No, he would not allow any complications. With Lydia’s cousin out of the way, she’d come home to an empty condo. Still, she should have been with him already. After his uncle had stopped him from seeing Lydia at the hospital Dominic went straight to Lydia’s mother and convinced the woman to move Lydia to a facility where he could visit whenever he wanted. The plan was perfect until his uncle ruined it. What in the world had possessed Roman to marry Lydia? Lydia wasn’t Roman’s type. Hell, she wasn’t Dominic’s type either. Lydia was crass and needed a lot of training. Thoughts of training her made his cock twitch and strain at his zipper.
Roman might feel obligated to protect Lydia, but in the end he wouldn’t be able to handle her. She’d be back in Dominic’s life and back under his control soon. Unfortunately, it wasn’t soon enough.
The vibration of the phone in his pocket made him frown. Only two people had this number, Lydia’s mother and his own. Sure, enough, his mother was calling.
“Hello, mother,” he said in an almost bored tone.
“Roman had Ursula contact me. She was looking for you,” she said with no warmth at all.
It wasn’t that they didn’t love each other. There was no one he loved more than his mother. They avoided the ridiculous emotional stuff most people clung to. His mother’s love showed in her actions. For example, she would help him with his plan to get Lydia back. While the rest of his family was angry at him for that one little mistake with Lydia, his mother didn’t blame him. There were no conditions attached to her love. Soon, he would have that from his Lydia again too.
“Dominic, do pay attention,” she scolded with no heat.
“Sorry, Mother,” he said. “This whole ordeal is very trying. I’m just upset right now.”
“Of course you are,” she soothed in a softer tone. “As the first born of your generation, this family should give you more respect. Those people should revere you like a prince. Nathaniel took what was yours. You know, his mother was little more than a common whore. The woman came from nothing and ran off with a servant. How can a child of hers be considered important? I’ll bet Roman doesn’t even have the good sense to be relieved about Nathaniel’s death. Roman is a fool. Really, he should have married me after that whore died. With my fine bloodline, I could have produced a decent heir.”
Dominic heard this complaint often. His mother wanted to be treated like a queen and should be. Still, he didn’t want to get caught up in her dreams of marrying Roman today. “What did you tell Ursula?” he asked and peaked out the window. Lydia’s friend, Trish, was walking up the steps to Lydia’s condo again which meant it was Wednesday. Trish was attractive, for a human. If he had to wait for Lydia much longer, he might resort to using Trish as a distraction. With her weak human mind, she would be easy to control.
“I said it’s been months since I’ve spoken to you,” she said. “What are you up to that has Roman so worried?”
“I’ve found the perfect woman,” he said wistfully.
“When will I meet her?” his mother asked sounding more annoyed than excited. His mother had never liked the idea of him finding someone.
“Soon,” he said. “There is a problem involving Roman. He’s trying to keep her from me.”
“Well, he always has been too full of himself,” she muttered. “He always thought he was better than your father too. Roman Draksel loves telling everyone how to live their lives.”
Now, they were moving on to her second favorite rant. When she wasn’t complaining about Roman not marrying her, she was complaining about Roman’s rules. This was the rant that helped him the most. He needed her mind set on thwarting Roman, not catching his attention. Then again, he might be able to play on both of her desires.
“Roman wants to keep her for himself. I think he might even marry her.”
“That is not going to happen,” his mother ground out angrily. “Don’t worry; I won’t let him keep your female.”
“I need a place to take Lydia where no one can find her,” he said. “The place should be secluded. We won’t stay there long. Next, I need a place out of the country, somewhere Roman won’t look.”
“What about the place you’re staying now as a temporary stop?” she asked.
“There are too many homes close by,” he said.
“Ah,” his mother said, grasping his meaning. “The girl won’t be as receptive to your suit as you’d like me to believe.”
“She was,” Dominic grumbled. “Roman kept her from me too long.”
“Did you give her blood?” his mother asked nervously.
Only his mother knew about his ability to control others with blood. Even though she had no qualms using it for her own purposes, it still frightened her.
“Yes,” he said, “but Roman somehow managed to reverse the process. If I can get her alone for a few days, she’ll refuse to leave.”
“I’ll have my personal assistant look into finding a house in a secluded area with a sound‑proofed room.”
“Remember, I don’t want to transport her far from Roman’s home, but our first stop can’t be too close. I’ll also need some men who are willing to do anything for money. Expendable ones I can kill when the job is over.”
“Just let me take care of everything,” she said. “I’ll call you when I have things arranged.”
As usual she hung up without saying good bye.
Dominic walked into the bedroom and looked around the room. The walls were plastered with photos of Lydia. On the bedside table was a pair of silky boy shorts that he’d stolen from her room months ago. He rubbed the fabric against his face, wishing he hadn’t been forced to wash them. The longing to breathe in her scent again was almost unbearable. He should have taken two pairs, one to masturbate with and one to just smell.
“Soon, my sweet Lydia,” he said to the photo closest to the bed. It was one of her sleeping their first night together. She’d looked so helpless and weak. This photo was his favorite. It was the first time he’d fully claimed her. He couldn’t wait to claim her again.
