He smiled, slow and sweet and secretive. “You could say that.”
I bent down, way down, and touched my forehead to his. “One day, you have to be completely honest with me.”
“I always am.”
Not exactly, but I let it go. Rome and all that.
I draped my arm around his shoulders and ushered him inside. Charity was in the kitchen helping Ma clean up. Her dark gray eyes flicked between me and Tangi, and the happiness drained out of her expression.
Well, hell. I guess Tangi had been right not to promise anything to me where she was concerned. I pulled him close, bumping his shoulder into my ribs. “How about I finish helping Ma so Charity can take you on a tour of the property?”
He flashed a quick grin at me and his eyes nearly met mine. “Thanks.”
Charity’s cheeks flushed into a rare blush. “Is it ok, Ma?”
“You don’t even have to ask,” Ma said. “You kids go have some fun.”
I narrowed my eyes on Tangi. “Not too much.”
“Only what she wants,” he said.
Which better not be more than talking. From a distance. Twenty feet sounded about right.
No such luck. Charity bounded away from her chores and sidled up to Tangi, and they walked outside together, their shoulders brushing with each step.
“He seems like a sweet young man,” Ma said.
I turned my back on him and Charity and picked up where my sister had left off, storing leftovers in plastic containers. “I don’t know him that well, but yeah, he seems nice.”
“Alden said he’s had some trouble.”
“He’s not a candidate for juvie, if that’s what you’re asking.” I forked slices of bacon into a baggie and zipped it shut. “Tangi was kidnapped when he was fourteen by the same people who took me and Eric.”
The dish Ma was rinsing slipped out of her hands and crashed into the metal sink. “He was hurt?”
“He won’t say, but yeah, I think he was raped and tortured.”
“Oh, Jason. Oh.” Ma staggered around the island and sank into a chair, her skin ashen under her tan. “Why doesn’t anybody stop these people? Can’t the police help?”
I snagged a dishtowel and sat down beside her, then gently dried her limp hands. “Oriana has the police in her pocket. They won’t do a thing to her.”
“Well, somebody has to.”
“We’re trying.”
“Try harder,” she said flatly. “This can’t go on, Jason. It can’t happen anymore.”
“Trust me, Ma. We’re going to stop her.” But we’d need a lot of help to do that and a little time to muster a small army. “Did Alden say anything while he was here, anything about Tangi or Oriana?”
“He didn’t mention that woman.” She spat the words out in an uncharacteristically harsh tone. “Alden said Tangi needed to feel secure, that the best way we could help him is to never leave him alone for long and to make sure he has plenty of physical contact.”
“He’ll probably sleep with me and Eric. That’s not gonna cause problems, is it?”
“As long as it’s just sleeping, no,” she retorted. “He’s too young for the antics you and Eric get up to at night.”
My cheeks went from cool to scorching in naught point three seconds. “Christ, Ma.”
Her bright eyes narrowed on me. “We can’t hear you, and thank God for it, but we know what you’re up to. Oddest thing I’ve ever felt before.”
I rubbed stiff fingers over my eyes. Holy cow. Hadn’t known that. Knowing wouldn’t have stopped us, but still. Thinking about my parents knowing what me and Eric were up to in bed? Uncomfortable. “I had no idea.”
“Oh, now, don’t you worry over it. Mostly, we feel the love, so deep and abiding, there’s no doubt what the two of you are to each other, but every once in a while…” She clucked her tongue and pushed out of her chair. “Your father’s gotten rather frisky since the two of you came home.”
I cringed. “I didn’t need to know that.”
“Like you haven’t witnessed it with your own eyes.”
Ok, yeah, I had, but that wasn’t the point. “We’ll be careful with Tangi.”
“You do that.”
“Thanks for not making a fuss about him.”
“It’s not a bother at all. The fact is, your father and I are tickled that you and Eric feel secure enough here to bring your friends by.” She carried a stack of dishes to the sink, let them clatter against the porcelain bottom, and flipped the water on. “That’s always the kind of home I wanted to make for my children, but your grandmother was here while you were growing up and she was a little too fragile for the noise.”
