Shadow Rising (23 page)

I still hadn’t found my tongue as we walked out of my office and to the front door. I didn’t know if I couldn’t think of anything to say, or if I was afraid of
what
I might say. So I said nothing at all.

As we headed into the night, I suddenly realized what was happening.

“Nerissa, you don’t have to do this. I won’t let him coerce you.” A slow panic was starting to rise. “I won’t let anybody use you!”

“On the contrary, my sweet. Nerissa is the one who called
me
.” Roman motioned to his bodyguard, who opened the door to the long stretch limo for us. He waited for us to climb in, watching me expectantly.

Nerissa stepped in and slid across the seat. She patted the place next to her and I climbed in. Roman followed and his driver shut the door. As we headed into the night, a funny feeling settled in my stomach. Butterflies? Moths to the flame? I wasn’t sure.

I turned to Nerissa, ignoring Roman. “Are you sure? Are you sure you want to do this?”

She shrugged. “The only thing I’ve ever been sure about is my love for you. Men come and go—they’re nothing to me.” Pausing, she leaned around me to smile at Roman. “No offense, Roman, but seriously, pussy’s my first love. But I think
you’re right. Since we have to share Menolly, we need to come to an understanding, and this may be the way.”

Roman gave a little shrug. “No offense taken, Mistress Nerissa. As I said, I am content to watch. If you invite me to join, I’ll be more than happy to oblige, but I would never pressure either of you to participate in something uncomfortable.”

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the seat. This was so not how I’d intended to spend the evening. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about the prospect. In fact, I was quickly reaching the point where I’d rather go fight a few ghosts than get through the next few hours.

We fell into an amiable silence. Roman offered Nerissa some champagne and she shook her head without answering.
Good girl,
I thought.
Keep your wits about you. Especially when dealing with someone as old and powerful as Roman.

As we approached his mansion, I tensed, but Nerissa laid one hand on my arm and winked at me. She seemed almost…eager. Maybe I’d misjudged her desire? But no, she’d made it clear that she wasn’t all that interested in playing with male vamps.

Roman escorted us out of the limo and his bodyguard walked us up to the door, where one of his servants met us. I handed her my coat—Roman was a stickler for decorum—and then Nerissa slipped off her coat, gaining a surprised look of delight from the maid. I moved closer to my girl, and then, pausing, I turned to Roman.

“As long as we’re in your house, where there may be other vamps, I need a ribbon for her throat.” I gave Roman a long look. “You know why.”

He nodded, turning to the maid. “Bring a guest ribbon, please. I think…pale pink suits her.”

As the maid slipped over to a sideboard and withdrew a long pink velvet ribbon, Nerissa gave me a questioning look. I took the ribbon from Roman and gently tied it around her neck with the bow to the right, making sure it wasn’t too tight.

“What’s this for?”

“Turned to the right, it means only the boys may ask
permission to play with you. I’m not letting any female vamps touch you. And it will also ensure your safety. It basically means you’re my pet for the evening. I did this to Delilah once…when we raided the Fangtabula—this was before I was in love with you, Roman.” I waited for his reaction. I didn’t know if he knew about our involvement or not.

“So, you’re the one who caused such an uproar. Why am I not surprised?” He shrugged, his gaze running from Nerissa to me, then back to her. “The ribbon looks lovely and yes, every vampire under my roof will respect what it means. I guarantee with my word.”

As Nerissa stood there in her bridal-night get-up, a surge of possessiveness swept over me. I wanted to wrap her up in her coat and take her home. But she was here of her own free will, and I couldn’t play protector all the time. I had to trust that she knew what she was doing.

Roman led us to a side room I’d never before been in. While I might be his consort, I didn’t live under his roof, nor did I have leave to explore every room—and I didn’t pry. I assumed there were things I didn’t want to know about hidden behind those closed doors that protected Roman’s life.

The room was filled with Roman’s overindulgent penchant for Victoriana, to the point of being suffocating. But it was pretty, I’d have to give him that. Two fainting couches sat at right angles to an ornate coffee table, and the room was a mishmash of velvets and jacquards and brocades. In a way, he and Carter had a lot in common, but Carter was more minimalist.

Nerissa must have been reading my mind. “You certainly don’t go for a minimalist approach, do you? How can you breathe in here?”

He laughed. “I have no need to breathe. And yes, I realize that my tastes are, perhaps, from another era. But this is my home, and so…” Shrugging again, he glanced at me and I could tell that this wasn’t going quite how he’d planned.

She laughed and draped an arm around my neck. “No problem—I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. It is lovely, it’s just not my taste at all. I feel rather claustrophobic.”

I blinked. Nerissa did her best to be diplomatic at all
times. I had no clue what was getting into her, unless she was trying to turn Roman off.

She leaned down and pressed a long kiss against my lips and I returned it, sinking into her soft, beautiful body. Her skin was soft as silk sheets, and I rubbed my face against her arm, unable to do anything but respond.

