Unfettered Vampire (Found & Freed: The Unfettered #5)

17. Chapter 17

Chapter seventeen

Morgan

I ’m blearily pouring Oscar a bowl of cereal when it hits me. It wasn’t a bizarre dream. It was real. The paranormal world is real. And Ned is a vampire.

I groan and rub my hand over my face. And I drank far too much vodka with Sammy. Add in the fact that I was probably only asleep for a couple of hours before the kids came and bounced on my bed, and it’s a miracle that I don’t feel worse.

The doorbell rings and the sound lances through my brain. Grimly, I shuffle off to the door.

It’s Ned. In dark sunglasses and a baseball cap and hoodie. His shoulders are hunched.

The sun is shining brightly. And he is a vampire. My heart races. My hand grabs him and yanks him inside while my other hand slams the door shut.

“What are you doing!” I shout far too loudly for my own fragile head.

I close my eyes against the pain and breathe deeply. “Do you need to be invited in now that I know you are a vampire? ”

I open my eyes. Ned has taken his sunglasses off. His expression is a mixture of wary and sheepish.

“I need to be invited in, not because I am a vampire, but because we were dating and I lied to you and you might not want anything to do with me anymore.”

I stare at him. “Were dating? Past tense?”

My mind whirls and catches up with the rest of what he just said. Oh. Past tense, but not because he is dumping me, but because he thinks I might dump him.

I suck in a deep breath. Discovering the world is not as it seems, is frightening and disorientating. Just like it must have been for Ned. Call me crazy, but I know him, and I know that however he ended up being turned into a vampire, it was not by some malicious intent on his behalf.

I’m not going to hate him for something he never chose.

Ned swallows. I watch his Adam’s apple bob.

“I hope we are still dating,” I say.

Relief flows through Ned’s beautiful hazel eyes. “I hope so too,” he whispers, and it’s my turn to be flooded with relief.

But wait a minute. He is staring up at me with those beautiful eyes of his, while practically trembling. He looks hopeful, but as if the hope he is experiencing is a painful emotion.

This wonderful man is tentative and unsure. He is bracing himself for rejection, even though I just told him I still want him.

I can’t stand it. I can’t stand that he doubts himself, or my feelings for him.

My hands reach out and grab fistfuls of his hoodie. I yank him up to me and press my lips against his .

I feel his surprise. Then his shuddering relief, quickly followed by delight, and then finally, his passion. He kisses me back like it is an act of worship. His arms wrap around my neck and he presses his entire body as close to mine as he can get.

Fireworks are igniting in my mind. My soul is swirling and my heart racing. I’m kissing Ned and it is perfect.

“Daddy, I want to…”

Ned and I leap apart as if we are a pair of school kids caught behind the bike shed.

“Ned!” exclaims Lottie happily. “Come play tea party!”

I chuckle as I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. Ned’s eyes are bright. His lips swollen. He has never looked more beautiful.

“It’s Ned’s day off, sweetie.”

Lottie’s lips begin to puff out in a pout, but Ned intercedes. “No, it’s fine. I love tea parties!”

Lottie grins, grabs Ned’s hand and drags him away. Ned looks over his shoulder at me and gives me a very naughty smirk that hits me right in the gut.

Jesus Christ. It’s going to be a long, long day until the kids are in bed. It is such a shame they have grown out of naps. Seven p.m. feels a lifetime away, because the moment they are asleep, I’m ripping Ned’s clothes off.

M y body is vibrating with excitement. That was the very longest day of my entire life. But the end is in sight. I’m sitting on the floor in the kids’ bedroom, reading a bedtime story .

Ned is sitting by the foot of Noah’s bed. Just sitting there, cross-legged. Listening to my terrible story telling skills. But somehow he is making his mere presence an intense distraction. It is as if he is the center of gravity and pulls all things towards him. Especially all my thoughts.