“Looks like you’ve gotten your wish now.”
“And then some.” She grinned over her shoulder. “We’re running out of bedrooms.”
“There’s always the barn,” I said drily. Speaking of. “Did Alden say anything about Tangi’s, ah, special nature or animals or anything?”
She paused in mid-swipe. “Now that you mention it, he said we might spot an unfamiliar dog running around the farm at night, and if we did, not to mistake it for a wolf and shoot it.”
“Yeah, about that.”
Pop’s heavy strides rang through the living room. He popped his head through the door and zeroed in on Ma. “Eric said he and the boys would stay with Charity and Anna Grace if you wanted to catch a movie with me this afternoon.”
I coughed into my fist, hiding a laugh. Right, see a movie. That’s what they were gonna be doing.
“I would love to, Henry.” She turned to me and swatted me with a spare dishtowel. “Mr. Laughing Boy here can finish the dishes while I hang sheets on the line.”
“Thanks, Ma.”
She dropped a quick kiss on my forehead. “I love you.”
“You, too,” I said, and set to work cleaning the kitchen before she changed her mind and sent me outside to hang laundry.
Charity and Tangi came in from the fields with grease on their hands, both of them grinning so big, it was a wonder their faces didn’t split in two.
“Tangi is amazing with engines,” she said. “Pop’s gonna cry when he hears the way the tractor runs now.”
I stuck the last dish in the dishwasher and turned it on, then moved out of their way. “He and Ma are going to the movies this afternoon. I thought maybe we could have movie time here in the living room.”
“We need to work your legs,” Tangi said, and his voice was almost conversational level loud.
I waggled my eyebrows at Charity. Looked like her natural charm was working its magic on him. As long as they kept a decent distance between them, I was ok with that. “Why don’t you and Anna Grace finish your chores while we work out?”
“Chores are done.” She dug out some of the special degreaser Pop kept at the kitchen sink and worked it into her skin. “I can make some cookies or something. What do you like, Tangi?”
His lip ring twitched and his gaze hit the floor. “Anything.”
I nearly rolled my eyes. Pop was gonna have his hands full with those two in a couple of years. But hey, I wouldn’t be around to see it or be blamed for dragging Tangi into our family. “How about marshmallow treats? I haven’t had any in ages.”
Charity softened her voice. “Tangi?”
“I like them.”
“Great. Marshmallow treats, maybe some chocolate chip cookies, and popcorn. I’ll get Anna Grace to help me, if she can pry herself away from Eric.” Charity rinsed her hands off, dried them. She enveloped Tangi in a tight hug and kissed his cheek. “Your turn for cleanup.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her.
“What?” she said. “Uncle Alden said he needs affection.”
“Don’t take advantage.”
She grinned as she bounded past me. “I would never do that.”
I turned a laser gaze on Tangi. He stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his baggy cargo shorts, grease and all, completely unshaken. “She doesn�
�t take advantage.”
“Make sure it stays that way.”
“No promises.”
I huffed out a sigh and nudged him toward the sink. “I’m gonna put some shoes on while you get the grease off your hands. If you need me, I’ll be in mine and Eric’s bedroom, down the hallway away from the stairs.”
He scooped degreaser out and ground it systematically into his skin. “I’m ok.”
For the first time since meeting him, I actually believed he might be.
I scrounged for shoes, checked in with Eric, and led a degreased Tangi downstairs to the basement that served as a mixture of pantry, weather shelter, and weight room.
He examined every weight and piece of equipment we had as thoroughly as a man does the car of his dreams. “Does your entire family use this?”
“Just me and Char. Eric might slip down here every once in a while on the sly.”
Tangi mmmd in the back of his throat. “I wanted to be a personal trainer, before.”
I ran a hand down his braid and cupped my hand around his nape. “Nothing stopping you now.”
