“A lot has happened since you’ve been hiding out. That’s the only detail that affects you so I won’t bore you.” With a nonchalant shrug, Justin packed up his medical bag.
Hannah cuddled Hope close. Justin’s cryptic statements were annoying, but she decided to let them go. Lydia had always liked playing ‘I know something you don’t know’ too. Both Noah and Nathaniel looked like they were torn on asking for details, but Hannah had experience with this game. The secret was never as good as you hoped.
“How are you doing?” Justin asked, almost like he was trying to find an excuse to stay a little longer.
Hannah smiled. “Wonderful. Well, my hormones are still a little out of whack.”
“A little?” Noah muttered and gave her a sheepish smile when she glared at him.
“Are you still keeping up on Lydia’s health?” Nathaniel asked.
Hannah gave Nathaniel a grateful smile for asking the question.
Justin looked away and pretended to organize things in his medical bag again. “I’m still overseeing her care.”
“How is she?” Hannah asked.
“Awake,” Justin replied.
Hannah waited for him to finish, but he didn’t.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Nathaniel asked.
Justin shrugged and his lips twitched. “She seems to be doing fine. Her ability with plants is nothing short of amazing. I guess it was always pretty strong, but it’s even more so now. I didn’t know her very well before, but Caitlin seems to think Lydia’s changed some. She had a hard time with the stuff that happened with Dominic when she first woke up. Now, she’s handling it better. The nightmares are letting up some. Under the circumstances, she’s doing well.”
Hannah felt a rush of guilt and shame. She was hiding out in the middle of nowhere and Lydia was having nightmares. She should be there for her cousin. “Is she still with her mother?” Hannah asked.
“She’s still with her next of kin,” Justin answered and his lips were twitching again.
It was then that Hannah realized Justin had never said Lydia was with her mother. He’d said Lydia was with her next of kin. According to Justin, Lydia’s next of kin had her moved from the hospital. When she asked if Lyd’s mother was treating her well, he said she was being well‑cared for. That son of bitch was hiding something.
“Her mother is her next of kin,” Hannah pressed.
Justin shrugged.
“Where is Lydia?” Noah asked.
“With her next of kin,” Justin repeated.
“Who is her next of kin?” Nathaniel asked.
“What difference does it make?” Justin asked. “You’re technically dead. If you want to stay that way then you need to stay away from Lydia.”
“Why would we need to stay away from Lydia?” Noah asked. His brows knit together in confusion. “The only person we’re avoiding is Roman. She’s not likely to have any contact with Roman.” Hannah watched as Noah’s eyes widened, his mouth dropped open, and he started to shake his head. “Hell fucking no! Tell me what I’m thinking isn’t true.”
Nathaniel looked at Noah like he was crazy. Hannah was feeling the same way at that moment. What could Noah suspect that was so bad?
“If you don’t tell me who Lydia’s next of kin is now, I will stab you,” Hannah said with a bit of hysteria in her voice.
Justin actually laughed. “If you want more details about Lydia then I suggest you call Roman. He has the most information about her condition.”
“Why would my father have more details than you?” Nathaniel asked.
Justin merely shrugged. Hannah was annoyed to see that he was fighting back laughter. What the hell could possibly be this amusing? And what could have Noah cursing under his breath as he pulled the phone out of his pocket and called Roman.
Chapter Thirty
“What is that sound?” Roman asked and looked around. They were in the gym getting ready to work out.
Lydia giggled. “Don’t you remember telling me to change the ringtone on your phone?”
Sure enough the horrible sound was coming from his pocket. For some reason the phone wanted him to drop it like it was hot. The name on the screen was a surprise. “Noah’s calling. Keep your voice down.” The music stopped. “Did I do something wrong?”
As always, his ineptness with technology amused Lydia. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit overplaying his difficulties to make her smile. Roman could answer the phone now and could even make a call if he wasn’t under stress. The music started to play again and once more he saw Noah’s name. “Be quiet while I talk to Noah”
“Why should I? This whole thing is stupid,” she pouted.
“Noah? Can you hear me?”
“Hey Roman,” Noah said, “Sorry to bother you.”
“No need to apologize for calling. How are you doing?” Roman adopted a suitably somber tone. “This must be a difficult time. You lost your brother and a close friend the same day. Is that why you called? Do you need to talk?”
Lydia’s hand was over her mouth and Roman heard the faint giggles come from her. The woman was obviously amused with his playacting.
“Actually, I was calling to see if you’ve heard anything about Lydia’s condition.”
“Lydia?” he asked “That was Hannah’s cousin, right?”
Lydia was edging toward the door, and Roman started to worry that she was going to do something he wouldn’t like. Sure enough, Lydia had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. When he started to shake his head, her lips curled into an impish grin.
“I know you haven’t forgotten who she is,” Noah said impatiently. “Not after what Dominic did.”
“Why would I know anything about her condition?” There was nothing Roman could do about the impatience in his voice. This call needed to end soon. “Can I call you back later, Noah?”
