Vampires Prefer Blondes (Psy-Vamp Book 3)

by Cassandra Lawson

  “You know that’s not the case, right?”

  “Yeah and I also know I should have told my mom the truth. Nothing he did would have gotten him arrested, but I should have been honest.”

  “You should call her,” he said.

  “Eventually. I’m not ready to talk to her yet. I need to work through this in my head. For now, I don’t want to think about any of it. I just want to forget it all for a few hours.”

  “I can help with that,” Roman said as he rolled on top of her and kissed her.

  Sure enough, Lydia didn’t think about her mom even once for the rest of the day.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  When her phone rang at exactly nine in the morning, Lydia knew her mom was calling. Lydia hated mornings, loved nothing more than to sleep through the breakfast hour. Her mom, being a morning person, always waited patiently until nine to call. To her, that was sleeping half the day away. Despite what she’d learned the day before, the woman calling was her mom. Yeah, the woman hadn’t been a great mother, but she hadn’t been terrible either.

  “Hey, Mom,” Lydia said around a yawn.

  “Hi,” was all she said back.

  “Soooooo,” Lydia said, not sure how to get this started, “How are things going with Steve.” God, she hoped that was the right name. After moving out, Lydia hadn’t kept up with her mom’s love life as much.

  “We’re separating,” she said.

  No surprise there. Maybe that was the real reason for the call. Breakups always made her mom lonely and needy. “Did you want to talk about it?”

  “No, it’s an amicable break up, and that isn’t why I’m calling.” There was a hesitation. “Although, I can see why you would assume that.”

  Lydia could picture her mom twisting her long brown hair around her index finger. It was a habit they shared. Her mom only did it when she was nervous and if she wasn’t talking Lydia’s ear off, the woman was nervous. Yep, her mom was a power talker on the phone. Today she seemed at a complete loss for words.

  “How are you?” her mom asked. “I should have called earlier.” She paused dramatically, the way she did before her usual excuse. “That’s what a good mother does, but we both know I’m not a very good mother. I never really have been and I’m sorry for that.”

  Ooookay. That was not what Lydia expected. Well, someone needed to take charge and move this conversation along. There was only one reason her mom could be calling if it wasn’t to talk about the breakup. “I saw Uncle Warren yesterday.”

  “Yes,” her mom said on a shaky breath, “he called. So, you know.”

  “Yep, I guess that explains why you weren’t very maternal with me. Must’ve sucked raising me. Probably reminded you of Dad cheating.” Yeah, she was being a bitch.

  “Oddly enough, no, you didn’t remind me of that,” her mom said with what sounded like a smile. “Your dad was the only man I ever really loved and you remind me of him in many ways.”

  “And he cheated on you.” Lydia still couldn’t wrap her mind around that fact. Her dad was her hero, the image of the ideal man. The memories she had of him were forever those of a little girl who worshipped her daddy.

  “Lydia Montgomery,” her mother said with a surprising amount of anger, “your father was a good man. He didn’t run off and have an affair. It may come as a surprise to learn that I’m not an easy woman to love.”

  “Could be you’re picking the wrong guys to love.”

  “That’s part of the problem. Well, at least after your father died. Listen, I didn’t call to talk to you about my failed relationships. We need to talk about what you learned yesterday.”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Lydia asked, trying hard to keep her voice light. “Why even raise me if I’m not your daughter? There must have been another relative to pawn me off on.” Was it because of the trust fund? Was her fucked up childhood all about money? Those were the questions she was afraid to ask.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” her mom said. “You’re thinking that it was all about money.”

  “The thought crossed my mind,” Lydia said, glad that her hair was braided. If it had been left free, she’d already be tied up in it.

  “First, I never needed your father’s money. My trust fund was more than enough to live on. Second, there was no stipulation in the will regarding your custody because your dad knew I wouldn’t give you up. This might be easier if we start from the beginning.”

  “You mean when my dad cheated on you?” Lydia asked irritably.

