Chapter Twenty-Two
Reaching my estate near London should have been a relief, but it wasn’t. I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling I’d had since my run in with Sofia.
Excerpt from Roman Draksel’s blog
Aiden’s phone woke him early the next morning. “Hello,” he answered groggily.
“Do you have anything to report?” his uncle asked with no emotion.
Aiden sat up and put a finger to his lips so Tempest wouldn’t talk. “I haven’t found her yet.” He wasn’t exactly lying. His uncle wouldn’t be happy about him taking the time to sleep with a woman when he should be looking for Claudia. His uncle would be even more unhappy if he figured out who was in his bed. Aiden was sure his uncle wouldn’t be pleased.
“Where are you?” his uncle asked, and Aiden suddenly wondered if he knew he was at Nathaniel’s home. He didn’t think Justin would tell Roman. Isaiah didn’t seem the type to mention it, and he was certain his uncle avoided talking to Drew. That didn’t mean Drew wouldn’t go out of his way to mention it just to cause trouble. In the end, he decided Drew wasn’t likely to do anything that might cause Tempest to leave.
“I just woke up,” Aiden replied without really answering the question. “Hopefully, I’ll have some answers for you in the next couple of days. I’ll stop by to talk to you.”
His uncle was silent for a long time, making Aiden uneasy. “Fine, I will expect you within the week.” He hung up without another word.
Aiden looked over at Tempest. “In case you haven’t already guessed, that was Roman. Have you decided what you want to do?”
Tempest sighed. “I’m not sure what I want to do about anything at this point.” She moved away from him, drew her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her legs.
Sensing her withdrawal, Aiden climbed out of bed and started to dress.
“Are you throwing a temper tantrum?” Tempest asked, as she stared at him.
Aiden took a deep breath to calm himself before responding. “I’m going hiking. I’m tired of chasing you and begging you to stay like some love sick twit.”
Tempest looked stunned. “What are you talking about? I said I wasn’t sure about meeting my grandfather.”
Aiden snorted. “Don’t lie to me.” He walked out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
Tempest wasn’t about to let him walk away from her. She put one of his shirts on and followed him into the hallway. “What the hell is wrong with you? Wake up on the wrong side of the coffin today?”
Aiden spun and shot back, “Waking up next to a witch who has her broom shoved up her ass usually puts me in a foul mood.”
“Bite me!” she almost shouted.
“Is that an invitation,” he asked with a slow smile.
She watched as his fangs slid out of his gums and wondered how she had failed to notice them before. “Where did those come from?” She couldn’t keep the slight tremor from her voice. It was a little scary, but she still stared at them in open amazement. It was also fascinating.
He stalked toward her. “So, that wasn’t an invitation to slide these into your sweet flesh? You aren’t offering me a taste of the nectar that’s flowing through your veins?”
Ignoring the threat in his voice, she asked, “How do you keep them from cutting your lip when you talk?”
Her blatant curiosity seemed to deflate his anger some. “Practice,” he replied with a shrug. “When I was younger, I used to end up with holes in my lip or tongue. It was also really hard to talk when they were out at first. I sounded like I had a lisp.”
“Does it hurt when they come out?” she asked.
“A little,” he replied.
“If you bit me, would it hurt?” she continued.
“I’m sure it would. When we needed them, I used mind control to make people think it didn’t hurt,” he explained.
“You don’t need them anymore?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, we don’t need blood now that we have the supplements. Are you done interrogating me about my fangs?”
“Can I touch them?” she asked hesitantly.
Aiden stared at her like she was some strange creature he couldn’t quite figure out. She suddenly felt very guilty for throwing him off balance again. It wasn’t fair to Aiden, but she wasn’t sure how he’d fit into her life. What she did was important, and she couldn’t give it up. The last few days with Aiden had been great, and she really did want more.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
That knocked him off balance again, and his fangs slid back into his gums. “Why are you sorry?” he asked hesitantly.
“None of this is fair to you,” she admitted. “It would be easier if I didn’t want to stay with you so much. I could go back to my life, and you could work on finding someone else.”
Her suggestion earned her a cocky grin. “So, you want to stay?”
She nodded. “More than I should, and the idea of you with someone else makes me angry.”
He looked very pleased with himself as he placed a hand on her hip and pulled her close. “I know the feeling. I can’t stand the idea of you leaving me and finding another man. Why not just admit we belong together?”
Tempest met his eyes. “What I do is important, Aiden.”
His cocky grin faded, and he blew out a frustrated breath. “I know it is. It’s not like I’m asking you to give it up. When I saw what you did at the ceremony, it scared the hell out of me. It also impressed the hell out of me. I would never want to ask you to stop doing those things.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “And how are you going to react when I need to hunt?”
He paled, which proved he didn’t like the idea. “It would bother me,” he admitted, “but I wouldn’t try to stop you. I don’t want to change who you are.”
“I live in a center for abused women,” she continued. “How do you think those women will react to having a very large, predatory male wandering around?”
Aiden felt weary and defeated. His hand left her hip and dropped to his side. “So, we have no future. Is that what you’re saying? You aren’t even willing to try?”
Tempest wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into his chest. “I’m not sure how to make this work.”
He didn’t wrap his arms around her, despite the temptation. “Then why stay? Why torture me with something I can’t have?” He wasn’t sure if he could let her go. If she didn’t want to stay, he had no right to force her.
He felt the tears against his chest, and they were his undoing. His arms wrapped tightly around her as he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
“I can’t seem to bring myself to leave you,” Tempest admitted. “I know I should. What I’m doing isn’t fair to you. We haven’t known each other very long and we’ve fought most of the time, but I . . .” she hesitated before taking a deep breath and continuing. “I care for you more than I should.”
Aiden smiled. “I love you, Tempest. We’ll find a way to make it work. I’m not going to let you go.”
Safe Hex With a Vampire Page 22