Justin ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Sorry,” he said. “That was messed up and selfish. I know you get it. Caitlin’s right about me being a selfish prick, isn’t she?” he asked.
“Yep,” Aiden said with a nod, “but we’re cool.”
“Thanks,” Justin said.
“So, what are you planning to do about Caitlin?” Aiden pushed. It was obvious he was not giving up on this.
“Leave her alone,” Justin said. “It’s the right thing to do. The difference between your situation and mine is that I’m the reason this happened to Caitlin.”
“That’s a load of crap,” Aiden said.
“If I hadn’t stalked Caitlin, she wouldn’t have been any use to Dominic,” Justin said. “Dominic went after her because he could use her to get me to do what he wanted.”
Aiden shrugged. “She also wouldn’t have found other people like herself.”
“She was already friends with Lydia when I met her.”
“Lydia’s abilities are nothing like Caitlin’s. Ivy and Tempest have really helped her. Without them she might not have ever mentioned her abilities to Lydia. She’s been hiding that part of herself for years. Meeting you was the first step in opening up. From what I hear, she’s been doing a great job of learning to control her talents.”
Justin smiled at the memory of her admitting she could read his thoughts. “She’s definitely stronger and more comfortable with her gift.” He shook his head to clear it. “Even if what you said is true, Caitlin wants me to leave her alone.”
“Why do you think she wants you to leave her alone?” Aiden asked.
“She told me to leave. It’s not like she was giving me subtle hints.”
“She’s been telling you to leave for years, and you’ve been refusing to leave for years. It’s your thing.”
“This is different,” Justin said and stared off at nothing.
“How?”
“She was hurt,” he said wearily.
“Yeah, she was hurt, but she’s still Caitlin. That means you need to keep being the man she wanted to be with before.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Go get your woman,” Aiden said. “How many times do I need to tell you that kidnapping is the way to go? Without kidnapping you just can’t have a happy ending. Take her to the little cabin by the women’s center and keep her there until she’s too sated to walk away. If you’re smart, you’ll get Caitlin out to Vegas and marry her while she’s too blissed out from sex to remember what an asshole you are.”
“The poor woman was just kidnapped. There is no way am I putting her through that again. She wants me out of her life, and I love her enough to give her that.” With that Justin turned his back on Aiden because he didn’t want Aiden to see how much this was killing him.
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance,” Aiden said. That was right before Justin felt the needle pinch his arm.
“What the hell?” he asked and looked at the syringe in disbelief.
“Sorry, Cuz,” Aiden said as he helped support Justin’s weight. “Someone has to save you from your own stupidity.”
Justin tried to fight the sedative, but it was too strong. Soon he felt like he was drifting and then there was nothing.
Chapter Four
It felt like someone had shoved a bunch of cotton in his mouth. That was Justin’s first thought after regaining consciousness. Second, he thought about all the ways he could kill Aiden for drugging him, Okay, maybe not kill Aiden, but he intended to cause his cousin a serious amount of pain. As his mind became more focused, he realized he was tied to a bed. Not just any bed; this was his old bed in Nathaniel’s house. The room was still his since he stayed here if he had a lot of work to do. Most of his stuff was still here.
“What the hell?” he asked no one in particular. Being tied to a bed was more of an annoyance than anything else. He could easily snap the bed posts, which Aiden would know. Meaning this had to be a sick joke.
“Glad to see you finally decided to wake up.” Those words came out as a sexy purr from the corner of the room. In the darkness he couldn’t make out her features, but he easily recognized Caitlin’s voice.
“Care to explain why I’m tied to a bed?” he asked with mild curiosity. “While you’re at it, you can explain why I’m naked.”
“Call it an intervention,” she said and sauntered across the room wearing sexy black boots, skinny jeans and a slinky black top that rode up over her flat belly. Justin flinched and looked away from her scars.
“Why do I need an intervention? The only addiction I ever had was you,” he said with a sad smile. “I’ve done a pretty good job of giving that up.”
Justin was assaulted with lust so strong he felt it to his toes. His hips came up off of the bed and his erection stood tall. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Caitlin was responsible for his sudden arousal. The satisfied look in her eyes and the way the corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly proved he was right. Keeping himself from snapping the bedposts and throwing Caitlin onto the bed was a struggle. The only thing that kept his desire to dominate her in check was his concern for her.
“You need to stop pitying me. Stop looking at me like I’m a victim. Look at my scars,” she demanded.
Justin looked at her. His breathing was shallow. “Untie me Caitlin,” he demanded, sounding more like his old self than he had in a long time.
She shook her head and crawled up onto the bed between his legs. Her tongue slowly circled the tip of his cock. Justin’s hips jerked, and he groaned. “I don’t think so,” she said.
When she slipped the shirt over her head, Justin sucked in a sharp breath. The lacy red bra she wore left nothing to the imagination. Mouth practically watering, he longed to take one of her nipples into his mouth and suckle it roughly. His hands started to reach for her, only to be pulled up short by the ropes. That was probably a good thing because what he wanted to do to her was far from gentle.
