Lucian drove to the secure storage facility that he and his men were using temporarily as containment for Kaden. The facility was owned by a nephew of one of the vampires on the Council. The basement included a very secure 8x8 cell guarded by three of Lucian’s security team.
Through the small window in the door, Lucian could see that a very aggravated Kaden was chained to the wall. Part of Lucian enjoyed seeing Gaspard’s son caged like the beast he was, but Lucian could not help but feel guilt for the part of him that recognized that this man was also Olivia’s child.
“Are you going to stand out there forever, or face me like a man?” Kaden yelled through the cell.
That was a gentle reminder that there could be no softness where this man was concerned. Kaden might look like Olivia, but he certainly did not inherit her personality.
Lucian opened the cell and faced Kaden. For years he wondered about Olivia’s children. The boys that should have been his, but could never be. Both boys took after her in looks, but darkness hovered around Kaden. At times, it seemed to consume him.
“Does my mother know that you have me chained to the wall like an animal?”
“She knows we brought you to a secure location,” Lucian responded calmly, not wanting to reveal his inner concern that Olivia would despise him for this.
“I didn’t think you were brave enough to tell her this part,” Kaden taunted. “She trusted you and this is how you repay her.”
“I did not lie to her.”
“Of course not. You just tell her the part she wants to hear and disregard the rest. I know that game, Lucian. I played it my whole life. It works very well with my mother. She trusts too easily and hurts too deeply when she’s let down. It’s amazing how the people that love her most keep letting her down. Starting with you.”
Lucian sat down in the one chair across from where Kaden stood. He did not want to discuss his relationship with Olivia with her son. “I’m here to talk about the reason you’re chained to the wall. I need to question you about the murders.”
“Can I call you Luc, or should I call you stepdaddy? What’s appropriate for my mommy’s boyfriend or ex-boyfriend or mate?” Kaden teased.
Lucian was not amused. “My relationship with your mother is none of your business. For the record, I don’t care what you call me, but you better tell me the truth. It’s your life on the line. If you want to play games with it, that’s your choice. I’m not going to stop you from self-destructing. I could not care less about what happens to you. I have enough evidence to end you and I’ll do so. Don’t think my relationship with your mother will protect you. Right now, you’re running out of time and you’re wasting mine. Either tell me what I want to know, or I’ll go get some sleep. Your choice.”
“Ok, stepdaddy. I’ll make this easy for you. I didn’t butcher these women. It’s not my style.”
Lucian despised the “stepdaddy” reference, but he would not allow Kaden to know he was getting under his skin. Lucian had all the power and he had to make sure Kaden did not get the upper hand. “What’s your style? You have certainly killed your fair share of people. Do you like killing the helpless females, or just anyone who looks at you the wrong way?”
“Trying to get me to admit past crimes, stepdaddy? I’m not falling for that trick.”
“Let’s talk about your current crimes, stepson.” Lucian could match Kaden’s acerbic tone. He would not allow Kaden the satisfaction of knowing how much he was grating on Lucian’s rattled nerves.
“What current crimes? I told you that I didn’t kill those women. I get that you don’t believe me. I also understand why. You hate my father. He stole her from you. I hated him as well, more than you can imagine. I understand how you feel. Hell, that’s the one thing you and I have in common, but you need to accept that I’m not him.”
“From where I’m standing, you’re just like him. You take what’s not yours, you hurt others for your own pleasure, and you have no remorse for your actions. You probably should have been named Daughton Jr.”
Kaden lunged forward, but the chains prevented him from getting close to Lucian. He tried to release his power, but to no avail.
“It won’t work, Kaden. Those chains are charmed. They mute your power so you can’t blow me up. I’m sure that disappoints you.”
“You know what’s disappointing? My mother’s taste in men -- or rather, her bad luck. I can’t believe she ended up mated to a son of a bitch like you. First my father, then a pompous prick like you.”
Lucian could not hide his surprise. “What did she tell you about us?”
