“Liar,” Caitlin accused. “You were just hoping they’d all leave before you had to come in here. In fact, you suggested going up the back set of stairs to avoid this mess.”
“Who could blame him?” Isaiah asked.
“Enough of this nonsense,” Josef interrupted. “I’m taking my wife home. This situation with a hunter makes me even more determined to get her out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Helena told him, arms crossed in front of her chest.
“You are my wife,” Josef insisted.
“Not for long,” Sofia added gleefully.
Josef’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? I married her, and she is mine until the day she dies.”
“Keep pushing your luck and you’ll be the one dying soon,” Helena warned.
Her reaction seemed to surprise everyone in the room, so Phoenix assumed Isaiah’s mom wasn’t normally one to stand up for herself.
Sofia crossed the room and grabbed Phoenix’s arm, tugging her away from Isaiah. “Why don’t you boys have a word with your father, while we have some girl talk?”
“I’m not going to talk to their father,” Drew grumbled.
“You come with us!” Sofia commanded, and just like that, Phoenix found herself being dragged from the room and further from her afternoon of great sex.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Isaiah could not believe his bad luck. He had a beautiful woman, who for some insane reason found his nerdy ways attractive, yet his family was determined to keep him from enjoying her. Instead of being upstairs, locked in his room with Phoenix, he was in a room with his brother and his father. They’d been in the room for five minutes and no one had spoken. That might come as a surprise in many families, but his childhood had been filled with uncomfortable silences. That really said a lot since he and his brother didn’t usually feel the need to fill the void in conversation.
“I can’t believe you brought a hunter around this family,” his father finally admonished him. “That is beyond irresponsible. To make matters worse, you’ve put your mother in danger. You know how fragile she is, yet you still exposed her to a dangerous killer.”
Justin looked like he was going to say something, but Isaiah spoke first. “Don’t talk about Phoenix. In fact, don’t talk to her. I’d tell you just don’t talk to her unless you can say something nice, but we all know that’s impossible. You seem incapable of treating anyone with an ounce of respect.”
Justin raised an eyebrow, clearly shocked. Since Isaiah wasn’t known for outbursts of any kind, he understood his brother’s reaction. He was surprised by his own words, but he wasn’t going to let anyone insult Phoenix. If he had his way, she’d be in his life for a very long time.
“Why are you here?” Justin asked.
“To bring your mother home,” his father answered, looking baffled by the question.
“Why do you want to bring her home?” Isaiah asked. “Did you run out of people to bully?”
His father blinked several times, staring at Isaiah as if he’d grown a second head. “I love your mother.”
Justin snorted. “Yeah, right. You love her so much that you constantly criticize her. What you feel for her has nothing to do with love.”
“Criticize?” his father asked, and Isaiah had to wonder how his father could be this clueless.
“How can you not get this?” Isaiah demanded. “You complain about the way she dresses, the way she does her hair, and you even told her that nail polish makes her look whorish.”
His father looked like he was about to speak, but Justin cut him off. “You tell her she’s not smart enough to be a doctor just because she’s a woman. She’s brilliant, and she could easily make it through medical school, but you’ve made her believe she can’t.”
“Your mother doesn’t understand the world,” his father argued. “I’m just trying to guide her so she doesn’t make a fool of herself. You must see that wearing clothing like she has on today is unbecoming for a married woman, especially one her age.”
“I don’t see that,” Isaiah told him. “What I see is a woman who’s more confident than I’ve ever seen her. She feels good about who she is.”
“Her confidence is growing with every passing day,” Justin added. “Being away from you has helped her feel like she’s worth something.”
His father regarded them both like they were insane. “Why wouldn’t she have felt like she was worth something before?”
“I can’t deal with you,” Justin snapped, standing and storming out of the room.
Isaiah was tempted to follow him until his father spoke. The words were quiet, and it was obvious his father was talking to himself. “I love her.”
Silence hung between them as Isaiah processed what his father had just said. It’s not that he didn’t think his father had feelings for his mother. Growing up, he’d suspected his father mostly viewed his mom as a possession, but there were times when he saw the longing in his father’s eyes. Settling back into his seat, Isaiah waited for his father to speak again because he wasn’t sure what to say. It’s not like they had heart to heart talks on a regular basis, or ever.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” his father finally asked, several emotions swirling around in his eyes, which was strange from his father who tended to show only indifference and disappointment.
Isaiah had to wonder if he’d been misreading his father. “I’m sure you think you love her. The thing is, you treat her like a child. No, that’s not even it because you don’t treat her like she has any potential. When Mom came here because she thought Caitlin was pregnant, she was shy and questioned everything she did. Justin talked her into staying, and several of the women in the family have helped build her confidence since then.”
His father snorted. “I’ve heard the women don’t know their place.”
Isaiah shook his head, unsure how his father had remained so stuck in the past. “I wouldn’t say that around any of Roman’s granddaughters. Come to think of it, I’d avoid saying that around Caitlin. You can’t treat a woman like she’s a possession and expect her to stay with you.”
“Your mother can’t be serious about leaving me. She needs me.”
