Jaded Hearts
Chapter 80

Matt

It had been a little more than a month since we’d made it back home, and life was beginning to get back into a normal rhythm. My arm and leg had completely healed after a few days, but it was almost two full weeks before Taylor was comfortable enough to let me go back to combat training.

It was hard on her seeing me hurt; she barely let me out of sight when we got home. It was almost like she was afraid that I would be gone again. Xander had us in meeting after meeting for weeks while we tried to replace out who Lancaster Edwards was and what his issue with us was. He’d escaped the house amid all the chaos surrounding the explosion and was now in the wind, but we had no doubt that we would replace him.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Tyson asked as he took a seat next to me on the couch. We were waiting for yet another meeting with Xander and were the first ones to arrive.

“I have no clue. We’re not getting anywhere so far, even with the few clues we managed to pull out of him in the basement. Lancaster might as well be a f*****g ghost.”

“He’s not a ghost, but he’s the son of one,” Xander said as he walked in, followed by Kade and Alexi.

“So, you’ve found him?” I asked.

“Actually, Alaia did. I was sitting up last night going over everything we had driving myself crazy when she came in to check on me. She had me link her a mental image of Lancaster so she could be on guard when she’s off pack grounds, and she remembered him.”

“She’s met him before?” Tyson asked?

“No, but she’s met his father—before she killed him. Lancaster is the oldest son of Vincent Edwards.”

“Vincent Edwards? The vampire/wolf hybrid who tried to drain her of her powers but died in the process? That Vincent Edwards?” I asked.

“That’s him. I guess Lancaster sees his father’s death as our fault, even though he pretty much facilitated it on his own,” Xander replied.

Tyson looked around at all of us. “What kind of crazy s**t were you guys up to before I got here?”

We took a few minutes to fill him in on all the drama that took place last year and how Alaia almost died trying to keep up safe. We thought we were done with vampires, but clearly, we were wrong.

“So, here’s the problem. Well, our second problem,” Xander began. “Lancaster is a vamp, and it’s almost impossible to replace them. We only found his father because of the rogues he sent after us, but I don’t see Lancaster making the same mistake. We need a vampire hunter.”

“North River. They have a vampire hunter, we’d been planning for this,” Kade spoke up.

“Yes, but that was when we were going to use Tyson to lure in Claudia. We can’t really do that now since he and Taylor are a thing,” Xander replied.

“Can I still talk with her? It doesn’t have to be anything physical between us.”

“You could try, but Claudia doesn’t do anything out of the kindness of her heart. She’s going to want something in return, and once she replaces out you and Taylor are together, you’re going to be what she wants,” I replied.

“That’s not happening. I’ve still got connections I can reach out to. I’m sure I can replace us a vamp hunter who’ll be willing to help us out.”

“Perfect. That’s all I’ve got; you gentlemen are free to go,” Xander said.

I looked at my watch and jumped up. Taylor was going to kill me. “s**t! I was supposed to be downstairs for the cake tasting twenty minutes ago. I’ll see you guys later.”

* * *

Taylor

“Baby, I’m so sorry I’m late. Time got away from me.”

“It’s fine. Morgan doesn’t have anything else to do today anyway. Sit down and take a breath,” I said.

With about four months until the wedding day, we had a lot to do and very little time. Luckily, Giana was taking care of most of the planning and doing all of the back and forth calls to Italy. My Italian was nowhere near conversational, and if it was left up to me, we’d probably end up with piñatas instead of centerpieces on the tables.

“Taste this one and tell me what you think,” I said as I slid the first slice to him.

He took a big bite and frowned. “It’s so bitter.”

“It’s a dark chocolate ganache. It’s sophisticated, damnit,” Morgan said.

I just chuckled and pushed a glass of milk towards him. I’d thought the same thing. I guess neither of us was a fan of dark chocolate.

“This is lighter and more whimsical. And probably a better choice for a spring wedding on a beach.”

