Chapter 20

Charlotte

Samuel kicked my ankle under the table, and I peeled my eyes away from Alaric to glare at him. It wasn't my fault that Alaric was so pretty that I couldn't take my eyes off him. I'd only seen jawlines like that in magazines.

"What?" I hissed at him. "Maybe someone else could choke me since you won't."

Alaric let out a snort of laughter.

"I think your blood mate is teasing you," he said, still chuckling, but Samuel still looked furious. Perhaps furious enough to choke me once our guest left.

Samuel had spent time explaining how he met me and why I wasn't his blood slave or thrall, which didn't sound very pleasant. Granny was upstairs asleep after she agreed to stay with us until she recovered. She told us a man had pushed her but the resident staff didn't take her seriously.

"I can't tell you how delighted I am that you found your mate, Samuel. I can't deny that I feel slighted by the fates since we have roamed the earth for hundreds of years yet never discovered ours," he said with a solemn expression. "It's difficult to imagine that a human mate could carry our children."

He glanced at me with an apologetic look, but Samuel had told me how the majority of vampires looked down on humans or considered us as cattle.

"No offence, my dear," he said with a lazy smile on his face.

Samuel gripped my leg under the table, and I looked away from his pretty friend. I had no idea how jealous Samuel was, but I placed my hand over his until he relaxed his grip.

"I will take my leave. I hope to see you both again, hopefully with your firstborn."

When Samuel got up, Alaric raised his hand up to stop him.

I will see myself out. I'm sure you have a few things to discuss with Charlotte," he said, sticking me in it. "It's been a pleasure, Miss Reid.

"Soon to be Mrs Lawton," Samuel quickly added.

I felt I should get up and drop down into a curtsy or something since he spoke like royalty. I guess he was royalty in the vampire world.

"Thank you, and likewise," I said with a smile.

As soon as he left, I turned towards Samuel.

"I think Granny would have loved him."

He grunted before mumbling something under his breath before he pushed his chair away from the table and pulled me onto his lap.

"So that's it? We are safe now?" I asked.

He nuzzled his face into my neck.

"Yes, Derrick left as soon as Nicholas was taken care of, and Alaric won't be hanging around if he is on the hunt for his blood mate."

"Do you think they will keep the information between themselves?"

He lifted his head to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes as I welcomed his gentle kiss. It was slow, to begin with, before he deepened the kiss by pushing his tongue into my mouth. I squirmed in his lap until he pulled away to gaze into my eyes. He smiled before he ran a finger over my wet lip.

"They have more reason than any vampire to keep this fact hidden. Over the years, many attempts have been made to eliminate them."

"Hmm. I guess that's nothing new in history."

"You weren't a good girl this evening," he said, lifting me up.

I grinned at him before giving him an innocent look.

"I don't know what you mean," I said as he was halfway up the stairs.

"You will by the time the night is over," he growled.

I felt like letting out an evil cackle, but I wasn't sure what he would do to me, so I didn't push my luck. I leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for being my hero," I whispered.

He paused as he reached our bedroom door.

"Yeah, that's not going to work. You're still in trouble."

It was worth a try.