Chapter Seventeen
Claudia actually laughed at me. “I don’t regret last night, Roman. I won’t regret tonight, but I want to find a priest as soon as possible. It goes beyond my morality. The only way to stay safe is to blend in with the rest of humanity. I was tried as a witch because I stood out. I know we could just lie, but we have so many other things we will have to lie about.”
Excerpt from Roman Draksel’s blog
Aiden practically dragged Tempest up the front steps and into the foyer. He didn’t bother closing the door before he lifted her off the ground and kissed her. Tempest wrapped her legs around his hips and kissed him back.
When Tempest tore her mouth from his, Aiden moved on to kissing her neck. “Aiden, we can’t do this here. People will see us.” Her legs were still wrapped around his hips, and she was grinding against him as she uttered her weak protest. With only the thin layer of fabric from her panties between them, she was fully aware of his erection between her legs. Her body rebelled against her mind’s suggestion they take the time to walk upstairs.
Aiden didn’t reply. He just shifted her weight some so he could slide his hand between her legs and under her panties to slip a finger into her. “Tell me to stop and I will.”
Her eyes drifted halfway closed and her lips parted, but the only sounds to come from her mouth were a few inaudible whimpers as she wiggled against his hand.
When Aiden’s tongue slid playfully across her bottom lip, the energy between them flared. Her body hummed and the vase on the nearby table started to shake.
“I can’t wait any longer,” he groaned and set her down just long enough to undo his pants and free his erection. Lifting her, he tugged her panties to the side, and penetrated her in one swift move.
She gave a little screech.
“Did I hurt you,” he asked with a worried expression.
She shook her head and squirmed against him. “I was just surprised. It’s vibrating again. Why does it do that?”
He groaned and seemed to struggle to speak. “I don’t know, but it only does it with you. Damn, I feel like I’m going to explode just from entering you.”
“If you don’t start moving soon, I’m going to hurt you,” Tempest warned as she wiggled against him again.
Aiden chuckled. “You are a demanding little witch.” Before she could follow through on her threat, he started to move. He leaned her against the wall, and she stopped thinking altogether. She rocked her hips to meet his thrusts.
Tempest clawed at Aiden’s shirt and screamed his name as she climaxed. When the spasms finally stopped, she saw him watching her.
“I love watching you come undone,” he mused, his voice raw with passion.
He started to move again, this time slower as he stared down at where their bodies were joined. It wasn’t long before the pressure built inside her again. Aiden moved faster as her muscles clenched around him.
Tempest bit Aiden’s shoulder as her second orgasm ripped through her body just before Aiden groaned and gave one last thrust.
“Dear God!” Justin called out from the stairs. “You have a room upstairs, use it!”
Aiden looked up at him, annoyed at the interruption, but he supposed he was having sex in the foyer during the middle of the day. When he looked around, he found the place trashed. The vase was shattered, and the table was tipped over and on the opposite side of the room. Even the chandelier hanging above them was swinging back and forth.
“What did you do?” Aiden asked Tempest, feeling a little dumbfounded.
She buried her head in his chest and mumbled. “I was a little excited.”
Aiden had to admit he was very pleased with his life. He set Tempest on the ground and worked to get his clothes back in place.
“I told you someone would see us,” she accused as she checked to make sure she was completely covered.
“Don’t worry,” Aiden assured her, “He just got here.”
“I wish,” Justin grumbled. “I’m going to start carrying around a spray bottle for you two.” He looked at Tempest with even more open curiosity than he had before. “I really would like to discuss the genetic link you found. No one in our family can do this sort of thing.” He gestured to the surrounding mess. “Would you mind if I took a sample of your blood?”
She looked at Aiden, making him smile because she was silently asking for his opinion. It was a good sign. “Justin is a really good doctor, and he knows a lot about DNA. He would probably be willing to share some of his information with you.”
“I’ll think about it,” she agreed. “For now, I need to call my sister. She’ll be worried about me.”
Aiden looked at Justin. “Any chance you can get Drew to leave?”
Justin thought about it. “Probably not willingly, but I could always kill him and bury him out by the creek.”
He sounded so serious, Tempest looked at him like he’d sprouted a second head.
“You don’t know him as well as I do or you’d think it was a good idea,” Justin explained. “I’m not really in charge, so I can’t send him away. He was only planning to stay another day or two until he met your mate.”
“I’d think Drew would want to leave after the scare Tempest gave him.” Aiden said thoughtfully.
“Drew has a huge crush on her now,” Justin told them. “If I didn’t hate him so much I might pity him.”
Drew’s crush annoyed Aiden, but he had no idea why. It wasn’t like Drew was competition for Tempest’s affections, but he didn’t like the idea of Drew hanging around Tempest. “Don’t tell Uncle Roman about her yet. It should be her choice when, and if she wants to meet him. I’m pretty sure she will after she gets used to the idea.”
Justin nodded. “Why not? I keep everyone else’s secrets in this family.”