Caitlin sat on the edge of the bed to remove her boots. Then she stood and shimmied out of her jeans. Justin hadn’t believed he could get any harder, but he’d been wrong. His cock stood straight up begging for Caitlin’s touch. It obviously hadn’t been listening when he’d said Caitlin would be better off without him.
The red lace thong showed off Caitlin’s perfect ass. She kept her body tone and fit. When she turned around, the scars were impossible to miss. That’s when his cock started paying attention to what he’d been saying and drooped.
Caitlin followed his gaze. She stared at the scars for a moment before meeting his eyes. The first emotion to flash across her face was hurt, but it quickly morphed to anger. For the first time since he’d met her, Caitlin wasn’t doing anything to mask her feelings.
She gestured to the scars. “So, is this the real problem?” Then she held up her right hand to show him the scars on her fingers. “How about these? Are they a major turn off too? Don’t answer; we both know you could deal with those scars.”
Looking at the injury that could have ended her career in medicine before it even started made him cringe again. He knew he was a bastard for having more trouble accepting the scars on her belly than the ones on her hand. Of course he’d made sure the best surgeon in the country worked on her hand, and he’d been in the operating room. Justin had been able to do something about that injury. After the surgery, he’d been able to give her energy to speed up the healing process. The doctors were amazed with her quick recovery. Actually, he’d messed with their memories to avoid having them make a big deal out of it. The scars on her belly were another matter and seemed even worse because they were some bastard’s mark on her. She had to be reminded of the man who’d done it every time she undressed.
Caitlin interrupted his thoughts. “You didn’t leave me because you wanted to protect me; you left because you can’t deal with what happened. You’re the one who can’t stand to look at me and remember what happened.”
Justin’s eyes snappe
d up from the scars and met hers. “What are you talking about?”
“The scars,” she said and pinned him with her accusing stare. “You can’t stand looking at me because some other man carved his initials in me. The ugliness is too much for you to deal with.”
“You think this is about me not finding you attractive?” Justin’s anger rose, and he didn’t miss the satisfaction in Caitlin’s amber eyes as his temper flared.
With a shrug she placed a hand on her hip. “Hard to miss the fact that you go limp when you see them. Admit it, you no longer find me attractive.”
“You know that’s not true,” he said through his teeth. “Untie me or I’ll break the bedposts.”
“And risk frightening me?” she asked with a hand over her heart.
There was no mistaking her sarcasm, but Justin had no way of knowing if it would scare her. What if she panicked when he broke the bedposts? She might think he was going to attack her. That was what he wanted to do. He wanted to snap the bedposts and toss her into the middle of the bed. Then he wanted to hold her down and kiss her until she was panting and begging him to sink into her body.
Justin gave himself a mental smack. Time to get his own temper under control. His arms relaxed, and he closed his eyes.
“I’m going to see if there’s any alcohol or chocolate in the kitchen. I need one or the other to deal with you.”
“Caitlin!”
She stopped but didn’t turn around.
“Why am I here?” he asked. “You told me to leave you alone, and I did. I’m giving you what you want. Most of all, I’m giving you what you need to live a safe and happy life.”
“Maybe I’ll get a knife while I’m down there to cut off your balls.” She turned and gave him a sweet smile. “Then again, I’m not sure I need to do that because it seems like you no longer have balls.”
With a flip of her hair, she left the room, slamming the door behind her.
Justin snapped the bedposts and untied himself. He needed to fix things with Caitlin. There was no way was he going to let her think he didn’t find her attractive anymore. It was also time to accept the fact that he wasn’t going to let her go. He’d been an idiot for believing he was capable of walking away from Caitlin to begin with. One way or another, he had to make this work.
Chapter Five
Caitlin was about ready to strangle Justin when she stormed into the kitchen dressed in nothing but her lace thong and matching bra. Normally, she covered up when wandering around the house, but everyone knew she was working things out with Justin so nobody was going to barge in on them. The only person coming by was Trish, and she was just going to ring the bell and leave something on the front porch.
This had been her big seduction outfit and her scars had made Justin go limp. If she hadn’t read his thoughts, she might believe he didn’t find her attractive with the scars. Unfortunately, it was much more complicated, and she had no idea how to fix what was going on between them.
“Stupid prick,” she muttered.
“I hope you aren’t referring to me,” said a laughing male voice.
When Caitlin spun around she found a man she’d never met leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She was too shocked by his presence to remember that she should cover herself. He had similar features to all the Draksel men. The icy blue eyes were the same, but he was the first Draksel man she’d met who didn’t have dark brown hair. His was a light shade of brown with blond streaks. The streaks looked like they were the result of spending time in the sun, rather than a salon. He was slightly shorter than Justin and broader through the shoulders. His nose was a little crooked. Dressed in worn blue jeans and a tight black t‑shirt, he was impressive.
“Like what you see?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “I feel a little overdressed. Perhaps I should take off some of these clothes so we can both be more comfortable.”
Caitlin placed one hand on her hip and looked him up and down. “Does that line usually work for you?”
He laughed. “Yes, it does.”
“Then I’m assuming you prefer women of less than average intelligence,” she said in a bored tone. If she wasn’t in love with the prick upstairs, this guy would be more than a little tempting.