“No,” Isaiah began with a laugh, “she doesn’t need you, but unless I miss my guess, you need her. What you should be wondering is if it’s too late to fix this.”
“She’s my wife.” This time, there was less conviction in those words.
“She won’t be for long,” Isaiah told him. “Sofia and Ursula are supporting her decision to divorce you.”
“Ursula?” His father sounded genuinely hurt.
Ursula was technically Roman’s mother, even though she’d lived as a servant in the house Roman had grown up in. She’d also been nanny to most of them, his father included. Ursula’s support of the divorce would hurt most, and it might help his father finally see that he’d screwed up.
“Roman hasn’t agreed on the divorce yet, but Lydia will have him agreeing soon enough,” Isaiah warned as he got to his feet and gave his father a pointed look. “You need to make some decisions. If you love her, you need to accept who she is and stop trying to change her. If you can’t do that, then I hope you love her enough to let her go. My mother deserves to be happy.”
On those words, he walked out of the room, pretty sure his father wasn’t going to take his advice, but there wasn’t much more he could do.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Phoenix couldn’t deny that Sofia was growing on her. No one would describe Sofia as warm and loving, unless they were describing her relationship with Drew. It was obvious she adored him, and it was really amusing because she also treated him like he was a child, for the most part.
Phoenix was in yet another sitting room with Drew, Helena, and Sofia. Caitlin had insisted she had a paper to work on, so she hadn’t gone with them.
“Divorcing Josef is a smart move,” Sofia told Helena for probably the tenth time since they’d entered th
e room.
“I know,” Helena agreed with a sigh.
Phoenix was doing her best to keep her opinions to herself, something she found hard to do when everyone kept going back to the same subject.
“I still don’t see why they should get divorced,” Drew interjected.
“Women shouldn’t be treated that way, Andrew,” Sofia explained patiently.
Drew thought for a moment. He was sprawled out on the sofa across the room, and Phoenix had noticed that every time he was considering something Sofia had said, he closed his eyes and his brow scrunched up.
If Drew disagreed with Sofia, Phoenix was going to smack him. Isaiah’s father was an ass, and he obviously had no clue how to interact with anyone. She suddenly had a much better understanding of why Isaiah and Justin were both somewhat socially inept.
“I don’t think he means to be a bastard all the time,” Drew remarked.
“Whether he means to or not is irrelevant. You cannot treat people that way.” While Sofia was still working to look composed, it was obvious she was bothered by all of this.
“Do you love him?” Phoenix asked.
“There was a time when I truly did, but that was many years ago,” Helena admitted with a sad sigh. “When we got married, divorce wasn’t an option. As a vampire, leaving wouldn’t have been possible in the beginning, since I had no clue how to survive on my own.”
“Women of our kind used to be much more dependent on the men in their lives,” Sofia explained. “I suppose that was true of all women, but we were led to believe we couldn’t survive without a man.”
“What changed?” Phoenix asked. Hunters had always been different since there were just as many female hunters as there were males.
“Justin was the one who changed it all,” Helena replied with a proud smile.
“From what I understand, you helped him with the research,” Sofia pointed out.
“I did, but it was his idea,” Helena insisted. “We needed blood to survive. We can actually live without the energy. The problem with that is that we age if we don’t consume small amounts of human energy, and most of us don’t want to grow old and die.”
“Except for Noah,” Drew added. “He’s a fucking pussy about the whole thing because his dad was human.”
“Language, Andrew,” Sofa warned.
Before Phoenix could ask about Noah and his human father, Helena continued. “The need for blood created a problem because women don’t grow fangs.”
“I used a knife,” Sofia told her with a smile.
Helena didn’t comment on Sofia’s claim. “Justin came up with the supplements we take so we don’t need to drink blood. Then he started doing surgery on most of the men to remove their retractable fangs. There are only a few of the men who didn’t have the surgery.”
“That’s a shame,” Phoenix said.
Sofia laughed. “Which part is a shame? Do you want us to still need blood?”
“No. I just thought it would be really cool to see the retractable fangs,” Phoenix admitted.
Drew sat up and opened his mouth. Phoenix watched as the fangs slid out of his gum line. There was surprisingly little blood as they cut through his flesh.
Fascinated by the entire process, she moved forward to get a closer look. “Does it hurt when they come out?” she asked.
“Yes,” Drew replied. “I like the pain, but I’ve heard other people, like Justin, complain about it.”
“Why do you still have your fangs?” she asked.
He shrugged. “My father didn’t like the idea of any of us having them removed. They offered to do it when I got older, but I like them. They’re part of who I am, and I’m not quite as interested in pretending to be human as most of my family. Then again, the fangs aren’t what make me a monster.”
Phoenix took a seat beside him on the sofa. “You aren’t a monster. You’ve just spent too much time believing that about yourself.”
Drew stood and moved to the far side of the room, making it obvious he wasn’t in the mood to discuss his perceived status as a monster.
“Josef loves you,” Drew told Helena.
