Roman (The Clutch Series Book 1)

by Heidi McLaughlin

  “And if I never offer?”

  He frowns and shakes his head. “A conversation for another place?”

  I nod, understanding that his situation is private, and not all humans are privy to what a vampire does when it doesn’t concern them. “Dinner?”

  Roman tightens his grip on my hand and leads us toward the crosswalk. I find myself leaning into him when other women look him up and down. All vampires are devilishly handsome. It’s the appeal they’re reborn with to lure humans to them, but Roman is different. The always there stubble is a definite turn on and his eyes… they’re so blue and translucent, I feel like I could see into the depths of his soul if he had one. Of course, I’m saying this without really knowing him. It’s my gut telling me otherwise, and my father has always told me to follow my instincts.

  Even though I invited Roman out to dinner, he’s taken control, powering us through the onslaught of tourists and into the hotel with a commanding air about him. I suppose from the outside we could look like any other power couple in Vegas, and it’s only his paler than normal skin that gives him away because his mark is covered by the way we’re walking side by side.

  We arrive at the restaurant and stand at the podium, waiting for the hostess. By the number of people waiting, it’ll be an hour wait, easily.

  “Roman!” I look for the source of his name and find one of the waitresses rushing toward us. Well, not us, but Roman. I fully expect him to drop my hand to greet the woman, but he doesn’t. He holds on tighter. Shan would’ve let go.

  “Lydia, how are you?” Roman kisses her on the cheek. He lets go of my hand, but only so he can place his arm behind my back to pull me forward. “This is my Fiona,” Roman tells her. The fact he calls me "his" sends another shiver down my spine. I love it.

  “So nice to meet you, Fiona. Are you here for dinner?”

  I nod. “We were about to put our names on the list.”

  Lydia waves us off. “No need. Follow me; I just had a table open in my station.”

  Roman doesn’t hesitate to fall in line behind her. Me, my radar is going off, and my jealousy meter is starting to spike. How do they know each other? Were they intimate? Did he bite her?

  Lydia smiles softly as she shows us to our table for two, overlooking the fountains. I don’t care how many times I’ve taken in the views of Las Vegas, the Strip, once the sun starts going down is a sight to behold. Roman holds out my chair and orders a red wine for me to drink. As soon as she’s gone, I ask him, “Is she a juice hustler of yours?”

  Roman’s eyes go wide. He looks over his shoulder, possibly checking to see if Lydia heard me or maybe he’s seeking out other vampires, hoping they didn’t hear what I said. Ah hell, I don’t know. Roman stands and pulls his chair over to mine, resting his arm on the back of my chair. I like this. It feels intimate. He reaches for my hand and holds it in my lap. “Absolutely not. Lydia’s married to my friend, who is a vampire,” he says quietly.

  “Oh.”

  “If you have questions, I will answer them, Fiona. I meant what I said earlier, I like you, and while my intentions at first were business related, that was all before I had a chance to get to know you. You’re an amazing woman.” He brushes my hair behind my ear. I turn and look at him.

  “Do you have a juice hustler? Someone who lives in your lair that services you?”

  Roman smirks and shakes his head. “No, I don’t. When I need to feed, I go to our club.”

  “And you have sex with them?”

  He shakes his head again. “Feeding and sex don’t go hand in hand. I can bite someone anywhere to feed off them.” Roman nuzzles my neck as his lips dance along my skin, undoubtedly feeling my pulse vibrate. “But here…” His nose runs a path down my neck. “I’ll bite here when the time is right. When I sense you’re close, and you need the extra endorphins to push you over the edge, or when I want to make love to you, I’ll nip ever so lightly so you can feel my hunger for you. And sometimes, it’s just fun to play.”

  “Does it hurt?”

  “It can, if you’re rough with your subject, but Fiona, I can promise you, I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

  “How can I be so sure?”

  Roman adjusts, which I find odd considering he could literally stand for days and never move or flinch. Many vampires work as window models because of their ability to be statues for long periods of time, not to mention their good looks. But Roman, without knowing his age, it makes me wonder if he’s worked hard to blend in or if he’s really kept his humanity over the years.

