A couple of hours later Vanessa was sitting on one of the long couches in the living room reading a book about baby animals to Gwen and Faith when suddenly the entire family piled into the room. Vanessa looked at Kayleb questioningly and he came and stood behind her. He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze before Rebecca stepped up and sat down beside of her. Rebecca laid a hand on Vanessa's knee and then looked at Kaitlyn.
"Kaitlyn, will you take Gwen and Faith to the kitchen please? There are some fresh baked cookies out there." Kaitlyn nodded and took both girls out of the room.
"What's going on?" Vanessa asked.
"Angela told us why you are acting distant today." Rebecca said gently. Vanessa glared at Angela who just shrugged.
"There's no such thing as privacy in this family." Bethany said tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"What I told Angela is true. What happened was my fault." Kayleb's hand tightened on her shoulder.
"No it wasn't." he said.
"Yes it was Kayleb. If it wasn't for me Vincent never would have come to your home. He never would have.... Done what he did. I don't understand how any of you can even look at me."
"Vanessa, I love you and I love Faith and what happened wasn't your fault." Kayleb said.
'That's right dear." Rebecca said through red, tear swollen eyes. "None of us blame you for what happened."
"No we blame that heartless vampire." Kaylee said with anger.
"But I...."
"You what?" Kayleb asked. "You didn't do anything wrong. Vincent is the only one who has done anything wrong, Vanessa." She felt him press his lips against her hair and her heart filled with love and then shattered apart as she reminded herself that she would never see him again after tonight.
"You people are truly amazing." Vanessa said and she was surprised when tears filled her eyes. She did not normally cry in front of anyone. Weakness was not her thing.
"You people? What exactly do you mean by you people?" Lane asked with a grin as he wrapped his arms tight around Joey's tiny waist and pulled her close to him.
"She is learning what the rest of us mortal women learned when coming into this family. It is an amazing place to be." Angela said and Jake pulled her close to him and wrapped her in his arms. Vanessa found herself amused by the sight the two of them made. Everything about Jake was deadly, intense and hard. Angela looked kind, vulnerable and soft. They were complete opposites but a blind person could see how much Jake loved his mate when he looked at her.
Vanessa didn't realize that everyone in the family could see the same thing when Kayleb looked at her.
"Come to the kitchen with us, Vanessa, and eat some dinner. I made spaghetti and then I made some peach cobbler for dessert. It was always Evan's favorite." Rebecca said, standing up and wiping a tear from her face.
Vanessa nodded and stood up and watched the family walk away toward the kitchen. Kayleb came around the couch and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Please don't ever think that any of us blame you for what happened, Vanessa. It was not your fault. Vincent will die, I can promise you that. He will not ever get his hands on you or Faith. Not as long as I've got a breath left in my body."
Vanessa pulled away from him and he took her hand as they walked toward the kitchen.
"I love you." Vanessa whispered. She had wanted to leave without telling him. Hoping that somehow that could save him pain but she couldn't leave without letting him know what he meant to her. She was surprised when her words caused Kayleb to trip over his own feet and he stumbled a few steps before righting himself.
Despite the sadness he was feeling over the loss of his parents, hearing her say those words brought an ear to ear smile to his face.
"I love you too, Vanessa."
As everyone sat down to dinner Vanessa couldn't help but notice that Hunter sniffed the spaghetti sauce before he stuck a bite in his mouth. Lane noticed her watching the vampire curiously and he smiled.
"He sniffs it because my mom tried to kill him once with garlic in the spaghetti sauce." he said. Vanessa's eyes widened and she looked over at Rebecca who was shaking her head and pointing her finger at her youngest child.
"You better hush." she scolded. "That was an accident."
"Sure it was mom." Lane teased. "You're a sneaky assassin." Laughter filled the kitchen and Vanessa was amazed. Despite the sadness that was still hanging in the air, this family was able to laugh. Vanessa was suddenly a little jealous. She had always been alone whenever tragedy struck in her own life. Her parents had died and she had been alone. Her son had died and she had been left to deal with it alone. Her husband had turned to drugs and she had been forced to take care of their daughter alone....
"It must be nice to have family when things get bad." She didn't realize that she had said the words out loud until Kayleb's arm was wrapped tight around her waist and he pressed his lips against her ear.
"You never have to be alone when things get bad again, baby." he promised and Vanessa found herself leaning against him and the comfort and warmth that his hard body provided.
***
Vanessa finished reading the bedtime story by the light of the nightlight and then pulled Faith's covers up to her chin. Gwen and the babies were already sound asleep and so Vanessa whispered,
"I love you, baby girl."
"I love you too, mommy." Faith said in a sleep filled voice. Kayleb stopped unnoticed out in the hallway by the door and smiled when he heard them talking.
"Do you like it here?" Vanessa asked and Faith nodded.
"I love it here. Everyone is so nice and the library has a gazillion books inside." Vanessa smiled.
"Yes it does." she said. "Do you like Kayleb?"
"Yes. He plays with me."
"Would you like to grow up here and live in this house?" Vanessa asked and Kayleb's eyes widened. He and Vanessa hadn't talked about what would happen once Vincent was dead and he was shocked, in a good way, that she wanted to stay here. He knew the wolf and the man in him would not want to live without seeing her bright green eyes and crooked smile every day for the rest of eternity.
"Can we mommy?" Faith asked excitedly and Vanessa pressed a finger to her lips to signal that she needed to whisper. "Can we mommy?" Faith asked much more quietly.
"Yes baby. You can grow up here with all the other kids." she said feeling her heart break. She knew her daughter would be taken care of and with this amazing family she would get through the pain of losing mother. She would never be alone.