I have no clue how I’m managing to read this book. A whole day of heated glances as we took care of the kids together, and now I am about to combust. I’m going to be one of those news stories about people who randomly caught fire and nobody knows why.

“They’re asleep,” whispers Ned.

My head snaps up so quickly I nearly give myself whiplash. I quickly cast my gaze over all three children. They all have their eyes closed and are sleeping peacefully. My heart melts for a moment at how adorable they are. I love them so much. My little angels.

Then my attention snaps to Ned. He grins at me as he backs silently out of the room. My stomach flips right over and I stalk after him. He runs straight to my room and by the time I get there, he is already pulling his top off.

That’s an excellent idea. Superb even. The best idea I have ever come across. My fingers clumsily fumble with my buttons as I attempt to copy Ned.

His dark eyes flash. He prowls up to me. Then, in a series of swift, efficient motions, my clothes are removed. Ned’s trousers disappear. And all of a sudden, he is standing naked in front of me. In my bedroom. And I’m not hallucinating or having a dirty dream. This really is happening.

My gaze roams all over his beautiful body, drinking in the sight. He is truly gorgeous. Perfection. I should feel awkward standing before him with my hairy middle-aged dad bod, but the look in his eyes is leaving me with no doubt that he likes what he is seeing. Wonders never cease.

Suddenly he is in my arms and I’m losing all ability to think. My world is shrinking. My awareness narrowing. There is Ned and nothing else.

My universe is kisses and lingering caresses. A world of tongues, fingers and lips. Pleasure and arousal. With soft sounds of lust. There is nothing else. I don’t want there to be. Everything I need and want is in my arms. And in the next room.

All the treasures of the world exist under my roof. I’m the richest and luckiest man alive.

A small whimper snaps me back to reality. Ned is spread out on my sheets. I’m half over him, my lips are pressed against his, and my fingers are teasing around his hole.

I stop all movement. I pull away from our kiss and stare into his dark eyes.

“Everything okay?” I breathe.

He nods, but he doesn’t look very confident. “I haven’t since…” He trails off and swallows instead.

The harem? He hasn’t had sex since his imprisonment? This is the first time he has had consensual sex since… goodness knows when? Oh my.

“I’m honored that you trust me that much,” I say, somehow finding the words.

His blush is beautiful. Then a thought comes to mind and slips past my tongue before I can stop it.

“Grindr?” I ask.

His blush deepens and he looks away. “That was for feeding,” he mumbles. “I never…”

Oh. I see. A strange, gleeful feeling is twisting through me. Surely I’m not happy about this? I’m not one of those strange, jealous and possessive people. At least, I never used to be.

I close my eyes for a moment and imagine Ned in someone else’s arms. My entire body recoils and convulses. Okay. Guess I am possessive now.

I open my eyes and meet Ned’s gaze. I’m not going to dump my new found envy on him, but he is being honest and vulnerable with me and I want to give him the same in return.

“I…um.” Shit, this is hard. “I never tried Grindr again, and that really was my first attempt.” Phew. There, I did it.

Ned’s eyes grow impossibly large. “This is your first…since…Jennifer?”

I swallow and give him a shallow nod.

A look of pain crosses his face, and he closes his eyes. He sucks in a tiny shuddery breath.

Okay, it is a bit much for him. I get it. The shadows of dead wives are long. There are at least a dozen gothic novels about it. It is quite the mood killer.

“We don’t have to do anything,” I say softly. “We can cuddle instead.”

Ned’s eyes fly open. He searches my face. Then he gives me a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Why are you so sweet?” he says.

I let out an exaggerated sigh as I lie down next to him and pull him close.

“Just born with it. It is such a terrible burden, being this perfect.”

Ned laughs at my terrible joke and the sound of his happiness makes my heart do a full cartwheel. I want to coax that sound from him every day. For ever and ever .

Ned snuggles into me and we get comfortable. He fits against me like my missing puzzle piece. A sigh of deep contentment pours out of me. I’m not just the luckiest man alive, I’m the happiest.