“You’re the romantic, so why don’t you tell me,” she suggested.
“Romantic?” he asked. “Me? You and Trish are both crazy.”
“Fine,” she began. “Live in denial. Are you asking if I’m falling in love with you?”
“I’m asking if you think I’m wrong for believing I’m falling in love with you,” he clarified.
Talia wasn’t sure how to interpret her reaction to Drew’s question. It didn’t panic her or make her heart fill with love. Drew loving her just felt right. “I’m not sure what it feels like to fall in love, but I imagine it feels a lot like what’s going on between us.”
Drew pulled her closer and sighed. “Thank you for giving me a chance despite all my issues.”
“If you start in with your self-pity thing again, I’ll kick your ass,” she warned.
“Don’t tempt me, beautiful,” he murmured. “I might like it.”
“Go to sleep, pervert,” she ordered.
“Pervert? I haven’t even begun to show you my perverted side. Just wait until you see all the dirty things I want to do to you.”
Talia groaned. “Great! Now, I’ll have sex dreams.”
“Perfect,” Drew uttered with a sleepy smile.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
It was Sunday, which was the only reason Drew was able to talk to Caitlin. Since she’d started medical school, she’d been away from home with classes, labs, and study groups most of the time. The same was true with Justin, but Drew considered that a good thing. He actually missed Caitlin and her scary, bitchy moods.
“This had better be important if you’re interrupting my coffee,” Caitlin grumbled, pushing her long black hair over her shoulder and glaring at them with her catlike amber eyes.
They’d tracked her down in the kitchen. Surprisingly, no one else was there.
“We need your help dealing with Justin,” Drew began.
“I’m not getting in the middle of a fight you’re having with Justin,” Caitlin told Drew. “Just stop pissing him off.”
“It’s not about me,” Drew began. “Talia needs his help with something.”
“I’m sure he’ll help her,” Caitlin stated, looking at Talia over her shoulder. “He seems to like you. If Mason was asking, he might not be willing to help. I don’t recommend having Drew ask him on your behalf.”
Drew was doing his best to mask his thoughts since Caitlin was telepathic. She couldn’t read hunter minds, but apparently, vampires had a tendency to project their thoughts. Drew was glad Talia had agreed to let Caitlin in on her secret since it meant Drew wouldn’t have to avoid Caitlin forever. Masking his thoughts was extremely difficult, and he was certain he’d let something slip.
“Could you stop thinking about hiding your thoughts from me?” Caitlin snapped at him. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m definitely glad you’re trying to keep me out of your girl vampire fantasy, but it’s not working. Where did you even come up with that fantasy?”
“It might be easier to show you,” Drew replied.
“Please, don’t take your dick out,” Caitlin grumbled as she turned to face him.
“Why does everyone always assume I want to show them my dick?” he asked before shaking his head and continuing. “Never mind. I’ll do my best to keep it in my pants. I meant Talia can show you.”
When Talia opened her mouth and allowed her fangs to slide out, Caitlin’s face registered nothing. She merely nodded and turned back to her coffee.
“That certainly explains a lot,” Caitlin stated. “So, you’re the half-vampire everyone is looking for?”
“That’s me,” Talia replied.
“And you not only don’t want this getting around, you don’t want my husband to act like an ass and try running every experiment imaginable on you,” Caitlin added.
“She wants the fangs out,” Drew told Caitlin. “And no, she doesn’t want Justin running a bunch of tests on her.”
“I started my life as an experiment,” Talia explained. “I don’t want to be treated like one again. Drew assures me you can make sure Justin doesn’t do that.”
“He’d better not,” Caitlin muttered. “We can talk to him when he gets back. How soon do you want to do this? The surgery, I mean. My advice would be to wait until summer when things are slower for us with school. Justin could find time to do it now, but I’d like to observe the surgery.”
“You seem surprisingly calm about this,” Talia remarked. “I expected you to be at least a little surprised, but you’re acting like this is no big deal.”
