She was sick and freakin' tired of being told what to do. This was the last straw. Leah grabbed the phone and dialed the funeral parlor. Her father's gruff voice answered.

"Daddy, it's Leah."

"Look here, miss, where have you been?"

She gulped. "I've been busy, Daddy, and I'm sorry I made you worry."

Richard Adams cleared his throat. "Busy? Too busy to come to work?"

Get a set of b.a.l.l.s, Leah. "Daddy, I'm not coming to work anymore. I'm leaving Adams and Son." She hated that name. Her father didn't even have a son.

"What?" She held the phone away from her ear as his roar simmered over the phone line.

Oh, she was in knee-deep s.h.i.t now, but she plowed ahead anyway. "I'm leaving the business, Daddy. I'm leaving." She spelled the word for him, "L-e-a-v-i-n-g."

She could almost see him tapping his pencil against his desk and the clench of his jaw as he digested her words. "You get down here right now and we'll discuss this."

The h.e.l.l I will! Leah gripped the edge of the counter. "No, I won't. Goodbye, Daddy." She flung the phone into the receiver and stomped out to the living room.

Woohoo! Way to make a stand! Then, all at once, her short-lived victory became a big, fat question.

Now what? She had no job. Maybe she'd just take some time off and think about it.

The phone rang again, but she chose to ignore it. It was only her father trying to bully her into something she didn't want to do.

"Leah, it's Erik, I'm coming over."

If she was the girlie type , she'd do a cartwheel.

Erik pounded on her door with a heavy hand. She opened it a crack and he shoved his way inside, dragging her with him.

She searched his eyes as he hauled her to him.

"d.a.m.n you, woman, I just spent two days of h.e.l.l. I watched every vampire movie ever made so I could understand this. I don't think I like Tom Cruise anymore."

Leah began to laugh and threw her arms around his neck. "And what conclusion did you come to?"

"I came to the conclusion that you are one freaky bunch, but I love you and I don't care."

"Do you think you can live with this? With me?"

He kissed her soundly.

"I know I don't like living without you."

Leah nipped his jaw. "Missed me, didn't you?"

He kissed her again. "I guess..." he teased.

"Then we have one small problem."

"Oh yeah, beautiful, what's that?"

"My father."

Chapter Five

Leah's stomach churned with fear. That set of b.a.l.l.s she was so proud of displaying to her father had shriveled up. She was now experiencing a good dose of full-on freaked-out.

Erik squeezed her hand and tugged her down the long corridor of her father's funeral parlor. "C'mon, honey. It'll be okay. What's he going to do? Beat me up?"

Leah moaned.

Erik reconsidered that statement. "Scratch that. Look, I'm willing to go in there and tell him I love his daughter. So c'mon, stop stalling. If I can do this, you can too."

Leah forged ahead of him into her father's office. Richard Adams looked up in surprise when he saw Erik.

His smile was just a bit too smug. "Well, I should have known it was a man that kept you from work."

Leah felt the tips of her ears burn. "Know what, Daddy? Not only is he a man, but he's a human."

Hah!

Her father flew from behind his desk, wrapping his hand around Erik's throat and slamming him against the wall.

"Daaadddyyy! Let him go now, or I will leave here and never come back." She screamed as she tore at her father's hands. Erik hung limply, clawing at his neck.

Richard Adams eyes narrowed at Leah and without blinking them, he unceremoniously dropped Erik on the floor. Leah fell on her knees beside him. "Are you okay? d.a.m.n it, Daddy!"

Erik struggled to get to his feet with Leah's help. Erik's face was red with fury.

"Now look at your human, Leah." Her father said coldly. "What kind of man is that?"

Erik rubbed his neck and spoke in a hoa.r.s.e whisper. "I'm the man your daughter loves, Mr. Adams, a human and I love her too. Adjust."

Richard made a charge toward Erik and Leah jumped in between them. "Don't you dare touch him again, Daddy! I love Erik and I'm sorry if this isn't what you want for me, but I don't care. I love Erik and I'm sick to death of this stupid prejudice you have against humans. It's dumb. We've been living with them for centuries. So, get over it!"

Erik rested his hands on Leah's shoulders in a show of support, giving her the courage to finally speak freely. "Look at the human, Daddy," she yelled, feeling brazen. "Can you smell him? He smells wonderful to me, Daddy, and I don't care what you say, Erik and I want to be together, whether you like it or not."

Leah's father cringed outwardly and turned about as pale as any vampire could. Erik noted it and chastised her. "Stop, Leah. Don't do this on my account."

"This isn't what I wanted for you, Leah. Do you know the struggle you'll have? He'll die long before you, Leah. Humans scorn us and our way of life."

Leah felt tears sting her eyes. "I know Daddy, but it's a chance I'm willing to take."

And take it they had. In leaps and bounds, Erik mused. He brushed his newly polished fangs with his fingers. He couldn't imagine his life without Leah or leaving her behind when he died. So, on the anniversary of their first meeting, when the moon was full, she'd turned him. Soon they would be married and Leah's father was even beginning to come around. It wasn't easy, but Richard Adams had grown rather fond of Erik. Erik was teaching him how to lift weights and Richard was teaching Erik how to embalm. Leah had decided to open her own antique shop and it was thriving. Life was good. His parents thought he was nuts, but they accepted his choice.

That had been some family reunion. Mom, meet my girlfriend. Have I mentioned she's a vampire?

"Hey, vampire, whatcha doin' in there?" His c.o.c.k stiffened to the tune of Leah's voice.

"On my way," he called to her.

