Safe Hex With a Vampire

by Cassandra Lawson

Chapter Twenty

  Claudia remained silent, lost in thought for a long time. Finally, she squeezed my hand, and looked up into my eyes with an intensity that made me want to take her right then and there. “I would kill to protect you, too, Roman.”

  Excerpt from Roman Draksel’s blog

  Tempest hadn’t spent a whole day just having fun in years. Actually, she couldn’t remember the last time it had happened. In grade school, she’d been the nerdy girl who always wanted to have the best grades in her class. She hadn’t been involved in many extracurricular activities until high school when she’d learned how important they were for college applications. While others were enjoying the college experience, she’d been working hard to get into medical school. She’d allowed herself a little fun during her first year of medical school. That’s when she’d lived with Brian and even made a few friends. After Lucy’s suicide, she’d returned to her single-minded focus of becoming a doctor. Following her residency, she’d given all her attention to the center.

  Her own mother often complained Tempest needed more down time, but Tempest found it hard to relax when she lived at the same place she worked. There was always something to do. Ivy had suggested they hire more people so they could move into their own homes and get more breaks. Rose and Willow only spent three nights a week at the center, and Ivy felt they should do the same. It was hard to let it go. Now, she realized she wasn’t only being unfair to herself—she was being unfair to Ivy. Her sister stayed there to support her. They needed to make some changes. When she got home, she and Ivy were definitely going to do more fun things. Maybe she wasn’t ready to move, but they would be taking days off. She couldn’t be a good mother if all she did was work.

  Tonight, she was snuggled up on a very cozy sofa with Aiden while they watched a movie. It was a sappy romantic comedy Tempest had wanted to watch but never found the time for. Aiden hadn’t complained when she’d picked the movie. Then again, he watched a soap opera and really seemed to enjoy reading Cosmo, so he didn’t have much room to complain. Aiden smelled so good, she took a deep breath and sighed.

  “This movie really sucks,” Drew complained as he pouted on the chair beside the sofa.

  That was a splash of cold water. For a moment, she’d forgotten they weren’t alone.

  “You don’t have to watch it,” Aiden reminded him, sounding more than a little annoyed.

  Whether Drew really misunderstood Aiden’s meaning or was being intentionally annoying, Tempest didn’t know. Aiden looked ready to toss him out a window when Drew changed the channel. Somehow, she suspected that would spoil the rest of the evening for her.

  “I was really enjoying the movie,” Tempest remarked sweetly.

  Drew quickly changed the channel back and gave her a lopsided grin.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, Aiden was actually growling.

  Drew sighed as he stared at her.

  “How old is he?” Tempest whispered to Aiden.

  “I’m almost twenty-two,” Drew answered.

  She looked skeptical.

  “We don’t mature very quickly—at least, not emotionally,” Aiden explained. “He’ll probably be a temperamental pain in the ass for another seven or eight years. This is the age when it’s most dangerous to have him around humans because he lacks any impulse control. It’s worse with him, because he’s a little sociopath to begin with. We’re hoping he’ll grow out of it some.”

  Drew scowled at Aiden. “There is something to be said for youth and stamina.”

  “More to be said for age and experience,” Aiden replied calmly.

  “And I suppose with a little Viagra, you can still get it up long enough to satisfy a woman,” Drew remarked with a smug grin before turning his attention to Tempest. “Wanna see what it’s like to have a man who’s not old enough to be your ancestor?”

  Aiden started to rise but Tempest caught his arm.

  “Drew, I think it might be best if you watched television in your own room tonight,” Tempest suggested.

  Drew pouted for a moment before his face lit up with excitement. “If I refuse to leave, will you do that mind thing again?” He looked positively thrilled by the idea.

  “You liked that?” Aiden asked.

  Drew nodded enthusiastically. “It was like my whole body was vibrating with the energy in the air. I came so hard, I thought I might die. It was fucking awesome!”

  Tempest stared open-mouthed for a moment. That was more than a little disturbing. Aiden’s body shook with his silent laughter. “Does that happen to you, too?” she asked Aiden.

  He laughed out loud at her discomfort. “If it did, I’d pick a fight with you more often. This is the first time I’ve ever been jealous of Drew.”

  Drew was too caught up in his memory to pay attention to their exchange. There was a far off, dreamy expression on his face.

  “We all have different talents and we usually don’t completely understand them until we reach full maturity,” Aiden explained. “This probably has something to do with Drew’s special talent. I always thought it was being a pain in the ass, but apparently it has something to do with sex.”

  “I’m not removing him from the room,” Tempest insisted with a shudder of revulsion.

  Drew heard her and looked more than a little disappointed. “What if I’m obnoxious? I can be really obnoxious when I try.”

  “I’m sure you can,” Tempest agreed.

  Drew was sitting on the edge of his seat expectantly. “Can I at least watch the two of you tonight?”

  “No!” Aiden snapped.

  Drew didn’t seem at all dissuaded by the rejection. He sighed as he stared at Tempest. “You’re incredible.”

  Aiden actually smiled. “That is the first intelligent thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

  “You do realize this place is a mad house, don’t you?” Tempest asked.

  Aiden chuckled. “Yes, but it’s never boring.”

  Tempest smiled and snuggled into Aiden’s side. They both gave up on the idea of getting rid of Drew. It wasn’t long before Tempest dozed off.