Let Him Reign: An Underworld Romance (12 page)

I spin around and slap my hand over the tall vampire's mouth, reaching my limit after the seventh use of profanity in less than a minute. Of course I can curse with the best of them, but I never do it in front of my four-year-olds!

"You and your potty mouth are about to get kicked out of this kitchen!" I warn him.

The jerk grabs my hand and then bites the shit out of my wrist, making me gasp in a harsh breath. Oh, but after the pain comes the pleasure.

Heath's arm quickly wraps around my head, slapping his palm over my mouth before my first moan escapes. He presses me against the kitchen island with his hard body before shoving his thigh between the two of mine. Within seconds, my eyes close when the blissful waves start rolling through me. I shamelessly hump his leg like a freaking dog.

Coming down from the euphoric high, as soon as Heath removes his hand from me I haul back and slap the shit out of him. "Don’t you
ever
do that again near my boys or without my permission!"

"I won't have to," he says, looking just as arrogant and completely unaffected as before. "You'll be
begging
me to do it because you know he won't ever be able to give you what you need."

With trembling hands, I spin around and grab the two plates of food, escaping to the dining room. Arrogant freaking vampires!

I barely sit down at the table when surfer boy joins us. I narrow my eyes in warning at him before he opens his mouth.

"Hey, tiny Carrot Tops. How's it going?"

The boys blink identical green eyes at him suspiciously but don't respond.

"I'm Heath," he says and continues to be met with silence. "Do you have names or should I just call you Ginger One and Ginger Two?"

"I'm Riley." He finally speaks up around a mouthful of food.                                          

"I'm Noah."

"Riley and Noah. How do I tell you two apart?" Heath asks, looking back and forth between them.

"You can't," Riley replies with a sigh.

I've never had a problem telling them apart, but I'm sure everyone else does. It's their eyes that gives them away. Riley's have always been more confident and observant while Noah's are hesitant and shy.

"Have you boys found the pool yet?" he asks, and now has their undivided attention.

"There's a pool here?" they say simultaneously, while I shudder. I'm terrified of water, especially when it involves my two little boys who can't swim. Actually, neither can I.  

"Sure is. King Cu...I mean Eric's dad had an indoor pool added on just a few years ago."

"Do you have a dad?" Riley asks the man, making me cringe when Heath looks at me with a sad smile.

"I do."

"Our dad's Batman," Noah tells him, making Heath laugh before he can catch himself.

"That is awesome. I bet he stays busy, saving people and fighting crime, right?" He goes along with the story for the boys.

"Yeah, that's why we've never met him," Riley mutters.

"Being a superhero is a big responsibility-" Heath starts and then pauses mid-sentence, squinting to look closer at the boys and then over at me. "How old are you guys?"

"We'll be four on Saturday!" Noah and Riley exclaim in unison.

I start to get concerned when the vampire begins counting something out on his fingers and then curses under his breath when he looks back up at me.

"You know what? I saw Batman at a party almost five years ago," Heath tells the boys.                        

Oh shit!

"Really?" the twins ask with wide-eyed excitement.

"Really. I think I also remember someone mentioning that Catwoman was there, too."

Double shit!

"He said she had long, red hair and green eyes just like your mom."

"Can I talk to you, um, in the kitchen for a minute?" I ask, getting to my feet and yanking Heath up by the front of his Metallica shirt when I walk by him.

"They don't know?" he asks softly as soon as the door swings closed.

"No, of course not! I didn't even know who Eric Last-Name-Unknown was until a few days ago."

"No wonder he's so protective of you. You...you're
that
Hope, and you're his babies' mama!"

"Shh! Eric doesn't know! And please, I'm begging you not to tell him!" I whisper frantically.

"What do you mean he doesn't...the man
can
add and subtract, right? I mean he told me all about you after that night. He was fu-freaking pissed at his old man for screwing him over when he kicked him out and he didn't even know your last name."

