Compelled (The Secrets of Dragons Book 1) (5 page)

Eric tiptoed into the room and gazed at the bed, smiling. Eric made the motion of eating to him, and he nodded in reply.

Alex gently slid from the bed. He wanted Lou to sleep as long as possible. She needed her rest.

Walking out into the main room, he smiled at the table. Eric had gotten some realistic looking fake flowers a while back and had put one in a vase in the middle of the small table. It was surprising how the large yellow and black bloom brightened things up. “That looks nice. Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

Eric smiled, it was important to notice the small things he did and appreciate them. Eric could be very emotional at times and still suffered from a childhood of neglect. His parents weren’t exactly abusive, they just treated Eric as if he didn’t exist and was the bane of their lives. It had caused him to rebel in his early teens. On more than one occasion it had gotten him in trouble, but his actions had never changed his parents thinking. To this day, they still treated Eric as if he was someone else’s child and someone else’s problem. Not once had they even invited their son home for the holidays. Even with his meager upbringing, the holidays were special and filled with love.

Luckily his sisters still carried on those traditions, and he had every intention of going to see them for Easter in a few weeks. Taking a seat at the table, he turned to Eric. “Do you think Lou might like to go to Boston with us?”

“I don’t know. You can ask her.” Eric put his coffee on the table and then set down the plate of pancakes. He had already put the butter and syrup on the small collapsible side table and Alex dished a pancake out for both of them. He smeared his with butter and poured on some syrup. They would have to pick up some more pure syrup while they were in the area.

Eric took a sip from his cup. “Is there a reason you shut her down last night?”

“I don’t think she’s ready. I know she wanted to, but not yet. I don’t want to jump into things with her.” There was really no rush and he didn’t want her to regret their first time together.

“I guess that makes sense. She was asking me about the parameters of dom and sub. I’m not sure of what happened during the ménage she was involved in, but I don’t think it’s what she’s expecting from us.”

That was an understatement. “I think there are quite a few surprises in store for her with us.”

Eric chuckled, the sound deep and resonating. “Yeah, but those surprises require confidence and an understanding of her mind. Maybe she will be the one we trust enough to tell.”

“Maybe. It would be nice, huh?”

“Oddly enough, yeah, it would be.” Eric stuck a chunk of pancake in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Do you ever think about Yassie?”

“Yeah. I can still picture him in his cave. God, he’s so beautiful.”

“But he was afraid.”

“I know. He had so much power and was terrified of the world outside.” Alex had loved him with all his heart, but so had Eric. They wouldn’t be able to live in the seclusion of Yassie’s life. It was too much, too complete. Yassie was the one who first called him Demon. “Phylox.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Oh shit, don’t call me that. I hate that name.”

“I was just thinking and said it aloud. Sorry. Why did you bring up Yassie?”

“I guess because we were talking about telling Lou.”

Lou wandered out of the bedroom. Her hair was rumpled, and she still looked sleepy. “Tell me what?”

“Be careful when you take a shower, the water is really hot. We like it that way,” Alex said without missing a beat. The truth was something for another day, after they had sex, after they trusted her completely, if that day ever came.

Chapter Four

They pulled into the driveway of a huge colonial with a white picket fence and spring plants sprouting within decorative circles around the yard. “Holy shit. Is your sister rich?” Lou asked in surprise.

“Jen’s husband Frank is an executive genius. He works with Solar and solar research,” Alex replied. “Their daughter’s name is Alice, and my other sister’s name is Marcy. They are respectively three years younger than me, making them twenty-seven.”

“They’re twins?”

“Not identical, but yes, twins.”

Eric got up and unlocked the door as Alex slid from the driver’s seat. She and Alex had taken turns driving, but she had discovered Eric didn’t feel comfortable driving the motorhome. As Alex had said, Eric was low on self-esteem and often balked when faced with a new challenge. Admittedly, the toy hauler was a beast, but she had driven during the night when the traffic was light. To maneuver it through New York would have even made her nervous.

Lou hurried into the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She had slept for about six hours when they pulled into a rest stop the night before, and she honestly didn’t look too bad. Grabbing the brush from the drawer, she ran it through her hair to calm the wayward strands. It seemed strange to be meeting Alex’s family and tiny flutters were bouncing around in her stomach.

Should she change her shirt? She had only brought two nice shirts with her, and she already had one of them on. The light purple shade of the heavy blouse was perfect for the holiday and the other shirt wouldn’t be as warm. Alex had already warned her his sister kept the thermostat down and she would likely freeze during the visit. She was already freezing and the RV was quite warm. A knock on the door made her jump, her heart picking up a few beats as she sagged in stupidity.

“Did you fall in?” asked Eric. “I want to brush my hair.”

What hair? The boy had almost no hair to brush. Lou opened the door. “I did not fall in. I was trying to decide if I looked respectable.”