“I know all about what a self-righteous jerk you are and how you gave up on her when you should have fought for her. I know that you’re a worthless coward. I know that you didn’t really love her; otherwise you would have fought the heavens to get her away from my father. No man that truly loved her would have ever allowed her to suffer at my father’s hands. My mother wasted her whole life loving a man too weak to love her the way she deserved. This time, my friend, I will protect her from you. I won’t let you break her again.”
Lucian was not concerned with Kaden’s threat, but rather, with the implication of what Olivia suffered at the hands of Daughton Gaspard. “What do you mean about how she suffered at his hands? Did he hurt her?”
“Not as much as you did. He hurt her, but you broke her.”
“You don’t know anything about my relationship with your mother,” Lucian defended, biting back his temptation to pummel Kaden.
“I know that my mother loved you too much and we all suffered because of it. I know that you don’t deserve her. I know that I will get free of this place and the first thing I’ll do is remove your pretty little head from your body and bury your remains next to my darling father. That’s where you belong. That’s my special place for those that try to destroy my mother. So, stepdaddy, instead of worrying about my past crimes, you should worry about what I’ve planned for the future -- because that involves me ridding my mother of you once and for all.”
Lucian stood up and walked toward the door. Before he left, he turned back to say, “Make sure you leave room for your own remains in that grave. It looks like the only person hurting your mother these days is you.”
Chapter 7
“Dinner is ready, boys,” Olivia smiled from the door as a fifteen-year-old Kaden grabbed the hand of his five-year-old brother Julian and led him to the dining room table.
“Everything is perfect,” Lucian said as he strolled to Olivia’s side and kissed her. The boys groaned with disapproval at the display of affection, but Lucian just kissed her longer. Eventually he pulled away so that they could catch their breath.
“Do you guys have to do that all the time?” Kaden inquired. “It’s kind of disgusting.”
Lucian could not help but laugh. “Trust me, son, one day you will find a woman that you adore as much as I adore your mother and you’ll proudly kiss her just like that. Believe me, nothing will ever feel as good as kissing the woman you love.”
“Yuck. Kissing is nasty,” Julian complained.
“You won’t always feel that way, Julian. Now, let’s eat this delicious food your mother worked so hard to prepare.”
“Yes, Papa,” both boys agreed. As they ate dinner, the boys told their parents about their adventures for the day and Kaden admitted to some mischievous, but rather harmless behavior that Lucian and Olivia could not help but find amusing. Kaden could not resist that little devil on his shoulder that made him tease and pull pranks on others. As long as no one got hurt, everyone allowed Kaden to embrace his playful side.
After dinner, Olivia bathed Julian and read him some short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. She agreed to one story, but he asked for more as always, and Olivia could not resist. She could not deny her precious boy anything. Finally he started to fall asleep. As Olivia rose from the bed, Julian woke up to tell her, “I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too, mio bambino.”
Olivia w
ent outside and found Lucian and Kaden playing baseball. Kaden was pitching and Lucian was struggling to maintain contact. Kaden’s strength was increasing so much every day. He was growing too fast and soon he would be a man. For now, her family was together and perfect.
Lucian saw her standing there and paused to greet her. Just then a fast ball whizzed past his head, barely an inch away from him. Kaden fell to the ground laughing at the intentional near miss. He composed himself for a second to say, “You always told me to pay attention at all times. I was just reminding you of that.”
“You little devil.” Lucian appeared in front of Kaden within a split second, and the two started wrestling playfully. Olivia enjoyed watching their silly antics. There was no doubt how much father and son loved each other, and that knowledge filled her heart with such joy. She had the family she always wanted and soon there would be another addition. She rubbed her hand against her stomach, imagining the little life growing inside. She hoped it was a daughter, but she would adore another son just as much.
Finally, she broke up the wrestling match and sent Kaden to bed. She wanted alone time with her husband.
“That boy is going to be the death of me,” Lucian bemoaned as he embraced Olivia.
“He’s just like you,” Olivia reminded him. “It’s just now you have met your match.”