"He-he did?" I ask in surprise. Eric had said as much, but I just thought he was feeding me some bullshit.

"Yeah he did. And even after he flew back to school in New York, he made some calls around town to try and find someone who knew the beautiful redhead named Hope."

He really did want to find me. If only he had...

"Heath, please don't say anything to him."

"Why not? If nothing else, he'll be good for all the financial support you'll ever need for them," he says, crossing his arms stubbornly over his broad chest.

"We don't need his money, and we don't belong here in his fancy life. As soon as the vampires who threatened me and the boys are dead then we can leave."

"Vampires threatened you? What vampires?" he asks seriously.

"Simon Kellum, the owner of
Heaven,
and a Mr. Drake that came in the other night. Do you know them?"

"Yeah, I know Bron Drake," he snorts. "The soulless asshole wanted to know just for shits and giggles what would happen when a vampire and a shifter mate and reproduce together."

Shifter? I'd heard the term before after someone explained to me how vampires came to be. The group no longer wanted to be shifters, being able to transform into freaking animals, but in the process they turned into blood drinkers instead.

"And? What happens?"

"You get me," he says sadly gesturing to himself. "I'm a blood-drinking wereleopard. Bron Drake is my father."

Oh. My. God.

"You're..."

"Mommy, can we have some dessert now?" Noah asks when he strolls into the kitchen.

"Ah, yeah. I think Marjorie said there's some leftover banana pudding," I say, trying to hide my fluster. I'm in a kitchen talking to the son of the man who I'm pretty sure wants me dead. I tell Heath, "We can discuss this later."

"I don't think they'll be a lot of talking going on later," he replies, waggling his eyebrows before he finally leaves.

I let out the breath I was holding the whole time that man was near me. There's something about him, probably what it is he can offer, that has me craving more. I want him to sink his teeth into me anywhere. Everywhere. Why does that make me feel guilty? It's not like there's anything special between me and Eric. I'm his live-in whore and he likes fucking me. If that's all I am then he shouldn't mind sharing me.

Pushing away all those thoughts, I serve the boys their pudding, then lift the kitchen phone off the receiver and dial the main number for the hospital. I need to check on Kayla, especially since I lost all of yesterday and haven't talked to her since the day before.

"Eden Memorial Hospital, how can I help you?" the pleasant elderly lady's voice asks.

"Kayla Harrington's room please."

"Just a moment," she says before the phone starts ringing again. It's on the third one when she picks up.

"Hello?" My shoulder's slump at the weak sound of Kayla's voice.

"Hey, Kay! How are you doing?" I feel so damn guilty that she's laid up in a hospital from trying to protect my boys. I owe her more than I can ever repay.

"Oh I'm great. I don't know why they won't let me go home," she responds, sounding grumpy. That makes me think she might actually be all right.

"If they won't let you leave then it's because you need to be there."

"It's just bumps and bruises and a little anemia, but I swear I never want to see another bloodsucker again for the rest of my life," she whispers quietly.

"I don't blame you one bit, sweetie."

"So how are you?" she asks.

"Me, I'm great now that you kept my boys safe and Eric brought them back to me. I'm worried about you. You're going to come stay here when they release you, right?"

"You mean hang out in that huge mansion with you and get waited on and pampered like royalty? Hell yes!"

"Good."

"I mean, there are no vampires there, right?"

"Um, no, of course not," I say, and make a note to tell Heath to stay the hell away from Kayla when she gets here.        

Eric

My hands were so sweaty they kept slipping off my fork during dinner. I don't even remember what I shoved into my mouth. Pasta of some sort? I was too busy looking forward to fucking Hope. It's only been two days, but I'm desperate to have her again.

The idea of a voyeur has propelled me way past throwing wood and into hurling steel beams territory. The part of tonight's agenda I can't get on board for is him participating. Seeing Hope being touched by another man isn't sitting real well with me. Especially not with the man that's at the moment waiting with me in my room for her, singing an old Ludacris rap song while doing shirtless pull-ups on my bathroom door frame.

