Chapter Sixteen

 

 

 

 

 

Living in a hotel was not all it was cracked up to be, not even in the penthouse suite of the Ritz Carlton. Ashlynn was ready to find a home that she and Alaric could make their own. Over the last few weeks since the fire at CRAVE and what she was calling ‘Androu’s Looney Escapade’ to keep things light, they had looked at no less than ten estates, places so big they made her head spin and still Alaric thought they needed something bigger.

“It has to be perfect,” he continued to say. “I never want you to give up your career. I can feel how very much it means to you. That means whatever house we find must be close to the hospital, but still far enough away that we won’t constantly have visitors.”

She knew Alaric was talking about Ruari, Sampson and Leslie since they’d been calling and dropping but to check on them nearly every day. It didn’t take a Brainiac to see that her Vampire was tired of all the togetherness, especially when every other word out of Leslie’s mouth was, “When are y’all gonna make me an auntie?”

Sure, they’d had the discussion that they could have children, whether she remained human or became Vampire, something that was a real shocker to Ashlynn, but also made her very happy. She’d always wanted a big family, at least two girls and two boys, and the way she and Alaric were, well, ‘practicing,’ she had no doubt it was going to happen sooner rather than later.

All her questions had been answered. Alaric was nothing if not patient and kind. No matter when or where she thought of something she wanted to ask him, her Vampire stopped everything to make sure she got the information she needed to be comfortable with the new life she was about to step into.

Although she was more than ready to become a Vampire, Alaric had insisted she take time to think about it, to gather all the facts and after they were properly wed, they would revisit her decision. Until that time, she was finding new and erotic ways to take sips of his blood. That way, if he continued to put her off, at least she knew she would still be with the man she loved forever.

Crossing the living room heading towards the study, she added a little extra sway to the swing of her hips as she sidled up to Alaric’s desk and with an extremely breathy, very exaggerated Texas drawl enticed, “Isn’t it time for a break, Big Guy.”

Pulling her into his lap, Alaric had just begun to tease and tempt her with soft, lingering kisses on her neck when his phone rang. She watched as he looked at the screen then scoffed as he turned the screen towards her so she could see that the caller ID read, ‘UNKNOWN CALLER’. Smiling a devilish smile and winking, Alaric touched the speaker icon and answered, “Well, hello, Clarence, to what do I owe this honor.”

“I hear congratulations are in order,” the Legendary Enforcer replied. “Finding one’s Bloodmate is rare indeed. A treasure you should not take for granted.”

Pulling her close and kissing the tip of her nose, Ash smiled as she listened to Alaric assure Clarence, “On that, we agree. Although, I think you were debating whether you’d have to have Mateo take my head or not. Didi you really think I had gone rogue?”

“The Thirst can be a deadly thing,” Clarence’s tone held its usual steel as he continued. “I have read of rampaging Vampires taking out whole towns and villages trying to quench their Thirst, looking for their mystical Bloodmate.” The Enforcer cleared his throat. “I’m not sure if you’re aware or not, but you are the fifth such case of the mythical Thirst leading to the appearance of a Super’s Bloodmate in just the last few months.”

“I hadn’t heard anything about it, but I will lift my champagne glass to them at our wedding.” Alaric chuckled.

“Don’t you find it odd, that we have gone millennium after millennium without witnessing such an occurrence and now, like magic, they are here?” Clarence continued to push.

“He’s angling at something,” Alaric’s words flowed through her mind. “Not that I care, he always was rather full of himself,” he smiled. “We are together. My world is perfect. I want for no more.”

His words made Ash’s heart beat faster and her body warm with the need to once again have her Vampire all to herself. She knew he had heard her thoughts by the way his eyes turned a seductive hue of gunmetal gray.

Trying not to laugh out loud as Alaric answered the Vampire on the phone, Ash buried her face in Alaric’s shoulder as he joked, “That’s why they pay you the big bucks, Clarence Collins, Legendary Enforcer of the Directive. I trust you’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Not waiting for an answer, her soon-to-be husband not only disconnected the call but also turned off his phone, and pushed her farther back onto the desk.

Standing between her thighs, his erection pushing against the denim of his jeans, Alaric kissed the tip of her nose as he whispered, “Vampire kind will be a helluva lot better if many more Bloodmates appear. I only hope they find the same love and happiness that I have found in you, Ashlynn, my sweet.”

“And I in you, Alaric, my love.” Running her hands over the dragon tattoo that covered the entire left side of his body, her fingers grazed the beast’s jaw as she added, “Let me show you how much.”