  “Should I call back when you are capable of showing more respect for your dad?”

  That stern tone made Lydia smile. Sometimes picking a fight was the best way to get someone out of a funk. “Sorry, I’ll behave,” Lydia promised.

  “I dated your dad in high school. The whole thing was arranged by our parents and we just went along. Back then I was wild, much worse than you ever were. Bad boys were my style and your dad didn’t fit that description at all.”

  Lydia laughed at the idea of her dad ever being considered a bad boy. He’d been the type to go back to the store if he found out they hadn’t charged him for a pack of gum.

  “Anyway, we dated to keep our parents from nagging us. Most of the time we went our separate ways, except at family events or things like prom. When your dad graduated and started college the façade of a relationship continued until I got pregnant. Obviously, it wasn’t your father’s baby. I’m ashamed to admit that I had no idea who the father was. Your father tried to talk me into keeping the baby, even offered to marry me and claim the baby as his own. I fell a little in love with him then. Now don’t get me wrong; I didn’t tell him no for some noble reasons. A baby would have interfered with my fun partying with my friends and sleeping around. I had an abortion.”

  “That explains why I was on birth control as soon as I started my period,” Lydia said quietly.

  “The last thing I wanted was to see you make the same mistakes I did. That’s also why I tried so hard to curb your rebelliousness. Again, I’m not exactly mother material so I didn’t do a great job. If anything, I made you rebel more.”

  “Nah,” Lydia said, “I acted more rebellious. Most of it was for shock value. Partying as much as you believed would have ruined my GPA.”

  “You had me fooled.”

  “What happened after the abortion?” Lydia asked.

  “There were some very rare complications which I kept hidden until I blacked out at school. Needless to say, my parents found out about the abortion. The infection was really bad by that time. After a week in the hospital they did a partial hysterectomy. Your dad took full responsibility and married me. My father wasn’t going to force us to marry. When your dad showed up at the hospital and heard my father calling me a slut, he lost it. That is the only time I ever saw your dad lose his temper and it was in defense of me.”

  “Where do I come into all of this?” Lydia asked.

  “Needless to say, I was a terrible wife. Things hadn’t started off right, but he tried to make our marriage work. The problem was he’d only married me out of pity. I told him we should date other people. Well, he didn’t like that idea at all but eventually agreed. Right off the bat, he got back together with an ex‑girlfriend who ended up pregnant even though she swore she was on birth control. When your father refused to leave me and marry her, the bitch said she’d have an abortion. The idea broke his heart. This was the man who had always been there for me, and I was determined to be there for him. I went to the woman and offered her a small fortune to pretend she was a surrogate for me. Almost everyone was told that we used in‑vitro fertilization.”

  “Why?” Lydia asked.

  “I couldn’t let her take you from him, and I believed I could handle everything. Not the fact that you came from another woman. That never bothered me. The thing is, I don’t really like children.” She gave a sad sigh. “I’m sorry that I lied to you all of these years.”

  “It’s okay, Mom,” Lydia said
, surprised to realize how true that was. “Now that I know the whole story, I feel better. Hearing about all of this from Uncle Warren upset me. I mean, it was hard not knowing the whole truth.”

  “Are you fully recovered from your illness?” her mom asked nervously.

  “Still a little confused,” Lydia admitted. “I’m getting stronger every day.”

  “Good. When you’re ready, I’d like to see you.”

  “I’d like that,” Lydia said, and meant it. “Right now, Roman has houseguests, but I’ll talk to him about it and see when it would be a good time.” A thought crossed her mind. “Has a man named Dominic called you or come by to see you?”

  There was a long pause. “I think so,” she said hesitantly. “No, I must be mistaken. Maybe I’m remembering you telling me about a man named Dominic. He’s the attractive young man you were so taken with.”

  “That makes sense,” Lydia said. Well, it would make sense if she’d ever talked to her mom about Dominic. “I should get up now. Thanks for calling, Mom.”

