Wanton With a Vampire (10 page)

“No,” Trish said, still looking at the photo
she was working on. “What you should have done was let me handle
it. I’m a grown woman and capable of taking care of myself.”

“You know, your friends told me you have
trouble standing up for yourself, but you seem to do it quite often
with me.”

Trish looked up and found him studying her
with a lopsided grin. “I don’t act like myself around you,” she
admitted.

“I like you this way,” he said. “You
shouldn’t worry about everyone’s feelings all the time.”

She shrugged, not sure she wanted to have a
deep conversation with Alek, which was funny since she had them all
the time with Nathaniel. Still, there was something different about
Alek, and some instinct warned her to keep her distance. The
buzzing of her phone startled her. When she looked at the name on
the screen, she smiled and answered.

“Hey there!” she said happily.

“You sound better,” Nathaniel said.

“And you sound exhausted. Must be a lot going
on out there.”

“You’d love it,” he said with more energy. “I
wish you could have come with me.”

“Me too,” Trish admitted, looking up to find
Alek glaring at her. “So, tell me why you’re really calling.”
Having spent a lot of time with Nathaniel, she was getting good at
reading him, and this was more than him simply calling to check on
her.

“Is it true my uncle is staying with you?” he
asked in a disapproving tone.

“Who tattled?” she asked.

“Tattled?” Alek mouthed with a grin.

“Pretty much everyone,” Nathaniel said. “So,
I called my father, who said I should mind my own business.”

Now that was something Trish hadn’t expected.
Roman was a stickler for the rules and hated upsetting his wife.
Then again, Lydia had been surprisingly quiet since Trish’s release
from the hospital. Trish made a mental note to text Lyd later and
thank her for keeping Roman out of her business.

“I appreciate that you’re worried, but I’m
fine,” she said. “Alek has his stuff settled into Lyd’s room, and
he’s taking good care of me.”

No reason to let Nathaniel know he hadn’t
slept in Lydia’s room last night, since that detail would upset
Nathaniel.

“Are you sure you’re okay with Alek staying
with you?” Nathaniel asked. “I could hire someone to stay with
you.”

“It’s only for a couple of days,” Trish said
but had a feeling she was lying to Nathaniel.

“You’re lying,” Nathaniel said. Clearly, he
knew her too well.

“Why would you say that?” she asked.

“Your voice catches when you lie,” he said in
an overly familiar way.

“Okay,” she admitted. “I’m lying. Alek most
likely won’t leave until he’s convinced I’m okay. Since I was so
upset last night that I asked him to sleep with me, he’ll probably
insist on staying for at least a week.”

There was a long pause on the other end of
the line, and Trish finally realized what she’d said and what
Nathaniel must think. Why she had even chosen to share that detail,
she had no clue, but it was a bad idea.

“I don’t mean we had sex,” she said quickly.
Even though she planned on having sex with Alek, Nathaniel
definitely didn’t need to know that. “When you get back, I’ll
explain everything that happened yesterday. For now, I don’t want
to talk about it. I was upset, and I didn’t want to be alone.”

“And I’m sure Alek had no problem climbing
into your bed,” Nathaniel practically growled, which made her
angry.

“Alek didn’t try anything.” There was no
disguising the irritation in her voice. “Could you try to have a
little faith in my ability to take care of myself?”

Nathaniel let out a sigh. “Sorry about making
you think you had to explain anything. More than that, I’m sorry
for making you think I don’t believe you can take care of yourself.
I know it might seem that way, but I’m overprotective with the
people I care about. When you want to hear about my worst moments,
ask Noah what he has to put up with.”

“You’re used to taking care of everyone. I
appreciate that you care about me enough to try to take care of me,
but you don’t need to worry.”

“Put Alek on the phone,” Nathaniel said.

“Okay.” Trish handed the phone over to Alek,
who was now glaring at her.

“Hello,” Alek said stiffly.

There was a pause.

“None of your damn business.”

Another pause.

“Still none of your damn business.”

One more pause.

