His head tilted back to look at me and he murmured, “How was your day, sweetling?”
“I wrote everything I wanted to say on a pad of paper all day,” I answered. “Do you know how annoying that is?”
“Was it that difficult?” he asked, his black eyes dancing with suppressed humor.
It wasn’t.
“Yes,” I answered huffily.
I got another lip twitch, one of his hands left my ass, slid up my back and tangled in my hair.
“Your torture’s over,” he muttered before pressing down on my head so he could kiss me.
Not a normal, because you have company, give your concubine a seemly peck on the lips upon arriving home.
No.
A full on, mouths open, tongues dueling, ravenous, feasting snog.
I was panting when it was done and I’d totally forgotten Avery and Edwina existed much less they were in the room.
I’d like to take you upstairs right now, his mind told mine and his voice sounded deliciously hungry in my head.
One could say, at that precise moment, I’d like that too.
I decided not to speak.
Then he asked, his voice in my head sounding both sweetly intimate and even more sweetly teasing, Throat lozenges?
I couldn’t help it and I didn’t know why I couldn’t but I giggled.
Edwina, I answered. All day. I’ve had six hundred of them at least.
His eyes were on my mouth, his mouth was grinning.
Ah, he murmured in understanding.
Avery cleared his throat. “I think we’re missing something.”
I looked at Avery then at Lucien before I pushed against his shoulders and placed the blame squarely and publically on him.
“You’re being rude.”
His brows went up but he dropped me to my feet and curled me into his side with an arm around my shoulders.
“You’re staying for dinner?” Lucien asked Avery and I marveled that even a courteous invitation from Lucien sounded like a command.
“Leave now and miss Edwina’s cooking? I’d rather…” Avery started, I tensed and Lucien’s and Avery’s heads snapped toward the front door.
“Company,” Avery muttered.
Reflexively, my hand lifted, fingers fisting in Lucien’s shirt at his stomach as I looked up at him.
This was wussy behavior, I knew, but we hadn’t had a lot of luck with the front door. Usually, someone at my front door meant a call to the handyman.
Lucien’s head was cocked and I knew he was listening.
Then he mumbled, “Fucking hell.”
“What?” I asked.
His eyes caught mine. Then he said, “Buchanans.”
He said this right before there was an imperative and constant knocking at the door, confirming Lucien’s words.
Only Aunt Kate could knock on a door like that. It was her signature. Even when she was coming over for a cup of coffee and a gab, she eschewed doorbells and knocked on the door like she was Queen of the World and how dare the lowly commoner inside not anticipate her arrival, sweep open the door and throw rose petals at her feet.
“Aunt Kate,” I whispered.
“Kate,” Lucien agreed.
“Oh dear, oh dear,” Edwina fretted as she fluttered toward the hall. “How many are there? I don’t know if we have enough food.”
Avery followed Edwina but Lucien curled me into his front.
I looked up at him when he asked, “If it seems your family will interrupt our plans for this evening, if I’m forced to eject them bodily, how would you react?”
He was teasing again. It was frustrated teasing but he still did it really, really well. I was seeing the benefits of having a kind of like boyfriend who was centuries old. He had a lot of good stuff down pat.
“I’ve decided I’m mad at them. They’ve been ignoring me,” I admitted. “But not sure about bodily ejection. Could you, you know, Mighty Vampire Lucien Command them to leave?” I said the words “mighty vampire Lucien” in a fake pompous voice which was why I think Lucien yanked me in his arms and gave me a tight hug as he threw his head back and shouted with laughter.
This was what my family saw when they filed into the room looking uppity and in dire need of a martini.
I decided to glare.
I mean, in my hour of need, they’d ignored me and here they were when my hour of need was beyond me (not exactly, but in a way) and the good parts (one particular one I had in mind) were happening that very night.
“I need a drink,” Aunt Kate announced grandly.
“Leah, honey, are you okay?” Mom asked worriedly.
“Is that roast chicken I smell?” Aunt Millicent enquired, sniffing.
“Ohmigod, I love your blouse!” Aunt Nadia screeched excitedly.
“Well, hello to you too,” I replied to them all. “So, you remember I exist?”
Aunt Kate’s eyes narrowed.
Mom looked guilty.
Aunt Millicent glanced away.
Aunt Nadia bit her lip.
Lucien gave me a shoulder squeeze and murmured, “Leah.”
“Sorry but I was expelled from Vampire Studies and I did happen to find myself living with a vampire and my family does happen to be the premier family of vampire concubines so forgive me for expecting a little guidance and support!” I fired off.
The collective of Buchanan women’s eyes moved to Lucien. Once they did, so did my own. Lucien let me go and shrugged off his suit jacket.
He dropped it on the arm of the couch and suggested, “Perhaps we should all have a drink.”
I didn’t think this was good.
Aunt Kate disagreed. “Capital idea!” she announced.
“Lucien?” I called.
Drink, he said in my head. I’ll explain in a minute.
He’ll explain? What did this have to do with Lucien?
Then it hit me. The aunties visit a month ago when I didn’t get the chance to talk to them.
I was right, this wasn’t good.
I crossed my arms, jutted my hip, threw out a leg and tapped my toe. If any of my past boyfriends saw me in this stance, they would ask no questions. They wouldn’t utter a noise. They would cut and run straight for the hills.
Lucien glanced at me as he headed for the drinks cabinet. When his eyes hit me, they traveled from chest-to-toe then straight to my face. Then I saw him bite back a smile.
Big, fat, vampire jerk!
I immediately changed my mind regarding our later activities. If he thought we were “joining” tonight, he had another think coming.
“I’ll make more stuffing and potatoes and warm up more rolls.” Edwina was fussing in the kitchen. “Maybe whip up a pie.”