He squatted down in front of her to bring himself to her eye level. “Bonjour, Desi. I’m Andre.”
She clung to my hand and ducked shyly behind me. “Hi.”
“I’m Cyn’s friend.” His voice was low and gentle. My heart squeezed so tight, I knew that’s when I fell completely in love with him. The rest had built to this, but now I was certain. I was a little slow on the uptake, yeah, but seeing him try so hard for me was all I needed. This was a man who would do anything for me, including walk into a shit-infested trailer park, deal with a drunk-ass hooker and make friends with a little girl. Just to make me happy.
Shit, now I was gonna cry for a whole different reason.
“Cyn’s my favorite.”
He flicked his gaze up to mine as he smiled. “Mine too.”
Desi’s signature grin exploded across her face and lit her up. Her free hand caught his, and she pulled us over to the couch, smushing in between us.
Misty flopped into a broken recliner that sagged in the middle, a fresh bottle of Jack Daniels in her hand. Alcohol dribbled down her chin as she took a swig straight from the bottle. My stomach roiled at the thought of leaving Desi alone here, and I glanced away. My gaze collided with Andre’s over Desi’s head. Understanding softened his face. Yeah, he got it.
He cleared his throat and looked at Misty. She leered at him.
“You have a…cozy home.”
“Yeah, I used to have a big house—nice—before my old man left me. Before I popped that one out.” She jerked her chin at Desi.
His voice remained pleasant. “You’d like that again? A large house?”
My breath caught. What was he doing?
She narrowed her eyes, glanced at me, then leaned toward him so she almost fell out of tube top she wore. “What are you suggesting…Andre, right?”
“Just that a relation so…beloved to my Cynthiana should have whatever she desires.”
“What’re you getting at?” Her chin tilted, and I could almost hear the alcohol-greased gears spin in her head.
He shrugged and smiled with easy charm. “I have a mansion in Los Angeles. I would love to have you and Desiree come stay with us. Of course, you would have everything you wanted provided to you by my servants.”
Greed lit her eyes, and it disgusted me to see it. If Andre had offered, I bet Misty would have sold Desi to him for the price of a new bottle of booze and an ounce of blow. That was a tactic I hadn’t tried before. Of course, I didn’t have the resources Andre did.
“Everything I want?”
“Of course. There is a condition.”
“A catch? You can’t throw in a catch now!” Her eyes bulged, and she sloshed liquor down her front as she sat up.
“It’s an easy condition. You and Desi have to come with us today. Now.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Pack your things and come with us. That simple. What will it be?”
My breath froze. A huge hand fisted around my ribs and squeezed tight. Oh, God, please. Please. Let this work. Let us get Desi away from this place and give her a fighting chance. If Misty came willingly, then there was no need to go through the court system or deal with vampire-human adoption. Or at least California was a more liberal state than Nevada about that kind of thing. And maybe, I dared to hope, maybe Misty would clean up if she got away from here too. All the thoughts swirled in my head and made me dizzy. That and the lack of oxygen. I sucked in a huge breath.
Please, please, please, please.
“Okay.”
The air whooshed out of my lungs. Did she just say…? She didn’t…
“Excellent.” Andre turned to me. “Why don’t you help Desi pack her things while I settle on the details with your aunt?”
I nodded like a bobblehead doll on speed. Anything. Anything for this to be real. “Okay. Sure.”
Taking Desi’s hand, I stood and pulled her to the back of the trailer. The flimsy floor creaked under me as we went.
“Cyn? Does this mean I get to live with you now?”
Um. Wait. Andre asked them to move in with him, but I don’t live with him. Shit. That was a little wrinkle to iron out, but frankly I’d cohabit with the real Satan if it got me Desi. “I think so, honey.”
“Will Beelzebub come too?”
“He goes where I go.”
“And Mom?” She dropped to the filthy carpet and rummaged under her bed. The room was beyond Spartan. It was just empty. Barren. I squared my shoulders. That was easy enough to fix.
“Yep.”
