Wanton With a Vampire (5 page)

“I was frazzled and walking around in a
broken shoe. I’ll admit that I was unnerved by your flirting, which
quite frankly was rude. Still, I should have stood up for myself.
That’s been a problem of mine for years.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Why what?”

“Why don’t you stand up for yourself more?”
he asked.

Trish thought for a moment. Honestly, she’d
never spent much time pondering why she was this way. “My mom was
pretty wrecked after my dad died. I remember feeling mostly numb
about everything, like I didn’t want to believe it. That made it
easier to take care of my mom. I pasted a smile on my face and kept
it there through everything. Now, I know that makes my mom sound
bad, but you have to understand how hard this was for her. She
didn’t see it coming. No one did. My dad’s death not only left her
in denial, it left us broke, because when it was ruled a suicide,
my mom couldn’t collect on the life insurance. It was a newer
policy, so she got nothing. They had savings, but not nearly enough
to cover the mortgage on the house we had back then. She needed me
to be there for her.”

“How old were you?” he asked.

“I was eight when my father threw himself in
front of a train. That’s what the police said happened, but my mom
never believed it. We used to go out to the spot where he died.
Even then, it seemed strange to visit that spot and not his grave,
but my mom couldn’t let it go. Okay, that probably makes it sound
like she’s sitting around mourning him still, and she’s not. It’s
just that my mom is convinced he was murdered, and that makes it
hard for her to completely move on.”

“I would imagine it does,” he said, looking
somewhere between sympathetic and annoyed. “Why would she take you
there?”

Trish cocked her head to the side. “I don’t
think she even realized I knew how he died. We still don’t talk
about it. Anyway, my point is that I started trying to be positive
all the time so my mom wouldn’t be sad. Any time something bothered
me or I had a problem at school, she sunk into these deep
depressions. She’s much better now. Honestly, she’s great, but it
took a few years, and by then, I tensed up at the thought of
confrontation.”

“That explains why you bring fake dates to
clubs,” he said.

“I only go to clubs because I like live
music. No, I love the music, but I hate dealing with the guys that
hit on me. Turning them down is hard for me, which is unfair of me
because most of them would move on if I said I wasn’t interested.
Instead, I end up worrying about hurting their feelings and giving
them vague answers that make them think I’m on the fence.”

Leaning forward, Alek took one of her hands
and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Eat,” he said, pointing to the
barely touched sandwich on her plate.

There was a determined knock at the front
door before it opened. Trish wasn’t at all surprised when Caitlin
marched into the room with Justin right behind her.

“I’m here to take care of you,” Caitlin
announced with all the warmth of a cobra.

Trish’s laugh morphed into a moan as pain
shot through her head. “No offense, Caitlin, but your bedside
manner might be enough to make me go back to the hospital.”

Caitlin raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to be a
doctor. I can handle this compassion thing.”

Justin’s lips twitched, but he said
nothing.

“As sweet as your offer is, I think it’s best
if Alek stays with me and you go home,” Trish said patiently.

Caitlin snorted. “I am not leaving you with
the ultimate man-whore.”

“Hey! I’m sitting right here,” Alek said
indignantly.

“I need sleep,” Trish said. “We both know
Justin is only here to use the toys you have in your old room. I
have no interest in listening to the two of you go at it all night
while I recover. Go home.”

“Toys?” Alek sounded intrigued.

“Now is not the time for that,” Trish
said.

Caitlin sighed. “Fine, I’ll go, but I want
you to promise to call if you need me, even if you just need me to
tell Alek to back the fuck off.”

“Maybe I don’t want Alek to back off,” Trish
said, enjoying the shocked expressions of the other people in the
room.

Nothing could have surprised Alek more than
Trish’s comment about not wanting him to back off. Actually, she’d
said
maybe
, and she’d probably only said that to shock
Caitlin. That was the only explanation that made any sense, not
that Trish trying to shock Caitlin made much sense.

He missed the rest of Trish’s conversation
with Caitlin because he was caught up in thoughts of Trish letting
him strip her naked and slide into her body. That had his mind
wandering down the all too familiar path where he wondered what
kinds of sounds she’d make in bed. He’d be willing to bet he could
make her scream. That thought brought him crashing back to reality.
No screaming. He was here to take care of Trish, not fuck her
senseless.

