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S tephan’s head snapped up from the paperwork when his home office door opened. Jayden walked in, closing the door behind him.

Smiling brightly, Stephan asked, “What were you up to?”

“Not much, just doing a bit of scouting for Dante. In other words, I was mindlessly wandering around town for hours, listening to the things that go bump in the daylight.” He leaned his hip against Stephan’s desk.

It had been three months since Jayden had officially started his job, and the vampire had honestly never looked happier, or more at peace.

“Find any o—” A sudden bitter and metallic taste had him gagging. Head sagging, Stephan pressed his forehead against the cool wooden surface of his desk. Breathing deeply in and out of his mouth, he tried to calm his churning stomach.

Jayden dropped to his knees beside Stephan’s desk chair. After swiveling it, he cupped Stephan’s face with both of his hands, searching his eyes. “You okay?”

Considering there was a high possibility he was about to vomit, Stephan thought spinning his chair was a rather dumb move on Jayden’s part. Though, it did give him more reason to try his damnedest not to.

Oh, it was Jayden’s lucky day, Stephan thought as his belly started to settle. “I’m good. I think I just ate something rotten. The fried cod I had earlier smelled off.” Though it had still tasted good, which was obvious considering how much he ate of it…

“That’s what you said yesterday.”

Sitting back on the floor, Jade pulled him off his chair and into his lap. Stephan thought they looked a bit ridiculous on the floor, hiding behind his desk. Not that they were hiding, it’s just anyone who came upon them would probably think so. Liam would most definitely have some questions.

“Not true. It was bad cheese yesterday.”

“You should see a healer.”

“Even immortals can get stomach aches. It’s perfectly normal. Food poisoning isn’t a sickness, it’s…food poisoning,” Stephan ended awkwardly. “And if it’s not the food itself, then I’m probably just eating too much. Which, if you think about it, is your fault, as you keep shoving food at me.”

The vampire sighed. “If you say so. So, what are you doing? You’ve seemed really preoccupied lately. New project?”

“Ah…yes. Um, you remember that little girl you found?”

One of Jayden’s brow rose at that. “Yes…did something happen? ”

“Oh, no, she’s fine. It’s more to do with how she ended up in the woods.”

He snorted. “Not really a mystery. The orphanage owner and director sold her, along with a few others, who unfortunately didn’t survive. Of course, the two aren’t exactly breathing now, so what about them?”

Stephan cleared his throat, feeling a bit nervous to tell Jayden what he was planning. He wasn’t sure why. What he was working on would help a lot of people. Hopefully…

“Well, I bought the orphanage, along with many others. Also a few empty buildings here in Vadin and Bram.”

“Why?”

“Well, more often than not, the orphanages lack the necessary funding to function properly. Also, their methods of monitoring the home lives for these children are less than perfect. And, well, I have money to spare, so I bought them, with plans of renovating and expanding, to create much needed amenities, a more loving environment to grow up in, and one with opportunities for them to better their lives.

“Those who are never adopted deserve just as much chance at a bright future as any other child. So there will be a focus on schooling, as well. Something else I’m looking into is how some of the children ended up there. In all honesty, while the Zaytari tries to monitor for abusive homes, their task force is severely undermanned. So many fall through the cracks.” Clearing his throat nervously, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Like you…”

When Jayden remained quiet, he continued. “It really isn’t acceptable. So I started to research for a better way. I ran across a book on the First Realm. The humans have this thing called Child Services. It removes children from abusive homes and rehomes them. The concept itself is sound. But from what I gathered, it’s a bit broken, and sometimes the children end up in worse situations, or they take children away from parents who just need a bit of extra support.”

Stephan winced. “But I plan to take the overall idea and create a workforce focused solely on protecting these abused children. Something separate from the Zaytari. And, well…after discussing it with Dante, he then discussed it with the other Zaytari bosses, who then talked to the king. As of earlier today, I have the full backing of the Kings of Vadin to create the sector, with the full force of the law behind it. If it works, there’s a possibility that it will convince other kingdoms to do the same.”

“And the empty buildings?” Jayden asked hoarsely.

“I want to turn them into safe houses, for abuse victims, along with runaways. They will all have access to what they need to get back on their feet, to start over. No one will be able to hurt them there. Multiple safety measures will be implemented to make sure of that. As I have multiple businesses in Bram, I have moved to extend the safe-house program into the shifter kingdom. The shifter kings have already given me permission to do so. Though, there is a chance Arcadia will participate as well, as King Adrian is discussing the possibilities with them.

