“Things between us are moving too fast,” she said in a low tone. “And who are we kidding? Can you see us in a relationship?”
Maybe she was right. Maybe I was blinded by her beauty, by the sweetness of her blood, and maybe my dick was the one making me feel like I would die if she left me. As much as I knew I should just walk away then, I couldn’t. I had to commit her scent to memory, to feel her lips on mine one more time.
But fate had other plans when my phone rang. I wanted to ignore it but couldn’t. We were waiting on news of Ben’s whereabouts. I growled as I answered. “Go.”
“We finally found Ben,” Tripp said. “It’s not good. We’ve instructed the ambulance to bring him here. I need you to meet them at the main gate.”
“Fuck. Is he alive?” I wanted to crush Roman.
“Barely,” Tripp said. “Get up to the gate now.”
I hung up and pecked Layla on the lips. Not exactly the kiss to remember, but Ben was a SEAL, a friend, and a brother, and we dropped what we were doing to help our brethren.
33
LAYLA
Seven days had passed since the showdown with Roman and the shifters. Seven days since I’d walked off base with my sisters in tow. Like I told Sam, we had no house, no car, and very little money to our names. As much as it had pained me to leave Sam, I needed distance between us. My sisters and I were in desperate need of relaxing and healing, both physically and emotionally. We also wanted to get as far away from vampires and shifters as we could, or rather Roman and Vera.
I’d had plenty of time to think, to clear my head, and to analyze what I wanted to do with my life, which was something other than hunting vampires or dating one. But I wasn’t sure if my sisters and I would ever be free of supernaturals.
I worried that Vera would retaliate even though Webb had assured us that she and her pack wouldn’t be a problem for us. The vampire Navy SEAL team, with the help of Dr. Vieira, would work with the Gray Pack to find out what was in the drug Wyman had given us to use on Sam. As far as Roman was concerned, he was in the custody of the vampire government.
Ben, on the other hand, was fighting for his life. At least he had been when we’d left the naval base. I’d never seen Sam so distraught.
I sighed and popped my head back against the cabinet in the modest en suite bathroom. I was sitting on the floor with the toilet dead ahead of me, hoping I didn’t need to use it. But my stomach was saying otherwise. For the last two nights, I’d been waking up in cold sweats then running to the bathroom and puking my guts out. All I kept thinking was I needed Sam’s blood, but up until two days ago, I’d been fine. I’d had no cravings for his blood, no visions, no supernatural anything. I was beginning to think Sam had me under a magic spell in his presence. Then again, I knew his blood had been the cause of my visions and cravings, and since I hadn’t been around the vampire or ingested his blood, I’d felt normal again—human.
I rushed over to the toilet and hugged it tightly as acid shot to my throat. It had to be something I’d eaten, but my sisters weren’t sick, and neither was anyone else in the family. The only other conclusion was the flu.
Jordyn stumbled in, rubbing her eyes. “What’s wrong? This is the second early morning hug fest with that toilet.”
I grunted. “Maybe Uncle Jack is poisoning me for causing all that trouble in Massachusetts.” I was kidding. My uncle might be an asshole, but he wouldn’t hurt family. The most he’d done was yell, and boy, had he yelled.
I heaved again, the sound echoing in the bowl.
“I’m not a sympathy puker,” Jordyn announced. “But I’m ready to join you for some reason.”
Once I emptied what was left in my stomach, I flushed the toilet then splashed water on my face.
She sat on the bathtub. “Should we take you to a doctor?”
I wiped my face with a soft hand towel. “No.” I proceeded to rinse my mouth out with a bottle of mouthwash. “I think it’s the flu.”
“Could you be pregnant?”
I snorted and choked on the wintergreen liquid. “Are you insane?” I snarled at her in the mirror. “There’s no way I can get pregnant from Sam.”
She crossed one pajama-clad leg over the other. “He’s not your ordinary vampire. Maybe his sperm has magic in it.” She was holding back a giggle. “Can you imagine if you had a vampire baby?”
I flipped her the bird. “You’ve lost some brain cells.”
She sidled up to me and ran her hands through my bedhead hair. “Part of me is serious.” Her sleepy brown eyes found my blue ones in the mirror. “You said yourself the connection you have with him is strong. You could even speak telepathically.”
“Shh.” I went over and closed the bathroom door. The bedroom my sisters and I shared at the ranch had an en suite, but still, I had to make sure my aunt didn’t come in, which she had a habit of doing in the mornings to make sure we had enough towels.
I doubted she would be up at four a.m., but still, I had to be cautious. Uncle Jack would have our heads roasting over an open fire if he knew I’d slept with Sam. It had been bad enough when Uncle Ray and Uncle Jack almost lost their wits when Rianne had thrown her arms around Sam to thank him for saving her life.
“First, I haven’t had any signs of supernatural crap since we’ve been here. Second, I’m not pregnant.” I whispered every word.