“Plans change.”
“Only if you let them.” Or if something better came your way. A man would be a fool to pass up an opportunity to have something good in his life. “You can practice on me.”
“You might regret that.”
I didn’t, as it turned out, but it was a close thing. Tangi pushed me to my limits, then gently goaded me into moving beyond them. He didn’t raise his voice or posture or belittle. He didn’t have to. His calm assurance that I could do more was enough to keep me at it well after I would’ve stopped, if left to my own devices.
By the time we were finished, my muscles shook and sweat soaked my skin. I slouched on the end of a weight bench, feet widespread, forearms braced on my thighs, and sucked musty air into my lungs. “Holy fuck, Tangi.”
A bottle of water appeared in front of my face. “Drink.”
He didn’t need to tell me twice. I snagged the bottle from him, opened it, and gulped half of it down in one long swallow.
“Gentle, easy movements for the rest of the day,” he said. “A long walk tomorrow.”
“More weights the day after?”
“Yes.”
“Slave driver.”
“If you were fully human—”
I raised a hand, cutting him off. “It’s ok. I’m ready to be whole again.”
“Me, too,” he murmured, so softly, I almost missed it.
I made it up the stairs and into the shower on my own, fueled more by pride than strength. When I came out, enticed by the buttery smell of Charity’s homemade cookies, Eric had already created our own personal theater in the living room. The coffee table was shoved out of the way, the blinds on the windows were firmly shut, and the menu for the first Mummy movie showed on the TV.
“Isn’t that a little scary for Anna Grace?” I asked.
Eric refolded a lap quilt and draped it over the back of the sofa. “She picked it out.”
And he was a sucker for her. I shook my head and rounded up the rest of us, and we settled in for an afternoon of movies. Normal families would’ve been at the pool or the lake on a sunny, Sunday afternoon. Not us. We were restricted by the fucking vampire blood running through mine and Eric’s veins.
For a minute, regret hummed through me, thick and strong. My sisters deserved better than having a brother who couldn’t even take them outside during the summer. They needed more from me than that. Maybe I’d made a mistake by becoming Eric’s favorite and limiting myself to the night.
Eric sat down beside me and tangled his fingers together with mine. Tangi plopped down between my feet and leaned into my legs. Charity sat down in front of Eric, next to Tangi, and Anna Grace crawled onto his lap, smiling happily up at the soft-spoken werewolf.
The regret faded in a flash. Maybe I’d lost a few things when I’d entered the Vampyr. Maybe I’d gained things I never would’ve had otherwise. A partner I could depend on through thick and thin, the love of a good woman, and more family than I’d ever hoped to have on my own.
I skimmed a palm over Tangi’s smooth hair as Eric hit play and the movie’s opening credits rolled. Eric was right. We’d formed our own family, a pack of sorts, and it was a good one. I couldn’t regret the things I’d had to do, and would do, to keep it hale and whole and safe from the dangers presented by the outside world.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Pop and Ma called after the matinee with the news that they were staying in town for supper. I pulled together a casserole and sides with Charity’s help and cooked for our crew while Eric checked in with Marco for the fourth time that day.
Di came in from work about three minutes before the casserole was supposed to come out of the oven.
I jerked a thumb at the stove. “Good timing. Supper’s almost ready.”
She clasped her hands together in front of her waist and twisted one of her rings around and around her finger. “I already ate.”
“Come on, Di. I know you’re hungry. I can hear your stomach all the way over here.”
“Ok, fine,” she huffed. “I’ll take it to my room.”
“You can eat down here with us,” I said firmly. “We’re going back to Georgia soon and I want to spend a little time with my biggest sis.”
She froze, as still as a statue. “When are you leaving?”
“I don’t know. A couple of weeks, maybe. We still have some business here.”
“You’ll tell me, though, right?”
“I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. Christ, Di, what’s gotten into you lately?”
She shook her head, sending her blonde braid swinging across her back. “Do I have time for a shower?”