“If you hurt her, I will cut your balls off,”
Caitlin said from right beside him. Apparently, she was done
talking to Trish and ready to make dire threats.

All Alek could do was nod and hope he didn’t
look too guilty. Caitlin could read minds like Ivy, so it was
entirely possible she knew what he’d been thinking about.

After the front door closed behind Caitlin
and Justin, an uncomfortable silence descended around them—
uncomfortable for him anyway. Trish was enjoying her sandwich,
oblivious to the effect her words had on him.

“I can’t remember the last time I had grilled
cheese,” Trish said after she finished the last bite. “My mom used
to make them for me when I was sick. She’s the one who stocked up
my house with groceries last. For some reason, she thinks I’ll
starve while she’s on her cruise.”

Since the kitchen was already pretty empty,
Alek was guessing her mom was right. “Not much of a cook?” he
asked, hoping this conversation about cooking would take his mind
off of thoughts of Trish screaming his name.

She shook her head and laughed. “Actually,
I’m a great cook, but my mom worries anyway. I’m sure you know how
that is.”

“Not really,” he admitted. “Growing up, I was
the only confirmed bastard in the family. Although, I suspect we
all are. Now, Roman knows Ursula is his mom. Lucky bastard.”

Trish’s cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink
that reminded Alek of how young and innocent she was. “Sorry, I
didn’t realize that, but having met Sofia, I should have known you
didn’t have a loving mom in your life. From what I hear, that woman
was awful to all of you.”

Alek shrugged. It was true; Sofia hadn’t been
a loving maternal influence in their lives. “I’m sure it wasn’t
easy for her. At least with my brothers, most people believed they
were hers. With me, I always looked enough like my mother to make
it more obvious to the world that I was a bastard. You can’t blame
Sofia for being bitter about being forced to be around me.”

“Yes, I can and do blame her,” Trish said
angrily, which came as somewhat of a surprise. “You were all
children, and Sofia had no right to take out her frustrations with
your father on you.”

“What would you do?” Alek asked. “Say you
were expected to raise a child who wasn’t your own and pretend they
were.”

Trish sighed. “I get that it wasn’t easy for
her, but it’s no excuse to treat innocent children poorly.”

Alek studied her for a moment before nodding.
“That was a dumb question on my part. I already know you wouldn’t
act like Sofia. It’s refreshing to meet someone who expects the
best from others. Most people are jaded.”

“You aren’t,” she said with a shy smile. “It
surprised me to hear that you’re Roman’s brother. I mean, at your
age, I expected you to be more like Roman.”

Alek laughed. “Did you just call me an old
man?”

Trish looked distressed, but then she smiled.
“I guess I did. Maybe my manners were affected by the
accident.”

“I don’t need you to watch your tongue around
me,” he assured her, wishing he hadn’t made mention of her tongue
because that sent his thoughts spiraling in a very dangerous
direction. His thoughts were filled with memories of his tongue
stroking hers. The memory of that kiss would likely stay with him
for the rest of his life. Thankfully, Trish’s new talent didn’t
involve reading minds, or she might slap him for what he wanted to
do to her at that moment.

“What? No perverted comment about keeping my
tongue busy?” she asked with a sweet smile.

Alek had just taken a drink of water and
nearly spit it out. After getting his choking fit under control, a
choking fit Trish clearly found amusing, he finally managed to
respond. “Are you saying you want me to make a suggestion?”

“No,” she said and then thought for a moment.
“Maybe, but I’m not suggesting you use that line now.”

Alek shifted in his seat to make room for the
erection that had sprung to life at Trish’s smile, which was a
cross between siren and shy virgin. Damn! That was the thing that
kept drawing him to Trish in the beginning. There was this fire
inside of her, but she had an innocence he didn’t see often.

“If I use that line later, will it work?”

“Since it’s a terrible line, I want to say
no, but I don’t seem to act like myself around you.”

Alek groaned. “You need to stop flirting with
me,” he said, sounding almost desperate.

