Worry sliced through him as he thought of the possible reasons for the meeting being longer than expected. He knew that at least Hart was doubting his control and he was sure that the human woman wouldn’t hesitate in locking Lily down in chains if she thought Lily was out of control. He knew from the moment he met the guardian that she was a shoot first and ask questions later and James couldn’t understand how Lily could put her faith in the human.
A pull at his pant leg brought James out of his thoughts and he looked down at the little boy at his side. A. J. looked up at him with large hazel eyes that seemed much too large for his face and a serious expression on his face. It still seemed surreal to James that this was his son, but even he saw the similarities between him and the boy. The boy tugged his pant leg again, calling out “Daddy, up” then lifted his arms in the air.
The word “daddy” still struck him hard whenever he heard it said to him with a large grin and a strange sense of pride filled his chest, James picked up the little boy and set him on his lap. The boy seemed to wiggle forever till he finally settled down and babbled on about everything that crossed his mind. James tried to follow what A. J. was saying while following the conversation of the adults but the little boy was by far more insistent that James’s attention was on him.
Quickly as he had come, A. J. became bored and wiggling and squirming, demanded that James come play with him. Everyone smiled knowingly as he excused himself to have a surprisingly strong and determined two-year-old lead him to the living room. They sat on the floor with Matt, who was playing with some wooden blocks. “Ukle Jass,” Matt called to him then pointed to a four block tower, demanding he look at the apparently astounding tower he had made.
“James,” Sandy called to him, walking into the living room followed by Liz. “It’s time these two get to bed,” she told him, earning cries of dismay and proclamations of not being tired from the two boys. Liz picked up her son and told them all goodbye before walking back out of the living room. She seemed to look rather pissed for some reason and Sandy shook her head as she watched the other leave, but a smile beamed on her face when she turned to him and A. J.
“Bedtime A. J.,” she told the boy who cried no again, but she didn’t respond instead turned to James. “Would you like to do the honors?”
“Uh huh!” A. J. cried out. “Daddy bed! Story!” he demanded and James got up off the floor then picked up the boy.
“Now who can say no after an argument like that,” he said with a laugh and Sandy shook her head.
“You better or that boy will be spoiled rotten,” she lectured him but it held no heat, quite the opposite there was nothing but fondness in them. James laughed and took his son upstairs to Lily’s room. Setting A. J. on the floor as he looked for his pajamas. A frown crossed his face as he saw the luggage was still packed. She was still planning on leaving, he thought sourly.
Well, he wasn’t going to let her, not with A. J. he swore, as he found A. J.’s clothes but he was confident that she wouldn’t try to his son away from him. No. The real danger was her leaving all by herself. James winced, feeling as if he was physically hit, as the weight of how much he didn’t want that to happen fell on him. As much as he didn’t want to have any hopes, he really wanted her to stay.
“Daddy, story!” A. J. demanded, holding up a book and James forced a smile on his face that didn’t stay forced too long when he sat next to his son. He picked up the book and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Seriously, your mother is reading this to you?” He asked as he flipped through the Three Little Pigs. “Let me guess she reads you little red riding hood too?” He asked, but the boy simply demanded he read the book to him. “Alright, alright but first let’s get you dressed for bed,” he told A. J. and set the book aside.
By time A. J. had fallen asleep, James had memorized the book and was near the point if he had to read. “And he huffed and puffed…” one more time he was going to be doing his own “blew the house down.” To his surprise, he was hesitant to get up out of the bed and leave his son. It felt good to be laying there next to him and after missing so much already, James didn’t want to leave, but he knew he had to.
The sun had set almost three hours ago and he had to make sure that Lily was at home and safe. Carefully slinking out of the bed, James gave the boy a kiss on his forehead and pulled up the covers, tucking him in. He picked up the clothes from the floor and cast one final glance back to the boy. His son, he thought with a wave of pride and love. He dragged himself out of the room and quietly closed the door and made his way downstairs.
James swung his key ring in circles as he walked towards his apartment, his thoughts on Lily. He wasn’t happy that she hadn’t called at all. She could’ve called to let him know how the meeting went with the Aequivalere and more importantly let him know that she was safely in his apartment when the sun had set. He stopped at his door and pushed in the key then froze when fresh scents hit him. Vampires and more importantly Silvano.
Unlocking the door quickly, James pushed open the door and walked in but stopped after taking only a couple of steps. Lily laid on the floor, unmoving with her back to him. He rushed over to her, rolling her over onto her back. She blinked at him a couple of times her now red-brown eyes seemed to have difficulty focusing on him. There was blood on her lips and chin, not much but enough.
It seemed to shine bright ruby red against her pale skin and as James picked her up and placed her head in his lap he noticed that her skin was icy. He placed a gentle hand on her neck, confirming what he already knew. The sluggish beat of her near nonexistent pulse was another indication that her vampire was in control. When her eyes managed to focus on him, she gave him a lopsided grin. “James!” she cheered, sounding well beyond intoxicated.
“What happened Lily,” he demanded gently brushing the hair out of her face and fighting an overpowering feeling of guilt that he wasn’t there to protect her.
“Silvano came,” she said breathily, her hand reaching up and caressing his cheek with a feather light touch. “And I drank,” she continued just as breathless. “It’s amazing James, I can feel it all through me. It’s” she stopped taking a breath then sighed, sounding content as she let her arms fall above her head. “Simply amazing,” she finally breathed, her smile growing.
“But how? What about your charm?” James asked her and she shook her head in a lazy, slow motion with a frown on her lips now.
“There are other ways of persuasion besides vampiric,” she told him then rolled over picking up her phone from the floor that was at her side. “When he couldn’t do his Jedi vampire trick then he went old school,” she explained, her voice still sounding intoxicated and breathless as she thrust the phone in his hand. He looked at it and clenched his jaw with fury. It was a picture from outside Andrews’ house looking into a window with him, Matt, and A. J. on the floor this evening.
“If I didn’t drink then Bianca and who knows how many other vamps would have stormed in and at least taken Matt. It seems Bianca loves kids,” Lily said, her frown growing exaggerated now. It was like she couldn’t control her face enough to make adequate facial expressions. “And I’m not talking about pinch them on the cheek aren’t they the cutest things you ever seen love but mmm what’s for dinner love.”
James looked from the phone to Lily in horror. How could they have gotten this close? “I had no choice,” Lily told him and he didn’t even think she was fully aware he was even there. “I couldn’t let Matt become Bianca’s dinner. Liz hates me enough as it is!” She said then sighed. “Though I don’t know why I’m fighting this so much. His blood feel so good! Age and power all inside me, all hot liquid pleasure,” she said, getting a delighted smile on her face.
His worry and some jealousy trickled through him at her words. This was worse than the last time. Suddenly she snuggled into him and he could hear her sniffing, sniffing him, and it was rather unnerving. Quicker than he could anticipate she had crawled up on top of him until she was straddling him. “You smell so good James,” she said, seeming to fully notice his presence now. She leaned into his neck, her nose brushing him softly and he tried to clamp down on his body’s instinctual reactions.
“You smell really, really good. Even better than Silvano,” she told him, her lips brushing his neck. A shiver ran through him and his body tightened with her touch. Lily kissed his neck lightly and he pulled away from her, worried she might try to bite him. She gave him a smile, but it looked almost purely predatory and lifted her fingers, running them softly over his cheek. “Damn you’re handsome,” she breathed softly and he couldn’t help but feel a little thrill of pleasure at her words.