Chapter Four – Sheridan
The smell was what woke him up.
Earthy yet sweet, like a cinnamon bun with just a little too much cinnamon in it. Maybe with a hint of nutmeg as well. Sheridan's arms tightened around Maribel as the scent of her pregnancy roused him. It was the middle of the night, but there was a full moon outside, and the vampire king could see as well as if it had been daylight.
His human was cuddled in against his arm, her arm over his chest. The black silky nightdress she was wearing barely contained her breasts, and she had kicked off the blankets sometime during the night, revealing that it had twisted up around her waist. She was wearing white 'granny panties' that looked adorable on her. Sleeping in the same bed was difficult, although the closer he was the easier controlling himself seemed to be. He wanted to take this in steps, and sex would have to wait.
Pregnant. Sheridan smiled, resisting the urge to wake her and tell her. Happiness bubbled up in him, making him feel warm and cozy from the inside out. His human was pregnant. After all these weeks of waiting, the treatments had finally taken.
His smile faded.
She was pregnant. That was good news. But he still hadn't figured out what to tell her now. He sighed, staring at the ceiling. Perhaps it would be best to tell her the truth of why he was holding back, why he couldn't drink from her or make love to her. He longed to taste her blood, longed to be joined in body.
But he was afraid.
When vampires had sex with humans or tasted their blood, it was far too easy to lose control. Far too easy to snap fragile bones or drink them dry. If he did that to Maribel…
His cellphone buzzed. Too quiet to disturb Maribel, but loud enough that it would have woken him up if he had been sleeping. The king eased himself out of his wife's grasp and grabbed his cell phone as he left the room. It was Billie.
"This had better be an emergency."
"We have a situation, my lord. You had better come to the entrance quickly." Billie's voice was stressed, and Sheridan could hear shouting in the background.
He repressed a groan. But then, that was the life of a king. He belonged to his people, and his time was not his own.
"I'll be right there." He quickly dressed and headed down.
There was a human male in the main hall, being restrained by two guards. The male was dark-haired and dressed all in black.
Sheridan frowned as he approached the group. "What is going on here?"
"Sir." Billie hurried to his side. "The wall guard caught this man attempting to sneak into the city. He says his name is Phil Bennet, and he's demanding to see Maribel."
Sheridan's head jerked as he whipped around to narrow his eyes at the human. He was glaring at the king at this point, and Sheridan met the challenging eyes with a glare of his own. The human immediately flinched and looked away. He was quite muscular, for a human, and had an air of self-confidence about him, despite clearly being intimidated by the vampires around him.
"What do you want with my wife?" Sheridan demanded.
"She's not your wife. I saw that stupid video you made on the internet, but she's not yours. She's my fiancé and I want her back!"
Sheridan blinked rapidly, but that was the only indication he gave of how much his mind was reeling. Maribel engaged to another man? Was this why she was so determined that they marry before their baby was born? So he wouldn't be able to change his mind once this came to light?
But this man wore expensive shoes and had the look of a rather well-to-do individual. Why would Maribel come here seeking to be a living blood donor, half a million dollars in debt, if she was engaged to this man? Unless she had run away from him for some reason.
"Billie, get Janet and bring Maribel to my office."
His PA nodded and scurried off. Sheridan cast a dismissive glare at the human, then instructed the guard to take him to his office. He wasn't going to believe this man's word over Maribel's. He wanted to hear her side of the story before he made any decisions.
Shortly after, Maribel came to his office. She wore jeans and a flannel shirt. Her hair was mussed and eyes still sleepy, but they widened at the sight of the man.
"Phil!"
"Mari, baby, I've come to take you—"
Maribel didn't let him finish. She lunged at the man, fists flying. She got him good in the jaw before Sheridan stepped in and separated the two of them. He pulled Maribel back, repressing laughter. Well, that answered that question.
There was no way that these two were engaged. If they had been together once, it ended badly.
"Let go of me!" Maribel writhed in his grasp.
Phil tried to step forward but Billie stopped him. "Mari—"
"Don't talk to me! You con artist of an arrogant, fake boyfriend!"
Sheridan put his hands on Maribel's shoulders and blocked her view of Phil. "Who is he? And what did he do to you?"
"He was my boyfriend. At least I thought he was. He's the reason I had so much debt. He stole my identity, got a bunch of credit cards and ran off to Vegas! Why are you here, Phil? Trying to blackmail me or something?"
"It's not like that. I know I didn't treat you right, but I regret it, ple—"
Sheridan waved a hand to his guards. "Take him to the dungeons."
Maribel's jaw dropped. She stared at him with amazement, although there was a sparkle in her eye that told him that she certainly wasn't opposed to her ex-boyfriend being jailed. The two guards began hauling the human off. Phil went red in the face and howled at them, jerking his arms around as though that would free him.
"I am a human citizen, you have no authority to hold me in your prisons! I know my rights, you are legally required to hand me over to the human police—"
"You were caught trying to breach vampire walls. I am within my rights to question you to find out your motive. Get him out of here." Sheridan glared at the human as he was taken away, then turned back to Maribel. He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry for disturbing you so late."
Maribel shrugged. "I never thought I'd have to see his stupid face again. I'm glad you're throwing him in jail, but… you won't get in trouble, will you? I mean, you won't get arrested to anything?"
Sheridan shook his head. "No. Of course not. I'm a king, they can't just waltz in and arrest me."
"Good."
He smoothed her hair from her forehead. Should he tell her that she was pregnant now, or wait until morning? Maribel's sweet smile stole his heart as she pushed herself to her toes and brushed her mouth against his. The effect was instant. Sheridan wanted to order Billie out, to clear the room and lay his wife on the floor, worshiping every inch of her.
He broke the kiss. "I have some business to take care of. Billie will see you back to our rooms."
Maribel looked disappointed but nodded. "See you tomorrow, then?"
"Yes. Goodnight." He sighed as he watched her leave.