Lydia chose that moment to yell, “Help! Noah, please! He’s holding me captive. Please, don’t let him keep me here!”
Roman fumbled with the phone trying to find the button to mute his voice. “How do I mute this thing?”
Lydia reached out and did something to the phone.
“What was that little scene about?” he demanded.
“You have no right to force me to stay here,” she said loudly. “I won’t be your sex slave any longer.”
A slow smile spread across Roman’s face. “So that’s how you want to play?”
She nodded and gave him a coy smile.
Well, this was going to be fun, but first he needed to get Noah off the phone. Looking at the phone and then his sexy wife, Roman decided that Noah could wait a little longer. Especially since Roman had no idea how to fix the damage Lydia had just done. Roman set his phone on the weight machine bench and advanced on her, “You know I’m going to have to punish you for this little scene, don’t you?”
“Please,” she said breathlessly.
“It’s too late to beg now. I may have to tie you to the bed with your own hair.”
“Keep your hands off of my cousin or I will kill you!” The sound of Hannah’s hysterical voice coming from his phone should have come as a complete shock to Roman, but it didn’t. The little vixen had tricked him!
“Oops!” Lydia said quietly. “Guess I put it on speakerphone instead of muting it.”
“I suggest you run,” he said just as quietly.
Lydia draped her hair over her arm and took off at a dead run.
“Damn it woman! You are going to pay for this!” He ran after her, leaving the phone on the weight bench. Too late to do anything about that now. It would appear that Lydia was getting her wish and Hannah was coming home. For now, he had more important things to worry about.
He caught up with Lydia in the bedroom. The woman looked quite satisfied with herself. He’d be lying if he said he was upset about what she’d done. He always liked an excuse to take his wife.
“I’m going to have one hell of a time trying to straighten that mess out.”
&
nbsp; She snorted at him. “Who cares? Those idiots should have sorted this mess out months ago.”
“I agree, but it may be a bad time to come back with a new baby,” he said.
Lydia suddenly looked worried. “I hadn’t even thought about that. Do you think I put the baby in danger?”
Roman hated seeing Lydia upset. He pulled her into his arms. “Don’t worry. When they get back, I’ll make sure they have the best security. The security system at Nathaniel’s home can only be breeched by Isaiah. I’ll also hire guards.”
“So you aren’t angry?” she asked and peaked up at him with a sweet smile.
“I’m not sure I could ever be angry with you,” he admitted. “If having your cousin back makes you happy, then I’m glad she’s coming to try to kill me.”
Lydia smiled and her entire face was alive. This was the woman he would die for.
“I’m sorry I didn’t try to bring Hannah back sooner. I know how much you need your cousin.”
She put one hand on his cheek. “I want my cousin, I don’t need her. Everything I need is in this room.”
He stared at her like some exotic creature and then kissed her softly. “You truly amaze me. Every day, I wake up and wonder how I got so lucky.”
“I wonder the same thing,” she said with a playful grin. “I mean you get all of this,” she gestured to her body and then tried to flip her mass of hair which was sloppily braided down her back. “Okay, that looked much cooler when I had shorter hair.”
He chuckled. “At least you aren’t nervous. It can be a challenge untangling you from all of that hair.”
She blushed. “How long do you think it will take them to get here?” she asked.
“I don’t know, but perhaps we should avoid having sex in the gardens for the time being. They could barge in any day.”
“Not our fault if they see something they don’t want to. They should learn to call before stopping by to rescue me.”
“Ah, my little exhibitionist, I adore you,” he said with a smile. “Now, can we get back to that sex slave talk? If Hannah is going to kill me for keeping you as my sex slave, I should get to enjoy the benefits first.”
“What did you have in mind?”
Roman stepped back and motioned toward her clothing. “Undress for me.”
In the end it was more comical than sexy watching Lydia do a striptease with her workout gear. Lydia was laughing so hard that she somehow ended up with her sports bra tangled up in her long braid and her arms. The arms were trapped at her sides while she struggled to get free.
“This striptease looked a lot sexier in my mind,” she said when she finally gave up on freeing her arms.
“I’m not so sure I’d call this a failure,” Roman drawled. Lydia standing before him in nothing but a thong with her hands tied to her sides was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen. “Such an accommodating wife to tie yourself up for my pleasure.”
The slow sexy smile she gave him, made him instantly hard. “Now that I’m all tied up, what are you planning to do to me?”
“Now that’s a good question,” he murmured and gave in to the temptation to reach out and cup one of her breasts. God, he loved the way they felt in his hands. He also loved how the energy around her crawled up his skin, caressing him. He’d given her energy many times but never taken any of hers. It was so tempting. “Do you trust me?” One of his hands reached under her thong.
“Yes,” she said breathlessly, and he knew she felt the same connection between their energy. It probably wasn’t fair to ask that question while he was stroking her wet folds.
“Bend over the bed,” he ordered.
Lydia went to the side of the bed, and he helped her bend over so she wouldn’t lose her balance.
“You look fantastic bent over my bed in nothing but a thong. Do you know how much I want to be inside of you right now?”