  “Honestly, you can’t be sure. Just as you can’t be sure if a human wouldn’t hurt you. Life is a gamble, Fiona, but I’m an honest man.”

  “My friend says you’re not a man, but a monster. An abomination.”

  “Created by gods,” he says as he looks away. I feel as if he’s growing uncomfortable. Instead, he turns and looks into my eyes. “Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. I’m asking you to form your own by getting to know me. Spend time with me, Fiona. Learn about who I am and decide for yourself.”

  “Okay, but can you do me a favor?”

  “Name it.” Roman smiles.

  “Kiss me.”

  “With pleasure,” he says seconds before his lips press against mine, and his hands gently cup my face. Anyone who says vampires are made of concrete is wrong. Roman’s lips are soft and move fluidly against mine. He parts my lips easily and slides his tongue into my mouth, causing me to moan. His taste is intoxicating, and I need more.

  “Don’t.”

  “What?”

  “Moan,” he says. “I may be a vampire, but my human parts still work the same and feeling you moan does things to me that shouldn’t happen in restaurants.”

  I think about laughing, but the idea quickly goes away when he returns to kissing me. This time he doesn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss, and I don’t hold back either, that is until my tongue drags across one of his fangs.

  13

  Roman

  I’m completely fucked. Her kiss is sweeter than anything I’ve tasted in my lifetime. She runs her delicious tongue along my teeth, and comes upon a fang, stopping suddenly and pulling away. She raises her small hand to her lips while examining me.

  “Oh!” she exclaims softly, looking surprised, or perhaps even confused.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, hoping the moment hasn’t passed.

  “I just.. I didn’t realize…”

  “That I had fangs?” I interject with a slight grin. It’s the elephant in the room it seems, so I figure let’s cut to the chase.

  “Well, no. I mean, I knew you did. I was just surprised to feel them.” She lowers her eyes to her lap where she’s placed both her hands.

  Gently, I rest one hand on hers, and with the other, I lift her chin, so she meets my eyes. “Fiona,” I pause, looking for the right words. “I know that this is new, and perhaps even strange in some ways. Let’s have some dinner, and some polite conversation to go with it, and you may ask me anything you’re even remotely curious about. How does that sound?”

  I watch as a sweet, almost bashful smile forms. “I would like that, Roman.” She turns her hands over, so she’s holding mine softly and says, “Thank you for being so patient with me. It’s just all such... undiscovered and new territory for me.”

  Now, I feel a grin of my own spread across my face. “There’s no place that I would rather be than right here and now with you Fiona.” She could explore this territory for the next thousand years as far as I’m concerned.

  Lydia walks back to our table, smiling as always. Even though it’s perfectly normal that she is married to a friend of mine, what’s not normal is that he will outlive her by hundreds of years. “Roman, Fiona, are you ready to place your order?” She looks to Fiona first.

  “Oh, I will have the filet. Rare please.” I can’t help but find this choice funny, and I let out a bit of a chuckle.

  “What?” Fiona asks, looking confused and furrowing her
eyebrows at me.

  Before I can answer that I’m amused by her choice in raw meat for dinner, Lydia steps in to stop me from acting a fool.

  “Honey, he doesn’t even eat. Ignore him. You gotta get some food in your system to keep up with them, believe me.” She winks at Fiona and flashes her giant engagement ring and wedding band at her.

  “Oh my God, is that a real blue diamond?” Fiona gasps, taking Lydia’s hand for a moment, staring at it sparkle.

  “It sure is. When your honey has been investing since investing was invented, you end up with nice things. I’m a damn lucky girl in this lifetime. He had it mined just for me at the Cullinan Diamond Mine in South Africa. I still can’t believe it. My Damen takes wonderful care of me, spoils me rotten. Now can I get you anything else, honey?”

  Fiona leans back smiling, and replies, “No, thank you.”

