Love's Liability

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  Zeke Parker is a chocolatier and candy master trying to move on from his past and hiding precious cargo from bad people… Which are his twin sons. So he has a lot on his plate, and while scary, he welcomes the chance to move into the new subdivision, as it’s better protection for them and he can stop hiding he’s a vampire.

  Linden Henning hates his family and made a deal with Seneca to get free of them while continuing to do good work as Wyrok to protect people. But there is one person from his past he cannot let go.

  Imagine his surprise when he finds little Zeke at the new place he’ll live and acting like they’ve never met. But when Zeke seems to be in trouble and running from something, he’ll stop at nothing to help the man he’s longed for even if it means pissing off some of the oldest vampires alive. Can Zeke risk the safety of the twins to see if Linden is who he thought or evil like his family?

  1

  I was talking with Proximo and Marissa about some child care ideas when one of the last people I wanted to see walked into the kitchen, fear shooting through me fast and strong enough that they both flinched. I ducked my head a bit and focused on what was on the counter, praying he didn’t pay attention to me and I’d grown up enough where he might not recognize me.

  “Sorry if I’m interrupting, but Seneca said to talk to you about where I’m staying and when I’m going out next,” Linden Henning said as he focused on Proximo. “Tadzio needs a break, and we’ve been making quick work of the map.”

  “Right, you’re the one finding any vampires who might be on their own or like Ellison who didn’t know they were vampires,” Marissa muttered, extending her hand. “I’m Marissa Neal, my son is a new warrior named Gary.”

  “Linden Henning at your service,” he greeted, bowing to kiss her hand, showing his upbringing. “I haven’t spent enough time here yet to get to know anyone really.” He glanced at Proximo. “Is it alright if I stay here? Apparently the other finished houses are already filled up and they forgot about me.”

  Proximo rubbed the back of his neck. “It should be fine, but I thought Gaius had a room ready for you since that was where security would be. Let’s talk with him at dinner and figure it out.”

  “Thank you.” He turned to me and did a double take, moving closer. “You look familiar to me.”

  “Sorry, don’t recognize you,” I muttered after giving him a quick glance. “We just got here.”

  “Where did you—”

  I was never so happy for good timing than right then when Ethan let out a squeal. I smiled over at the twins sitting in their high chairs at the counter. As much as Linden was someone I was hiding them from, they were the perfect distraction. “Have we reached the limit of being quiet?”

  “I wait,” Evan promised, giving Ethan a look to behave, the bossier of the two of them as the elder twin. “Shh. Adult time.” Though really it was more like “abut time,” but I knew what he meant.

  “I didn’t catch your name,” Linden said, moving closer.

  “Zeke!” Ethan squealed before Evan corrected him that my name was Dad. They were toddlers, so it wasn’t as if they caught all the nuances of things.

  “Ezekiel Parker,” I greeted as I ignored his extended hand like I didn’t see it and moved around the counter. “And what are your names this week?”

  “Green,” Evan answered with a bright smile.

  “Pink,” Ethan answered.

  I raised an eyebrow at that. “I thought it was Purple this week?”

  He shook his head. “I want Pink.”

  “Okay, but we have to redo the lists,” I reminded him, smiling when he nodded. That was part of why he wanted to switch. He loved when we sat together and played more, a complete snuggle bunny. I chuckled at the three confused faces. “They get new nicknames every week. Sometimes it’s colors like this week, and other times it’s animals or food, and we spend the week learning everything about their new names.”

  “That’s very cute and a smart way to keep them engaged and learning so young,” Marissa praised. “What have you learned about green?”

  The twins shared a thrilled look that someone wanted to know and started excitedly telling her everything from grass was green and the animals that were, along with what foods and every piece of green clothing they had. A few minutes in and the adults looked ready to fall over laughing as they talked all over each other and jumped around topics.

  “They are so adorable,” Linden chuckled, moving closer to them.

  My instincts kicked in and without even meaning to, I darted in front of them to block him, shocking everyone. I chuckled easily and ran my fingers through my milk chocolate hair that was a mess of curls just like the twins. “Sorry, they’re not used to strangers, and it’s a bit overwhelming for them with all these people. I’m trying to acclimate them a little at a time to their new surroundings so it’s not too much for them.”

  “No, of course, I understand,” he murmured, studying me a bit too closely. “I’ll head out then. Marissa, it was wonderful to meet you, and I’ll see you at dinner, Proximo.”

  “Yeah, later, Linden,” he agreed.

  I held my breath until Linden was long gone and then let it out slowly, not hiding that I was shaking. “Fuck.”

  “The amount of fear you experienced when seeing him was alarming,” Marissa said under her breath, paying attention to the fact the Wyrok was ancient as well. “Did he do something to you?”

  “No, never,” I swore to them, knowing she would feel it in my emotions. “He knows the people we need protecting from.”