  “Call me if you need anything. I love you.” Her mom’s voice was a little shaky.

  “Love you too, Mom.”

  Lydia set her phone on the end table and looked up at Roman. He’d been leaning against the doorframe for the last five minutes. He was already dressed for the day in black pants and a deep blue shirt. A package with a red bow on top was in one hand.

  “Has Dominic contacted her?” he asked as he approached the bed.

  “According to my mom, she’s never talked to Dominic. The problem with that story is I never mentioned Dominic to her. She said I was ‘taken with him.’ Even if I had mentioned Dominic, that doesn’t sound like my mom. Dominic must have messed with her mind.” Saying it out loud made her angry. “I guess it’s a good thing we don’t spend much time together since he’s trying to use her. Fucking bastard.”

  “Are you okay?” Roman asked as he sat beside her on the bed. “I mean with the rest of your conversation with your mother.”

  “Surprisingly, yes,” she admitted. “I understand my life and our relationship much better. Even if she’s not a great mom, she’s still my mom. I actually feel closer to her. Now, I’m hoping to get through the rest of the day without anyone else asking me if I’m okay.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “I’ll do my best to avoid that question. I have a present for you.”

  His wicked grin had her curious. “What is it?”

  “Open it up,” he said.

  She opened the box and pulled out a leather thong. It was too heavy. “Oh my God! You bought me vibrating panties!” she practically gasped.

  He nodded.

  “When?”

  “I ordered them two days ago and had them shipped overnight. They were here when we got home last night.”

  She looked in the bottom of the box and asked, “Where’s the remote?”

  “In my pocket,” he said with a tap to the front pocket of his pants. “Go shower and get ready to go. Put these on under a skirt. No need to dress up too much.”

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “It’s a surprise,” he said.

  “And I need to wear the panties for the surprise?”

  “Definitely,” he assured her. “I have big plans for you today. Now, hurry up and get ready. Unfortunately, I need to pick up my nephew at the airport this evening.”

  “Can’t he take a cab or something?”

  “I wish it were that easy. Drew is somewhat of a challenge,” he said.

  “How long is he going to be staying here?”

  “With any luck, things will be straightened out between Drew and Isaiah soon and he can stay with Justin. Until then, I need to keep an eye on him.”

  “Well, I guess we’d better go have some fun before we need to babysit your nephew,” she said with an amused twinkle in her eyes.

  “You won’t be laughing by tomorrow morning,” he grumbled. “You have thirty minutes to get ready.”

  Lydia stuck out her tongue and hurried off to shower.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dressed in a long jade green skirt that flowed around her ankles and a black sweater, Lydia was ready to go. The panties were more comfortable than she’d expected. Boy shorts were her preference but the faux leather thong was relatively soft. A shiver of desire ran through her at the thought of what Roman might have planned.

  Roman was waiting in the foyer. A sexy smile played on his lips as he pushed off of the wall and walked across the room. “Very nice.” His hands remained in the front pockets of his pants.

  The vibration of the panties made her jump in surprise. While the vibrations weren’t strong they were enough to make her legs shaky. A moan escaped her lips and her eyes drifted shut.

  The vibrations stopped. Roman was standing directly in front of her. One hand grasped the back of her neck and he leaned down to kiss her. The other hand remained in his pocket; making her wonder if he would hit the remote again. “I can’t wait to get inside of you,” he murmured just before he kissed her.

  One hand remained on the back of her head as he kissed her, his tongue probing with achingly slow strokes. Impatient with his teasing, she sucked on his tongue and he made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a growl. Ending the kiss with obvious reluctance, Roman stepped back. “We’d better go before I toss you over my shoulder and take you back upstairs.”

  “I kind of like that idea,” Lydia said.

  “You’ll enjoy this more,” he assured her and reached out a hand.

  They headed to Roman’s detached garage. There were three cars in the garage attached to the house and eleven in the detached garage. “You really took to driving, didn’t you?”