“I can’t compete with him, but don’t tell him that.”
“That will be our secret. That kind of knowledge would be dangerous for our precocious young man.”
Lucian kissed her gently at first, but the kiss quickly turned into something more passionate. The need between them was stronger than ever. “I don’t think I can make it upstairs.” Lucian kissed her again and started to unbutton Olivia’s blouse.
Olivia forced herself to pull away. “We have to make it upstairs. We don’t want the children walking in on us. They would be scarred for life.”
Lucian reluctantly agreed and before she could blink, they were upstairs in their room. Lucian locked the door and stalked toward her, slowly unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his muscular tanned chest. Olivia’s skin felt like it was on fire. She reached for his chest and felt an electric current as she touched smooth firm skin. She pulled his face toward her and kissed him with all the passion she had in her. They collapsed on the bed, tugging away each other’s clothes.
She heard him shout her name as she kissed his delectable chest. “Olivia!” he shouted again, but her desire was too strong to stop. She needed him too much.
“Olivia!”
Olivia stopped to look at Lucian, who was pulling away from her. She reached for him again, but he seemed further and further away. “Don’t leave me!”
“Olivia!”
She felt her body jerk. She reached for Lucian again as he faded away. Just like that, he was gone.
“Wake up, Olivia!” Lucian shouted.
“No!” Olivia shouted as she forced her eyes to open. Lucian was standing over her with a look of concern in his eyes. For a moment, she thought he had come back to her. She reached for him and kissed him passionately on the lips. A stunned Lucian collapsed on top of her on the bed, unable to react to this unexpected display of desire from Olivia.
Olivia continued to tease his lips with her tongue until Lucian finally gave in and opened his mouth to her. Their tongues dueled as they tasted each other. Lucian wanted to pull away, but his hunger for her was too strong. Hands that should have pushed her away tore at her nightgown, revealing her luscious body.
Olivia groaned in delight as Lucian’s hands explored her aroused body. She needed more. She needed to feel him once again. She ripped open his shirt, causing the buttons to fly across the room. She ran her fingers up and down his chest and then replaced her hands with her tongue as she tasted him. He was divine. Just the way she remembered. She could never forget the sweetness of his skin. She sucked on his nipple and Lucian fell back on the bed. Olivia, delighted by his response, focused her attention on the other nipple.
“Christ, Livy! We shouldn’t be doing this.”
Olivia paused for a moment and rubbed her heat against Lucian’s strained erection. “Try telling that to your little friend down here.” Olivia was surprised by her own teasing, but she felt like her old self. Like time had turned back and she and Lucian were curious teenagers again.
“My rather large friend unfortunately isn’t known for thinking things through. He’s all feeling.”
“I think I like your friend. Maybe he should come out to play.” Olivia reached for his zipper, but Lucian grabbed her hand.
“Olivia, I’m not sure you know what you’re doing.”
“It’s been a while, but I remember how to do this.”
“That’s not what I mean. Livy, you were in a frighteningly deep sleep and you awoke clearly disoriented. I don’t know what you were dreaming about, but I’m not sure if you’re ready for this. I’m not going to take advantage of you.”
“I know what I’m doing and I know what I want. Right now, I want you.”
“This doesn’t change anything, Liv. It’s just sex. No promises. Can you live with that?”
Olivia was disappointed, but she was willing to take Lucian any way she could have him. He might not be able to offer a future, but right now he could provide her with a pleasure she needed. She placed her other hand on top of his and gently tugged at his. “This is about satisfying a hunger tormenting us both. I can see it in your eyes and I know you can see it in mine. We both need relief. I’m not worried about the future. I’m focused on here and now. All I want is to taste you again and feel you inside me. So stop talking and rationalizing and overanalyzing everything. Let your little friend do all the thinking, and rest that brain of yours.”