Caitlin looked over at Talia and smiled. “A few years ago, I thought Justin was just an annoying guy who happened to end up in all my classes at school. After discovering he’s a vampire, I learned my mother has always known about vampires. Not only that, one of my best friends can see images of tragic events from the past, another has hair that grows to her ankles within hours of her cutting it off, and I even have a friend who can move things with her mind. Your little dental problem is hardly enough to shock me.”
Drew chuckled at Talia’s perplexed expression.
“You’re all crazy,” Talia uttered with a shake of her head.
“I wasn’t before I got involved with these people,” Caitlin told her. “They have a way of dragging everyone down into their madness. So, can you wait until summer for surgery?”
“At the very least, we should wait until we catch the people responsible for my existence,” Talia replied. “I’m hoping we can speed things up by letting them know I’m the one they’re looking for.”
Caitlin cocked her head to the side. “That should work. They’ll come out of hiding to get to you.”
“It also might get her killed,” Drew snapped. “We all know they aren’t going to come after Talia while she’s got hunters and vampires protecting her. They’ll wait until she’s alone.”
“They might go after her if she’s enjoying a girls’ day out,” Caitlin remarked. “Not hunters, but a few of the women in the family. I suppose it might be better if we didn’t do this in a public place where innocent people could get hurt, but I’m certain we could come up with something.”
“That is a very bad idea,” Drew argued.
Caitlin gave him one of her condescending stares. The woman was an expert at them.
“Drew might be right about it being a bad idea,” Talia added. “I know the women who married into your family all have some psychic abilities, but I don’t think you’ll be a match against a group of vampires—some very old. I assume the hunters involved won’t be an issue much longer with the vampires killing so many of them off.”
They’d heard about the bodies of five more hunters from the same family being found in the last twelve hours. The hunters involved had definitely underestimated the vampires.
“I wasn’t thinking about the women who’ve married into the family so much as Roman’s granddaughters,” Caitlin explained.
“Roman has granddaughters?” Talia asked slowly.
“Several,” Caitlin replied in a bored tone. “I assumed Drew would have mentioned it at some point after you showed him your fangs.”
“I didn’t think it was relevant,” Drew explained.
“Don’t lie to me,” Talia warned him. “You knew damn well it was relevant.”
“I was also a little distracted after your revelation,” he reminded her.
“Don’t use your dick as an excuse,” Talia warned him.
“What exactly were the two of you doing?” Caitlin asked, suddenly sounding much more animated.
Drew opened his mouth to answer her.
“Don’t even think about it,” Talia warned.
“I guess that would have been in poor taste,” Drew admitted. “Sorry.”
“Wow!” Caitlin exclaimed. “Do you realize how hard it is for any of us to get Drew to behave?”
“He’s not that bad,” Talia argued.
“Yes, he is,” Caitlin insisted.
“I’m standing right here,�
�� Drew reminded Caitlin.
“Good for you,” Caitlin told him before returning her attention to Talia. “He tries to be a pain in the ass. Since I can usually read his thoughts, I know it’s intentional. Drew likes being irritating, but he’s trying really hard to be good for you.”
Talia shrugged. “He knows it won’t work with me. I grew up with Mason.”
“Ah, yes,” Caitlin said with understanding. “Mason is quite a challenge.”
“Did I hear my future wife say my name?” Mason asked as he walked into the room dressed in nothing but worn gray sweatpants.
Drew chuckled at Caitlin’s eye roll.
“See what I mean?” Talia asked before turning her attention to Drew briefly. “We aren’t done talking about this.”
Before anyone could say another word, Shayla stomped into the room. “This place is like a prison.”
“It’s a huge fucking mansion,” Mason snapped. “Seriously, do you ever do anything other than bitch about how unfair life is?”
“I kill people,” Shayla replied sweetly.
“Told you she jumped the couch,” Drew muttered.