"
Maybe your girl and my friend can trade; tag team, off the ropes! On the ocean or in the boat! Factories or on hundred spokes!
"

"That's enough," I warn him while I fidget on the sofa. I refuse to pace.

"
What about up in the candy sto' that chocolate, chocolate make it melt. Whips and chains, handcuffs, smack a little booty up with my belt.
"

"Seriously?" I mutter.

"
Scream help play my game; Dracula man, I'll get my fangs. Horseback and I'll get my reins, school teacher let me get my brains.
"

"Stop!" I yell, scrubbing a palm over my face.

When he sings through the first line of the chorus I look up at his raised blond eyebrow and realize my mistake.

"Stop singing!" That alpha command finally shuts him up.

"So are you still on this whole
I can't fuck her
trip?" he asks. "Cause that's bullshit. If it wasn't for me, she'd be sick as a damn dog and you wouldn't be getting any pussy."

"You're not fucking her."

"What if
she
wants to fuck
me
?" he asks. "You gonna tell her no? I'm pretty sure you'd give her anything she wanted."

"Shut the fuck up," I grumble.   

"You didn't answer my question."

"No, I didn't." Because I don't want to admit the answer. What could I do if Hope wanted to fuck him? I don't have any claim to her even though I wish she was mine.

“I bet you a grand she’ll beg me to fuck her.”

“Whatever,” I scoff.

"We had a nice little chat today. Very educational," Heath says with a smirk, knowing I won't like that one bit.

"What? When?" I demand.

"Around lunchtime in the kitchen. Ginger One and Ginger Two are pretty damn cute, right?" he asks.

"Stay away from Riley and Noah. You're a bad influence that they don't need at such a young age."

"Why do you give a shit?"

"Because Hope's protective of them. She's had to raise them on her own since the asshole who knocked her up hasn't ever been there for them."

"Ha!" he barks out a laugh. "Got that right." 

A knock on the door thankfully interrupts our idiotic bantering. I jump up to walk across the spacious room to open it for her. 

"Hey," I say, instantly letting go of all my anger and annoyance when I see her beautiful, smile.

"Hey," she says in return. In nothing but a short cotton sleepshirt I can see her tight nipples taunting me, knowing I want to touch them and taste them. "Can I come in?" she asks after I stand there staring at her like a teenage boy with his first dirty magazine.

"Oh, sure." I step aside to let her through before shutting and locking the door again.

"Hello, darlin'," the jackass greets her with a lecherous grin. He does a few more pull-ups, flexing for her since she's watching him closely.

"Hi, Heath. You been practicing using a few words other than fuck, ass, hell, and bitch?"

"You know you can't wait to have my filthy mouth on you again. And here's a secret," he says before landing on his feet in front of her and lowering his voice. "I don't need to bite you for my mouth to make you come."

"Stop talking," I order and he growls at me because that's all he can do. "So how do you want to do this?"

"That's up to you, but I'd really like to have both of your mouths on me at the same time," Hope says, pulling her nightshirt over her head, leaving her naked. The only thing covering her is the long, wavy strawberry-blond locks streaming down her ivory shoulders. "Or my mouth on your cock while his mouth is on me."

Fucking. Hell.

Before I can respond, she's in front of me, kissing me for all she's worth before she hits her knees. Yanking my sleep pants and boxer-briefs down, my raging boner springs free while I stand there naked like an awkward virgin.

"I love a woman who doesn't waste any time," Heath mutters as he comes closer.

Hope's warm mouth manages to swallow my hesitancy of having him watch right along with my entire thick length.

"
Goddamn
," Heath groans, watching Hope's head bob faster and faster. "My cock is so fucking jealous right now." 

Kneeling behind her, Heath grabs her hair and holds it up off her neck, unfortunately making Hope pause her incredible suction.