Lucian released his hand and Olivia hastily undid his zipper. He was incredibly hard, long, and thick and Olivia could not help salivating at the thought of him in her mouth. She tore off his pants and grabbed his hard flesh. Lucian nearly jumped off the bed. Excited by his reaction, Olivia licked the tip and watched as Lucian fought to stay in control.
“Stop teasing, witch,” Lucian hissed.
“How long exactly has it been for you?” Olivia regretted the question as soon as the words escaped. She didn’t want to think about all the women Lucian had probably been with all these years. She could not blame him for finding pleasure with others. She wanted him to be happy, but she hated the thought of anyone touching this perfect body and tasting this man that was made for her.
Lucian did not want to discuss his sex life and possibly ruin this moment. He was no celibate, but no one ever compared to Olivia. “It has been 175 years since you touched me, Liv, and no one has or could satisfy me the same way.”
Olivia blinked away the tear that wanted to escape. She would not cry now. This was about pleasure and not the pain of the past. She gently kissed his engorged shaft and wrapped her lips around him.
Lucian clutched the headboard, nearly tearing it from the bed. He wanted this to last but his body was too excited to cooperate. Within minutes, he was spilling his seed in Olivia’s eager mouth.
“That was embarrassing.” Lucian covered his face.
Olivia pulled his hands from his face and forced him to face her. His cheeks were flushed. “No shame in being a ten-minute -- or rather three-minute -- man,” she teased.
Lucian growled and flipped her on her back so that her body was underneath him. “That was just a warm up. Remember, turnabout is fair play. Now it’s my turn. Let’s see how long you last.”
“I like a competition. Since you lasted three, I’m sure I could make it to four minutes.”
Lucian cupped her mound and felt her wetness. “You sure about that, cara? Your body is so wet for me that I doubt you will last a minute. You didn’t last that long on the couch yesterday.”
“Bring it on,” Olivia challenged and Lucian gladly took the bait.
Olivia thought she would die of pleasure the way his mouth tasted her and his fingers plunged de
eply in her. She was trying to hold on to outlast him, but her resolve was fading in this bliss of pleasure he was tormenting her with relentlessly. Before she knew it, her climax hit her hard and her nails had shredded her sheets.
“I think you won, Lucian.”
“Not yet, cara, but I’m about to.” Lucian spread her legs as he thrust inside her tight moist heat. “I think you were made for me.”
“I know I was Lucian.”
Lucian continued to pound into her with a fury of desire. Olivia matched him thrust for thrust as her body reveled in the feeling of her Lucian in her where he belonged. He wanted to take her blood, but that would complete the mating ritual and he could not allow that to happen. As much as he was enjoying this time with her, he could not fully mate with her. This pleasure could not erase 175 years of betrayal.
He sucked on her nipples as he continued to plunge inside her. The combination was too much and Olivia erupted. She screamed from the intensity of the pleasure ripping the headboard from the bed. Lucian followed shortly thereafter as he let out a carnal roar. He collapsed on top of her and she held him tightly.
As he motioned to rise, the movement caused the broken headboard to fall on his back. Lucian caught it before it could do too much damage and they both marveled at the destruction surrounding them. The headboard was broken, sheets torn, and a window had shattered to the right of the bed.
“I get the headboard and the sheets, but what happened to the window?” Lucian asked.
“I think our primal screaming is the culprit.”
“I guess that means everyone in this house must have heard us.”
Olivia blushed. “Oh mio Dio. Julian must have heard. What will I say to him?”
“The truth, cara. He’s a big boy. I’m sure he would understand.”
“Lucian, what is the truth between us?” Olivia was almost afraid of the answer, but she could not hide from the truth she needed him to admit.
Lucian did not know how to answer. Making love to Olivia was like no other experience. No one else could compare. It was a long time after she left before he could make love to another. It always felt wrong, but he convinced himself to do it knowing that she was giving herself to Daughton. If she could move on so easily, he would fight for the strength to do so as well. Lying with her now brought back the memories of the pain of losing her and the deceit that marred their love.
Lover's Betrayal: Misfits of the Lore Series Page 13