Chapter Twelve
Lydia’s heavy eyelids kept drifting shut while reading the last chapter of the book. It was one she’d read dozens of times, but she needed the comfort. She still wasn’t ready to call her cousin or friends. Every day for the last week, Lydia picked up the phone to call Caitlin but never made that call. Why Caitlin? Caitlin was the least likely to grill her for details because Caitlin liked to avoid emotionally charged conversations.
Ivy came by to visit or called every day. Nothing much was said about Dominic. At first, Lydia had been afraid that Ivy would push the subject. Now, she realized that Ivy considered her a friend, not a patient. Ivy had called that morning to get advice on planting a rose garden.
Curled up on the loveseat in the family room, Lydia felt more than a little lazy for thinking about taking a nap in the middle of the day. Then she reminded herself that there wasn’t much else to do.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes and cuddled the book close. A little nap wouldn’t hurt.
Lydia woke up much later to find Roman sitting in the armchair reading her book. Every once in a while he would raise an eyebrow or shake his head. Lydia wasn’t sure how long she watched him read.
Eventually, Roman looked up and smiled sheepishly. “I was curious about what makes you love these older books so much. When I read to you, I read from newer books. These looked like they were falling apart so I assumed they were your favorites. Reading them seemed like an intrusion.”
Those were surprisingly insightful words. Very few people understood Lydia’s attachment to her old books.
“Did you figure it out?” she asked.
“Not exactly, but I see why these books might remind you of our situation. I’d be lying if I said the story didn’t give me ideas.”
“Wanna role play?” Lydia asked with a wicked grin.
“I’ve never role played,” he admitted as his long fingers stroked the cover of the book. The idea seemed to in
trigue him.
“Never?” In five‑hundred years, the man must have done a few kinky things. “So everything has been pretty vanilla?”
“Vanilla?” he asked in obvious confusion.
“You know, regular sex, nothing too kinky.”
“Not completely, but yes most of my sexual encounters have been on the tame side.”
“Why?” Ugh! Why was she so curious about Roman’s sexual preferences? Okay, dumb question, and it was completely inappropriate. Ah well, propriety had never been her strong suit.
“Sex has been for release,” he explained.
“Like masturbating with a partner?” And Lydia knew she’d gone too far when he cringed.
“Sorry,” she said with a sigh. “That was pretty crude.”
“Don’t apologize. I hadn’t realized how accurate that description was until you said the words. Most of my encounters have been casual and anonymous.”
“I get it. To avoid the emotional crap, sex was just a physical act. That involves keeping things simple. No smart person is going to let a stranger tie them to a bed or something like that.” That was why she’d never tried bondage. Much too risky with people you didn’t know very well.
“Exactly,” he said. “Although, I’m not sure I’d like being tied to a bed anyway.”
“Well, I guess that’s good since you’re a casual sex kind of guy.” Why did that bother her?
“There are other things I’ve missed out on while remaining detached from my partners. Until recently, I assured myself that my detachment was a way to avoid drama. I’m starting to realize that it was more about fear.”
“That makes sense. Lots of guys are afraid of commitment so they stick to the random sex. Women do that too.”
“Commitment isn’t what I fear,” Roman said, studying the couple on the paperback. “After centuries of being alone, I began to believe life was easier that way. You really are teaching me a lot about life.”
“Me? I’m so messed up that no one should take any lessons from me.”
“You’re wrong, Lydia. I know you’ve been through some terrible things. What happened with your mother’s boyfriends and husbands was unforgivable.”
She cut him off. “Nothing happened. A few came on to me. There were two who tried to push things and I had to barricade my bedroom door. One got a knee to the junk. It sucked, but I was lucky. Obviously, I mean lucky that nothing worse happened. One of my counselors got me into a group thing with other girls. Those girls had really been abused. As for me? Yeah, some things sucked, but I was a rich girl with minor obstacles.”
“Just because someone else had it worse doesn’t make what happened to you less important. Just because a person grows up with money doesn’t mean they have a good childhood. Nathaniel could tell you that.”
Lydia blew out a frustrated breath. “Let’s face facts. Most people could find excuses to say they had a fucked up childhood. What the hell were we talking about? That’s right; the reasons you shouldn’t use me as an example. Not one relationship I’ve been in would be considered normal.”
“You haven’t given up on the idea of love, have you?” he asked.
There was no quick answer to that question. Had she given up on love? Was that the real reason she’d never had what one would call a real boyfriend? Looking at the stack of romance novels, Lydia knew the answer. “No, I haven’t given up on love. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not some hopeless romantic waiting for Mr. Right to sweep me off my feet. Hell, I’ve been with more toads than princes. Doesn’t mean I don’t believe there’s a perfect guy for me.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Of course, I don’t see any reason to avoid having fun until then. Yeah, I totally danced around that question.”
Roman set the book down on the sofa. “No, you answered it very well. You are a very passionate woman. Do you have any idea how much I want you? I want to lose myself in all of that passion you exude. Not for release. Not in an anonymous detached way. Will you let me take you upstairs and bury myself inside of you?”
