20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Leander

I clean Hayden up and change him into the pair of shorts and the hoody I packed for him while he was fretting over my collection of belts and watches back home. A hum has settled into my bones, occasionally sending little zaps of prickling pleasure along the expanse of my skin.

I’ve not felt like this before. So right, like I’ve found a missing part that I hadn’t even known I had lost. Perhaps… I was too harsh on Auntie. Too cynical. Because since Hayden came into my life everything changed.

I don’t even know how or when. It simply did. I had no power to fight it, Fate had its way. My world shifted to have him in it. To want him there.

It wasn’t supposed to happen, our arrangement had an expiration date. But it did and I’m not taking it back.

I scoop Hayden up and carry him to our car, trepidation spreading across me as I leave him there so I can bid an early goodbye to my aunt. We were supposed to stay the night, but I want to take him home. I think he would prefer that. We need to talk.

I run into the painter from earlier, the one I instructed to do a piece for me while Hayden was gobbling up food and drinks. He’s flushed and still excited, his murky green eyes studying me with both curiosity and awe.

“Master Adetu! This was indescribable. I have to say that it’s been centuries since I’ve been so utterly enchanted by a claiming. I hope you and your mate visit us again.” He chuckles, rocking back and forth on his heels. “It would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone shares the sentiment.”

My mate . Giddiness and a tinge of yearning swell in my chest at the recognition. I want to go back to Hayden, to be near him, so I better make this quick.

“I will speak to Hayden about it. If he wishes to, I will make arrangements.” I dip my head in respect at the older vampire. “Now if you will excuse me, I must speak to my aunt before we depart.”

“Ah, do hold up a moment. I have finished the painting.” He scurries into the room he came out of and comes back with a framed painting already wrapped for travel. “The muse was vicious but generous in her blessing today. I do hope you like it.”

“I do not doubt that for a moment, Master Kehler. I will make sure to send an endorsement your way when I am back in the States.”

I exchange a few more words with the other vampire, then make my way to my aunt’s office. My entire being is buzzing with post-sex bliss and the need to return to Hayden.

“Leander!” Auntie beams at me from her leather chair, her eyes curious and fond. “Hayden is truly charming. Look what he got me!” She hands me a magnet with the Tampa Scarecrows crest, looking impossibly thrilled. “It will look so good next to the Eagles one I got when I visited San Francisco.”

When did Hayden manage to do this? I remember mentioning my aunt’s obsession with fridge magnets, but it didn’t cross my mind that he’d actually get her one.

My mouth stretches into a wry smile. Pride balloons inside me. “When did he give it to you?”

“The magnet? Hmm, I think it was when I ran into him at the drinks bar, while you were talking to Meredith.” She chuckles. “Told me to keep it a secret from you so you don’t accuse him of trying to charm me behind your back.”

I prop the painting against the bookshelf overflowing with old tomes and first editions that probably cost as much as the pedigree horse that I got, then cross my arms and lift an eyebrow at her. “Did he manage to?”

Auntie stands up, her graceful face scrunched in an attempt to restrain the goofy expression trying to burst out of her. “You know… I was worried when Montgomery first told me you found someone. And so close to the ball, no less.” She drums her fingers along the oak top of the desk, the claws slightly protruding and thus making a scraping sound. “I thought that perhaps you might try to fool me into believing you’ve found your mate, so I would leave you alone. I do know how opposed you are to the arranged marriages I’ve been trying to push you into.”

Maintaining as neutral an expression as I can, I move over to the ornate windowsill and lean my hip against it, glancing out at the murky garden where candlelit lamps illuminate an eerie path into the pine forest around us. “If you know, then why keep doing it?”

She sighs. “Because I worry, Leander. Losing your father the way we did… You were too young to truly grasp the gravity of it, but it changed things.”

I know that, in theory. The Garlic Pandemic we’ve been trying to contain began around the time my father took his own life.

“Traits carry over. Tendencies. Just like appearance. You are so much like him, and it scares me sometimes.” Her eyes go distant and for the next few moments she seems lost in some memory I am not privy to.

Auntie and my father were best friends, siblings in the truest sense of the word. Some part of me misses both my parents even if I spent so little time with them, but for her it’s different. I can sense the heartbreak any time my father is brought up, the bond and kinship they shared. It’s different to that of a lover and not something I will ever truly understand since I’m an only child, but that’s fine.

“Ah.” She claps her hands, pulling me out of my thoughts. “But I don’t need to worry anymore it would seem. Or bug you to get married.”

I try to reel it in, to contain it and appear unaffected, but the smile breaks out on my face anyway. “You don’t.”

She joins me near the window and squeezes my arm. Tilting her head to the side like a curios dog, she studies my face in an unnerving kind of way that I can’t read. “The way he looks at you and the way you look at him, Leander… It cannot be faked. No matter how good both of you think you might be at fooling those around you.”