“You look beautiful. Wait until you meet his sisters. You will be the loveliest woman in the house.”

Was Eric just trying to make her feel good or was he calling Alex’s sisters ugly? That would be extremely rude and unlike him. She shuffled into the bedroom to allow Eric into the bathroom. Once he had shut the door, she walked back up to the front.

Alex had moved the coffee pot back into its proper place and was standing by the door. They would open the slideouts later when they needed them. He gestured her over with a twitch of his finger, stroking back her hair and then using his hand to draw her to his mouth. He captured her bottom lip between his teeth, gazing into her eyes before he released the skin to kiss her fully. Her flesh instantly warmed, the erotic input they supplied on a daily basis unsated. It had been almost three weeks since she met them. She had slept in their RV every night, had spent the days with them going riding. They had gone to Alex’s house and she had met the horses and the people who worked for them. Lou desperately wanted sex and even though she had casually mentioned it a few times, Alex was not allowing it. He said she wasn’t ready and when the time came she would know it. She did know it and she wanted it every second of every day.

“Are we ready?” asked Eric from behind her.

Alex released her with smile. “I like that shirt. It was a good choice to keep it on.” He grabbed her coat off the hook and handed it to her.

Lou slipped it on, curling it to her chest. She was cold again, the heat of Alex’s body leaving her as he opened the door. A chilling wind rushed in, making her gasp in surprise. “I wanna go home where it’s warm.”

Eric shuddered. “Holy shit.”

“I agree,” said Alex. “I knew it was cold, but I forgot how frigid it feels against my skin.” He tugged his own coat on and handed Eric his. “I’m glad we stopped and bought coats.”

She had to agree. It was cold.

They hurried into the house, Alex not bothering to knock as he opened it and walked in. A woman came out from the back of the house. She wasn’t ugly, but certainly hadn’t gotten any of her brother’s good looks. If anything, she was plain, pure and simple. She had a short cropped haircut that did nothing to add to her face, which was a bit too square to be feminine. She had Alex’s sandy brown hair and blue eyes, but those were her only redeeming features. Her nose was also too thin to fit her wide face. When she smiled, it was crooked and revealed yellow teeth mottled in places by dark and light patches. Compared to Alex’s very white teeth, it seemed unnatural.

“Hi, you must be Lou. Alex said he was bringing you. I’m Jen. I’m so glad to meet you,” she spouted off in rapid succession. She dragged Lou into a hug, squeezing hard enough to squash one of Lou’s breasts painfully before the woman released her. She then went on to hug her brother and Eric. The introduction was exuberant and left her feeling shell-shocked, but she had an underlying feeling that it was also a charade. It was probably her imagination. Jen grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the back of the house.

“This is my sister, Marcy.” Jen pointed to the only other person in the room and Lou smiled at the woman. She might not be identical, and there was slight difference between them, but not a significant one.

Alex slid his arms around her stomach, standing tightly to her back. “How are my two favorite sisters?”

“We are your only sisters,” retorted Marcy. “We are fine.” She stared directly at Lou. So how did you get mixed up with these two?”

“We met during bike week.”

“Oh, I’ve never been. One of these days I’m going to have to check it out. Do you live in Florida?”

“She’s actually living in the park where we are staying while they fix the house,” said Eric.

The slim smile that had been on her face disappeared. “Oh, that’s convenient.”

The comment sounded demeaning to Lou, but she hoped it was just her imagination. She wasn’t trailer trash.

Alex tensed against her back. “She’s a computer whiz who creates websites for those who don’t know how to do it themselves.”

Was he trying to defend her? It certainly sounded like it. She snuggled back into his chest, grinning as he nipped her ear.

Jen walked around the center island and opened the oven to check the contents. It smelled really good.

“So where’s Frank?” asked Eric.

“He took Alice with him to the store.” Jen straightened and turned back to them. “Dinner is almost ready. We can eat when he gets home. So how long have you lived in Florida, Lou?”

“All of my life.” She shivered, the cold seeping back into her bones despite being in the house.

“Oh.” The single word displayed disinterest as if Jen had asked the question just to be polite. “Why don’t you all take your coats off and go sit at the table. I put out a bottle of wine.”

She didn’t want to take her coat off. If anything, she wanted to put another one on. Despite that she allowed Alex to slide her coat from her shoulders. Lou instantly began to shiver. Eric leaned and kissed her on the cheek. “Do you want my sweater? I’ll go out and get it for you?”

“That would be nice.”

He smiled and strode out of the room.

Alex wrapped his arms tighter around her. “Hey, Sis. Could you turn up the heat? The little lady is frozen—thin blood and all.”

“I already turned it up knowing you were going to be here. If anything it’s brutally hot in here. Would you like me to get you a throw?”

