”
“So how long have you known her?”
“Why does it matter?” he deflected.
Because if he said barely three days, Zach would have a laughing fit at how pussy-whipped he was after such a short time.
“Let me guess,” David suddenly said, joining them. “A week?”
Zach slapped his brother over the back of his head. “Oh, please, if he’d known her for that long, she’d know his secret already. My guess is two days.”
He shouldn’t be surprised that both of them came rather close to the truth. After all, most of his friends had met, dated, and bonded with their mates within a week at most.
He rolled his eyes, and the brothers grinned rather self-satisfied.
He turned away from them to see that Catalina had finished eating and now reached for a clean glass.
She looked around for a beverage, and he realized that the wine bottles on the counter were all empty.
Fearing that she would go to the refrigerator and see the bottled blood he kept in there, he tried to head her off.
“Hey, baby,” he said, rushing toward her. “I’ve been a terrible host. You shouldn’t have to hunt for something to drink by yourself.”
“It’s your party. You shouldn’t have to worry about entertaining me. All your friends are here,” she replied and opened the refrigerator before he could stop her.
Now, the open refrigerator door blocked him from reaching her.
Panicked, he tried to get around the kitchen island when he saw that Isabelle had already reached the other side.
She cast him a quick look that assured him that she was aware of what he was worried about.
Isabelle was Samson’s daughter, the oldest of his three children, and was mated to Orlando, a pure-blooded vampire, who had once been a bouncer at the Scanguards-owned nightclub Mezzanine. Now, he owned the club.
“I can recommend the chardonnay,” Isabelle said, making Catalina turn her head.
“I’m not really a wine person,” Catalina replied. “I was just looking for some juice.”
“I doubt you’ll find any in Benjamin’s fridge.” Isabelle gave a soft laugh while trying to move so she would partially obstruct Catalina’s view of the contents.
But Catalina already reached into the fridge. “Looks like there’s some tomato juice. Not my favorite, but it’ll do.”
Fuck! She’d discovered the bottled blood. This was not how he was planning to tell her that he was a vampire. Hell, he hadn’t planned anything yet.
“That stuff is still in there?” he said quickly, now only a step away from her. “That’s from last year. That’s off.”
He squeezed past her and rummaged through the bottles, pushing the bottles of blood all the way to the back of the shelf. Luckily, there were a few bottles of sparkling water stashed next to the bottles of white wine somebody had brought for the party. He snatched one and turned around to Catalina.
“All I’ve got is water.”
“I’ll take it,” Catalina said, and he handed her the bottle. Then she pointed to the refrigerator. “What was all that tomato juice for? Bloody Marys?”
“Yeah, it was for a birthday brunch for… uhm,” he said, while his gaze drifted to his guests. “Buffy.”
Buffy, who was human, but whose stepfather was a pure-blooded vampire, had just stepped into his field of vision.
He noticed her run her eyes over Zach in a way he’d never seen her do.
The object of her interest suddenly turned as if he’d felt her gaze on him.
Had Buffy been Caucasian, she might have blushed if he interpreted her nervousness correctly, but her dark skin hid any signs of embarrassment.
“There,” he pointed her out to Catalina. “The pretty black girl.”
“You have a lot of friends,” Catalina commented.
Benjamin closed the refrigerator. “I know. We actually all work together at Scanguards. Even the triplets, though they work in the New Orleans branch of Scanguards.”
“Are you saying they’re all bodyguards?”
“Most of them.”
Isabelle put a hand on Catalina’s arm. “How about I introduce them all properly?”
“Thanks, Isa,” Benjamin said, grateful that she came to his aid. “But I can do that.”
“But that would defeat the purpose of me getting to know Catalina,” Isabelle said with a smirk. Then she looked at Catalina. “If that’s alright with you.”
“Of course, that would be nice.”
As Isabelle and Catalina headed for the crowd, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He knew who was standing next to him now.
“Bro, have you not learned from my mistakes?” Damian asked. “Never bring a human girl home before getting rid of the bottled blood in your fridge.”
Benjamin chuckled. “If I remember correctly, from what you told me, Naomi finding the bottled blood turned out rather well.”
Damian grinned. “Because I was able to turn the situation around after she accidentally spilled it on herself.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now? You licking the blood off her boobs?”
He shifted his stance, and Benjamin didn’t need to be a genius to guess what the thought of blood on Naomi’s breasts conjured up in his twin.
Damian cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I’d better find Naomi.”
“You horny bastard.”
“Hey, it’s all legal. We’re married.”
Benjamin rolled his eyes. “Happy birthday, bro. Enjoy your present from Naomi.”
“I already have.” He winked. “Twice. I hope you’ll get to enjoy your present from Catalina too.”
“I already would be if it weren’t for this party and you guys cramping my style.”
Laughing, Damian rejoined the guests, and Benjamin let his gaze roam to look for Catalina.