  “His family,” Proximo surmised, his gift of being able to sense fear probably telling him a bit more than I wanted.

  I forced myself to think of anything else before looking at him. “You promised your protection, which was the only reason I agreed to move here instead of making other arrangements, but please understand I do not know you well enough to trust you with everything, as their lives are at stake.”

  He gave a slow nod. “I understand. You don’t have to worry, okay? Take all the time you need, Zeke. You’re safe here and so are the twins. If you don’t want to see Linden, I’ll find another place for him to stay.”

  I swallowed a wince when Marissa’s eyes flashed shock, knowing she sensed what I was feeling. I wanted to see Linden—particularly naked if I could—but the risk he posed had me swallow my true feelings. “Please. I would greatly appreciate it.”

  “Of course,” he agreed. “I’ll talk with Gaius. How about I bring back dinner for us in a while? You can keep talking w
ith Marissa and finish up.”

  “Sounds great, thanks.” I knew what he was doing, leaving Marissa to maybe get it all out of me or at least have someone to speak with, but she didn’t seem the type to push.

  “You okay?” she asked gently after Proximo was gone.

  “It’s complicated, which I’m sure you felt.”

  “Yes, but you’re not alone anymore. If you need help, tell us.”

  “Thanks.” What else was there to say? Not much if I didn’t want to tell them everything. I went over to the twins and set out paper and their crayons. “Are you ready to help?” I smiled when they nodded. “Alright, Green and Pink, I need some new designs for Easter and spring.”

  Marissa chuckled when they both squealed and got to work. “You are so good with them. Really, you are.”

  “Thanks, but they popped out perfect, so really it’s all them,” I chuckled as I turned on the chocolate tempering machine I’d brought in the move. “They made so many designs for Valentine’s Day because they love the colors and wanted to help that I couldn’t even make them all.”

  “I was surprised that a chocolatier and candy master waited until after such a chocolate heavy holiday to move here,” she admitted, watching the twins as they colored. “Proximo told me that you made it clear you were fully booked and couldn’t leave before the orders were done. Do you truly have a bunch for Easter already too?”

  “Yes, but I can fit in more now that I’ll have access to safe child care and he promised there won’t be a problem shipping them out.” I shot her a knowing smirk. “He was very adamant I move to the subdivision and specifically here. I got worried when he kept pushing like it was a trap, but then he confessed he was completely sunk on a gorgeous woman and wanted to win over her sweet teeth and the sweet teeth of her son.”

  She shook her head, a small giggle slipping past her lips. “He tries so damn hard and it’s—I’ve never had a man treasure me like that. He’s this powerful, rich, ancient Wyrok, and he’s chasing after me like I’m the greatest thing in the world. I’m glad you’re here, and I think you’ll fit in well here, but it’s ridiculous that he sought out a vampire candy master just to make me happy.”

  “Glad you’re just as sunk,” I teased her.

  She blew out a harsh breath. “As much as I’m worried about Gary adjusting, I’m thankful too because it’s keeping us from jumping too far. If not for him, we would have already mated, and there’s no rush.”

  “No, there isn’t,” I agreed as I started bringing out my cases of dyes and sprayers. “I’m the wrong person to talk about serious relationships, as I’ve never had one and it’s unlikely I will anytime soon with the twins.”

  She let out a shaky breath, which made me glance at her. “I won’t ever tell a soul, but London got something off of you that worried him. He asked me to speak with you when I could feel your emotions, but he thought maybe Matteo was better since your aura could say if you were lying.” She shot a look at the twins so I guessed the topic.

  “I didn’t lie,” I said under my breath so there was no chance anyone around could overhear us or the twins. “Their mother died giving birth to them and left them in my care. People assumed she was my lover given they look like me. She was my twin.”

  “Their birth father?” She sighed when I swallowed loudly, letting me know she felt my fear. “Oh dear.”

  “Yeah, that’s one way to put it,” I grumbled. “Is that enough to settle your worries? Because that was more than I planned to tell anyone yet.”

  “How powerful is his family?” she worried, guessing why I was so scared.

  “Very. Very, very powerful,” I whispered, blinking back tears. The twins seemed to realize we weren’t having fun anymore, pausing in their coloring to stare at us. “Why did you pick pink?”

  Ethan ducked his head with a giggle. “Cotton candy. Taffy. Strawberry ice cream.”

  “Uh-huh,” I drawled, guessing it had to do with his bottomless pit stomach and the fact I’d brought up needing more candy for Easter and spring before we’d moved. The second all my Valentine’s Day orders had been done, I’d packed us up and we’d moved here, so we had barely unpacked and it was time to get going on the next orders. “I guess if someone eats all his veggies this week, I could make some cotton candy flavored taffy.”

  “You make taffy too?” Marissa asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement as bad as the twins.

