Once Bitten, Twice Shy (4 page)

Lex’s voice sounded directly behind me and above my head when he answered. “Thank you.”

I stiffened as I felt the tip of his finger trace lightly down the nape of my neck. I sat up and moved away from the edge, twisting to face him, glad to have an excuse to keep him from touching me.

“No, thank you, Lex. It was very good,” I said.

He had a hand on the edge of the hot tub, the other tucked into his pocket. With his sharp suit, five o’clock shadow, and casual stance, he looked like he belonged on the cover of GQ or Vogue.

“You’re welcome, little one,” he answered.

I heard Donna’s breath hitch slightly behind me and gritted my teeth. Now, she would never let up about that stupid double date idea.

Sure enough, I heard her set her wine glass down with a click. “Hey, why don’t you guys grab some suits and jump in here with us?”

“That sounds wonderful, lass,” Conner answered. He looked to Lex. “There are a couple pairs of extra trunks in the changing room.”

They walked together to the spacious changing room in the back corner of the pool area. As soon as they shut the door behind them, I shifted across the hot tub and put my mouth directly next to Donna’s ear.

“I know exactly what you’re trying to do, Dee, and I really don’t appreciate it,” I hissed.

She gave me wide, innocent eyes and I growled low in my throat.

“Don’t try to play me. Vamp or not, I read you like a book and I told you earlier that there will never be anything between Lex and I.” I said this almost soundlessly, hoping that Conner and Lex couldn’t hear me over the noise of the hot tub.

She leaned closer. “I think he would be good for you. Why can’t you just give him a chance?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t tell her the real reason because, vampire or not, she was my friend first and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by explaining the whole food chain thing that bugged the shit out of me.

“I’m just not ready to date, Dee. He also doesn’t strike me as the type to have serious relationships.”

She scoffed. “You’ve said maybe fifty words to him since you met him. How would you know that?”

I clamped my mouth shut and glared at her. I heard the dressing room door open so I moved back to my side of the hot tub, my eyes telling Donna that I would get revenge for the awkward position she put me in and that she should watch her back. I realized then that she, Conner, and Lex could probably hear every word I was thinking about her, so I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down.

By the time Lex and Conner reached the hot tub, I was no longer thinking about putting used chewing gum in the toes of Donna’s Louboutins. Then, when I saw Lex standing next to the tub in nothing but a pair of brief, tight trunks, I wasn’t angry at all. Rather than wearing the board shorts popular in America, he had chosen swimming trunks that were normally worn in Europe or the Bahamas. They looked like snug boxer briefs.

I managed to jerk my eyes away from his almost naked body, but the image was burned into my retinas. Broad shoulders, carved abs, and bulging thighs. Actually, his thighs weren’t the only noticeable bulge, but I shoved that thought out of my head immediately. I didn’t need to be thinking about what Lex was packing in his trunks. Especially when everyone in the room could read my mind if they wanted. Or hear my thoughts if I couldn’t control how loudly I was broadcasting them.

Lex and Conner climbed into the tub with us. Conner immediately moved toward Donna, lifting her up and setting her in his lap. She laughed loudly as he stuck his face into her neck. Though the hot tub was large enough for ten people, Lex chose the seat on the bench next to me. In fact, he sat so closely that our legs touched from hip to knee. Then he leaned back against the side and rested an arm behind me, the bare skin of his torso pressing against my side.

I jumped at the contact, but his hand landed on my shoulder to keep me from moving away. He’d used the same move last night. I realized that it felt possessive, as though he was claiming me in front of Donna and Conner. It was also blatantly dominant and his way of telling me to sit and stay.

I wanted to hate it, but I felt a long dormant, secret part of me quiver in interest. A few years ago, I had become fascinated with the idea of being dominated. After a few unexciting attempts with my then boyfriend, I decided it wasn’t for me. It didn’t make my blood run hot the way the books I’d read had. I figured it was one of those things that sounded sexier on paper than in reality.

Now I was beginning to suspect that it was because my boyfriend wasn’t really a Dom. Because, when Lex did things to control me, it made my blood heat and the place between my thighs tingle. I shifted slightly, putting a sliver of space between our bodies, but only because Lex allowed it.