“So far, I’ve found quite a few companies wanting to join the venture, and many willing to donate money and their services for the project. Construction on a few will be s?—”

Stephan let out a muffled squeak as Jayden’s lips covered his.

Breaking away, Jade rasped, “I love you so much.” There were tears in the man’s eyes as he rested his forehead against Stephan’s. “Thank you…thank you. ”

As his own tears welled up, Stephan hugged Jade, rubbing his back.

“I need you,” Jayden growled suddenly.

The man grabbed at the bottom of his shirt and began to tug it off.

“What?” Stephan squealed, completely frazzled as his shirt cleared his head and was tossed away.

Jade shoved his wheelie chair out of the way and deposited him on the carpeted floor. The eyes staring down into his were not empty. No, they were filled with heat, lust, need—oh boy… “Mine,” Jade purred.

His throat feeling unusually dry, Stephan swallowed twice. His face flushed and his body warmed, as his cock thickened under the man’s heated gaze.

Growling again, Jade slammed his mouth back onto Stephan’s. Stephan opened for him, wrapping his arms around his neck—it felt as if Jayden were trying to devour him. The man’s tongue scraped against his small fangs, and soon the sweet taste of blood mixed in with their natural flavors.

Whimpering against his mouth, Stephan jumped when one of Jade’s hands tugged at the button on his pants.

In very little time, he found himself lying bare on the floor. Stephan was almost positive he’d heard a rip when the man had gotten to his underwear. When Jayden pulled away, Stephan blinked up at him, lazily licking his lips—savoring the man’s sultry taste.

“Lube,” Jayden demanded.

Oh, thank all that was holy that he’d put some in his desk. “Drawer.”

Jayden lifted himself up and yanked open multiple drawers—almost pulling them off their tracks in his search for the lube.

A slow, knowing grin slipped onto the man’s face when he found it. “And what would my Hunny Bunny need lube in here for?”

“H-hunny B-bunny?” Stephan sputtered.

Jayden let out a low chuckle. “You can punish me later.”

He growled in indignation, but Jayden ignored him. Lifting his legs up, he placed them on his shoulders, and squirted drops of lube directly onto his hole. Stephan shivered as the cold liquid touched his hot skin. Pooling at his tight muscle, it dripped down his ass.

Jayden was quick at opening him up. Soon the mushroom head of the man’s prick was probing at his entrance. He couldn’t even remember the man releasing himself from the confines of his jeans.

Stephan cried out, as in a single thrust, Jade’s cock completely filled him. Grunting, his big man began to drive into him. He whined and struggled to match the thrusts. It felt good, but at the same time, it burned. Never had Jayden been so rough, or shown so much unyielding need.

The longer they chased their pleasure, the more frantic Jayden’s movements became. He gripped Stephan’s hips tightly, his fingers digging in as the man began to slam roughly inside him. It was as if he were trying to pierce through.

Stephan found himself arching painfully, his cock throbbing harder each time Jade plunged inside him. His body tightened up as his breath stalled in his throat.

Letting out a low hiss, Jayden lunged for his throat. He pierced the vein, sending Stephan’s release crashing into him .

“Jade!” he cried, as his cum shot out between them.

Jayden growled against his throat, as his prick spasmed while in deep, washing his insides with a scorching heat.

As he gasped for breath, the fangs in his neck pulled free, and Jayden lapped at the holes he'd created. His chest was heaving, as the man let his legs slip from his shoulders, before collapsing. As Jayden shifted at the last moment, he was only partly lying on top of Stephan.

Jayden wasn’t exactly light, but the weight on him wasn’t suffocating. Eyes fluttering closed, Stephan lay slack on the floor. Sleep had almost pulled him under when his stomach began to turn—this time he couldn’t hold it back.

At that moment, Stephan was entirely thankful that there was a bathroom connected to his office, as running down the hall, while fully nude and covered in cum, would have sucked.

With all of his strength, he shoved Jayden off of him. “Move!” Stephan staggered to his feet, sprinted toward the bathroom, and emptied his stomach into the toilet.

“That’s it! That’s it! You’re seeing a healer!” he heard Jayden yell.

From his crumpled position on the tiled floor, Stephan let out a groan.

S he had found him. She had finally found him. And now she would make him pay for what he had done. He would feel all the pain he had caused her.