Those words made her achy and wet in a heartbeat. A breathy, “Yes,” was all she could manage.
Roman stood and walked toward her, as if fearing she might change her mind. “Are you sure? This will change everything. I don’t know how long you’ll have to stay here, but once you let me inside of your body, I won’t be able to stay away.”
Her nipples were so hard that the lacey bra made them ache. “I’m fine with that.”
“Okay, let’s try this role playing thing.” Stepping forward, he jerked her to her feet. “You are my wife which means you belong to me.” He paused and looked a little uncomfortable. “How was that?”
“Good. Just keep that up.” Her voice shook slightly from the combination of nerves and excitement. She started twirling her hair and frowned. The last thing she wanted was to get tied up in her hair.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” she said quickly.
“Then why are you frowning?”
“I keep twirling my hair and it would totally ruin this if I had to spend ten minutes trying to free my hand,” she explained with a blush.
“Would it help if I tied you to the bed?” he asked with a playful grin.
Despite the obvious teasing twinkle in Roman’s eyes, his words got her more than a little hot. “Maybe we could try that later. No one has ever tied me up, and it’s kind of exciting.”
“The idea is pretty arousing for me too,” he said and his eyes were filled with promise. “Now where were we?”
Lydia worked hard to look angry. She stepped away from him and tossed her head back in a dramatic gesture. “I will never belong to you!”
“Obviously, you need a reminder,” he said and stalked her. Lydia backed away. Her entire body was alive with anticipation. When her back hit the doorframe, she waited breathlessly. Roman gripped her upper arms and brought his lips to within inches of hers. “I look forward to reminding you that you belong to me over and over again.”
Lydia was thankful for the firm grasp on her arms because her legs were a little shaky. Roman was a natural at role playing. “So you’ll force yourself on me? Will that make you feel like the big strong man?”
“Force you?” he said with a chuckle. “You’ll beg me to possess your body in every way imaginable.” Without giving her a chance to reply Roman scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his room. After laying her on the bed there was the awkward moment of trying to get her hair out of the way.
The hair thing was so ridiculous that it made her giggle.
“Am I doing this wrong?” There was an endearing vulnerability in Roman’s voice.
“No,” she said with a smile, “I’m laughing about this hair.”
“Yes,” he said and joined her on the bed, resting his head on one hand. “Beautiful,” he said as his fingers stroked the exposed skin where her shirt had ridden up. “Now, where was I?”
“Making me beg you to take me in every way imaginable, if I remember right.”
“Ah, yes,” he said and then reached a hand under her shirt to undo her bra. “I must commend you on your selection of undergarments. These are very convenient.”
“Would you think less of me if I admitted to having a few fantasies about you opening this bra when I bought it?”
He let out a low chuckle. “I wonder if you fantasized about the other things I plan to do to your body now.” His fingers began to tug at her nipple and then he lifted her shirt and took one nipple into his mouth and sucked gently.
Lydia loved the way his teeth scraped her nipple as he sucked, but she needed more. “Harder”
Roman obliged and sucked hard on her nipple just long enough to elicit a moan of pleasure. “So responsive,” he murmured and moved up to kiss along her jaw line. One hand continued to tug at the nipple. “I’ll bet if I slid my hand into those sexy panties it would come back soaking wet.”
“Oh my God, Roman, you’re making me crazy,” Lydia panted out.
His lips moved against her neck and his teeth gently scraped against her skin. “This is probably a very bad idea. I’m supposed to be protecting you, but all I can think about is hearing you scream my name.” He inhaled deeply and then released a shuddering breath. “I need you too much to do the right thing.”
“You’ve totally made me forget about role playing,” Lydia admitted.
“Maybe next time we won’t be quite so distracted,” Roman said. “Sit up so I can get you out of that shirt.”
“You first,” Lydia purred and propped herself up on her elbows.
Roman obliged and she was once again amazed at his body. The man had no body fat and his abs were well‑defined. Lydia wanted to run her tongue along the line of his abs that disappeared into his pants. “You have penis pointers,” she said with a playful grin.
He let out a startled bark of laughter. “I never know what is going to come out of your mouth. Before you start acting embarrassed by that fact, I want you to know that it is a very good thing. Your turn.” He tugged at the bottom of her shirt.
She sat up, getting momentarily caught up in her hair. “This hair is a pain to deal with,” she muttered.
“It’s very sexy though,” Roman said as he brought some of her hair up to his lips. “I imagine having it wrapped around my cock or grabbing it while I take you from behind.”
Lydia’s breath caught in her throat. Dear God it was sexy listening to a man who was always so proper talk dirty. She slipped her t‑shirt over her head and slipped off her bra. Roman guided her back down onto the bed, carefully fanning her hair above her head, and then he kissed her. The sensation of his bare chest against hers made her groan. Damn, the man knew how to kiss. His tongue teased hers as he rocked his hips against her.
Vampires Prefer Blondes (Psy-Vamp Book 3) Page 7