“No, but I can’t wait to have you inside of me.”
Roman stripped out of his shorts and boxers. Then he slid her thong down her legs, leaving it around her ankles. There was no need to test her readiness. When he’d stroked her soft flesh earlier, his fingers had gotten wet. Still, the idea of having her clamp down around his fingers was irresistible. One finger slid into her and she immediately pushed back against his hand with a moan. “That’s right,” he murmured. “Fuck my hand.”
“Oh God,” Lydia moaned. “Say that again.”
He leaned down and nipped at her earlobe. “Fuck my hand. Show me how much you want me inside of you. Prove to me that I should give it to you.”
Lydia went wild, rocking hard against his hand, moaning loudly. “Please,” she begged.
“Please what?” he asked.
“I need more,” she panted.
“What should I do about that?”
“Fuck me!” she practically screamed.
“If you insist,” he said and positioned himself behind her, entering her in one tortuously slow thrust. Now, it was his turn to moan. “You feel fantastic.”
“More,” she said and tried to rock back against him. Roman held her hips in place, controlling every move.
“Look at me, Lydia,” he ordered and she turned her head to the side until their eyes met. “Trust me, Lydia, I would never hurt you.”
Confusion marred her beautiful face until he started to drain her energy. At that point, there was panic. “Trust me,” he murmured and started to move within her.
The struggle was obvious, but Lydia relaxed and began to moan her pleasure. “That’s my girl,” he murmured his approval and sent the energy back into her body. Like before, she obviously felt his arousal too because her moans turned to screams. Roman was right there with her, sharing her arousal. This was the first time he’d tasted her energy and it opened him to her every sensation.
He slammed into her so hard that he worried she might have bruises on her backside.
“Harder,” she screamed. “I need more!”
And he gave it to her. So in tune with each other’s arousal they climaxed together in the most intense wave of pleasure Roman had ever experienced.
When he pulled out of Lydia’s body, Roman barely had enough energy to move. With the last of his reserves he freed Lydia’s hands and wrapped her in his arms. “Thank you for trusting me,” he said against the top of her head.
“Wow!” was all she managed to say before drifting off to sleep in his arms.
Chapter Thirty-One
Justin smiled brightly at the three angry faces surrounding him. He should be worried about the fact that they all looked like they were going to hurt him. None of them were scarier than Caitlin, Lydia, and Trish. Those women were determined to end this faked death. The plan to end it was their idea. He’d just needed to text Lydia when he arrived so she could stick close to Roman. This was mostly for Caitlin. He’d do anything for that woman, not that he’d admit to that.
Justin lifted one shoulder and rolled it. “Why are you looking at me like the asshole in this story? Lydia wasn’t begging me to let her go.” Then he pointed a finger at Hannah. “Wait, I get it now! You think I should be over there playing knight in shining armor for Lydia, right? Why would I do that? Lydia’s not my cousin.”
One of Hannah’s feet was tapping an angry little tune as she spoke. “You were supposed to take care of her,” she said through clenched teeth. “You are her doctor!”
“Have you met my uncle?” Justin asked.
Noah’s hands settled onto Hannah’s shoulders and massaged gently. She leaned back into him and her anger seemed to deflate. Fear quickly replaced the anger. Justin felt a little bad about that but not bad enough to assure her Lydia was okay. Nope, fear and anger were necessary for the plan to work.
“Running off like this was stupid and irresponsible,” Noah said. “What the hell was I thinking? Why am I acting like a teen trying to sneak around behind Roman’s back? We’ll go back to deal with Roman and get Lydia away from him.”
Justin bit his lower
lip to keep from laughing. Yeah, he’d like to see them accomplish that.
Nathaniel settled Hope into some sort of rocking bassinet thing. He took a moment to gaze at her before standing and rubbing the back of his neck. When he finally spoke, he stared out the window at the little flower garden. “I just don’t get it. Lydia’s not my father’s type. There is no way he’d go after someone like her.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Hannah asked with one hand on her hip.
Nathaniel’s head jerked in Hannah’s direction. “My father likes women who are more demure, less experienced.”
“So my cousin is a slut?” Hannah snapped out.
Justin wasn’t in any mood to listen to their squabbles. “I’m leaving in an hour. Are you coming with me?”
“Yes,” Nathaniel answered for all of them. “Well, at least I am.” He looked at Noah. “You and Hannah can stay behind if you want.”
Noah cocked his head to one side and smiled. “You know, I’m probably the most likely to come out of this mess unscathed. Roman’s always let me get away with more than you, so I’d better go.”
“Lydia is my cousin,” Hannah said. “If anyone gets to kill Roman, it’s me.”
“Then pack your bags. We’ve got a long drive home. I’m pretty sure we can make it back in three days,” Justin said on his way out of the house. It wouldn’t take them long after they got back to figure out they’d been had. If he was lucky, they’d walk in on Roman polishing Lydia’s toenails. He chuckled softly to himself on the way out to the Range Rover.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Vampires Prefer Blondes (Psy-Vamp Book 3) Page 18