There was a moment of awkward silence. I was grateful as Donna and Conner drew Lex and I into small talk. If nothing else, it helped distract me from the sensation of Lex’s bare leg against mine and his hand burning a brand into the flesh of my shoulder.

“So, where did you go today?” Donna asked.

Conner glanced at me. “Lass, I don’t know if we should have this discussion now.”

Donna saw the glance and her eyebrows lowered. Squinty-eyed, she leaned closer to him. “Why not? Ivie would never rat us out.”

Conner spoke to me directly. “I don’t believe you would ever willingly tell anyone details that you heard, but, as a human, you are susceptible to mind control and almost any vampire would be able to force their way into your thoughts if they wished. It is safer for you, and for us, if you don’t have details.”

Donna’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, I never thought of that. Will she be in danger just because she’s staying with us?”

Conner shook his head and sighed. “No more than she was before, lass. Though I doubt she thinks that being kidnapped with you was safe.”

He was right, I didn’t find that comforting. I flinched inwardly at his words. That was exactly why I would not be getting involved with Lex. Though I knew he hadn’t meant to hurt me, Conner’s statement proved my intuition had been correct. I wasn’t to be trusted because I was human.

I must not have hidden my wince well because both Conner and Lex turned to look at me quizzically. I merely gave them both a small smile.

To Donna, I said, “It’s okay, Dee. I don’t want to do anything that would put any of you in danger. It’s probably best if I don’t know.”

She studied me intently for a few moments before she sighed. “Fine.” Donna looked at Conner, “So what can you tell us?”

I completely missed Conner’s reply because Lex’s lips touched the shell of my ear.

“Why did you flinch, little one?” he whispered.

I shot him a sideways glare. “I have no idea what you mean,” I lied.

I jumped as a sharp pain radiated from my ear. Holy shit, had he just bitten me? His lips closed around my earlobe and he sucked gently, removing the pain. I felt his mouth
everywhere
. I tried to lean away, but he wouldn’t let me.

“Don’t ever lie to me, Ivie. I will never invade your mind without your permission, but I will always know when you lie. I forbid it,” he said in my ear. His voice was stern, almost cold.

Though I wanted to mindlessly agree because I hated the tone of his voice at that moment, I also couldn’t control the defiance that filled me.

I turned and glared at him. “I don’t believe you have the right to demand anything from me, or forbid me to do anything,” I whispered harshly. I was very aware that, even though they were speaking, Donna and Conner were probably listening to every word of my exchange with Lex.

He leaned even closer, his dark eyes brightening with an eerie glow. “I have every right.”

I had never liked being told what to do. However, I couldn’t deny that Lex’s bossiness was a bit of a turn on. Still, I couldn’t let him have the upper hand. I couldn’t stop the little growl that escaped my throat.

At the noise, his eyes returned to their usual deep brown and he blinked, his brows rising on his forehead. Apparently, my resistance surprised him.

“Did you just growl at me?” he asked incredulously.

I felt the heat crawling up my chest and neck to my cheeks and knew I was blushing from my cleavage to my hairline.

“Um,” I paused, searching for some other way to describe the noise I made. There was none.

It was my turn to be shocked as Lex threw back his head and literally roared with laughter. I hadn’t been around him much, but I knew that Alexander Dimitriades smiled very little and I’d never seen him laugh in the handful of times we had spoken. Or the greater number of times I had watched him from a distance as he interacted with others.

I realized that Conner and Donna were silent and looked at them. Conner was grinning at me, his bright blue eyes twinkling with mischief. Donna’s mouth was hanging open as she stared at Lex. I realized that my assumption had been correct. Lex didn’t laugh and, somehow, my behavior had amused him greatly. His laughter was echoing in the cavernous room, it was so loud.

“Lass, it’s almost ten and I am tired. I think it is time for us to retire,” Conner said.

I felt my eyes widen and I stared at Donna with desperation. She couldn’t abandon me. She only gave me a lopsided grin and followed Conner out of the hot tub.