“Are you calling me crazy?” Shayla demanded.
Drew shrugged. “I’m just saying the wheel might still be spinning, but your hamster is dead.”
“I’m going to find a quiet place to enjoy my coffee,” Caitlin announced as she stood to leave the room.
“Want me to keep you company, honey?” Mason asked with a smirk.
“I’ll get back to you when hell freezes over,” Caitlin replied dryly before turning her attention to Drew. “We can talk more about surgery details when Justin gets back.”
Mason’s eyes didn’t leave Caitlin as she walked out of the room. It wasn’t until she was gone that he returned his attention to the conversation.
“You having surgery, vampire?” Mason asked him.
“I am,” Talia explained. “Justin can help me with a problem.”
Mason frowned. “We don’t need to involve vampires in this.”
“Are you all really going to talk like I’m not in the room?” Shayla demanded. “Let’s just ignore the poor helpless breeder.”
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Mason growled. “No one thinks you’re helpless, just crazy.”
“I am not crazy,” she grumbled before stalking to the other end of the room to rummage through the refrigerator.
“Are you sure you don’t want to pursue that sweet-tempered little psycho?” Mason asked.
“Give her a break,” Drew told him. “She’s got good reason to be a little nutso. I can’t fault her for that.”
“I’m not interested in you, vampire,” Shayla called out from the refrigerator.
Drew grinned as his ability suddenly kicked in. “I know you aren’t, babe. You like them bigger and blonder than me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shayla spun to face him with her hands on her hips.
“Don’t worry, babe,” Drew began. “He wants you, too.”
Talia laughed at Mason’s shocked expression. “I guess we should leave the lovers alone while you try to talk your way out of trouble,” she told Drew.
“We aren’t lovers,” Mason argued.
“Not yet,” Drew agreed before heading out of the kitchen with Talia.
Chapter Forty
Talia couldn’t believe she was preparing to let another vampire in on her secret.
“What’s so important we had to meet at my office today?” Justin demanded from behind his desk.
“Don’t be a prick,” Caitlin warned. “If I didn’t think it was important, I would have told them they couldn’t see you.”
Justin’s heated stare landed on Caitlin. “You’d do it just to piss me off.”
“You were right,” Talia whispered to Drew. She hadn’t believed him when he’d said Justin and Caitlin’s fighting was foreplay. It was a little hot to watch. Both were clearly turned on, even though Caitlin was trying hard to hide it.
“If we watch long enough, they might even play some BDSM games,” Drew told her. “You wouldn’t believe the stuff Justin has in his toy drawers. There are three drawers full of BDSM stuff.”
“I’m not sure I want to know what’s in there,” Talia admitted.
Drew ignored her and continued, anyway. “He’s got restraints, paddles, riding crops, nipple clamps, and all sorts of other kinky stuff.”
“How do you know what’s in my drawers?” Justin asked.
“He’s a creepy pervert, and he looked,” Caitlin replied for him.
“What she said,” Drew agreed with a grin. “I’m not as good at picking locks as Isaiah, but the ones on the rooms here are easy.”
Talia groaned. He really was a creepy pervert most of the time. Yet, she still wanted to be with him. She supposed even creepy perverts needed love.
“Maybe we should get back to why you needed to see me,” Justin suggested.
“Talia needs surgery,” Drew blurted out.
“Hunters have doctors of their own,” Justin reminded him. “I’m only treating Phoenix’s anxiety because she doesn’t want to see their doctor. That doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to become a doctor for hunters.”
“Stop being insensitive,” Caitlin told him.
Justin let out a frustrated breath and nodded. “Sorry, Talia. If I didn’t have so much on my plate, I’d offer to help you, but I honestly don’t have time to take on another hunter patient.”
“I’m not exactly a hunter,” Talia began.
“Go on,” Justin prompted, his eyes now completely focused on hers.