She shimmied out, and a Barbie suitcase came with her. Plopping it open on her little bed, she ran around and scooped clothes off the floor and out of drawers. What she had didn’t even fill the tiny case. She paused in her frantic packing to turn back to me. “And Andre?”
Live with Andre? My stomach fluttered with terror and excitement. This was huge, but not bad. I sighed and let a small smile break out. “All of us.”
“Even Michael?”
I chuckled at the mental picture of my brother living under Andre’s roof. Yeah, that would so work. “No, but he lives in L.A. too. Nearby.”
“What about my friend Lindsay?”
“No, she has to stay here with her parents.”
Her little face scrunched up. “Oh. I’ll miss her though.”
“I know, baby.” I knelt down and hugged her tight.
“Will I see her anymore?”
“I don’t know. There will be other kids in your new school and in Andre’s neighborhood.”
“Nice kids? Not everyone is nice.” Her wide blue eyes were a little too wise and knowing about the cruelty of humans. God, I would fight until I dropped to protect her from now on. I knew Andre would too. And Michael and Candy. My best friend would love Desi, though she’d pop a vein when she heard about Andre. This would be too…interesting.
“Can I go say goodbye to Lindsay?” Desi pulled me from my thoughts.
I stroked a hand down her curls. “Sure, honey. Meet me at the car in twenty minutes.”
“I’m gonna tell her I get a mansion!” Her grin lit up her face as her natural enthusiasm bubbled up. She raced for the door, skipping and bouncing as she went. It made me laugh to see her.
Hefting her little suitcase, I walked toward the front door. I passed Misty’s room on the way to see her stuff her clothing into Hefty bags. “Where’s Andre?”
“How should I know? I’m busy.” She grunted each time she jumped to reach for shoeboxes on the top shelf of her closet. I could have reached them for her, but I had to talk to Andre. Right now.
“Okay.” I backed out and closed the door. The search was on for my tall, dark and undead hero. I grinned.
…
It was easy to find him. He leaned against the hood of the limo, head down, shoulders hunched, arms crossed over his chest.
“Well, that’s one strategy to get a girl to move in with you.”
He sighed and rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “You don’t have to stay in the same room with me. I have a huge house. I’m sorry, Cynthiana. I took over. Again. Without asking you. Merde.”
“Andre—”
“In my defense, this is new for me, cherie. I’ll get better, I swear. I am trying. I—”
“I know.”
His mouth snapped closed, then opened again. “You do?”
I stepped forward to wrap my arms around his waist. His hands dropped to cup my hips. “I trust you to not do anything to deliberately hurt me. I have a lot to learn too. About trusting someone besides myself. I’m not very good at it.”
“Will you try…with me?”
“Je t’aime.” I know I butchered the accent, but he got the message because his body went rigid against mine. I pulled back to look him in the eye. “It means I love you, doesn’t it?”
“Oui.” He squeezed me so tight, my breath rushed out.
“You’ve said it since the first time we slept together.”
“I’ve meant it since then. I turned you because I felt it. There will never be another woman for me, cherie. I would give you the world if I could.”
“I only want you.” I grinned. “And Desi, but you made that happen for me.”
“Anything. If it’s within my power. Anything.”
I laid my cheek against his chest, felt his heart hammer. Contentment wound through me and filled me up. This was it. This was what I wanted. “I love you, Andre. I don’t know about the rest, but I’m sure of that.”
“Je t’aime aussi, cherie. Forever.”
And who would know more about forever than a vampire? It sounded…perfect to me. It wouldn’t be easy with Desi and Misty and the two of us. We had a very long road ahead of us, but we’d work all of it out. We had plenty of time.
“Forever,” I agreed.
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About the Author
Crystal Jordan is originally from California, but has lived and worked all over the United States as a university librarian. An award-winning author, Crystal has published paranormal, futuristic, and erotic romance with Kensington Aphrodisia, Harlequin Spice Briefs, and several digital-first publishers.
Crystal also write sassy, sexy contemporary romance as C. Jordan.
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