Helena shook of her head. “Josef simply doesn’t handle change well. That’s one of the reasons he’s unable to move forward and accept that the world has changed. Ending our marriage will be a big adjustment for him, and he’s not happy about that.”
Drew thought for a moment before responding. “While I think you're right about him not handling change well, it’s more than that. There’s this need in him. I’m not really good with the emotional part,” he admitted, sounding somewhat embarrassed. “I mostly pick up on sex stuff with people, but the sex stuff sometimes gets mixed up with emotions. He wants you—like crazy obsessed wanting.”
“Obsession is not the same as love,” Sofia said in a cold voice. “Obsession can be dangerous.”
“I’m explaining this wrong,” Drew admitted. “I just sense that there’s a lot more there.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Helena said with a sad smile. “Even if Josef loves me—which I seriously doubt—I won’t be treated this way anymore. I have a good job where I feel important and fulfilled. I’m beginning to think Justin might be right about me going to medical school. Being Josef’s wife was my whole identity for more than two-hundred years. I suppose I had a short time where my identity also involved being a mother, but the boys are grown, meaning I have nothing if I go back to Josef. He’ll never love me enough to change.”
“You deserve better,” Isaiah said when he walked into the room. He didn’t take a seat, merely stood in the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“Is your father still with Justin?” Helena asked.
Isaiah shook his head. “Justin stormed out after about five minutes with him. I was kind of surprised since he’s usually more subdued around our father.”
“Caitlin’s made a lot of positive changes in your brother’s life,” Helena said thoughtfully.
“I agree.” Isaiah flashed a shy smile. “Having the right woman in your life can make a world of difference.”
“Where is he now?” Sofia asked, and no one had to wonder who she was talking about by the irritated tone of her voice.
Isaiah shrugged. “I left him in the sitting room closest to the library."
“Then I’m going home,” Helena stated. “Josef has no idea where my condo is, and I’d rather not see him again today.”
“We have a situation with the hunters,” Isaiah began. “It might be best if you stay here until we get things cleared up.”
“Are they unhappy about you being with Phoenix?” Helena asked.
“They probably will be,” Phoenix answered glumly. “The issue at the moment is that my psychotic breeder cousin is out killing people, and he’s after me. I’ve tried to leave, but no one seems to see that I’m a danger to your family.”
“It’s best you stay here,” Sofia remarked thoughtfully. “I’ll take Helena home with me. We should both be safe since neither of us use the Draksel name. You’ve also got excellent security on my home.”
Isaiah obviously didn’t like the idea. “You might have been seen coming here,” he pointed out.
“I still have to work,” Helena reminded him. “The more times I come and go from here, the more likely it is someone will see me and follow me to work.”
“I should get security over at the hospital,” Isaiah mused.
“They have security already,” Helena argued.
“At least, send me your schedule, and I’ll have a couple of people watch the parking garage. You should be fine in the hospital, but I’ve never liked the lack of security in that garage.”
“I’ll text you my schedule once I get to Sofia’s,” Helena assured him.
“In that case, I have a few things to take care of.” Isaiah kissed his mother on the cheek before walking to the sofa where Phoenix was sitting. Reaching out a hand, he waited until she took it before helping her to her feet. Then he sh
ocked her by leaning forward, tossing her over his shoulder, and stalking out of the room.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Isaiah!” Phoenix screeched, unable to believe he’d just carried her out of another room over his shoulder. “Put me down!”
“No,” was his only response.
She smacked his back, which prompted him to smack her ass hard enough for the sound to echo off the walls.
“Ouch!” She was actually more shocked than hurt. She was also really turned on, and when he massaged her ass, she moaned.
Isaiah stopped walking and looked around. “We aren’t going to make it back to my room. There’s no way I’m risking anyone stopping us on the way up there again.” Taking a sharp left, he moved at a fast pace down the hallway before stepping into a bedroom she didn’t recognize. It was decked out in rich shades of green.
“We can’t just use someone else’s room,” she argued when he set her on the floor directly in front of the bed.
“It’s a guestroom,” he explained before walking to the door and locking it. “No one will think to look for us here. I need inside of you, now.”
The raw need in his voice had her legs practically shaking from lust. “Who says you don’t know just the right thing to say?”
He stalked toward her, slipping his t-shirt over his head, and unbuttoning his jeans as he moved. “Undress for me, or I’ll end up tearing your clothes off.”
“Impatient, are you?” she asked with a wobbly smile. It was hard to joke around when she was this turned on. They’d already been interrupted twice today, and she wasn’t sure she could handle another interruption. Isaiah was standing before her, kicking out of his shoes and pants, when she slipped her shirt over her head. His eyes moved to her bra. “I really want to tie you up again,” he murmured.
“Not this time,” she insisted. “No playing this time.”
“No playing,” Isaiah agreed, reaching back to undo her bra, while she fumbled with her pants.
Once they were both finally naked, he leaned forward to kiss her. It wasn’t the rough, hungry kiss she’d been expecting based on his actions. His lips moved against hers, slow and controlled. His tongue teased her mouth before retreating, while his hands cupped her ass, pulling her closer to his erection.
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