“It might be easier to just show him,” Drew suggested. “That way he’ll know what you need help with.”
Talia nodded and opened her mouth so Justin could see the fangs. He stood and leaned over his desk, eying her with utter fascination.
“You’re the half-hunter,” he stated.
Talia nodded.
“I’ve never heard of a female having fangs,” Justin began excitedly as he moved around his desk toward her.
“Don’t even think about it, Justin,” Caitlin warned.
Justin’s gaze shifted to Caitlin. “What?”
“Don’t start talking about experiments you’d like to run or asking her a bunch of probing questions about what she is,” Caitlin told him. “You know enough about her early life to realize that’s a bad idea.”
Justin turned toward Talia, and she could see how much he wanted to ignore what Caitlin said. He wanted to ask questions and find out what made her tick. “Caitlin’s right. If you ever want to talk to me about your abilities or let me take some samples, it would be great, but I’m not going to pressure you.”
“Thank you,” Talia replied softly.
Justin nodded and moved to sit behind his desk again. “I take it you want the fangs out?”
“Yes,” she replied. “Drew said you can help me.”
“I can,” he agreed. “When do you want to do this? It’s a relatively simple procedure, but I’ll need to do some tests with anesthesia first to make sure I get it right. I know you’d prefer to avoid any experiments, but I can’t safely do the procedure any other way. If I try extracting the fangs without using general anesthesia, they retract. I have to get you completely under to remove them.”
“I understand. Caitlin wants us to wait until summer so she can observe,” Talia explained. “I think that’s reasonable. It will also give you time to get everything set with the anesthesia and for us to deal with the people trying to start a war.”
Justin nodded.
“This is really hard for you, isn’t it?” she asked him.
“It is, but Caitlin is right,” Justin replied. “I’m not going to make you feel like a guinea pig. I am going to ask what’s going on with you and Drew.”
“She’s my girlfriend,” Drew replied with a cocky grin.
“I don’t think I’m the girlfriend type,” she argued. “Maybe you can come up with a better term.”
Before Drew could say more, Justin interrupted. “It might be best if you didn’t give him that option.”
“You don’t want to know what he’ll come up with,” Caitlin added.
“I’ve got some great ideas,” Drew assured her, and what surprised her most was how much she wanted to hear them.
“You can tell me later,” she told him.
“That’s my girl,” Drew announced proudly.
Justin chuckled. “I guess the only good thing about this is you can kick his ass if he gets out of line.”
Chapter Forty-One
Corbin briefly glanced at the photo of his daughter. He’d never been obsessed with any woman, but this was different. She was his flesh and blood. She was also a female of his line. Since learning of her existence, everything had changed for him.
“What you're suggesting is insane, Corbin,” Elgin scoffed.
Elgin was the head of their family, and as such, had authority over Corbin. Otherwise, Corbin wouldn’t be wasting his time trying to negotiate with him.
“She’s our blood,” Corbin argued, trying to keep the anger from his voice.
“She’s also a breeder,” Elgin remarked in a bored tone. “What would we do with her? Breeders are only around for one thing, to continue the hunters’ line.”
“Aren’t you the least bit curious to see what she can do?” Corbin asked, trying to keep the desperation from his voice.
“What she can do is get pregnant,” Elgin scoffed.
“You don’t have children,” Corbin reminded Elgin. “With her vampire heritage, she could produce a very powerful child.”
A thoughtful look passed over Elgin’s face as he considered Corbin’s suggestion. “You make a good point. Still, I’m concerned about the rumors of her mental instability. The last thing I want is a child I need to put down because they’re insane.”
“Those rumors came from hunters,” Corbin told him. “I’m not sure she’s the one we’re looking for.”
“What makes you say that?” Elgin asked.
“I’ve been looking at photos of her and her family,” Corbin explained. “She looks enough like them, I’m certain she’s theirs.”
Wicked Crazy Vampire Love (Psy-Vamp Book 7) Page 17