"Now get you some sleep okay?"
"Okay mommy. Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite." Faith whispered and Vanessa smiled down at her beautiful daughter.
"Goodnight, sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite baby girl. I love you."
"I love you too mommy." Vanessa kissed her daughters soft forehead and then stood and walked from the room. She was startled and nearly jumped out of her skin when she came face to face with Kayleb.
"Are you and Faith really going to stay here with me?" he asked and she could hear the excitement and nervousness in his voice. She knew that lying to him was wrong... But really it was only half a lie. Faith would be staying here with him even if Vanessa wasn't.
"Yes Kayleb." she said and she couldn't help but smile when she saw his lopsided grin.
"You don't know how happy that makes me. It's probably hard for you to see how a person could be lonely living in a family like this but I was damn lonely, Vanessa. You and Faith have given me something to get up in the morning for."
"Kayleb...." she whispered as tears gathered in her eyes.
"Don't cry, Vanessa. I was trying to make you happy, not sad."
"They're happy tears." Vanessa replied and that was partially true. Some of the tears were happy and the others were sad and bitter. She faked a yawn and was going to excuse herself to bed when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her hair.
"Let me tuck you in sleepy head." he said as he led her down the hallway to the stairs.
"I haven't been tucked in since I was Faith's age." she replied.
"Well I've never tucked anyone in either so this oughta be interesting." Kayleb replied and Vanessa could hear the slightly deeper tone to his voice and she felt a tremble run down her body.
She walked into her bedroom first and she felt her heart begin to race when she heard him shut the door as he walked in. She knew what he wanted and she knew she should tell him no but she couldn't because she wanted it to. Her body was practically humming as she thought about what it would feel like to have his strong but gentle hands touching every inch of her.
His arms circled around her waist from behind and she moaned and leaned back against him as his lips found her neck.
"You are beautiful." he whispered against her skin and his warm breath made her shiver even as her blood heated. His hands moved from her stomach and gently cupped her small breasts through the fabric of her shirt. She could feel her body responding to his touches as pleasure coursed through her. It had been a long time since a man had touched her and never before had a mans simple touch made her feel as if she were being worshipped.
He turned her around and his hungry lips crushed down on hers as he buried his hands in her silky hair. Vanessa wrapped her own arms around him and ran her fingertips down his broad muscular back. She reached to the bottom of his shirt and he pulled away from her and raised his arms so she could pull the cotton fabric over his head and out of the way of her roaming hands.
She shouldn't do this. She shouldn't make love to him when she knew she was leaving but her heart and her body refused to listen to her mind. She wanted this man... Her mate.. Her lover... The man she knew would be her best friend if she could stay with him.
He removed her shirt as well and his hungry lips moved along her collarbone and the edges of her lacy black bra. She threw her head back and let his lips devour her as she clutched onto his arms to keep her balance when her legs proved to be too weak.
The air itself seemed to catch fire when he moved his lips back to hers and the kiss became hungry and desperate. They quickly removed all of the clothing separating their bodies and Kayleb laid her down on the bed as he braced himself over her and used his hands and his mouth to explore every inch of her body. His whispers about her beauty and her moans, the only sounds in the room.
When Kayleb slid himself inside of her the wolf in him went crazy with desire. He longed to bite her and mark her as his own but he knew that now was not the time... He forced his teeth to return to normal, though he couldn't keep the wild animalistic look from his eyes as he looked down at her.
Vanessa saw the darkness in his brown eyes.. She saw the glow that made him look more like an animal than a human and instead of frightening her, it excited her. She liked knowing that she had caused that wild look. She clung to him as he moved atop her and as the pleasure built their mingled moans became louder and more fevered.
They went over the edge together and as they lay there tangled together beneath the sheets Kayleb continued laying kisses along her neck and collarbone bringing delicious shivers from her with every caress of his firm lips. Vanessa had never been loved like this before... Every inch of her body was tingling and satisfied.
He moved himself onto his side and she curled up on her side with her back pressed into his chest and her backside pressed into the heat of his groin.
"I love you, Vanessa. I am yours. Forever and always." he whispered against her ear.
"I love you too, Kayleb. I want to make sure that you know that. I know I said some things at first but...."
"After what just happened here tonight, Vanessa, I know you love me. There is no way that look in your eyes could have been faked." Vanessa felt tears fill her eyes as he wrapped his arm tighter around her and pulled her closer against him. How was she supposed to walk away from this? From him? She knew she had to, it was the only way to keep the family, Kayleb and her daughter safe.
She was amazed that in so short a time she had grown to love all of these people so much. She knew that some of the devotion had to come from the fact that she was Kayleb's mate but she was also realizing that that did not make it any less real. If anything it made it even stronger and the love she felt for Kayleb even more all-consuming.
"Are you okay?" Kayleb asked, sensing her sudden sadness.
"I'm fine." she lied. "I just wish all of this with Vincent was over...."
"Don't worry, Vanessa... He took my parents away from me, away from Kaylee and away from Gwen but I can promise you right now he won't take you baby. And he won't take Faith. You two are the only things in this world that I don't think I could live without." These words coming from any other man would seem fake, since they had only known each other days but coming from Kayleb she knew they were the truth and she knew they came from his heart because she felt the same way about him.
But he would have to learn to live without her.... He would be there for Faith. The whole family would and that was the only thing that would give her the courage to do what she knew needed to be done.
"Goodnight baby." Kayleb whispered and she could hear that he was already close to being asleep.
"Goodnight." she replied. 'Please don't ever doubt that what we shared here tonight was real' she thought to herself and she was helpless to stop the hot, silent tears that ran down her cheeks.