Adrenaline snaps to life inside me, my eyes going uncharacteristically wide. “So you knew?”

“Does it matter? It would seem things worked out in the end, did they not?” She folds her arms over her chest, her bracelets dangling. Age doesn’t really matter to us, vampires, but it does make us vain. “Or are you telling me you intend to let him go? To let him return to being a normal human and live his days out until Fate rips him out of yours?”

A growly hiss tears out of me, my fangs protruding as I fist my hand and send it crashing into the wall. I’ve never experienced this before, emotions so strong and deep that my vampiric side wins over. It is scary, but also exciting. Freeing. Right. Because it stems from my soul’s yearning for the one person in this entire world who’s meant to be mine.

Auntie chuckles, but there is only affection behind it despite her conceited grin. “If I was one of your friends, or a product of this century as you are, ‘I told you’ is the exact response I would give you. But I am more mature than that, dear Leander. Now shoo.” She waves me off, still smiling. “You have a flight to catch. And don’t rush things with Hayden or overwhelm him with your particular brand of intense. I swear, you take after your father when it comes to character flaws. Your mother was a sweetheart.” Nodding at something she seems to find funny about it, she strokes the fat emerald stone she keeps on a leather string under her clothes and lets her gaze travel me from head to toe. “But then again, Hayden did strike me as the type that can handle it.”

I wonder about my aunt’s words as I retrace my steps back to the car. My human—my mate —is sleeping with his head against the cool glass of the window, his brows slightly furrowed. What is he dreaming of, to make him look so grumpy?

“Ready to depart, Master Adetu?” the driver asks me from the front. I instructed Montgomery to stay, seeing no reason to deprive him of the remaining fun the ball has to offer.

“Yes. I believe you’ve booked the flights?”

He nods, guiding the car down the paved driveway. “As requested.”

Good. I lean back into the seat and let my body relax now that I’m close to Hayden. His presence soothes any remaining agitation, his even breathing lulling me into a haze that will make the journey go in the blink of an eye. But something is missing, I realize, as a strange pulsating sensation of need sizzles across my skin.

My gaze locks on Hayden’s sleeping form, his chest rising and falling on deep inhales. Extricating his head carefully so I don’t wake him up, I guide it to my shoulder and place it there. I cradle the rest of his body as close to me as it’s physically possible, bliss and contentment flooding me when he mumbles my name in his sleep and tosses an arm possessively over my stomach.

Inhaling his scent that still carries a hint of my own, I close my eyes and enjoy the rightness of falling asleep with my mate in my arms.

Hayden doesn’t truly wake until we arrive at my mansion. It makes for an entertaining experience at the airport, his groggy confusion as to where we are and how we’ve gotten there causing more than a few huffs of laughter. I let him sleep in the car, tucking him against my side again, at least until we stop by a gas station to pick up some food.

He’s ravenous, if a little out of it still, but once the food has settled in, his pretty eyes regain their focus.

“I can’t believe I slept the whole way back! I vaguely remember the awkwardness at the airport, but that’s about it… Why not wake me up?” He stretches, causing the hoodie to ride up and expose the area of delectable skin right above his hips.

My cock gives a twitch as I spy one of the marks I left there, a lovely pink splotch that won’t disappear for a few days. It’s rather obvious, so his teammates will likely see it. Satisfaction rears its head. Good . Hayden is mine. He’s taken, and everyone needs to know it.

“Because you were tired,” I reply, hoisting our suitcase and the wrapped painting from the car’s trunk. I am the cause of it, the reason he passed out from pleasure.

He scrunches his nose, pausing at the door to wait for me to catch up. As I reach him, I can’t help but touch him, running my fingers along the curve of his sharp jaw. He sighs, the exhale betraying how much he enjoys it even before he leans into the contact.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, my voice coming out a little raspy.

His body mostly suppresses a shiver, but it can’t fool me. Gently, I place my hand at the low of his back, then slide it lower, dragging my fingers down his crease until they locate his hole. Rubbing it with just enough pressure so I can feel it through the fabric of his clothes, I lean close and breathe in a lungful of him.

His brilliant eyes cut to my face, the three colors enchanting and vivid under the midday sun. “A little sore and tender.” He licks his lips, leaving them glistering and wet. “And if you carry on doing that, horny too.”

“I’d be happy to help with that”—I press a little harder, just enough so I can sink the tip of my finger past that tight rim of muscles.

He lets out a tiny moan, biting that plump bottom lip. “I don’t think this is a good idea. I need to pack and go.”

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he jerks away as if bitten. Something stormy passes over his beautiful face, clouding the hazel of his eyes. The sliver of a smile disappears into a downturn of his lips, his brows slanting. He steps back, panting and clenching his hands into fists.

My world narrows down to him. To the sadness that engulfs his presence, to the despair that bleeds through every pore of his skin.

“Hayden, what’s wrong?”

