“I picked up some paper plates so you wouldn’t have to worry about washing dishes,” Isaiah explained. “There are also breakfast pastries, milk, and juice. I wasn’t sure if we’d make it out to shop again tonight before I have to work.”
“You don’t look like you’re dressed for your usual night job,” Justin said as he eyed Isaiah’s clothes.
“Just computer work tonight, but it needs to be done after hours,” Isaiah explained.
“What exactly do you do?” Lydia asked.
“Security stuff,” Isaiah said. “Tonight, I’m going to hack into a security company’s computers.”
“You mean you’re going to try to,” Justin argued.
Isaiah’s look said Justin was an idiot. “No, I already know how to do it. Seems like a waste of time and money. I told them I could do it. Even told them how and what needed to be done to fix the problem. They’re just arrogant.”
“Then why hire you?” Lydia asked as she pulled out a slice of pizza and grabbed a fork.
“They want to prove that I’m not as good as everyone says,” Isaiah explained.
“So they hired you to prove you wrong?” Lydia asked. Didn’t make much sense to her.
“There’s a lot of ego involved in security,” Justin explained. “Speaking of security, I can only stay here for a couple of days. Isaiah will take the dayshift because I have classes. He can do most of his work from here. The problem is that he has some jobs in the next week that require him to be out at night.”
“I thought you said there was a great security system on my condo?”
Isaiah nodded with a mouthful of pizza.
An idea started to form in Lydia’s head and the more she thought about it the more she agreed that it was a good idea. “You know what we should do?”
“Nope,” Justin said, “and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”
Caitlin gave Justin her most disdainful stare and he grinned. They really did have a strange relationship.
“We should use me as bait to catch Dominic,” Lydia said.
Justin let out a quick bark of laughter and then his eyes widened. “You are serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Duh,” she said with a pout. “What choice do I have? Live under guard for the rest of my life?”
“We’re working on finding Dominic,” Justin said.
“You’ve been working on it for months,” Lydia argued. “Aiden has some super tracking skill and he can’t find Dominic. The only time he comes out is when I’m around. He’ll come after me. If it was set up right, it would work.”
“She has a good point,” Caitlin added. “As much as I hate putting Lydia at risk, I think we could find a way to make it safe.”
“Roman will never go for it,” Isaiah added. “He won’t risk your safety on something like this. I’m not even sure I could find a way to make it safe for you. If Dominic sees you with any of us, he won’t come after you.”
“He did at the club,” she argued.
“Dominic waited until you were separated from the group,” Isaiah pointed out. “Even if we could find a way for him to approach you with one of us hidden, you fought back and won last time.”
“That’s a good thing,” Lydia said.
“Yes, because you got away,” Justin said. “It’s a bad thing too because now he’s angry. Dominic is much more likely to be violent when he approaches you.”
“There has to be a way to make this work,” Lydia said desperately. “I can’t live like this.”
“We’ll find him,” Justin assured her. “For now we need to figure out what to do when I can’t be here.”
“Why can’t you stay longer?” Lydia asked.
“Hannah had her baby and I need to go check on both of them,” he explained. “Ursula delivered the baby and everything seems normal so it’s just a routine check.”
“Can I come with you?” Lydia asked hopefully. Seeing Hannah would really help right now. Hannah had always been her best friend. Sure, things had been strained while Dominic was involved, but she knew her cousin wouldn’t hold a grudge.
“No,” Justin said flatly. “It’s too dangerous. What would happen if Dominic followed us? There are too many things that could go wrong. They don’t have any real security and you know Dominic would hurt Hannah or her baby to get to you.”
Lydia let out a sad sigh. “You’re right. I hate that bastard for controlling so much of my life. What did she have?”
“A girl,” Justin said. “Before meeting Ivy and Tempest, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible for us to produce female children.”
“I wish they would come back,” Lydia said woefully. “I miss Hannah. Plus, I’m dying to tell her that I was right about Nathaniel being a jerk.”
“Nathaniel is not a jerk,” Isaiah argued. “He just made a few mistakes with Hannah.”
“Getting her pregnant and trying to force her to marry him? Those don’t qualify as mistakes. They are plots for romance novels. What the hell is it with your family and kidnapping anyway? This is not normal behavior.”
“He was lonely,” Isaiah said. “It’s hard for some of us to be alone. It’s not like we can walk into a bar to find a mate.”
“It would be so much less creepy if you didn’t use the term mate,” Caitlin suggested.
Isaiah shrugged. “My point is that he was under a lot of stress with trying to take care of the family all the time. He met Hannah and she’s really nice. He liked her and figured it would work.”
“Why are you defending him?” Lydia asked. “Didn’t you help Hannah get away from him in the first place?”
“Because she loves Noah, and he loves her,” Isaiah explained. “Also, I was in a bad place for a while. Hannah was good to me. I owed her.”
“I helped because I owed Hannah and Noah for being nice to Isaiah when he needed them,” Justin explained. “This really is good pizza.”
“I can’t believe you live in this area and you’ve never had Zachary’s,” Lydia said. “It’s been in San Ramon for at least five years.”