Her eyes widened. “Sorry, it wasn’t
intentional, and that’s the other thing. I don’t know why I flirt
with you. Normally, I’m not like this.”

“I know,” he said and ran a hand through his
hair, giving it a gentle tug to try to snap himself out of whatever
was going on. “Within five minutes of meeting you, I knew you were
way out of my league.”

“That’s a laugh!” she said loud enough to
make herself cringe. “Okay, raising my voice is bad.”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I was just surprised by what you
said. Seriously, you’ve been coming on to me every chance you
get.”

“Yeah, I can’t seem to help myself,” he
admitted, not sure why he felt like a boy at the brink of puberty
trying to talk to a girl he liked.

“It’s the forbidden fruit aspect that
attracts you to me. Your family saying you couldn’t have me made me
more desirable,” she said thoughtfully. “Plus, how often do you get
turned down by a woman?” A very attractive blush colored her
cheeks. “That came out completely wrong.”

Alek chuckled. “Too late to take it back now.
You think I’m irresistible.”

Trish opened her mouth to argue but ended up
smiling at him. “I haven’t done a very good job of resisting you so
far.”

“If that were true, I’d have been inside you
the first day we met, and spent much of the last month enjoying
your body.” When Trish blushed again, Alek gave her an affectionate
smile. “You have this endearing innocence about you. I don’t make
many women blush like virgins.” Then a thought occurred to him.
“Are you a virgin?”

Trish snorted. “I’m almost thirty years old.
What do you think?”

“It’s possible,” he said.

“Well, I’m not.” She failed to stifle her
yawn at the end of that statement.

“You should take a nap,” Alek said, reaching
out a hand to help her to her feet. He was oddly pleased when Trish
took his outstretched hand.

When she was standing in front of him, he
leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “I really am sorry
about the way I acted in the restaurant yesterday. How can I make
it up to you?”

She gave him a shaky smile. “Do you want to
make it up to me?”

“Yes,” he said.

“I need you to take me somewhere,” she said
hesitantly. “This may sound crazy, but I need to go to the place
where my father died.”

As realization struck, Alek shook his head.
“No. You do not need to see your father die. That’s what you’re
hoping for, isn’t it? Why would you even want to see something like
that?”

“Everyone says my father jumped in front of a
train,” she explained. “My mother tried to tell them he wouldn’t
have done that. He was a police officer, and he’d been put on
administrative leave after an incident. I don’t know the details
because I was too young to understand at the time. Whatever
happened, he was upset afterward, and everyone said he was
depressed. The thing is, I don’t think he was depressed. He was
determined to get back to work because of a case. I know I was just
a kid at the time, but I think my mom was right.”

Alek wrapped her in his arms, pulling her
close to his chest. “People don’t always show any outward signs of
depression. I can understand why you want to find another answer,
but this may be denial on your part.”

“Don’t try to placate me, Alek,” she said but
didn’t pull away. “My mom tried to convince the police he was
murdered, but no one would listen. Now, I may be able to find out
the truth. I’m going out there with or without you.”

“I’ll go with you,” Alek said before stepping
away from her. “Tomorrow,” he added. “First, get some rest. I’m
going to buy groceries and fill your prescription. I’ve already
programmed my number into your phone so you can call if you need me
home faster or think of anything you want me to pick up.”

Alek lingered in the condo for about fifteen
minutes until he was sure Trish was settled into bed. Then he
headed out to run his errands. The pharmacist had insisted that
Trish needed to be there with her ID to pick up the prescription,
and it was proof Alek was exhausted when he argued with the
pharmacist before remembering that all he needed to do was add a
touch of compulsion to his voice to get what he wanted.

Back at the condo, he tried to be as quiet as
possible. Trish needed sleep. He’d spent the previous night at the
hospital, so he knew nurses had woken her up frequently. He was
exhausted himself, and the temptation to head into her room and
join her for a nap was strong, but that was a bad idea. As far as
he was concerned, her new psychic abilities made her even more
off-limits. Unlike many of the men in his family, he wasn’t looking
for a wife. There had been a time when he’d wanted that, but he’d
stopped believing in happy endings long ago. No, all he could offer
Trish was a short affair, and that was something she’d never go
for.