He averts his gaze, tensing up even more when I reach out.

My stomach sinks, everything in me screaming to comfort him. To make it better, to give him anything he wants so he will look and smile at me again. “Please, tell me. Are you unwell?”

Did I overdo it last night? Pushed him more than I should have? Scared him? But his body and presence were in sync with mine, I could feel it. He wanted me, he craved me in that same intoxicating way.

Swallowing hard, he forces a smile. “I am fine. Just… I think I need a shower.”

Before I have time to insist that he tell me what’s bothering him, he’s scanned the access card I gave him and disappeared inside my house. I hear the thuds of his feet up the stairs, each one causing the sudden throbbing in my head to intensify.

I snarl at nothing in particular. Anger and fear suffocate me, goading me toward violence. It’s almost too much, the emotion too strong because it concerns Hayden. Because he’s displeased and disheartened with something and I have no idea how to fix it. What if it’s me? What if showing him how completely his I am via my body was too much? I haven’t even courted him officially… I haven’t made my intentions clear.

Frantic, I busy myself hanging the painting in the most prominent space in the hall. I’m done with it too quickly, the beautiful piece riling me up further. Hissing at nothing and everything again, I stalk into the kitchen. My head is all over the place, my body vibrating. Waiting for him to come down so we can talk is harder than dealing with the symptoms that come with not feeding on blood for too long. It’s like I have a rope around my neck, strangling me slowly. What if he leaves? What if he doesn’t accept me? I don’t think I can survive it.

Footsteps reach my ears. Stomach whirling, I dash out. I’ve cornered Hayden at the stairs a moment later, his captivating eyes glaring straight at me. They are alert, and still full of those bleak emotions that have no place here. His pulse pounds in his veins, too quick to be calm despite his deceptive outward appearance.

“Hey…” he trails off awkwardly, flinching away when I attempt to touch him. “Thanks for letting me crash. And you know, everything else. I’ll get out of your way now.” He brushes past me, his presence wailing, screaming, protesting. “Oh, and about the money… I, um… It feels weird to take it when I had so much fun. You were… really nice, Leander. So nice in fact that I—”

He sucks in a sharp breath, freezing in front of the painting I’d just put up. I stand next to him, close but not touching no matter how desperate I am to feel his heat and solidity.

“What is this?” he asks, his voice so desperate and hopeful, it breaks my heart and uplifts it at the same time.

I take in the portrait Master Kehler painted of Hayden smiling with a glass of wine in his hand. He didn’t drink it, he doesn’t really like wine, but he took a sip out of respect to my aunt who insisted he should at least try it. It’s a gorgeous piece, though only so because of the subject it depicts.

“Why is it here ?” Hayden demands, his voice strained and shaky. “Why? You don’t even like portraits! You like landscapes! Why are you making this so fucking hard? It was supposed to be fun, a way for me to survive until I got back on my feet. No strings attached, just sex while we help each other out. Not this!” he roars, pointing at the painting. He spins on his heel, his eyes blazing when they meet mine. “Why?” He fists my shirt, yanking me forward. “Our arrangement had an expiration date! It was all fake. So why did you get a stupid horse? Or suddenly become a hockey fanatic? Why do you cook dinner for me when no one even knows about it? Why, Leander? Why are you doing all of this?”

He lets go of me, but doesn’t step away. His hands splay on my chest, the warring emotions in him seeping inside me through the contact. Fear. Yearning. Sadness. Hope. Heartbreak. Affection. Determination. Eyes not meeting mine, he presses his forehead into my shoulder, his sporadic breaths crashing into me.

“Why did you make it so easy to think there could be something real between us when our worlds are too different? What am I going to do now? I’m in love with you, for real, that wasn’t supposed to happen! But you made it impossible not to. Why? Why do this to me?”

It clicks, slots right into place, the last piece of the mystery. The distance he put between us, the strange looks, the overly busy schedule. Ah, how very silly a thing human doubt is. Circumstances, our environment, past experiences, people… they all shape us. Mold us into what we are with our strengths and flaws. Hayden’s hard life… I will erase all of it and give him a new one. One that he deserves, one where he can shine, one where he knows his place is at my side, right next to me as we rule over a piece of the world.

He’s not afraid to be mine, that was not what was clouding him. He was afraid to want it. To believe in it even if he could feel we belong together.

I cup his face and force him to look at me. “Because I love you, and have loved you from the moment you walked into that bar. Your presence called out to mine, Hayden. I know you felt it, too. I couldn’t stay away. Yes, it took me a while to realize why, but I know now. You are meant to be mine. You are my mate, and I am yours.”

His body sags, going putty in mine. He blinks slowly, processing my words. “Your mate… You mean, like, a soulmate or something?”

I press a kiss to his forehead. “Yes, like a soulmate. So, you can’t leave me.” I hum against his temple, letting my fangs out so he can feel their gentle scrape. “I won’t let you.”