Page 105

Jamie

“ D on’t be scared,” Jamie teased, nudging Luc’s shoulder with his own as they stood on his family’s front porch.

“I’m not frightened of your family,” Luc protested, glaring at Jamie ferociously.

Jamie raised his brows skeptically, snapping the piece of gum in his mouth. Luc totally was . It was pretty adorable, actually—thinking of his big, bad monster terrified of Jamie’s loving mother, who barely topped five feet.

“It’s just a casual lunch,” he reassured his skittish vampire. “And you don’t have to eat anything. I already told them you have weird dietary restrictions.”

And possibly a weird food fetish to boot. Luc had watched Jamie consume his breakfast that morning with the same mind-boggling intensity as all the other times his vampire had seen him eat, even pushing a second plate at Jamie just for the pleasure of witnessing him swallow it down.

Jamie had never exactly felt sexy eating scrambled eggs before, but if it was Luc’s kink, he was all for it.

Speaking of which… “You finally gonna fuck me tonight?” he asked.

Jamie had been just the teensiest bit disappointed—okay, a whole lot disappointed—Luc hadn’t kept to his teasing words the night before, even if he’d somewhat made up for it by devouring Jamie’s cock the second they’d gotten home.

If Jamie hadn’t known better, he would have thought his vampire was a little tipsy after a full night seated at Monique’s bar, glowering at all the flirty customers and sipping on whiskey. He’d been unusually grabby (not that Jamie had minded), and his thing about Jamie’s cigarettes…

Luc was definitely having some thoughts and feelings about Jamie’s mortality.

And now he was most certainly having thoughts and feelings about meeting Jamie’s family.

Luc was sputtering at him, uncharacteristically fazed. “We’re on your mother’s doorstep, for fuck’s sake.”

“Aw, he’s shy,” Jamie teased.

Luc stepped closer with menace in his eyes—not, like, “I’m gonna kill you” menace (as if Luc would ever hurt him), more like “I’m gonna toss you over my knee and punish you” kind of menace (which Jamie was 100 percent here for ).

But Luc didn’t have a chance to punish him for his teasing because the next moment, the front door opened, and Jamie’s little sister was poking her head out, peering out at them suspiciously, her long dark hair held out of her face with two yellow barrettes.

“What are you two doing lurking on the porch like a couple of weirdos?”

Playful teasing aside, Jamie wasn’t about to tell any of his family he was giving his vampire lover a minute to bolster his courage. “Good to see you too, little menace,” he drawled. “Step aside. You’re letting the AC out.”

She ignored him, her eyes widening as she looked Luc over. “Is this the new boyfriend?”

Luc bent forward slightly at the waist—was he fucking bowing to Jamie’s little sister?—and held out a hand. “I’m Lucien, but you may call me Luc. What’s your name, little mademoiselle?”

Izzy’s eyes widened further, and a look very much bordering on hero worship crossed over her face. Um, excuse me? Jamie was her adored older brother, and she’d never looked at him like that. Did she have a crush on Luc already?

Well, damn. That was fast. Jamie couldn’t fault her taste though. His vampire was sexy as fuck.

“Um. Isabel,” she mumbled, placing her hand in Luc’s. “Izzy.”

Luc shook her hand lightly—for a second, Jamie was afraid he was going to honest-to-God kiss it, like some black-and-white movie dandy—and then straightened back up. “Charmed, Izzy. Will you show us inside?”

Izzy stepped away from the door, apparently too stunned for further words. Jamie understood the feeling. His vampire was a grade A hottie. And with that hint of a French accent when he played it up? Total lady-killer.

Although, it might have also possibly had something to do with the all-black eyes and little glint of fangs Luc was sporting. But who was Jamie to say for sure?

His mom’s voice rang out from the direction of the kitchen. “Is that Jamie?”

She appeared in the kitchen doorway a second later, wiping her hands onto her jean shorts. “And you must be Luc. I’m so happy to meet you! I’m Elena.”

Jamie watched in delight as she stepped on tiptoe to give Luc a kiss on the cheek, equally proud of both of them: her for ignoring his vampire’s less-than-normal appearance, and his vampire for braving what was so clearly such a foreign situation for him.

How long had it been since Luc had been invited to someone’s home for something other than sex? Since he’d been around a real family?

They followed his mom into the kitchen, where his stepdad, Eric, was halving an avocado, his light-brown hair covered by a baseball cap.

He greeted them both with the same warmth as Jamie’s mom.

He was a good guy all around. Jamie felt lucky he’d come into their lives.

And he’d never, not once, called Jamie “buddy.”

