Holy shit.
He stood still, letting the thought sink in, keeping his brothers out of his mind.
His smile grew impossibly wide. It didn’t matter to him he had a male dhampir. He hadn’t thought he was missing out by not being able to claim his mate the same way his counterparts could with a female—or so he’d thought. Now, after the fact, he could feel exactly what he would have missed out on, and he was elated to have it all.
While he stared at Ledger, he willed him to wake so he could tell him how happy he was, only there was no sign of Ledger coming around. Thorn eyed the cooling bath and tray of goodies. He debated for a moment, then went to the tub, careful not to jostle Ledger as he reached to turn on the hot tap to refill and reheat the water. His wings disappeared when his human cognisance came forward to take control.
Ledger didn’t stir at the sounds of water rushing into the bath. He didn’t stir when Thorn finally removed his limp cock and slid him back into the now warming water. Nor did he wake as Thorn washed him, lifted him out of the bath and, with difficulty, dried him before carrying him into their bedroom. Under the cover, Ledger didn’t so much as flutter an eyelash, his breathing slow and even.
Thorn hesitated, eyeing the wound on Ledger’s neck where he’d bitten him. The mark, though healing, was much larger than his original claim mark.
Have we taken too much blood?
No.
It wasn’t often he spoke with the other part of himself, so it was a little startling to get such a firm denial.Are you sure?
The lack of response was the response. It told him he was being ridiculous. He returned to the bathroom and quickly dunked himself in the tub, washing away the remaining cum flaking off his skin.
Dried and naked, he carried the tray into the bedroom and placed it at the side of the bed for when Ledger woke. He crawledin behind him and slipped an arm under his waist, dragging him flush against him and snuggled right in. Not something he’d liked to do before, but now he couldn’t think of anything he enjoyed more—except for the naked, sexy time. That went without saying.
He splayed his hand over Ledger’s belly and grinned as he nuzzled into the back of his neck. Coming in his womb… he had a moment of uncertainty as a thought ran through his mind. Could they have made a baby vampire?
A shiver ran down his tailbone as he chuckled at the very idea and the whimsical notion. The mix of species was uncommon for his kind and though he might have easily accessed Ledger’s womb, that was all part of a vampire claim. The act. The need to bathe Ledger’s womb with his seed. It must be making him fanciful after the fact, with how his blood thrummed with Ledger’s essence. It was too soon to think about such things. To consider the possibilities, wasn’t it?
He frowned at the odd ache he got under his breastbone.
They’d only been together a few months. Still in the getting to know each other phase.
But a little baby vampire…
He shook off the notion.
You have more than you expected, isn’t that enough?
Lying there, his dhampir wrapped in his arms, there was only one answer. Yes.
Yes, it was.
Chapter Eleven
Thorn
“What was that we were picking up from you last night?” Dacian questioned, not looking up from the barrel of wine he was moving for collection.
Thorn moved the last one onto the palette for the delivery driver, who was due to arrive any time in the next fifteenminutes. He didn’t react to his brother’s nosiness. Dacian was always the one who liked to stick his nose in his brother's business.
“Is that all the barrels we are sending to Prichard?” he eyed the four barrels, working to recall the order, convinced he’d asked for double that amount.
Dacian scratched the corner of his eye, nodding. “They called to say they only want half the barrels sending for now. They plan to vacation in the Roth Valley next month, so have asked for the remaining part of their order to be sent there. I got an email last night from them.”
Frown lines appeared as Thorn held Dacian’s stare. “Why are they emailing you?”
A light appeared in Dacian’s eyes, a clear warning that he was up to something. “They tried to ring you, butwhen they failed to get an answer, they emailed me. One of us, it appears, was having make-up sex. Ledger finally let you out of the vampire doghouse, I see.”
“Fuck off, that’s none of your business,” Thorn stated huffily, hating that there really were very few secrets between them.
“Hey, Calvert told me he warned you against following Ledger to Ranch Down. You were never very good at listening to advice.” Dacian snorted. “You always believe you know best, and it seems that Ledger taught you a lesson for that.” His laughter, deep and loud, echoed around the large wine cellar.