“That would be nice, thank you.” Jen strode from the room and a moment later, Eric came in, holding out his sweater so she could put it on. It was cuddly, thick, and way too big for her, but it helped a little. When Jen came back with shawl, Alex draped it over her shoulders. She felt stupid bundled up like an Eskimo, but maybe she really did have super thin blood. Do you need any help with anything?” she asked to be polite.

“No, thank you. Marcy and I can handle it.” The pleasant tone of her charade from earlier was now completely gone. The woman not only didn’t want help, she wanted Lou out of her kitchen. “Why don’t you go sit down?”

Alex was rubbing her arms through the shawl, but when she glanced up at him, he was glaring at Jen. So it wasn’t just her imagination. Alex’s face seemed to be turning pink as if he had a slight case of sunburn.

“Did you make cider? It might warm her up,” Alex asked.

“It’s on the stove if you want to get her a cup,” replied Jen. “Just don’t take too much. I had planned to serve it with dinner.”

“Eric, take her to sit and I will get her a glass of cider,” instructed Alex is a no-nonsense tone.

Eric nodded and held his hand out to her. He led her from the kitchen, closing the door on their way out. Instead of having a seat at the table, he walked with her to the far end of the house and sat on the sofa. Eric grabbed the remote and turned the television on. She sat beside him. “What’s going on?”

“Jen and Marcy are being bitches, and their brother is going to put them in their place. You and I are better staying out of it.”

“So me being here is starting trouble. I shouldn’t have come.”

Eric scowled at her. “Those two women are the biggest cynics on the face of the earth. They have the nerve to turn their noses up at other people because they both have money. Alex hates it.”

“Do you think maybe it’s because they didn’t have much as children?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Alex said they didn’t have much money.”

“They didn’t, but they had all the basics. Their mother’s sister had two acres, and the whole family would go over and help with her garden from the time Alex was old enough to do so. She also had fruit trees and berry bushes. When the crops came in, everyone shared them. From what he said, they always had plenty of fresh or jarred food. What money came in from the government because of their father was used to pay bills and buy meat. They didn’t have much, but they weren’t starving and living on the street or anything. If anything, they ate healthier than most children because everything was organically grown. They had toys, maybe not many, but they had them.”

“Oh. I was thinking that they had so little as children they’re simply proud to be able to afford things now.”

“Why are you making excuses for them?” he pointed to the two huge, overstuffed Easter baskets packed with toys and candy on the end table. “Alice is one. Do you really think she needs all that crap? I can almost guarantee the baskets are from Jen and Marcy and they’re simply for show to impress guests. I’m sure most of the candy will get thrown out.”

“I’m sure some of it will get eaten.”

“Why are you sticking up for them?”

“I don’t like to think badly of people when I don’t know them all that well. Did Alex even tell her he was bringing me?”

“Of course he did.”

Alex stormed into the room, with their jackets over his arm and held out his hands to them. “Let’s go!”

“Go where?” asked Eric in obvious surprise.

“Go find someplace to eat and then head home. It’s too fucking cold to hang around in Boston.”

Eric nudged her, nodded briefly, and then stood up. She followed his lead. She had never heard Alex swear before, and the redness welling into his face from below the neckline of his blue sweater was oddly unsettling. They wordlessly walked back to the hauler and got in. Alex took a seat behind the steering wheel. She wanted to ask what happened, but when she turned to look at Eric, he shook his head, and laid his finger across his lips in a gesture for her to be silent. Alex started the motor and backed from the driveway without saying a thing as he pulled out onto the street and drove away.

It was almost an hour later when he pulled off the highway and drove into a truck stop. She was starving, but hadn’t said a word since they left the house. She had, however, been monitoring Alex’s face and the redness of his skin had been slowly fading back to his normal tan coloration.

****

“We need gas. There’s a good diner down the street from here where we can go eat.”

“Do you want me to pump?” asked Eric.

Alex smiled at the question. Eric had probably worded it that way on purpose to get a reaction out of him. He took the bait. “You have no idea how much I would like that, but I don’t think they would appreciate us tying up their terminal for that long. I also think the bounce of the RV might be suspicious.”

“Give me the damn gas card,” Eric said while laughing. Alex dug the plastic from a space in the central cabinet and handed it to Eric. Eric leaned and gave Alex a kiss. “You okay?”

“I have it under control. I’m just not ready to talk about it yet.”

“Will do, boss.” Eric turned and grabbed his coat before going outside.

Eric would not push the question, but Lou might if he didn’t say something. “I’m sorry. As I said, I’m not ready to recount the events in the kitchen, but I just couldn’t stay and be polite.”

“Okay. I guess every family has their issues.”

That was an understatement. Too bad he couldn’t take her to meet his real family. That was not possible because he didn’t trust her that much. Lou was proving herself to be an amazing woman, but they had many things to discover about her before they told her the full truth. “I’m not ready to explain that either.”