Jamie thought he might be beaming at all of them like an idiot, but he was just so pleased.

They were all doing so well . Of course, he’d warned them ahead of time that Luc had a few…

body modifications. (Black contacts, he’d explained.

Filed canines. “It’s a look, Mamá.”) And they’d promised not to comment, if that was going to make his new boyfriend uncomfortable.

But maybe Jamie’s pride was a little short-lived, because then of course as soon as Luc sat down, Izzy sidled up right next to him, fiddling with one of her barrettes. “Can I see your teeth?”

Well, fuck. Oh well. What’s done is done.

Luc shot a startled glance to Jamie, as if expecting him to jump in and protest. When Jamie only smiled back at him reassuringly— you can do it, monster —Luc turned back to Bella, giving her a small, tentative grin of his own, the sharp edges of his fangs peeking out from between his lips.

“Oh, cool,” Izzy whispered, reaching out a hand. “Can I touch one?

“Isabel,” his mom chided, turning from where she was removing plates from the kitchen cabinet. “Dios mio. You can’t just ask to stick your fingers in someone’s mouth .”

“Eww. I wasn’t gonna stick them in .” Izzy rolled her eyes at the apparent ridiculousness of their mother’s assumptions. “I just want to see how sharp they are.”

Luc looked again to Jamie for reassurance before lowering his head to her level, baring his fangs a little more. “If you’re very careful, you can touch.”

Izzy reached up slowly with an index finger, pressing lightly against the tip of Luc’s left fang. “Whoa,” she whispered. “It feels real.”

Luc drew back and huffed a small laugh. “They are my real teeth, little one.”

Jamie’s chest felt weirdly tight. Was he having a heart attack? Or was this what it felt like to be overwhelmed by…affection…for another person?

He was used to Luc being more or less careful and polite with him—except when he was choking Jamie on his cock, of course—but that didn’t usually carry over to the rest of the world.

Luc didn’t seem to concern himself with the feelings of any humans other than Jamie, and normally that suited Jamie just fine. More monster for him.

But to see Luc so gentle and kind with Jamie’s little sister was just…doing it for him. Jamie was feeling feelings .

“How much to get something like that done?” Eric asked, taking the plates from Jamie’s mom and setting them on the table. “Dental work is so pricy these days. I can’t imagine what optional cosmetic stuff like that costs.”

Jamie covered his laugh with a small cough. Bless his stepdad, such a practical soul.

“I paid for them dearly, I assure you,” Luc answered, shooting Jamie an ironic little smile.

They sat down to lunch, a stuffed zucchini dish that was one of Jamie’s favorites.

Jamie was filling his plate when his mom stage-whispered to him in Spanish, “Are you sure I can’t convince him to eat?”

“Mamá—” Jamie started.

But Luc’s gruff voice cut in. “Comeré un poco, por favor.” His accent was flawless because of course it was.

Jamie’s mom smiled at Luc like he’d just told her he’d pluck the moon out of the sky for her. “Hablas espanol?” she asked in delight.

“Por supuesto,” Luc replied easily. “It’s a beautiful language.”

Jamie’s mom giggled like some sort of schoolgirl—a mildly horrifying sight to witness—clearly smitten by Luc’s manners.

“Jamie never learned fully,” his mom complained.

“His father”—Jamie’s muscles tensed at the mention—“didn’t allow it when he was young.

He didn’t speak it himself, and he thought it would confuse Jamie or something.

” She gave a little gasp, her eyes lighting up.

“Maybe you could practice with my Jamie sometimes.”

“Má,” Jamie whined, not liking the direction of this conversation.

His Spanish wasn’t that bad. He’d been picking it up a little more as an adult, trying to hold simple conversations with his mom when he could remember to bother.

And of course, he understood much more than he could speak, having listened to her talk to her side of the family all his life.

He didn’t waste too much time protesting though. He was too focused on the sight of Luc taking a delicate bite of his mother’s cooking.

Would Luc’s monster allow it?

Jamie wasn’t sure what he was expecting—maybe for Luc to go full Exorcist and projectile vomit all over the table—but his vampire just chewed, swallowed, then glanced at Jamie with a look in his eyes Jamie couldn’t fully decipher, before turning back to Jamie’s mom. “Delicious, Mrs. Hernandez.”

She grinned happily. “No, no. You call me Elena. Please.”

When Jamie’s mom had turned her attention over to Izzy, Jamie leaned over close to whisper in Luc’s ear, “What a good monster you are.”

Luc cleared his throat, stabbing his fork at another bite. Was Jamie’s vampire embarrassed by the praise?

But it was true. He was the very best monster.