Her body froze beneath his as his head jerked up. His two fingers stopped rolling but all of them curled possessively around the swell of her breast.
He listened and he couldn’t believe what he heard.
“What is it?” Leah asked, a tremor of fear in her voice.
His eyes caught hers.
The doorbell rang.
Her body went solid and her fear permeated the air.
Lucien’s temper spiked.
“What is it?” she asked again, the fear stronger.
“It’s my f**king family,” he growled. He watched as her eyes grew wide, her lips parted and yet again he found no pleasure in her endearing expression.
This was mainly because, instead of being able to do something about it, something they’d both like very much, he had to go answer the f**king door.
Chapter Nineteen
The Family
Lucien walked the small pier to the end where he stopped and examined the lake.
His children followed.
He didn’t speak for long moments and Julian and Isobel astutely left him to his silent contemplation of the serene water.
Then, quietly and menacingly, Lucien spoke to the water. “Explain.”
“He came to see me, Father,” Isobel replied swiftly.
“And?” Lucien prompted.
“I thought –” Isobel started but stopped when Lucien’s head turned and his eyes sliced to his daughter.
“No,” he said softly, “you didn’t.”
Her eyes slid to her brother. Julian’s gaze locked with hers a moment before he looked to his boots.
Julian had his father’s build, his father’s hair but he had his mother’s startling blue eyes. They were clear sky blue. In all his years, Lucien had never seen eyes that color except in the face of his ex-partner and his son.
Isobel had her mother’s curves and delicate bone structure but she had her father’s dark hair and eyes. She was petite for a vampire, an inch shorter than Leah, her mother’s height.
Lucien was close with his children. He visited them when time allowed. They visited him the same. And he spoke to them regularly.
At that moment, however, he’d gladly throttle the both of them. Starting with Isobel.
This was because she brought Lucien’s father, Etienne.
It was safe to say Lucien was not close to his father.
This was because Etienne was not a vampire you could get close to. He was cold, unfeeling and superior.
This was also because Etienne was not a vampire you’d want to get close to because he was cold, unfeeling and superior but also because he was avaricious, sly, duplicitous and cruel.
And lastly this was because of Maggie.
Etienne had little to do with mortals except partaking of them as food and, at The Feasts he liked to attend, partaking of them in other ways. Some of them, in the cold, unfeeling, superior and savage ways he did it, not entirely welcomed by the mortals who attended The Feasts and usually those mortals were up for everything. He’d been called on this by The Dominion on more than one occasion and therefore had learned to hide these proclivities but Lucien, as did many, knew he had not ceased this behavior.
Etienne held no regard for mortals, never had. Therefore he had hated Lucien’s union with Maggie. And lastly he had not kept this feeling a secret from Lucien or from Maggie.
This was not something Lucien had forgiven nor would he ever forgive.
Further, Lucien was not brimming with excitement to have his ex-partner, Julian’s mother, Cressida, in the home he shared with Leah. This was not because he didn’t enjoy an amicable relationship with Cressida. He enjoyed a lot of things about and with Cressida, things he no longer intended to enjoy. This was because Cressida was like a cat and cats liked to play with their prey and she would see Leah as prey, no doubt about it. Although Leah would need to show respect to Cressida as vampire, Cressida would not offer that same respect to Leah as concubine regardless if this was Leah’s due and Lucien’s demand. It would amuse Cressida to play with Leah and to defy Lucien’s demands. She had, since he’d known her, liked her challenges. She did it often with him and others. With Lucien, even after they’d ended their relationship, these challenges always ended physical, first as vampire combat then as something altogether more pleasant. This had carried on for centuries until Lucien had tied himself to Katrina. And this would be what she would take delight in throwing in Leah’s face.
Luckily, they’d also brought Lucien’s mother, Magdalene.
Now Lucien was close with his mother. It was a mystery Lucien had never solved how Magdalene and Etienne had coupled. Magdalene was the opposite of Lucien’s father. After years of contemplating this enigma, the only answers Lucien could come up with were that they were both very young vampires when they started their union and it lasted less than twenty years which was clearly all Magdalene could take. Unlike Lucien and Cressida, their relationship was not amicable.
Therefore, upon sensing who his company was, he’d ordered Leah to shower and get ready and fortunately she’d obeyed. He’d gone down to greet his family and then he’d called Leah’s family and taken her himself to their guest house where he’d left her. Leah had not even glimpsed his family on her way out of the house nor, unusually quiet and docile, had she questioned his actions. On his way home, he’d called Avery to ask him to go to the guest house to guard her. Then he’d come home and left his father, mother and ex in the house in order to speak to his children privately.
Which brought him to now.
Lucien looked to his son. “And you?”
Julian’s head came up as did his brows. “Me?”
“Cressida,” Lucien answered, striving for patience for Julian was being purposefully obtuse, something he did more than occasionally.
“Cressida was curious,” Julian answered and Lucien decided this was likely the truth. He also knew his son shared a close bond with his mother. It was a rare occurrence when Julian didn’t give into her every whim. It was a rare occurrence when anyone didn’t give into her every whim. The only person who didn’t was Lucien.
Lucien’s voice was low with meaning when he reminded them, “I think I spoke to you both about this.”
“You did, Father, but –” Isobel started.
“But nothing,” Lucien cut her off, “not only was your judgment poor your decisions were dangerous.”
Julian spoke quickly. “Cressida would never –”
Lucien interrupted, “Etienne would.”
Julian sighed and nodded his agreement for, indeed, Etienne would.