  “And for you, honey?” Lydia turns to me.

  “Nothing for me,” Roman says, which I know Lydia already expected.

  “Okay, you two. I’ll be back soon to check on you.” She walks off.

  “Is everything ok?” I notice Fiona is looking around the room, assessing people at every table.

  “Oh, shit. Yes, I’m sorry. I was just looking around, I’ve never eaten here before myself. And I typically don’t go to very many… vampire friendly restaurants.”

  “It’s okay. You have a learning curve. I know this. You have questions; why don’t you ask me?” I want her to be comfortable. My desire for her understanding of me, of my culture, is overwhelmingly important to me.

  “Okay, well, first of all. It seems like it’s perfectly normal for vampires and humans to go out to eat together, but only one of them is eating. I don’t want to be rude and eat in front of you, and it feels strange to be the only one eating at the table. Is this weird for you?”

  I smile at her question. Her concern with seeming insulting or impolite is adorable. “Well Fiona, I don’t eat. So it would be silly for me to order food that would only go to waste. Unless of course, you want more food, in which case, I’d just order whatever you wanted. It’s not at all rude though to answer your question.”

  “Okay, so where do you go to… eat? Drink? What do you call it?” She bites her lower lip thoughtfully, distracting me with her sensual allure. She clearly has no clue how enticing she is, but I shake the thoughts free so I can answer.

  “Typically, if I need to announce it, I would say that I need to eat. Just like you would. But among other vampires, I might say that I need to feed.” I watch as she listens intently, seemingly without any judgment, absorbing what I’m saying, so I continue. “As for where I go to eat, generally, I go to Clutch. It is a bar owned by a vampire friend of mine that services the needs of vampires and their consorts. Vampires without a consort are able to find and meet, or meet up with humans who volunteer or desire to… assist in meeting our needs.”

  Fiona leans back, crossing her arms and pursing her lips. I’ve said something that troubles her. “And you expect me to believe that’s not sexual?” I can sense that there’s a twinge of jealousy, and I find it incredibly arousing.

  The tease in me wants to draw attention to it, but I want her to continue asking me what she’s curious about, so I refrain from joking with her about it just yet and reply honestly. “As I mentioned before, it’s not always sexual. It can be if everyone involved wants it to be. But it’s a need that we have to sustain life, just as you have the need for food to fuel your body as well.”

  “Hmm, interesting,” she replies thoughtfully. Seemingly satisfied with the answer, she moves on. “What about sleep? I read that you don’t need to sleep. Is that true?”

  “That is true.”

  “So what do you do when everyone is sleeping?”

  “I read. I talk to others. And I do live in a city that is alive all night long.”

  “Good point. Is that why you picked Las Vegas?”

  “I picked Las Vegas because it meets my needs. It is a vampire-friendly city, which is my preference of course. The discourse that still exists between humans and vampires will always exist in some ways I’m sure, just as there is discourse among different humans. But, this city offers me many opportunities to come and go as I please, and the multitude of interesting business propositions that it offers keeps me busy and intrigued.”

  “How old are you?” she asks.

  “I am five hundred and thirty-two.”

  I cannot help but chuckle at how her jaw falls open. I find that every new expression she reveals endears me even further.

  “Get out. You’re old,” Fiona teases me.

  “Too old for you?” I shamelessly flirt now. I simply can’t help it. All I want to do is leave this restaurant and take her back to my place. I don’t even need to ravage her, even though it’s been on my mind. I just don’t want to share her right now, I’d like her all to myself.

  Blushing, she gives me a coy smile. “I think you just make the cut. But it was close. If you were six hundred, I’d be out of here.” She giggles, and the sound would make my heart thump against my chest if that were still possible.

  I can sense she’s becoming more accustomed to our differences, and words escape how thrilled I am to see it. Unable to help myself, I pull her to me for another kiss. As she softens into me, allowing me once again to taste how sweet she is, my thirst for her grows. I do want to bite her, and as I pull her to me, my thumb gently runs over her pulsating jugular, increasing my lust tenfold. Knowing that I can’t, at least not yet, I wrap my hand around the nape of her neck into her hair, tugging just slightly, causing her to moan yet again.

