Page 45 of Little Wing (Shades of Fairhaven #1)

T he sound of bodies stirring just outside the door roused me from the post-sex slumber.

I turned to my side to find Lotus finally resting, her eyelids fluttering peacefully as I admired her.

The sex was impulsive and primal, but it was also slow and sensual—it was a crescendo of feeling that made my heart race just as it did when she told me she loved me.

From that moment, I only had tunnel vision.

I was only focused on bringing her to my bed where I could show her just how much I loved her, too.

The need for her after feeling like I had lost her was equally matched by her desire.

I didn’t think that I could want anyone the way I wanted her.

Even after everything she revealed to me.

Frankly, it made me want to keep her inside this house with me where there was no chance of anyone laying an ill hand on her.

If Luca showed his fucking face near me again, I would break him.

The memory of Lotus’s retelling refused to let my mind rest.

Taking a quick glance at the sleeping woman beside me, I pressed a soft kiss to her freckled shoulder and got up from bed. I pulled on my pants and walked out of the room .

Not even a few steps into the hall, I noticed both Quinn and Mateo trying to look inconspicuous, though I knew they spent a good portion snooping.

“Were you listening to us?” I asked, crossing my arms over my bare chest. “Fucking weirdos.”

Quinn rolled her eyes and motioned for me to follow them back into the living room where the curtains were already drawn for their slumber. “So, Lotus did come by?”

Though I held back the shock, Mateo couldn’t miss the sudden way my eyes grew wide. “Listen, it’s been a rough few weeks. We’d hope it was Lotus, but we’re no strangers to bringing in someone new to fuck out the sads. ”

“The sads ?” I scoffed. “Yes, Lotus came by and yes, she’s sleeping right now.”

“So—” Quinn started, glancing at her partner before she motioned for me to sit down on the couch.

Though the sounds of birds chirping were blocked out by the heavily insulated walls and windows, I admit that I almost missed their annoying squawks.

It sure beat the silence between me and the two vampires sitting and staring at me like parents who were about to confront their child for hiding pot. What the fuck were they doing?

“Has she told you anything more about what’s been happening, or did you just pull her into bed?” Mateo asked plainly.

I could have fucking smacked him. Actually, I did. I leaned forward and punched him in the arm. Not hard enough to injure him, but enough to let him know he was acting like a dick.

“Hey!” he yelped. “We only ask because you’ve told us jack shit about what’s been going on! It’s hard not to assume!”

“Hey,” I mocked through clenched teeth. “Shut the fuck up. She’s sleeping. ”

Quinn rubbed the bridge of her nose and leaned against Mateo’s shoulder. “Look, we like Lotus. We really do, but is the vampiric government going to be sniffing around us, too, if that fucking guy gets caught?”

Before I could answer, the door to my bedroom opened and I turned to find Lotus standing in the hallway, dressed in the clothes she arrived in.

Fuck, what I wouldn’t give to just shut everyone up so I could go back to making Lotus feel good, ideally with her clothes back on the floor of my bedroom.

“Lotus,” Quinn smiled shyly. She tucked a strand of her copper hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. “I hope you know we don’t mean any offense.”

“The fuck you don’t!” I snapped. Despite being family, I would have swung my fist at Mateo without a second thought.

“No, it’s valid,” Lotus responded, and I quickly turned back to her as she approached us.

Just as I was ready to protest, Lotus placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“Your concerns have a valid place here. I did share everything with Silas. I have nothing to hide, though I do apologize for leaving out key pieces of information around my… origins.”

Huffing a breath, I listened to Lotus fill Mateo and Quinn on all that she shared with me.

She did hold back on the more gruesome details of her bloodlust, but it was enough to make Quinn squirm in her seat.

I watched my family’s expressions shift from caution to disbelief.

Quinn placed her hand over Mateo’s when Lotus revealed that it was her brother who did this to her.

The idea of bloodlust alone was terrible. But, the idea of bloodlust caused by forced starvation? How could anyone inflict such torment on a vampire? On their own kin ?

When Lotus finished, I squeezed her hand that she kept on my shoulder gently and looked up at her. If she needed me to be her anchor, I’d be there. I’d be whatever she needed me to be.

Quinn let go of Mateo and got up from her seat on the adjacent couch so that she could walk right up to Lotus.

She stood for a moment, her lips parting before shutting.

It looked like she wanted to speak, but no words came out.

Quinn was always the spitfire—always ready with a quick comeback, but for once she was speechless as she stood before Lotus.

Realizing this, she removed her hand from my shoulder and turned to face Quinn. She was soft and unguarded, so when Quinn reached to pull Lotus into an embrace, she flinched only for a moment before accepting the gesture and wrapping her own arms around her.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Quinn whispered softly, a hint of a sniffle sounding between the wall of Lotus’s jet-black hair. “I’m ready to kick anyone’s ass who wants to take you away. We like you, quirks and all. We just didn’t know what could happen. We didn’t know what we know now.”

Mateo leaned past them to look at me. “Wait, can they do anything?”

All I could do was shrug as I honestly didn’t know.

What I did know what that I was not going to let anyone take her away from me.

Her brother was at fault for a legitimate double homicide while Lotus had taken a life out of a bloodlust that she fought against for nearly a month.

I’d find a way to punish Luca, even if its delivery would have to be brought by my own hand.

“Lotus will be staying with us,” I announced to which Quinn and Mateo nodded. “I’ll be back at Little Wing soon, but we just need to figure out how to go about this.”

Lotus turned and shook her head slowly .

Her alarm used to scare me, but I grabbed her hand and smiled the fanged smile I knew she loved. “We’ll figure this out, Lo. You’re mine, and I’m not going to let anyone else get their hands on the woman I love,” I said.

Quinn gasped and clasped her hands together. “Oh, my gods!”

Lotus grinned and lowered her gaze. Her feigned sheepishness doing wonders to wake my cock.

“Alright, alright—” Mateo smirked and gave us both a wink before ushering Quinn out of the living room to the other side of the house where their room was. “We’ll leave you horny kids to it.”

“You’re a horny kid, too,” I pointed out.

“Exactly,” he said over his shoulder. “That’s why we’re going to our room so we can fuck like rabbits.”

Lotus covered her mouth and stifled a giggle.

Fuck, it was the sweetest sound, but I got up and led her back to my room so we could get some rest. I needed the peace of mind knowing that she was beside me while I slept.

Until tomorrow, the only thing I wanted to think about was whether Lotus felt satisfied and safe beside me.

Because I would make damn sure that the answer would always be “yes”.