Page 30 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

Judge cleared his throat. “So, what do you guys like? Barbies? Toy trucks? Thomas the Tank Engine?”

They all looked at him like he was crazy, but at least the heaviness of the moment was dispersed. Apparently, Carmen liked motorbikes, Enit liked kittens, and Christopher didn’t know what he liked. His tiny face screwed up in frown while he was thinking. “Music?”

The grin on Tex’s face was massive. “Me too! I could teach you to play the guitar. Would you like that?”

Christopher’s face turned up in the first smile I’d ever seen on his face. “Thank you.”

Tex grinned. “Anytime.”

We’d finished our food, except Enit who looked at the food left on her plate with something like fear. I reached out and touched her arm. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll take it home and you can have it later.” She smiled at me almost happily then, though the fear still lurked in the back of her eyes.

I got Beatrice to wrap up the remainder, and she also sent them home with chocolate cake, a jar of chocolate chip cookies that apparently Bert had just whipped up while we’d been eating, and an entire casserole for the family.

I was pretty sure Bert and Beatrice had been possessed. As the kids skipped out of the diner, less timid than when we walked in, the guys on their heels, I stopped to grab the bags from Beatrice, who handed half to me and the other half to Judge.

She looked at me hopefully. “Are they staying, Lass?”

I took a deep breath in, knowing that every set of ears in the room was listening. “Yeah, for now. They were, uh, sold by their previous Pack, and they don’t have any relatives that they can think of, though Walker is looking into it. They don’t want to permanently go to the Packlands with Brody, so I guess they’re staying with me.” I cleared my throat. “I hope they will be safe and happy here, because if anyone so much as looks at them funny, X will make your intestines your noose and swing you from the nearest tree. And Lucius will probably flay you alive while you hang there.”

There was an audible inhalation around the room, but I figured it was better to make it clear now. You fuck with my kids, you weren’t just going to get expelled from Dark River. No, you were a dead vampire walking.

A feral look passed over Beatrice’s face, and suddenly gone was the loving grandmother and in her place was a pure predator. “I so much as hear a hint of that behavior, and it won’t be the Boogeyman of vampire-kind they should fear.” Her words were a low growl that sent shivers down my spine.

Welp. That was terrifying and reassuring all at once. “Thanks, Beatrice. I better go. Thanks for all the food.”

She smiled again, the predator gone. “No worries, Lass. Let me know if you need anything. They make me miss my bairns. It's been so long since children have been around and it’s a blessing.”

I gave Beatrice a quick hug and then raced out the door after everyone.

Maybe Lucius hadn’t just given me a gift. Maybe, just maybe, he’d given this whole town a gift. But first, I had to convince the town council to let them stay forever.

Chapter Sixteen

After we left the diner, we took the kids home. Brody and Tex were going to take them for a run in the woods around the house while the daylight chased me inside for the day. Just before the sun got unbearable, I raced to Judge’s apartment, up the stairs and under the alcove. Judge opened the door before I’d even lifted my hand to knock.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside his apartment, slamming the door and then pressing me back against it. “Is it just me, or does it feel like eternity since I’ve been between your thighs?” he groaned against my mouth.

I laughed, wrapping my legs around his waist. “It’s been like five days, Judge.”

He groaned and kissed me harder, moving us into the apartment. I didn’t even get to look around as he walked me toward the bedroom.

“Like I said, an eternity. Don’t worry, darlin’, I’ll give you the grand tour after I give you at least three orgasms.”

Well, I wasn’t going to argue with that. He peeled clothes off of me as we walked, my shirt ending up on the hall floor, and his mouth on my breast, biting either side of my nipple, so his lips suctioned around it, sucking my blood and my nipple all at once and I swear, my vision went white.

“Judge!” I curled my body into his and he chuckled low. He sat on the bed, my body still curled around his, but now I had better purchase to roll my body against the hard line of his cock in his sweats.

My short denim skirt was pushed up around my waist and he tore off my underwear like it was nothing more than an inconvenience. Right now, I didn’t even care. I rolled my hips against his, and the rough fabric of his sweats stroked across my clit, making my whole body shudder.

“Well, damn, Love. We are having a party and no one invited me?” A voice said from the doorway. Judge looked up at X from where he was sucking my blood from my breast. “Must have got lost in the mail,” he murmured around my nipple.

X tsked. “It’s rude to speak with your mouth full, my friend.”

Judge gripped my hips, rolling his own up and pressing hard into my clit, making a moan burst from my lips. He disengaged his fangs, licking at the punctures with his tongue, but sucking my nipple fully into his mouth, the pressure making me so wet, there was a darkening patch on the front of his sweats.

“Rainey Day doesn’t seem to mind if I’m rude,” he growled smugly, grinding against me hard once more.

I let my head fall back, so I could see X, his pants unzipped and his hand pushed down them. “Get naked or get out, X. This isn’t a spectator sport,” I teased.

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