  I nodded. “The trucks with the equipment from my store should arrive tonight. I feel horrible that I left my human employees hanging, but hearing a fraction of what Proximo filled me in on, it just wasn’t worth the risk. We weren’t in a coven, so we dodged all those landmines, and I kept us surrounded by humans, but after hearing how far the baddies went in Quebec, I’m not sure they care about being secret anymore.”

  “It is terrifying,” she agreed. “They had a few weeks and severance, right?”

  “They’ve had almost two months, as I paid them to handle the packing of the store and closing sales. That is until the end of the month, so they’ve had time. No severance since they all asked for letters of recommendation or using me as a reference. They were all part timers learning from me as they were in school. I heard the baker already here hired a few teenagers, and that’s the best way to go on some of the shops that will be in the mall.”

  She nodded. “Right, because it’s not like they can just get a normal job at a burger joint or gas station or wherever like humans.”

  We talked a while longer, mostly her asking me questions about candy and what I was doing. Most might have found it annoying, but I liked teaching and training, so it was a bit soothing to fall into old routines, showing her how the dyes and coloring worked for the chocolate shells and coatings. The twins finished their first designs by then, and I nodded. Really it was nothing more than globs of colors going all over the lines.

  That didn’t mean they wouldn’t make nice looking chocolate candies. I kept working as they colored, testing them now and again on their numbers and the alphabet. Marissa was impressed how much they knew for their age, but it made sense given they were sharp, liked to learn, and I worked with them always. Proximo had asked first what he should bring, and when he showed up with containers, it was time to wash up for dinner.

  As we ate, I saw the looks she was giving the twins as she helped me. The one I’d seen from many women when they were taken in by the massive amount of cuteness that was the twins… Like she wanted kids. Granted her child was older, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have more with Proximo, and it seemed something he was interested in too as he took in her interacting with them.

  Good for them, but that was not a landmine or conversation I was getting near.

  After dinner it was bath time and bedtime stories. I’d done a good job of keeping the twins moving and tiring them out because they were both out before I even finished their favorite book.

  I wanted to crash as well, but I’d heard trucks during bath time, so I knew my equipment had arrived. Grabbing the baby monitor from the charger, I clipped it to my belt before heading out to make sure everything arrived safely. I had help coming in the morning to unload, but I was nervous about the move and needed to check.

  Plus, it wasn’t like I was going far. Sure, I locked the outer door to our suite, but I was just going outside the mansion, not running an errand to the store and leaving little babies. The twins slept like the dead when they crashed for the night—something I thanked fate for constantly—so there was no worry there. I wasn’t going to be gone long either.

  I was also hoping that the boxes of the twins’ toys I’d not brought with us were here now too. I’d accidentally packed some key stuffed animals in the wrong boxes, and there had been several times of quivering lower lips when I’d said they were on their way and not here.

  Wyoming was fucking cold even for the end of February, so there was no way I was going outside without a jacket and boots. I made a mental note to get snowsuits for the twins,
as they’d asked more than once to go play in the snow, but we hadn’t lived where it was crazy like here so I wasn’t prepared.

  I was reaching up for the latch on the back of the first truck when a large hand grabbed it for me. I gasped, about to turn around and see who it was, but another hand moved across my stomach and held me against them.

  “Hello, my bride,” Linden purred in my ear. He chuckled when I shivered without meaning to. “It took me a minute to figure out.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I lied, trying to pull away. “You just scared me. Sorry if I look like someone you’re thinking of, but we’ve never met.”

  He pressed his lips against my ear, and it took everything I had not to react besides trying to get his hand off of me. “You were always smart, little Zeke, and using your grandmother’s maiden name of Parker was a good move… Except I knew her when she was a babe and her last name. It didn’t take me long to put it together, especially when the twins look exactly like you did when you were a cute tyke.”

  “Let me go,” I begged, my heart racing in my ears.

  “Why are you hiding?”

  “Why do you care?” I snapped.

  He spun me around and moved me against the trailer, his frown deep. “Of course I would care. Have I ever been anything but nice to you? I’ve known you since you were born.”

  I smacked his hand away and crossed my arms over my chest. “You act like we were childhood friends. You’re ancient, and I saw you now and again when you visited home, like holidays and stuff.”

  He let me go but narrowed his eyes at me. “Yes, but it was you who announced he wanted to be my bride and would love me forever, so forgive me for worrying why the huge change when you’re an adult. I asked about you the last times I was home, but no one would give me answers. Of course I would worry. You and your sister were just gone and your family acted like you never existed.”

  I swallowed a flinch and looked over his shoulder, shrugging. “They were always small minded, you know that. You were there any of the times I was reprimanded for saying I wanted to marry you. It wasn’t even about being gay or making a scene when they said I couldn’t, but you and your family were above our station, so it was embarrassing to even speak such nonsense.”