Layla adjusted herself, sitting upright a bit more. “Maybe now that I’m not pregnant, my body can’t tolerate blood anymore even though I’m still craving it.”
Doc scratched his chin. “That’s quite possible. But if you couldn’t keep it down, you would’ve been throwing up, not passing out.” Questions were written on Doc’s face. “Next time you have a craving, we’ll monitor you.” Doc regarded me. “I don’t have any of your blood in reserves. While I have you here, meet me in the lab in about fifteen minutes. We’ll need to set up a regimen because Orion will need your blood too. In the meantime, I’ll have Dr. Martin do an exam on Layla. For now, stay put,” he said to Layla in a tone that brooked no argument.
Layla pouted. “I really want a shower and to change into some decent clothes.”
“Once you have a clean bill of health, you can,” Doc said. “The good news is, Dr. Martin is still on-site.” He collected the tray of vials and scurried out.
Layla swung her attention to the TV. “I can’t believe what’s happening. Your dad was right about Adam using the media. What are we going to do, Sam?”
That pain in her voice gutted me. But right now, I didn’t want to focus on anything but her and me. I certainly didn’t want to tell her about the council and that I might have to disappear without her and our kids.
I found the remote and turned off the TV. Then I dragged a rocker closer to the bed, dropped into it, and yawned.
“You look like crap, vampire,” she said. “When was the last time you slept?”
I slid my ass to the edge of the rocker, leaned forward, and laid my head on a sliver of the mattress. “When you and I curled up in bed at nine last night.”
She petted my head. “You should sleep. That’s what the pullout couch in the room is for. Also, we won’t have many quiet moments like this and not just because of our enemies but feedings and changing diapers in the middle of the night.”
I was looking forward to dealing with that rather than our adversaries. “I love you, baby doll. We make beautiful babies together. Do you want more?” The last question came out of nowhere. What the fuck was I asking? I wouldn’t risk Layla’s life again. No fucking way. But I couldn’t take the question back.
She grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked hard. “Are you high?”
“I’m high on you.” My voice was trailing off, and my eyelids were heavy.
She knocked on my head as if she was trying to crack open my skull. “Sam Mason, are you serious?”
It took an enormous amount of effort to sit up, but when I did, she was glaring daggers at me.
I smirked. “Sounds to me you don’t want more rug rats running around.”
“I haven’t thought about it.” She twirled an imaginary circle around my face. “And don’t for a second think those sexy dimples will sway me.”
“Sexy, huh?” I waggled my eyebrows. “Sex sounds good.” The word elicited images of her and me naked and tangled between the sheets.
She squirmed. “As much as I want to fuck your brains out or give you a blow job, that’s not what we’re discussing.”
I growled, smelling her lust and cherry fragrance. The mixture was intoxicating, and my cock came alive. I was more than ready to devour her gorgeous body, something I hadn’t done in what seemed like forever. Toward the end of her pregnancy, sex had been limited. Well, the rough, penetrative kind anyway. My huntress loved wild monkey sex. I chuckled at her reference as images assaulted me of our sweaty nights, both of us naked, her fondling her massive tits, me pumping my cock while I watched her play with herself. Oral had been the name of the game, which was hot as fuck. Still, my dick was dying for the tightness of her pussy, and the more I thought about ramming into her as hard and rough as she liked it, the more I was a second away from losing my load in my jeans.
I rubbed a spot on her inner thigh, my mind wandering as my fangs lowered.
Slapping her hand on mine, her breathing quickened, yet her expression was clinical. “The sex dungeon is closed right now.”
I threw my head back and laughed, and it felt like a twenty-ton weight had been lifted off me.
She collapsed into a fit of giggles. The sound was music to my ears. After a beat, she shivered. “Now back to the topic of kids.” The light in her eyes vanished.
Our relationship had grown so fast that we’d never talked about a family. In fact, I’d knocked her up during our very first roll in the hay. Honestly, I’d never expected her to have Vel-negative blood, the exact type for a human to get pregnant by a vampire. Yet here we were—mom and dad to four beautiful babies. If I’d known the ways Layla’s life would be at risk while carrying inhuman babies, I would’ve thought twice about having children. But hindsight and all that.
I combed my fingers through my hair. “Baby doll, I’m sorry. The question came out of nowhere. Honestly, I would consider more kids in a fucking heartbeat. But it’s dangerous for you.” I tapped my chest. “You are the most important person ever. My heart stopped several times when I heard the nurse say you flatlined. I would die if you had to go through that a second time.”
Her shoulders slumped. “You caught me off guard. But now that I’m thinking about it, I agree with you. It is dangerous, but we also can’t bring more children into this world, not with the dangers facing us.” She puffed out her cheeks. “There’s something I need to tell you.” She picked at a nail as a dark cloud formed over her. “I saw my mom when I died.”
The door swung open, and my sister blew in like a powerful hurricane. “There you are, brother. I just talked to Sawyer.” Jo regarded Layla as she sidled up to the other side of the bed. “Does Layla know?”
“Know what?” Layla asked, her smooth forehead wrinkling. “That Fred murdered my dad?”
Jo shook her head, astonishment etched in her silver eyes. “That you and Abbey are cousins, and if I’m right, first cousins once removed since your grandparents are Abbey’s great-grandparents.”