Morgan gave us both a thin slice of pretty white cake with delicate, pale pink frosting. I took a bite and was blown away. It was like I was drinking a cold glass of champagne.

“Whoa. What is this?” I asked.

“Strawberries and Champagne with strawberry buttercream. What does the groom think?”

Matt took a bite and nonchalantly shrugged a shoulder. “It’s better than the chocolate, but it’s so girly. I can’t see my guys eating strawberries and champagne cake.”

I just rolled my eyes and took another bite. This cake was incredible.

“Okay, this one is somewhere in the middle. Not as ‘girly’ as the strawberry, but not as rich and heavy as the chocolate.”

This one was three layers of light brown heaven with drizzles of caramel down the sides. Just the smell alone made my mouth water. But the taste was even better.

“I want this one! What is it?”

Morgan laughed, then leaned over to snag a bite for herself.

“Yep. That’s the caramelized vanilla cake with salted caramel buttercream. It’s one of my favorites. Matt? What do you think?”

He took a bite and slowly chewed, looking like he was analyzing every flavor as it crossed his tongue. When he hopped up, grabbed Morgan’s face, and kissed her on her forehead, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re a cake wizard, Morgan. This is incredible; it’s perfect.”

“Yay! I’m so happy you guys like it. That was easier than I thought,” she proudly stated.

“You should really open a bakery, you’re amazing in the kitchen,” Matt told her.

Morgan beamed. “I’m really thinking about it. I love baking and creating new treats and flavors. And nothing makes me happier than watching others enjoy my work. It’s the best.”

“When you’re ready, talk to Xander about it. Black Enterprises sometimes invests in small businesses and helps them become profitable. I’m sure we could get you set up,” he said.

“Cool. I’ll do that. I want to talk to Kade about it first, but I’m sure he would be onboard. Now I need to clean all this up,” she said before turning to put the kitchen back in order.

“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” I asked.

“My mom wants me to come over so we can finalize the suits for me and the guys. I don’t know why it has to be done now, but she’s pretty insistent.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Because you don’t want to wait until the last minute and have something go wrong. Everything needs to be done early since this is an international event.”

“Fine. I’ll give her a call and let her know that I’m on the way. I’ll also take Gigi; Mom probably won’t let me in the door without her.”

“That works for me.”

I gave him a quick k**s before he left to go grab the baby and head out.

* * *

“How are things with you and Tyson going?” Morgan asked.

“They’re good. Slow, but good.”

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t had s*x yet. It’s driving me crazy because he just has to say my name, and I’m flowing like a river down there, but nothing’s happened.”

“Ohh, okay. I see….”

Usually, Morgan would have so much more to say, especially when I’m sitting here telling her I want to bone her cousin.

“You see what?”

“I see what’s going on. Don’t worry, everything’s fine.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked.

“Just go over there, let him tell you himself.”

I immediately got nervous. “Did he tell you that he doesn’t want me anymore? Is that what’s going on?”

“Didn’t I just say, ‘everything’s fine’? I clearly heard myself say that.”

She really made me sick sometimes.

“Just go, Tay. Let him explain what’s happening. I promise it’s nothing bad.”

I wanted to be cool and calm and act like I was unaffected, but I failed miserably. I rushed to Tyson’s house and ran in the back door, looking all over for him.

“Tyson! Where the hell are you?!”

I didn’t know when anger arrived, but I know why it had. Whatever was going on, Morgan knew about it before I did, and that was not cool. Here I was thinking that he didn’t want me, and he was telling her what the issue was instead of me.

He walked out of his bedroom with a towel wrapped low around his h**s while he dried his hair with another. The water droplets ran down his deliciously carved chest, and I wanted to lick them all up.

“Sunshine, what’s wrong, baby?”

No, we’re mad. Even if he is dangerously sexy.

“Don’t sunshine and baby me. What did you tell Morgan?”

“I need you to be more specific. I don’t know what you mean.”

“About us. She seems to know what’s going on between us, but I don’t. What did you tell her?”