  He chuckled. “Yes, I enjoy it a lot. Horses were never to my liking.”

  “Me neither!” she said. “Horses are smelly and mean.”

  “Smelly I agree with, but I never found them mean.”

  “An evil pony bit me when I was a little girl,” she explained.

  “When I acted up as a child, Ursula made me muck out stalls.” A shudder of disgust went through his body. “That was enough to make me lose any love of horses. Actually, I never cared for them much anyway.”

  “Not an animal person?” she asked as he held open the door to the BMW.

  “I’m afraid not,” he said and then walked around to climb into the driver’s seat. “The fact that you only have plants came as a great relief. If you’d been a cat person, I might have left you at the hospital.”

  “Liar.”

  “Fine,” he said as the engine roared to life. “I would have taken a mangy cat home too.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve never even had a hamster. Animals are like furry children. Pets in other people’s homes are fun, but I don’t need one of my own. Never had a plant scratch up the furniture or pee on the floor.”

  The remote control sat in Roman’s lap and Lydia watched as his long fingers moved over it. “I am really looking forward to our day out,” he murmured.

  She swallowed hard. “Care to give me a clue about what we’ll be doing?”

  He hit the button on the remote and turned it up higher. Lydia’s head fell back against the seat and her eyelids drifted half shut. “Oh God!”

  “You’re cheeks are flushed,” he remarked. “Are you feeling warm?”

  When her eyes opened, she found Roman smiling at her. “Warm? No. Hot and wet? Yes,” she said in a strained voice. The vibrations were stronger and her panties were soaking wet.

  Roman’s attention shifted to driving and he tore out of the garage. The man drove well, but he liked to drive fast. Lydia’s back arched, straining the seatbelt as her climax neared.

  “Not yet,” Roman murmured and turned off the panties.

  Lydia groaned. “Why are you torturing me?”

  “Torturing you?” he asked innocently, eyes still on the road.

  “Yes, torturing me,” she said.

&n
bsp; “I would never torture you,” he insisted. “My intention is to make you come harder than you have in your entire life. When that happens, I want to be buried deep inside of you.”

  Lydia moaned again. “Then maybe we should go back home now?”

  “I have other plans,” he said and took a turn quickly. “Are you hungry?”

  “Why?” she said, licking her lips. “Were you going to offer me something now? How about if I lean across this seat and help you relax for the drive?”

  “Behave,” he warned. “Today is going to be on my terms.”

  “Have I mentioned how sexy you are when you totally take charge?”

  “No, but I did get the impression that you enjoy it. Of course, you also seem to enjoy being in charge.”

  The man really did know her well. “Yeah, I pretty much like everything with you.”

  They made their way to a small diner. It was a noisy little hole in the wall restaurant that served typical diner food. Lydia loved places like this, but knew they weren’t Roman’s style. Once they were seated at a booth in the middle of the restaurant Roman reached into his pocket and Lydia felt the soft vibrations.

  “What are you in the mood for?” he asked.

  Lydia squirmed. “Was that a trick question?”

  “Patience,” he said. “We’ll get to that later.”

  “Patience sucks monkey balls,” she muttered and squeezed her legs together to get the panties in a better position. Just when she was about to reach down and move the panties where she wanted them, the vibrations stopped. Fists clenched tightly, she stifled a groan.

  “I promise to reward you for your patience soon,” he said. “Now, look at the menu.”

  Lydia decided on a grilled cheese sandwich because it was easy to eat. Even that was a challenge with Roman trying to drive her crazy. “I’m done,” she said after swallowing the last bite.

  Roman had been waiting patiently. “Not yet, but you will be soon.”

  After paying for their meal, he walked her back to the car and barely brushed his lips against hers before guiding her into the car. The next stop was a hotel overlooking a beach in Pacific Grove. From the balcony, they had a view of the crowded beach. There were no children on the beach, and the hotel seemed geared toward romantic getaways.