"Well, don't stop, darlin'. If I can't fuck you then I want to watch you suck him off while I suck you off," he tells her and her green eyes look back up at me before she resumes blowing my mind. She reaches for my sac at the same time, making me groan. "Oh yeah. He likes that. I bet he'd love you sucking on him right there, too."

"Oh fuck!" After Hope’s mouth moves lower, sucking on my balls while her hand keeps stroking my cock, my eyes close as I shout unintelligible words.

When I look back down, Heath is licking his tongue around Hope's neck, causing her to shiver. His eyes stay on mine when he reaches around and cups her breasts, daring me to tell him to stop.

"You ready for me to bite you, Hope?" he asks her permission even though that's the reason he's here. After she nods, he chops down on her neck, making her stiffen before moaning around my cock. I'm so damn close to the edge and it feels so fucking good. I'm so blissed out I don't even get pissed when I see Heath's hand move between Hope’s legs. "You didn't say I couldn't touch her," he points out when he's done biting her.

"Do you want him to touch you?" I ask. Her body shaking and rapid moans are my response. Of course she does, and why should I be the one to stop him from making her feel good? Once her tremors ease she looks up at me and goes back to applying even more suction to my cock.

"Ah, fuck yes. So close," I warn her and she doesn't dare let up until I explode down her throat with a guttural roar. While I'm trying to recover, Hope's mouth releases my cock and turns around to cover Heath's lips. He doesn't seem the least bit bothered about tasting me on her. His hand grips the back of her hair tightly, holding her to him when he pulls her down to the floor on top of him. After that, I can only stand and watch, entranced as Heath's hands frantically jump from her ass to her breasts and pussy while she straddles him, grinding on his hard cock through his jeans. Hope's ass cheeks tighten when she gets off again by dry humping the bastard. Her hand quickly moves under his waistband into his pants where she starts jerking him off.

It's all happening so fast that I'm not sure how I feel about it. Can't say I'm pissed or even jealous. According to my cock that's fully engorged again, I'm pretty sure I'm aroused, like incredibly turned on. There's a live porno taking place in the middle of my bedroom floor and it’s insanely hot. Listening to the moans and other sounds the two are making, seeing Hope's naked ass riding him, and even his hands making her come have gotten me all worked up.

"Oh God. Too dry," he mutters, sounding in distress. "Lick your hand. Get lube. Oh fuck."

"Suck his cock," I say, surprising myself.  No one second guesses the order. Hope unzips his jeans and gets busy blowing him while he cries out various obscenities.

Stepping out of my clothes that are still around my ankles, I fall to my knees behind her. Straddling Heath's legs, I reach around and grope her heavy tits while rubbing my hard cock against her ass. I'm definitely not expecting the stinging bite on my arm or the sudden pleasure it brings. It's been awhile since I've been sucked on—or sucked off, rather—by a vampire, and the instant orgasm is even better than I remember. I can't hold in the grunts or curses when the fevered ecstasy causes my cock to spontaneously erupt all over Hope's ass.

"Holy fuck," I hear Heath groan between pants while I'm trying to recover. "Ah, that's good.
Ahh
!"

I finally get up from the floor to get a washcloth from the bathroom and bring it back to clean up the mess I made on Hope's back.

"Goddamn, woman," Heath says, raising himself up until his lips are covering hers. "We both owe you a thorough pussy licking after that. You're a fucking cock sucking pro. No wonder King Cunt keeps you around."

"She is a
pro
," I mutter. I hate the reminder of how many men she's been with before. Any man that was willing to pay up. That's all I am and will ever be to her or any other woman. A big ass dollar sign. That realization pisses me off and it also reminds me that I haven't paid her anything since she's been here. I haven’t even pleasured her since the first night. I'm fucking selfish for using her body just like all the other men.

So what's the current tally of what I owe her? One fuck and about three blowjobs? I pull my pants and boxer-briefs back on and then head for my wallet beside the bed. After counting out all I have on me, about two thousand, I toss the stack of hundreds on the bed.

"Hope that's enough," I say before walking out of my bedroom and slamming the door behind me.