“Yup, shower away. I’ll hold supper for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Any time.” I opened the oven door, prodded the casserole with a fork. “Say, maybe me and Eric can run your car into town tomorrow.”
She didn’t reply. I glanced around and frowned. The spot where she’d stood was empty. I shrugged off her odd behavior and stirred the green beans. Di had always been a little flighty. At least she was aiming for courteous now, probably thanks to Eric’s little foray into her mind, but hey. Whatever worked, right?
She deigned to eat with us and even lent a hand in cleanup. As soon as the last dish was put away, though, she retreated to her room and didn’t peep out of it again for the rest of the night.
Ma and Pop came home around eight, just in time to get Anna Grace into bed, and one by one, we drifted to our separate rooms for a good night’s sleep. Tangi went up alone. I was pretty sure he’d be back down as soon as he got ready for bed.
I resolved to make the most of my time alone with Eric while we had it. The minute we were both finished brushing our teeth, I bent him over the bed and made love to him, quick, dirty, and hot, exactly the way I liked it. He came twice, once when I pumped my orgasm into his ass, then again when I flipped him onto his back and sucked him off.
He squeezed his eyes shut and his chest heaved with panted breaths. “Jesus God, Jase. You haven’t been like that since the first time. What gives?”
“Tangi.” I shuddered out a breath and crawled into the bed with him, dragging us both into place on the mattress. “He’ll be down here soon, looking for a place to sleep.”
“Oh. Right. I forgot about him for a minute.” He scooted onto his side, facing me, and draped his thigh over mine. “Sex with you turns my brain to mush.”
I laughed softly. “Yeah? Wanna go again?”
“Nympho.”
“If the shoe fits…”
“They don’t make a shoe big enough for your appetite, trust me.” He ran his fingertips over my lower lip, gentle and easy, exploring me as if he’d never touched me before. “We’re close to having the allies we need to take on Oriana.”
I grunted. “Don’t know why somebody hasn’t already taken her out.”
“She’s vicious, Ja
se, like a snake in the grass during the hottest days of summer. There are things she’s done…” He dropped his fingers and shifted on the pillow, his gaze locked on some distant, remembered horror. “Remy and I spent a long time talking. The deaths of his unnatural daughters, Tangi’s kidnapping, what Oriana did to us. Those things are just drops in the bucket of her sins. People are so afraid of her, no one dares to move against her. Any time anybody does, she retaliates fourfold.”
“We can’t afford to leave her in play. I won’t have her coming after my sisters.”
“No, that’s not something we can allow. They’re too precious to lose to her fickle savagery. Remy agrees.”
“He can’t have them, either.”
“That’s not our decision to make,” he said gently. “What we’re fighting for now is the time they need to grow up so they can choose their own fate, the way you and I did. Don’t you want that for them?”
“I don’t want them to be Vampyr,” I said flatly. “It’s a shitty life.”
His eyelashes swept down and fanned across his cheeks, hiding his thoughts from me. “Is being with me so bad?”
I wrapped an arm around him and tucked him close to my chest. Christ, I could be brutal sometimes, and he never deserved that. “No, baby. Never that. It’s everything else that sucks, the constant need to watch what you say, the danger of the lives we lead, the bloodlust.”
“It’s what Willow faces.”
Fuck. He was so right there. Willow would be born with enough vampire blood in her that she’d never get to choose a normal, human life, whether she wanted one or not. “How’s Gigi?”
“Firmly out of the woods. I’m ready to get home to her.”
“Yeah, me, too. I wish we could go home now.”
“As soon as we deal with Oriana, we will, I promise.”
“What about Tangi?”
Eric shrugged. “He can come with us or stay here, whatever he needs.”
I pressed a tender kiss to his mouth, and another because he needed it. “Thanks for being such a good sport about him.”
“I could’ve been him,” he whispered. “If Kyle hadn’t helped us escape, I would’ve turned out like Tangi or worse. How could I not support your helping him, given what Fen did to both of us?”
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