“I don’t eat much pizza,” Justin said.
“Justin is a little too uptight for pizza,” Caitlin explained.
Since Justin didn’t argue, Lydia assumed he agreed with Caitlin.
“I really want Hannah to come home. It’s stupid that they are even staying there. Roman knows they’re alive and he doesn’t care. He wanted Hannah to be with Noah.”
Justin looked genuinely shocked. “Why would Roman want Hannah with Noah when she was pregnant with Nathaniel’s baby?”
“Roman cares about Noah, you idiot,” Lydia practically snapped. “Roman is not the monster you all want to make him out to be. That man does a lot for you people and you need to appreciate him a little more. His life would be a lot happier if he wasn’t always trying to fix everyone’s messes.”
Justin put his hands up in surrender. “You’re awfully defensive for someone who claims she doesn’t want to be with my uncle.”
“Shut the fuck up, Justin,” Caitlin said softly.
His eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Lydia doesn’t need you harassing her right now,” Caitlin continued. “For once, don’t act like a prick.”
Justin nodded. “Sorry, Lydia. I’m not much of a people person, in case you didn’t notice.”
“Yeah, got that already,” Lydia said. “Now behave so I can enjoy my pizza.”
Thankfully, he did just that.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The creaking bedsprings woke Lydia up. The mattress shifted and strong arms wrapped around her. Roman’s scent surrounded her, soothing her like a security blanket. She inhaled and sighed.
His lips brushed against her cheek. “I’m sorry for being an ass,” he said against her ear.
“I’m sorry too,” she murmured. “Not about saying more needs to be done about Drew’s mother. That’s true, but I shouldn’t have stormed out and taken everything so personally.”
; “The situation should have been dealt with years ago. Please believe me when I say this isn’t all about devaluing humans. Over the years, I’ve distanced myself from everyone, including my own kind. After Claudia was taken from me, I disappeared for a very long time. Drew’s father, Andrei, was just a baby at the time. As head of the family, I should have been there to make sure he was okay. Guilt isn’t an emotion I’m comfortable with, but I feel guilty about abandoning my brother. He loves Phoebe, as insane as that is. The idea of killing my brother’s wife bothers me. I know that it will probably come to that.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have known that there was more to this.”
“Don’t ever apologize for telling me when I’m wrong because I love that about you. I can’t promise that I’ll always react well at first, but I can assure you that it is one of the many reasons I can’t resist you. Now, down to the important business we need to discuss.”
“What’s that?” she asked with a sleepy smile.
“You were moaning when I came into the room. I’m dying to know what you were dreaming about.”
“Spanking,” she admitted.
“Spanking?” he asked in obvious surprise.
“Yes, it’s Justin’s fault.”
“Justin spanked you!” Roman roared.
“No!” Lydia said quickly. “Caitlin.”
“Caitlin spanked you?” He looked more intrigued than angry. “That sounds kind of sexy.”
Lydia giggled. “Your family has no idea that you’re a freak, do they?”
“Not a clue. Now, back to the spankings.”
“Apparently, Justin and Caitlin are pretty kinky and I was teasing them earlier. Obviously, the whole spanking thing got me a little excited.”
Roman was silent for a long time. “This is something you enjoy?”
“While I have a reputation for trying anything, my sex life is pretty mundane. Spanking is one of the many things I’ve never tried. I’m not exactly into the kinkier stuff.”
“Other than the role playing,” he added. His lips were moving across the back of her neck and his hand had slipped under her oversized shirt to massage her breast.
“Well, yeah I do like that,” she admitted.
“We can try spanking.” Roman’s hand massaged her ass. “You have been very naughty today.”
Lydia moaned and her inner muscles clenched. His hand massaging her ass combined with his words were making her wet. Damn, she wished she’d changed into something other than her wallowing clothes.
“Perhaps you do need a good spanking,” he said. He pushed the covers aside and slid her sweat pants down. “While I don’t approve of your choice of clothing, I am pleased with your lack of undergarments.” Lydia’s eyes closed and her breathing became more labored.
“What do you think?” he asked against the back of her neck. “Should I spank your pretty ass?”
She nodded, and he gave her ass two sharp slaps.
“Ouch! Okay, we are going to rule out spanking. When you talked about spanking it was pretty hot, but the reality wasn’t so great for me.”
Roman chuckled. “So you like it when I threaten to spank your beautiful backside but not when I actually spank you?”
“That about sums it up,” she agreed.
“Many fantasies are like that. Talking about them is exciting but the reality isn’t the same. I’ll remember that you like having me talk about it though. Perhaps we’ll try it lighter or with your clothing on to take away from the sting.”
She rolled onto her back and stared up at him. There was something erotic about seeing this large alpha male in her ultra feminine bedroom. “You really are down for trying anything, aren’t you?”
He nodded and licked his long fingers. That got her even hotter. Then he took those deliciously long fingers and began to stroke between her legs. “Any time you want to experiment, my body is at your disposal. Do you like this better than the spanking?” Two fingers lightly squeezed her clit eliciting a moan.
“Maybe it’s just being close to you that gets me hot.”