I watched them for a moment, frozen with anxiety. When I realized that my best friend was about to ditch me, I turned to Lex.

“I’m really exhausted, Lex. You know, with the insomnia and everything last night. I think I’m going to head to bed, too.”

His expression was inscrutable, but he didn’t respond so I slid off the bench in the hot tub and started to head toward the steps that led out of the water. Before I got more than a foot from him, his hand closed around my arm and he yanked me back against his chest.

When the bare skin of my back touched his naked torso, I thought I was going to faint. His skin was hot, hotter than the water, and I was sure that my own skin would melt until I fused to him. Though that seemed frighteningly appealing.

I shook off the strange thoughts and tried to remain calm. I looked up over my shoulder at him. All I could see was the tight line of his stubbled jaw.

“What are you doing?” I asked. I tried to keep my voice cold, aloof, but it came out more like a squeak.

“We need to finish our conversation, Ivie, then you may go to bed.”

Every muscle in my body went rigid. “And I think I’ve made it perfectly clear that you can’t tell me what to do.”

His hands tightened slightly on my arms before they opened and slid down. He wrapped his arms around my waist and sat back on the bench, wedging my ass between his thighs. I felt something hard and large press against my upper ass and tried to pull away. Holy shit, he had an erection to rival Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas.

Lex held me still with very little effort. “Calm down.”

“Let me go,” I demanded between clenched teeth.

“No.”

“I refuse to talk to you until you let me go,” I said, my voice going up two octaves from the crazy seesaw of emotions going on inside of me.

“Ah, you can feel what you do to me, can’t you?” Unbelievably, the arrogant vampire pressed his hips closer to mine.

If any other man were doing this to me, I would have been enraged, biting and clawing to break free. With Lex, I was irritated but I was also aroused. He didn’t want to let me go, so he wasn’t going to. He was strong enough to keep me exactly where he wanted me and there was nothing I could do about it. Apparently, I was kinkier than I thought because that flipped my switch, big time.

Finally, I let my body relax against him. I felt more than heard his sigh. Still, a part of me wasn’t ready to give up yet. I had learned the hard way to be wary of vampires.

“Say what you have to say, Alexander. I am very tired.” I was proud of my composure, though I hated that I sounded as though I had a huge stick up my ass.

“Why did you flinch, Ivie?”

Damn, I did not want to have this conversation. I bit my lip, but didn’t respond. His hands moved up and down my biceps in a small caress.

“Tell me, little one,” his deep, slightly accented voice was gentle, almost sweet. “What did Conner say that upset you? Are you worried that you are in danger?”

His concern worked far better than coercion to convince me to talk to him. I lowered my head and closed my eyes.

“I knew I would be in danger when I moved in here. Conner and Donna didn’t want me to know, but I can still tell what Donna is thinking. And when she’s scared.” I sighed. “I hate that Conner doesn’t feel as though I can be trusted. I would never do anything to hurt Donna.”

Lex’s hands tightened on my arms. Somehow, my words surprised him. I don’t know how I knew that, but I just did.

“Conner knows you are trustworthy. Unfortunately, you do not have the same characteristics that Donna possessed before she was turned. She was immune to vampire mind tricks. They understand that you would never willingly tell anyone things about them. Still, you could be forced and it would be clear very quickly that we kept you out of our secrets. It is safer for you should you be caught.”

I shrugged slightly. I understood, but I didn’t like it. Lex pulled me a fraction of an inch closer before he loosened his grip on my arms.

“Try to get some rest, little one. You are losing weight and not sleeping. I want you to be healthy.” He paused and tension built in my belly. “You’ll need to be well for what I have planned for you.”

I shivered and he released me. I surged through the water to the side of the hot tub and climbed out. I didn’t even give a shit if it seemed like I was running away. Probably because I was. I just wanted out of there before I did something stupid like climb into his lap and beg him to do whatever he wanted to me.

I had never been so conflicted in my life. I wrapped up in my robe and walked quickly out of the room. With each step, I could feel the weight of Lex’s dark brown eyes on my back. When I made it to the door, I waited until it was closed behind me before I ran down the hall, up the stairs, and into the safety of my room.