“Did you just refer to me as his mate?” Tempest asked with narrowed eyes.
Justin had the good sense to look sheepish. “I’m sorry if that sounded crude. Caitlin will tell you it’s because I’m a prick.”
“You are,” Caitlin agreed as she walked down the stairs. “What the hell happened down here?”
“What were you doing upstairs?” Aiden asked in return.
Justin flashed a very satisfied smile and Aiden laughed.
Tempest smacked Aiden’s arm.
“I’m going to call Ivy. Give me your phone.” Tempest put out a hand and Aiden gave her his phone.
“Is anyone going to tell me what happened down here?” Caitlin asked again.
“Is anyone going to tell me what happened up there?” Aiden shot back cheerfully.
“I will,” Justin offered with a raised hand. His normally dour cousin’s almost playful mood amazed Aiden.
“You’re both pricks,” Caitlin muttered.
“Speaking of pricks,” Aiden started, but Tempest’s glare made him reconsider teasing Caitlin more.
“Men are idiots,” Caitlin muttered. Her change in demeanor came as a surprise. When she’d come in earlier, she’d been in a rage that could have made Tempest look sweet-tempered. Now, she appeared completely calm, almost bored.
Tempest nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“Can you believe these two are hundreds of years old and still acting like adolescent boys?” Caitlin asked as she graced them both with a condescending sneer.
“Hey! I resent that remark,” Aiden argued.
They ignored him.
“Do you want to go shopping?” Caitlin asked Tempest.
She looked at Aiden, and he was annoyed to realize she was going to leave him. “Sure, give me a few minutes to call my sister. I don’t suppose you have any clothes that would fit me around here?” she asked the men.
“We still have Hannah’s stuff,” Justin replied.
“There is no way she could wear Hannah’s clothes,” Caitlin insisted. “Hannah’s boobs are huge, and Tempest’s aren’t much bigger than mine. Seriously, the woman must have worn a D cup before she got pregnant. I don’t even want to know what she�
�s wearing now.”
Justin cleared his throat. “They were huge,” he corrected.
Caitlin flushed and nodded. “That’s what I meant.” She turned her attention back to Tempest. “We’ll buy something while we’re out.”
“Give me money,” Tempest told Aiden. When he raised an eyebrow in question, she added, “You’re the one who kidnapped me. I don’t have my wallet or clothes. I think you can buy me something to wear until Ivy can bring my stuff over. As you may recall, I bought clothes for you when I kidnapped you, so it seems only fair you do the same for me.”
Aiden handed her his wallet. “Bossy witch,” he muttered.
“Good boy,” Caitlin praised. “I’m impressed with how well you have him trained.”
Justin laughed at Aiden’s obvious embarrassment.
Tempest punched in Ivy’s number from memory. She was actually surprised she remembered it at all. There had been a time when she’d remembered everyone’s phone numbers. Now, she just told her phone who she wanted to call.
“Hello,” Ivy answered, not sounding at all worried.
“Ivy, it’s Tempest,” she said.
“So,” Ivy started and Tempest could hear the smile in her voice. “I take it this is Aiden’s number.”
Tempest felt her cheeks getting warm. “Yes, I’m with Aiden. There’s no reason to worry.”
Ivy giggled. “Oh, I wasn’t worried. When I noticed you were both gone, I assumed you’d gone off somewhere together.”
“Actually, I hadn’t planned to go off somewhere with him or I would have told you,” Tempest said with a little irritation in her voice.
“I kidnapped her!” Aiden shouted.
Ivy laughed so hard she must have dropped the phone because around the laughter, Tempest heard muffled scrambling.
“This really isn’t funny,” Tempest told her as she put some distance between herself and the others in the room.
“Yes, it is,” Ivy argued breathlessly as she tried to contain her laughter.
“Fine,” Tempest admitted with an exasperated sigh. “I will talk to you about the details later. I’m going to stay here for a little while to get to know some of our cousins and maybe meet our grandfather. You’re welcome to stay, too. Either way, I really would appreciate it if you could bring my phone and some clothes and supplies for me to stay here for a week or so.”
“No problem,” Ivy assured her. “I’ll try to make it there today, but I may not be able to get out of here until tomorrow. We’re still trying to wrap up the details from the ceremony last night and I have an appointment this afternoon.”
Tempest suddenly felt guilty for staying away when there was so much work to get done. “Maybe this is a bad time for me to be away from the center.”
“We can handle this without you,” Ivy insisted. “You haven’t had any time off in years, so don’t even think about coming back.”
“Okay,” Tempest agreed reluctantly. “I’m going shopping, so I’ll pick up a few things in case you can’t make it here today. I’ll have Aiden text you the directions to the house. Thanks, Ivy.”
“Try to be extra nice to Aiden,” Ivy teased.
Tempest gave Aiden a seductive smile, “Not to worry. I’m being very nice to Aiden.”
Ivy was still laughing when Tempest ended the call.
Safe Hex With a Vampire Page 17