“Fine, talk to your father, but it’s none of
his damn business either. I’d also like to remind you that if he
had a problem with me being here, he’d have been at Trish’s door
already. Clearly, your father trusts me here with Trish.”

He handed the phone to her and disappeared
into the kitchen.

“Nathaniel?” she asked.

“I’m still here,” he said, sounding both
embarrassed and annoyed. Trish suspected he was embarrassed that
he’d promised to trust her and let her deal with Alek right before
threatening Alek. While she liked Nathaniel, he could be a pain in
the backside sometimes.

“I’m not sure what was said, but I know you
were talking about me,” she said. “I need you to back off. We’re
friends, and I appreciate that you care so much about me, but I’ve
already told you I can handle Alek.”

“Trish,” Nathaniel said patiently. “We both
know you don’t have much experience with men, and Alek will take
advantage of that.”

“I can take care of this on my own,” she
repeated slowly.

“You’re right, and I want to tell you it
won’t happen again,” he said.

Trish giggled. “But you’d be lying.”

“Yeah,” he said, not sounding at all guilty.
“Promise you’ll call if you need anything.”

“I promise,” she said with a smile.

They talked for a few minutes about the dig
site Nathaniel was at before saying their goodbyes.

Alek rejoined her with a plate of scrambled
eggs and toast.

Trish gave him a grateful smile as she took
the plate. “Thank you for making breakfast. I’m sorry if Nathaniel
said anything really rude. He’s a little overprotective.”

Alek gave her a curt nod.

“I shouldn’t have mentioned we’d slept
together, but I’m not a good liar.”

“That’s one of your best qualities,” Alek
said without looking at her. “I haven’t met many honest people over
the years. Honesty can be painful, but it’s still best.”

Trish swallowed the mouthful of egg she’d
just taken. “Who hurt you, Alek?”

“Why would you think someone hurt me?” he
asked with a fake smile.

“So much for honesty,” she said.

“Sorry,” he said. “That was a knee jerk
reaction. It’s not something I really talk about.”

“Just tell me you don’t want to discuss it,”
she said. “It’s not like we’re good friends, so there’s no reason
for you to confide in me.”

“But I want to tell you,” he said quietly.
“That’s part of the problem. I have this strange desire to tell you
everything.”

Trish put her fork down and waited while Alek
got himself under control. For whatever reason, he was
uncomfortable opening up to her. Maybe it had to do with the fact
that his relationships outside of the family were all superficial.
Come to think of it, he kept his distance from the family, as
well.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” he said,
trying for a nonchalant tone. “I met a woman, and I thought she was
the one, until she met another man and wanted him more. No, it’s
not even that she wanted him more. She told me I wasn’t the kind of
man a woman marries, that I couldn’t provide her with the security
she needed.”

“And that’s why you avoid getting attached
now?” she asked with a shake of her head. This couldn’t be all of
it.

He nodded. “That’s most of it.”

“Pretty lame reason if you ask me,” she said
and took another bite of her eggs.

Alek looked incredulous. “Lame?”

“Yes, lame,” she said. “From what I hear,
you’ve been in serious man-whore mode for over two-hundred years.
Do you mean to tell me you’ve been mooning over some woman that
long?”

“Man-whore mode?” he asked.

“Listen, Alek, I’m not trying to be
insensitive, but I expected something bigger.”

“She married my brother, and they have two
children,” he continued. “She’s horribly unhappy most of the time,
but she’ll never leave him. I have to see the woman I loved
miserable with my own jackass of a brother.”

“Wait!” she said. “Are you talking about
Justin and Isaiah’s mother?” Caitlin had told her that Justin and
Isaiah were a rarity because most of Alek’s brothers only had one
child. Trish could see why men would fight over Helena. The woman
was stunning.

“Yes,” he admitted. “I’m not still in love
with her, so get that idea out of your head. She was right about me
being bad husband material, but that’s not why I’ve chosen to
remain single either. Seeing Helena with Josef helped me see the
futility of finding a wife. My brothers and their spouses have all
been miserable.”

“Lydia might make Roman want to jump off a
cliff some days, but he seems happy,” she countered.