He sighed and shook his head. “She’s a bear, baby, I didn’t tell her anything. She’s just learning about what she is.”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember when you asked me about my bear hibernating? Well, the winter solstice was last night. He’s gone for the next three months.”

“What does that have to do with Morgan and us not having s*x?”

“When we first got back, I told her that I was afraid to hurt you. That was all I said, but she probably noticed that we weren’t ever physical with each other. I wanted to wait until my bear was gone. I wanted our first time to be just you and me—the man, not the werebear. I wanted you to see that it’s me who wants you and that nothing else was influencing that choice.”

“Ohh, s**t. That’s a damn good reason.”

“I thought so too until you came charging in here looking for b***d.”

“I’m sorry. I let my mind wander into some crazy thoughts, and they messed me up. I didn’t mean anything by it,” I said.

“It’s cool, princess. How was the tasting?”

He turned and walked back to his bedroom, and I followed, watching the muscles in his back flex and stretch as he continued to dry his hair in the mirror. I could watch this show all day. It was instantly addictive.

“Taylor? Are you listening?”

“No, I’m not listening. At all,” I replied honestly.

He turned around and looked at me. When he noticed the l**t-filled look in my eye, he just smiled and walked over to the bed, hovering over me.

“Do you see something that interests you, princess?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want it?”

I bit my l*p. “Yes, I want it.”

Tyson grabbed my hands and held them over my head while he worked my pants down over my h**s and to the floor.

He ran his free hand over my stomach, then under my panties, easily replaceing my clit and gently pressing down. The pleasure was so strong that I immediately cried out. When his fingers moved further down, and he felt how wet I was, he licked his lips.

“You really do want it, don’t you?”

“Yes!” I screamed as he slid a thick finger inside my delicate folds. He was going to make me c*m in just a few seconds; there was no doubt in my mind. Soon, my panties were pulled off, and he adjusted his hand so that he was gliding directly over my g-spot.

I clamped my eyes shut and arched my back while trying to draw in a breath. He still had my hands pinned above my head, so all I could do was lay there as his finger destroyed my sanity. He was moving at such a quick pace, and his neatly trimmed fingernail was perfectly scratching that itch deep inside. I clamped my legs shut around his hand to slow down the assault before I completely shattered.

“Open your legs, wide. Put them just how I had them, or the fun’s over.”

Now there was a battle waging in my body, and I didn’t know what side would win. I didn’t want him to ever stop, but at the same time, it felt like if he rubbed that spot one more time, I would die.

But nobody’s ever died from s*x, right? That was the thought flooding my mind as I forced my legs back open.

“Are you close, princess?”

I couldn’t speak at all, so I just mumbled a reply and vigorously nodded my head.

“Perfect.”

He pulled his finger out and immediately replaced it with his d**k, forcing my eyes open. My o****m came crashing down on me as his h**s began to pump and move against mine. It felt like my heart was going to explode it was beating so fast.

Every muscle was awake and on high alert. My entire body was spasming to the point where he had to use his free hand to hold me in place. He expertly rolled his body into mine, and my flower gripped him as tight as it could in response. This climax seemed to go on forever, and I didn’t know how much more I could take.

“Hold on, sunshine, you can go a little longer. Just focus on me, baby.”

I locked eyes with him and felt him push even deeper inside me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on as he bottomed out again and again and again.

And still, the o****m continued. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a breath, but my head was going foggy, and my vision had long since blurred. When the ringing in my ears started, I let out a small m**n and went limp.

Tyson let my hands go and began to k**s me all over my face and neck. “Breathe for me, princess. Take a deep breath.”

I did what he said and filled my lungs. This man made me forget how to f*****g breathe?

“Are you alright?” he asked as he hovered over me.

I took a few seconds to compose myself before I could answer. “You didn’t crush me, but I’m positive you made me short circuit just a little bit.”

He trailed his tongue along my collarbone and began swirling his h**s again.

“That was just the warm-up round. I haven’t even gotten started yet.”