  I separate us by just an inch and lean toward her ear. I can hear her heart beating rapidly; dramatically almost like a bass drum in my ears. “I told you not to moan like that in public. You don’t understand what you do to me, Fiona,” I whisper hoarsely, my throat feeling dry from greedy hunger.

  Her hand begins to run along my thigh, toward my increasing hardness, and just at the moment when I think I’m going to lose my composure in public, someone lets out a stifled cough at our table. It’s Lydia, with Fiona’s raw steak.

  “Sorry to interrupt you two, but your dinner is ready, honey.” She grins, setting the bloody steak in front of Fiona.

  Slightly flustered, and righting herself, Fiona replies, “Oh, I um.. Thank you so much.” Her face turns red, and she tries to smile.

  “No problem. I’ll leave you two alone. Just holler if you need me.”

  Turning to me, Fiona says in a hushed tone, “Oh my God, that’s so embarrassing.”

  Generally speaking, vampires don’t get embarrassed. We honestly don’t give a fuck what other people think when it comes to such things. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed, Fiona. You’re a beautiful woman. Every man here wishes he were me right now.” I watch her take in the words I’ve said, and while she may not believe me yet, I can see that she’s letting her walls down with me. “Now eat. So I can walk you home and kiss you goodnight properly.”

  We lighten the conversation as I encourage her to feed herself. I can see that she still feels awkward being the only one at the table eating, and truthfully, I’d make myself eat if I could without getting sick just to make her happy. She’s been looking around watching others most of the time we’ve sat here. While my organs are more or less the same as a human’s, after all, I was human at one time, they don’t process anything but blood now, and putting human food into my body would cause me physical sickness. It wouldn’t kill me or anything dramatic like that, but since I don’t have the enzymes to break down food or any of the chemistry for digestion, it has nowhere to go. I’ll explain that to her eventually, but it doesn’t feel like casual dinner conversation, particularly when I want her to hurry up and eat so I can kiss her again.

  Once she’s convinced me that she’s had enough food, I pay the bill so we can go. It’s getting late, and while I don’t need sleep, I can see that she is tired. It’s been a long day. “Thank you for di
nner, Roman. You know you don’t have to walk me all the way back to my place if it’s out of the way,” she says as I take her hand on our way out of the Bellagio.

  “Under my watch, you get walked to your front door,” I reply, squeezing her hand.

  “And then?” she asks, a coy tone in her voice.

  “Tonight?” I briefly contemplate what she’s implying.

  “Yes, tonight. You’ll walk me to my door. And then…” She waits for me to pick up what she’s put down on a seemingly silver platter.

  Of course, I want to say, and then I take you inside and show you what it feels like to make love to a man who has the animal desire of the immortal. I want to tell her that inviting me to taste her blood would give us both more pleasure than she could imagine she is capable of, that it would connect us on an indescribable transcendental level. That exploring her body, one inch at a time, gently scraping my fangs along her curves would be my ultimate fantasy unleashed, and that providing her with intimate pleasure all night would be my greatest achievement.

  What I actually say is, “And then I kiss you goodnight.”

  Every fiber of my being wants to move faster, wants to go all in. But I know it’s too soon. She thinks she’s ready, but she’s not. I need to show her more before I can let her in completely.

  14

  Fiona

  It’s been a few days since I decided to give Roman a chance, yet I’ve kept this to myself as if it’s some dirty little secret. Lana won’t care, but Leslie, she’d have an issue with what I’m doing, and frankly, I’m not ready to lose her friendship over a guy, human or vampire. Moreover, Leslie would say something to her parents, who would say something to my dad, and I don’t want to deal with him right now. I already know how he feels, and I don’t need him putting thoughts in my mind about Roman. I’m trying to give him a chance and keep an open mind. Broadcasting my personal life just invites unwanted advice.