It was hard to make out his features in the darkened room. “Don’t leave me again,” he said and she didn’t miss the deep emotion in his voice. “I know I said you could leave as soon as it was safe, but I want you to stay. For the first time in four centuries, I feel alive. Your warmth and passion are like air to me.”
Lydia reached out and stroked his cheek. Roman rested his head just below her left breast and sighed. “You barely know me,” she said.
“I know your feelings aren’t that strong yet,” he began, but Lydia placed a finger over his lips.
“It’s not that. I just don’t get how you could feel that way about me. I’m a fucking mess, Roman. From twelve to twenty, I was so busy rebelling that I didn’t take the time to consider the consequences of my actions. I lost my virginity when I was thirteen and stoned out of my mind. It was a school day but I was hanging out with the high school kids from the local public school. That isn’t even close to the worst thing I’ve done. It’s a miracle that I didn’t end up with a disease or pregnant. My mom’s insistence that I take birth control pills is probably the only reason I wasn’t a teen mom. Admittedly, that was the last time I cut class, but not the last time I slept with some random guy. Seriously, you need to think about this. Do you want to spend your very long life with someone as messed up as I am? I was a total slut for years.”
“Stop!” Roman said. “You were not a slut. You were a confused girl who had no support at home. Your first time was nothing short of sexual assault. What kind of person takes advantage of an inebriated young girl? The bastard had better hope we never meet.”
“You’re trying to make my first time sound more palatable.”
“It would be more palatable to me if it had been your choice. Do you believe I would think less of you for past sexual encounters? Get this through your head, I don’t care how many men you slept with in your past. I only care that you’re with me now.”
She tried to turn her head away, but he held her in place. “Most men would care about this sort of thing.”
“Lydia, most men are idiots. Besides, how could I possibly judge the actions of anyone else? You know I hurt others. Do you hold my past mistakes against me?”
She shook her head. “I’m still kind of pissed about the devaluing humans thing, but you said you’d work on that. You’re a good man. I don’t care about who you were, only who you are.”
“Ah Lydia, you are the most amazing woman I know,” he said with complete sincerity. “I am constantly amazed by you. What happened in your past is nothing to be ashamed of. The woman you are now takes my breath away.”
“I’m in love with you,” she admitted.
There was no way to miss Roman’s smile in the darkness. He leaned down to kiss her. It was a long, slow, lingering kiss. When he pulled away, he murmured against her mouth, “I’m in love with you too. I promise to do everything in my power to be the man you deserve.”
His erection pressed against her side. “Why don’t you show me how much of a man you are right now?”
He chuckled. “You always find a way to say the right thing.”
“You are the only person in the world who thinks that,” she said.
“That’s because the world is populated with fools,” he murmured as he adjusted himself. Lydia’s eyelids closed and she moaned when he slid inside of her. “Now, I’m going to show you why I’m the perfect fit for you.”
She gave a raspy chuckle. “You do fit very well, but I think you should move around some, just to make sure.”
“I think I should make love to you now and show you how much you mean to me,” he murmured.
She shook her head. “That’s not how this works. We fight, and then we have glorious, almost angry, makeup sex. After that, you can make love to me.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m already inside of you and you’re arguing with me about how we need to do this? No, don’t a
nswer that. I like your idea so why should I argue?” He pulled out of her. “Get on your hands and knees,” he said.
She quickly obeyed, because she couldn’t wait to have him in her again.
Roman’s first thrust was so hard that she lost her balance and went down on her elbows. If Roman’s groan was any indication, he liked that position so she stayed that way. Roman grabbed her hair and wrapped it around his fist as he thrust into her over and over again.
“Am I hurting you,” he asked when she let out a particularly loud moan.
“No,” she panted out. “I need you to fuck me harder.”
He did and she distantly heard the headboard slamming against the bedroom wall. It was hard to make out over her screams and moans. Roman’s violent thrusts made it hard to stay up on her elbows.
“Is this what you want?” he panted out.
“Yes, more,” she pleaded. The delicious way his grip on her hair held her in place made her feel even wilder. Her orgasm was coming quickly. Roman slapped her ass just hard enough to send her over the edge.
Roman growled her name as he found his own release.
In the aftermath of her pleasure, Lydia lay curled against Roman’s side with her head on his chest. “That was incredible.”
“I have to agree,” Roman said. “Do we get to do this any time we disagree? Or is it just for big fights.”
“Anything can be considered a big fight. How do you feel about pulp in your orange juice?” she asked playfully.
“I despise pulp,” he said.
“You bastard,” she said with a smile. “Pulp makes it better.”
He chuckled and rolled over on top of her. “Well, that was a nasty fight.”
“Time to make up,” Lydia said and pulled his head down for a kiss.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
For once, Lydia was up before Roman so she decided to slip out of the room and grab something to eat. Caitlin was already in the kitchen, dressed and ready to go.
“You’re up early,” Lydia said.
“I have an early anatomy lab today. The prick is showering and then we’ll leave. He already let Isaiah know that he doesn’t need to stop by.”
Vampires Prefer Blondes (Psy-Vamp Book 3) Page 16