Erik jumped on the bed, landing with a grunt.

"Are you ever going to quit admiring those fangs?" Leah teased.

Erik pulled her close and ran a hand over her naked form. "Nope, they are the coolest thing I can remember having since my Stretch Armstrong doll."

Leah pressed herself to him and caressed his swollen shaft. "Cooler than me?"

Erik hissed his pleasure. s.e.x was incredible as a vampire. It was larger than life and rich in texture. "Nah, nothing is as cool as you."

"Good answer..." she mumbled as he took a plump, berry-colored nipple in his mouth and suckled. Erik slid a finger between the smooth folds of her c.u.n.t. The sweet cream of her body allowed him to glide through her lips and find her c.l.i.t. As he grazed the swollen nub with his index finger, she squirmed beneath him. He rolled his tongue lazily over her nipple, tugging at it with gentle pulls. Leah's hands clenched the sheets beneath her as she arched upward, filling his mouth with her breast. Her legs spread wider for him as he caressed her, sliding one finger into her wet warmth. Erik felt her shudder, her p.u.s.s.y tightened around his finger as he thumbed her c.l.i.t.

Tasting her was all he could think of, savoring the slide of his tongue over her wet flesh. Leah clutched at his shoulders, digging her fingers into his skin as she rocked into his hand. Tearing his lips from her breast, he licked a path along her belly until he reached the object of his desire. He tugged his finger from her body and sat up between her creamy thighs. Erik groaned when he took in her heated gaze. His c.o.c.k throbbed as he let his hands roam over her soft curves.

"On your knees, doggy style," he commanded hoa.r.s.ely. Leah rolled over and got on her knees, lifting herself high in the air. His hands immediately found the lush globes of her a.s.s. Kneading them, he pulled her close to his belly, letting his c.o.c.k tease the flesh between her thighs. His skin burned, flames licked at his b.a.l.l.s as he thrust his hips at her, the slap of flesh on flesh echoing through the room. Erik's grip tightened on her hips as he thought about driving into her, but he needed to taste her first.

Nipping at her back, he let his c.o.c.k take one more pa.s.s through her slick p.u.s.s.y. Leah arched her back upward and reached under her to press the heat of his shaft to her. Clenching his teeth, he pulled back as his lips found her silken skin. Gliding over each rounded curve of her a.s.s, he licked the back of her thighs and felt them tremble beneath his mouth. Smelling the sweet scent of her arousal, he settled under her and spread her c.u.n.t with his thumbs. Leah's hips rolled toward his mouth and his tongue met them, slicing through the lips of her p.u.s.s.y in one smooth stroke. He fed on the tender flesh, devouring her taste, teasing her c.l.i.t with swirls of his tongue, pulling her roughly to his face, making her come in screams.

Sliding from beneath her, he sat behind her. His hands sought the round flesh of her a.s.s as he impaled her p.u.s.s.y, wet from his tongue, in one swift stroke. Leah's hands reached for the headboard of the bed as she lifted her a.s.s higher, letting Erik plunge into her deeply. It was always like this, an all-consuming fire that thickened his c.o.c.k to unbelievable proportions and made it pulse with the need to f.u.c.k her.

Their pace quickened as he drove into her, clenching his teeth with each thrust. She tightened her muscles around him, milking his length, driving him to madness.

Leah came again, tightening her p.u.s.s.y and sending him screaming over the edge of o.r.g.a.s.m. His seed, now thicker than ever, shot into her with fury. Erik shuddered against her as they fell forward, his hard body pressed closely to her softer one.

Leah reached around and ran her nails over his scalp. "Well, that has to be better than playing with Stretch Armstrong."

Erik chuckled as he caught his breath. "I don't think Stretch liked me that way."

"Do you still have Stretch, Erik?"

"Yeah, I think so. My mother probably has him in her attic. Why?"

Leah pulled out from under Erik and snuggled close to him. "I was thinking that maybe Junior here might want to play with him sometime."

"Junior? Who's Jun..." he immediately put his hand to her belly. "You're pregnant?"

Leah nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'm going to gain all that weight back."

Erik whooped loudly and hugged her tightly. "A baby? A baby?"

"Yes, honey, a baby. I know we didn't think it might happen right away, but looks like it did."

"Your father's going to s.h.i.t the proverbial brick."

Leah smiled at him. "Nah, we call him Grandpa Richard. He'll be just fine. Now about that weight I'm going to gain."

Erik smiled at her. "I loved you before you lost any of that weight. I love you more because you're carrying my child."

Leah burrowed closer to him. "I love you too, honey. I'm hungry. Do we have any chicken wings left in the fridge?"

Erik guffawed as he left the bed to get her chicken wings and called over his shoulder. "You want anything to drink with it?"

She stretched and yelled to him. "Yeah, make it a blood lite."

The End

About the author:

Always creative and a lifelong reader, Dakota Ca.s.sidy recently discovered the joys of writing Romantica and has never looked back. She's still not sure how she went from writing a weekly grocery list to writing real live books! With her combination of humor and realism, she spins tales of everyday people in unlikely situations, and brings a laugh along with it. Thrilled to be part of the Ellora's Cave family of authors, Dakota looks forward to making her readers smile across a variety of genres, but confesses to being most comfortable when her characters can display a contemporary edge-something Dakota herself enjoys.

She welcomes input from her readers and can be reached via her website: www.dakotaca.s.sidy.com

Dakota Ca.s.sidy welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora's Cave Publishing at P.O. Box 787, Hudson, Ohio 44236-0787.

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