“Okay, Roman seems happy now, but that hasn’t
always been the case. Helena is miserable. Josef is so rigid and
set in his ways that he makes her feel guilty about being a nurse.
The worst part of their situation is that I can see my brother
loves Helena. Hell, Josef loves Helena more than I ever did, but he
has no idea how to change. When I see them, it reminds me of the
misery my family brings into a marriage.”

“I’m sorry if I was so insensitive about your
reasons for being a man-whore. I guess I’d just expected some
romance novel worthy back story.”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” he said dryly. “I
wish you’d stop calling me a man-whore.”

She shrugged. “It’s not an insult. Although,
I suppose it would be if I were looking for a relationship with
you.”

“I’m not good enough for a relationship?” he
asked, and she saw the teasing twinkle in his eyes.

Alek’s transition from annoyed to flirting
surprised Trish. Perhaps flirting was his defense mechanism. “I’m
not looking for a relationship with anyone,” she told him.

“You should be,” he said seriously. “You’re
the kind of woman who deserves to be loved.”

“I agree, but I’m still trying to get my life
together.” She logged off of her computer and stood. “I’m going to
shower, and then I need to run some errands.”

Alek nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” she said because she had a few errands
she didn’t want Alek present for.

“You shouldn’t be out alone until you get
used to your new ability. Besides, you can’t drive until you get
new glasses anyway.”

She silently cursed him for being right, but
she still didn’t want to take Alek with her. “We’re like ten
minutes from the mall. Maybe you could drop me off.”

Alek obviously didn’t like that idea.

The doorbell rang, interrupting the argument
Alek was obviously preparing for.

“I’ll get it while you get over the fact that
you can’t go shopping with me,” Trish said.

Trish was surprised to see Drew on her front
porch. Of course, he knew where she lived because he’d attended a
party when Lydia and Hannah still lived in the condo, but he’d
never stopped by for a visit before.

“Why are you here?” She blushed when she
realized how rude she sounded. “Sorry about my poor manners.”

Drew gave her what would be considered a sexy
smile on most men. It’s not that Drew wasn’t attractive; he was
just a little off.

Drew held up a bag. “Grandmamma wanted me to
bring flowers because you died.”

She eyed the bag suspiciously. Sofia was
Drew’s grandmother, and she was a little scary. While she’d always
been polite to Trish, she’d never been friendly. “There are flowers
in that bag?”

“Nah,” Drew said, making his way around her
and into the condo. “Why would you want flowers? Those things just
sit around and die. Then you gotta try to squeeze them in your
trash can. I figured you’d like cookies more.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking the bag. Drew’s
thoughtfulness was surprising. “Was that all you wanted?”

“Grandmamma wants me to hang out and talk to
you since you’re psychic now,” he said, looking a little
embarrassed.

“Is Sofia trying to fix us up?” Trish asked,
hoping she didn’t sound as mortified as she felt.

Drew shrugged. “Hard to say. She told me I
was too young to date a week ago, and now she’s sending me over to
talk to you. Seems kind of strange, but I don’t mind visiting
you.”

“She’s taken,” Alek practically barked.

Drew’s smile was so full of mischief that
Trish almost laughed. He had every intention of tweaking Alek’s
temper further.

“I’m going to shower, and then you can take
me to the mall,” she said to Drew.

Drew’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Did you
need me to help you? I could wash your front before I help you pick
out some sexy panties at the mall. I don’t mind watching you try
things on or even helping you in the fitting room.”

“You are not going to the mall with Drew,”
Alek said.

Trish chose to ignore him. Hopefully, Drew
would still be there when she finished getting ready. Alek was
almost definitely trying to intimidate him into leaving, which made
it more likely Drew would stay. He enjoyed being a pain in the rear
too much to pass up a chance to annoy Alek.

Just as she’d expected, Drew was lounging on
her sofa when she came out of the bedroom. Alek was leaning against
the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, glaring at her.
Before that, it appeared he’d been glaring at Drew, who was doing a
fantastic job of ignoring him. Trish suspected Drew was used to
being glared at by the men in the family.

“It’s not safe for you to go to the mall with
Drew,” Alek said.