She half laughed. “You’re my boyfriend?”
I gave her a quick glance. “You don’t agree? How about partners? Enemies? Fuck buddies? Pick one or two.”
“Partners.” She snorted. “That’s a weird one. I’m going with enemies.”
That suited me fine, as long as she was with me.
“Just don’t ever call me your baby mama because I will cut off your balls and feed them to the sharks.” She stabbed a finger toward the ocean.
I roared with laughter, and the tension in my shoulders subsided. “Duly noted, baby mama.”
She whacked me on the arm, giggling, a sound so sweet it gripped my balls. I was looking forward to spending time with her. Maybe wecouldmake a relationship work, despite the problems we were about to face.
Roughly two minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of a two-story, shingle-sided cottage hideaway with the Atlantic as its backdrop.
“Holy shit!” she squealed. “This place is amazing.”
The house had four dormers on the front and a large wraparound porch on three sides. Even on a cold day in February, the property was spectacular. I’d always loved it there. Too bad the flowers weren’t in bloom. The rosebushes that climbed the trellis on the side of the house had brown leaves hanging from their vines. Blades of green grass poked through the light dusting of snow, and the water fountain, the centerpiece of the yard, was dry and shut off for the winter.
Before I could turn off the engine, Layla climbed out, ran down the path, and stopped at the edge of the stairs that led down to the ocean. Then she held out her arms as if to say, “Come and get me, Atlantic Ocean.” Man, my heart skipped like a kid in a schoolyard at recess. To see her happy made me one delighted motherfucker. Then she angled her face toward the sun, high in the sky. The hunger to kiss her until we couldn’t breathe, to taste her in more ways than to satisfy my bloodlust, to wake up next to her and fuck some more, was making my cock harder than the circle of rocks around a bed of dormant flowers. Morning sex was by far the best in my book. I was dying to lick Layla awake.
I finally got out and stretched, inhaling the mist of salt in the air, when the glass door creaked and George cleared his throat. Webb’s dear friend and father figure was a tall and lanky century-plus-old vampire who had taken care of Webb over the years. He also lived at the house when Jo and Webb weren’t there.
“Glad you made it.” He sauntered down the porch steps.
I opened the trunk. “Did you think we wouldn’t?” I handed him Layla’s bag.
“That accident north of Boston has traffic stopped for miles,” he said.
“We must’ve just missed it, then. Are you staying?” I was sure Jo had warned him that I needed alone time with Layla.
“Not here, but with Stan in town.”
“How is the sheriff?” Most of the occupants of the small coastal town were vamps. Occasionally, some of the homes were rented to humans during the summer months. But during the winter, the only humans around were the ones who stopped at the diner in town on their way north or south.
“Stan is still ornery.” He peeked around the car. “It’s Layla, right?”
“Yep, and she’s a firecracker.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “I don’t doubt that, Sam. I couldn’t see you with any other type of woman. You need someone to match your arrogance.”
I laughed wildly and freely, and it felt fucking good as we started for the house. “You know me well.”
“A vampire hunter, though,” he said with concern. “I assume her family doesn’t know about the baby. Webb told me, by the way.”
It wasn’t a big deal with George. He would and had protected Jo and me with his life. “Hell no. I’m hoping they never find out.” That was a tall order. Nothing ever stayed hidden for long.
Jordyn could slip up if she spoke to Rianne. Layla could too. And as I knew all too well, we could have moles within our organization—not that we did or knew of, though.
The thought of erasing the memories of anyone who found out sounded like a great idea. But that wouldn’t matter when Layla started to show.
“Congrats,” he said as we reached the porch steps. “It’s a miracle, if you ask me. I didn’t think I would see any of my vampire friends become dads.”
“Trust me, I didn’t think I would ever be one.” I always saw myself fighting, killing, and fucking for eternity.
“Fate has plans for you,” George said. “Big plans.” He sounded as though he knew my destiny. But he didn’t have the ability to read minds or see the future.
“Do you know something I don’t?” I was only half teasing. Maybe Abbey had imparted her vision of my future to Jo.
