Part 5 (2/2)
”Oh, how I love you,” he murmured as they collapsed to the mattress, exhausted. * * * *
After a cat nap, he came awake and marveled at the sight of her in his bed. It wasn't the first time, but it was a first. She was his now. The bed wastheirs. Of course, he knew he'd have a job of it to convince her of that.
Her eyes came open slowly and came to focus on him. He sent her a wicked grin. She looked delicious, debauched, and thoroughly satisfied. Her hair was tousled around her face and shoulders. Lips swollen from his kisses, she stretched slowly, giving him a bit of a show.
”And how are you feeling after that nap? Refreshed? It can be hard after a conversion. I shouldn't have let myself get so tempted by you. You need rest.”
The light danced in her eyes as she laughed. He mentally shook his head at his fortune. She sat up and he marveled at the way she looked at him. He hadn't lived the most conscientious of lives and yet, he was blessed with her. He'd need to work on being deserving of that. Of her.
”I'm just fine, Xander. I do need a shower, though. I feel a bit cold.”
”It'll be easier to regulate your body temperature after a while. I'll be sure the heat is up over the next few weeks especially.” He stood and went to the thermostat on the wall to set it higher.
”Come on, a warm shower is just what you need.”
”Why are you so nice to me?” She moved under the spray, groaning as the hot water began to warm her.
”I love you. And I'd like to add that I'm always nice to you!”
She grinned, pleased that he'd said it again. ”A girl could get used to this.”
”Well good, you're my queen now. You'd better get used to it.”
Her head was under the spray as she rinsed her hair. She wasn't sure she caught that whole sentence. ”What did you just say?”
”We'll talk about it later,” he told her as he got out of the stall.
After she'd dried off he held his hand out to her. ”Come with me.” He pulled her into the room adjoining the bedroom. Poking his head into the hallway, he asked someone to bring some mulled wine and came back to sit across from her.
”Why do you seem so surprised that I'm treating you well? Have I not always been good to you?” He thought he knew. Was pretty sure that no one had ever spoiled Lissette Norton without wanting something in return.
”Well, as I told you, you're attentive, sure. And good in bed and I was feeling like your Sat.u.r.day night girlfriend and all. But the last time we were together and you asked me to live with you, you still weren't ready to deal with a whole lot of issues. And now you seem to be acting as if I'm living here or something.”
”You are living here! I can keep you safe here. And I thought we'd already worked through this issue of your holding yourself back from me.” He raised a brow at her.
His a.s.sistant came in with the wine and poured some for her. She thanked him, and he quickly left. She took a drink, the warm liquid sliding down her throat, leaving a trail of heat through her. ”Do you feel this cold all the time?” She avoided his point for the time being.
And he let her. For now. ”No. At first when the change happens your metabolism doesn't know how to compensate. It'll take a while, but after a month or two, your body will handle it much better. Until then, we'll make sure to keep the house warmer. I'll make sure we get your clothes here and keep you in cashmere.”
”What about Alex?”
”He'll live here, too. Once I deal with my mother. You're okay with that, right?”
”Yes, of course I'm okay with him living with us. But, Xander, he's all alone right now. I can't just forget about him and live here while he's off in some secret place for G.o.d knows how long. I can't do that. He needs family right now. I can't be here playing house knowing he's out there, lonely and needing love.”
”Do you think I don't know that? That I'd forget about him? I'm the one who brought him out here to begin with. I'm risking a h.e.l.l of a lot to have him here. I love my brother, Lissie. I'll take care of him.” Xander stood up, face flushed.
Hurt flashed over her face. ”I didn't say you forgot about him, Stryker. I said I couldn't.” Her voice was quiet.
Drinking the rest of her wine, she stood. ”And for the record, since you seem to have forgotten-you brought him to me. You asked me to care for him, and I do. And it is really f.u.c.ked up to now turn it around on me for being concerned about him.”
He let out an explosive breath. ”Don't you want to be here with me?”
”There are some big issues that didn't just disappear because your homicidal mother forced you to change me into a vampire to save my life. What about the donors? What about your mother? What are you going to do to her?”
”To her?”
”Yes. What are you going to do to her for trying to have me killed? What are you going to do to her for trying to have Alex killed? I know enough about vampire culture to know she broke your laws as well as human law, too.”
”You don't know she was behind the attack on you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. ”You have to be joking. Tell me you're just joking and failing.”
”You're so quick to judge her!”
”She tried to kill me! Yeah, that makes me a tad bit judgmental! So sue me.” She knew he was in pain, but he had to deal with the truth. ”Xander, you know it was her. She sends some a.s.shole to my door to threaten me, and that very night someone tries to kill me and tells me I shouldn't have messed in things I didn't have any business in. Am I supposed to believe that's just a big coincidence? This after she tried to have Alex killed just three weeks earlier?”
”I need to do some work. I've been putting it off for the last two days.” Not looking at her, he moved to the door.
She stood there, stung. ”Don't expect me to be here when you're done working, Stryker.”
He turned to look at her. ”What do you mean?”
”I mean that if you won't even talk this through with me, if you won't even expend the energy, I'll know where I fit in your life. I won't play this game with you about your mother. She's dangerous, and she tried to kill me. Now it's personal.”
”She's my mother,” he said, sinking into a chair. ”What am I going to do?” He scrubbed his hands over his face. ”I don't know where the woman who raised me has gone, Lissie. This is heading into a place that becomes more and more serious as the days pa.s.s, and I don't like thinking about killing the woman who taught me how to ride a bike by moonlight.”
She went to him, kneeling and hugging him tight. ”I know, and I'm sorry. But, honey, you can't ignore this anymore. She's gone beyond stuff you can just pretend didn't happen. I'd love it if we found a solution that left everyone alive. But you know that there's a chance you may have to pursue more ... stringent methods.”
”You called me honey.” His voice was m.u.f.fled against her shoulder.
”That's what you're going to say?” She laughed.
Before they could get back to the conversation, someone knocked on the door. Xander took a deep breath, and the king was sitting there again, composed and powerful. He stood up and held out his hand to her to help her up.
”Yes,” he called out, and an older vampire came into the room. ”Xander, Scion, a Call has been made.”
”My mother?”
<script>