His brilliant smile showed off his straight white teeth. “Obviously I need something special for you.” He pushed away from the wall and sauntered toward her. “What do I need to do to get you out of those sexy panties and on top of me?”
“Back the hell off, Alek,” Justin growled as he stalked into the room.
Alek’s laughing blue eyes locked with Justin’s. “I had no idea she was yours, Nephew. Very nice.” The last was said in what Caitlin could only refer to as a purr.
Justin was already stripping out of his shirt when he approached Caitlin. She pushed him away when he tried to wrap the shirt around her. “Put the damn shirt on, Caitlin,” Justin said softly.
“Fuck off,” she hissed.
Alek’s eyes danced with mirth and his lips twitched. “She doesn’t sound like she’s yours. Are you his, Hell Cat?”
Caitlin looked at Justin and then back at Alek. “Yes, but he’s working hard to screw that up.”
Justin leaned down until his lips nearly touched her ear and spoke quietly. “Put the shirt on or I will put you over my knee in front of Alek.”
A shudder of desire ran through Caitlin’s body. She’d had no idea that this was what it would take to bring out Justin’s dominant side. “I’m tempted to refuse, just to see if you have the balls to do it.”
Justin pulled back, obviously shocked. He gripped the back of her head and kissed her. His lips bruised hers as his tongue pressed roughly into her mouth. Caitlin was so distracted by his kiss that she didn’t realize he’d released his hold on the back of her head and was putting the shirt on her until he pulled away.
“Is this how you want it?” he asked and rubbed the pad of his thumb against her swollen lower lip.
Caitlin swallowed hard and nodded.
“As soon as I get rid of my uncle, we’re going to have a talk,” Justin said.
Caitlin started to pull away, but Justin wrapped a hand around her upper arm and held her in place.
“Well, that was impressive,” Alek said, sounding more than a little turned on.
“Why are you here?” Justin demanded of Alek.
“I’m looking for Andrei’s wife, Phoebe,” he said. “Have you seen her?”
Justin shook his head. “Why would she be in this area?”
“Andrei locked her up after her last killing,” Alek explained. “Roman said he had to keep her locked up or she’d be put down.”
“Let me guess,” Justin said, “she didn’t take being locked up very well, and she left. Now we have that psycho bitch running around with no supervision. Is Drew the reason you think she’ll show up here? He’s living with Sofia, and I seriously doubt Phoebe will go looking for him there.”
Caitlin only knew a little about Drew’s mother, and those details she’d gotten from Lydia. The woman had been a serial killer when she met Drew’s father. Becoming a vampire hadn’t cured her of that.
“There’ve been some killings in this area that match her profile,” Alek explained.
Justin looked irritated. “We should have killed her years ago, before she could procreate and make another little sociopath. I’m assuming that’s why you’re looking for her.”
Alek nodded. “Roman asked me to help find her. I’m assuming she’ll be in contact with you since she’s a hypochondriac.”
Justin nodded. “I haven’t seen her in months. It’s about time for her to worry about something.” He shook his head. “Must be a carryover from when she was human since she can’t catch any of the diseases she believes she has.”
“Why would Roman call someone else in to take care of this?” Caitlin asked. “He doesn’t strike me as the type to trust this sort of problem to anyone else.”
“Roman’s
busy with his new wife, and he’s worried that hunting down and killing a woman would upset her,” Alek explained. “From what I can tell, Roman’s wife thinks it’s a great idea to hunt down and kill Phoebe. She appears to be a bit ruthless.”
Caitlin smiled. “Yeah, Lyd was pissed about that bitch killing people. Why can’t Aiden find her with his super tracking ability?” Caitlin asked.
Justin glared at her.
“Viktor’s son?” Alek asked with raised eyebrows. “I had no idea he could track energy. That’s certainly a useful skill, and I don’t think we have anyone else in the family who can do that. He’s in the area, isn’t he?”
“Don’t share that information,” Justin said. “Aiden prefers to keep it to himself as much as possible. He can’t help anyway because he’s never met Phoebe. If he hasn’t met someone, he can’t track their energy.”
“That’s a pity,” Alek said. “It would make my job much easier. I’ll be staying here until I find Phoebe or she leaves this area.”
“Here?” Caitlin asked. “As in here in this house?”
“Yes,” Alek said, “in this house as opposed to a place which is not here. There’s plenty of room.”
“No,” Caitlin said. “There is not. You can stay here when I’m done.”
“Done with what?” Alek asked.
“She kidnapped me,” Justin said. “Tied me to a bed and everything. We aren’t quite done sorting everything out.”
Alek chuckled. “Then I’ll leave you to your sex games. I think I’ll find myself a lady friend to keep me company tonight. That little show you put on was quite impressive. Honestly, Nephew you always struck me as a little on the prudish side.”
Justin shrugged and gave him a blank look. “What can I say? Caitlin brings out the best in me.”
Caitlin snorted.
Alek’s laugh trailed behind him as he walked out of the room. The doorbell rang before Alek had time to leave.
The Vampire Will See You Now (Psy-Vamp Book 4) Page 3