Roman cleared his throat and sat back. I looked over at him. He edged into a wing chair, his gaze fastened on us, his fangs slowly lowering. I met his gaze and did not see what I expected to see. I’d expected a haughty look, superior, but instead what I saw was desire. Hunger, but not predatory.
And loneliness.

Faltering, I slipped my arms around Nerissa, kissing between her breasts, then kneeling to gently press my lips to her belly button. I stayed like that for a moment, until she reached down and took my hand, motioning for me to stand. She looked over at Roman and I guess she saw what I saw, because she softened. She leaned down and kissed my forehead, then my nose, then my lips, but chastely, as she stroked my cheek.

She turned to Roman and gave him a soft smile. “This is what you want, isn’t it? You aren’t just looking to get off on a threesome. That sort of thing bored you years ago. What you’re looking for…”

He stared at her, his expression darkening. “Don’t say it, girl.”

It hit me like a ton of bricks. Roman had told me he was falling for me, and I’d warned him not to. He’d been married a number of times over the years…so many years. And he’d lost most of his wives to death—most of them hadn’t been vampires. The ones that were, got bored and moved on. He wanted someone to be with, to the end.

“Roman, please…don’t hope.”
Don’t make me hurt you. Don’t make me tell you I don’t love you.

“I know,” he said, slowly. “But…the two of you…you have something that perhaps I can touch, for even a moment. A flower, both fragile and yes, stronger than steel.” He moved to stand, but then paused. “If you wish me to leave, I will excuse myself.”

I looked at Nerissa. It was her choice. She stood silent, for a moment, then walked over, slowly, to Roman.

“Come.” She held out her hand. He studied it a moment, then turned it over and brushed her wrist with a kiss. “Come with us.”

As he stood, hesitant, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “We can never give you what you want most, but we can give you the next best thing.” She reached down, untying the belt of his smoking jacket and slipping it off.

I took off my boots, then pulled off my shirt and jeans. Naked, I crossed the room to the sofa where they were sitting. Nerissa lightly caressed his shoulder and he seemed at a loss for words—something that Blood Wyne’s son never had a problem with.

As I slid onto the sofa behind him, spreading my knees to press my breasts against his back, I began to kiss his neck, his back, and wrapped my arms around his waist. He moaned lightly as I tickled his abs with my fingers, and turned his head to smile at me with those icy gray eyes. He kissed me softly.

Nerissa’s eyes lit up and she knelt in front of him. She pressed her breasts against his legs as she reached for the zipper on his pants. As he reached down to run his fingers through her hair, she gently coaxed his cock to attention. He was thick, and pulsating, and Nerissa reached out and squeezed, hard enough to make him tense. As she lowered her mouth to the tip of his cock, I began to kiss his neck in earnest, not quite biting—we didn’t dare do blood sports because of Nerissa—but nipping him enough to produce a ripple through his body.

Nerissa embraced the head of his cock with her mouth. Roman groaned again. As I watched her luscious lips and tongue began to work him, the fire began to grow within me. She was gorgeous, pale and pink against the darkness of his world, and all I could think about was tasting her.

I let go of him and slipped around to the front, where I sat on the floor in front of his chair. I tipped my head back so I was staring into her pussy, and then, leaning up, began running my tongue over her clit. Nerissa let out a loud sigh, her mouth filled full with Roman’s girth. I began to tongue-bathe
her, and slid three fingers inside the moist wetness between her legs. She squirmed against me, as she bobbed up and down on Roman’s cock, moving faster and faster. Roman did not breathe, nor pant, and I wondered if that seemed strange to her but then again, we’d been together for a while now, and neither did I.

But then he clutched her hair with both hands, and I could see he was holding himself back, trying not to hurt her, and in another moment, as I fluttered my tongue over her clit, he came, loud and crying out. He pulsed in her mouth, and I watched as clear liquid ran down the sides of her cheeks. She swallowed, draining him dry, then turned to me, and I tipped her over on her back, on the floor, my head between her legs, holding her by the waist.

“Menolly, oh harder, please, harder.” She was bucking, as I gave her what she wanted, what she craved.

I rose up, shaking my braids back from my face. “Baby, you love this, don’t you?” As she cried out
“Yes,”
I went back down, coaxing her, cajoling her, bringing her to the verge and then hanging back. I slid two fingers inside her and she clamped down, squeezing hard as I tickled her G-spot until I got a response.

As Nerissa gave a little shriek, Roman swung around behind me and the next moment, he was thrusting himself inside me, hard and demanding. The feel of his cock filling me full, of his balls swinging against my ass, sent me soaring, and the knowledge that Nerissa’s lips had been on him, that he’d been in her mouth, made everything that much more exciting. I worked Nerissa, worked her good, and as she came, shrieking, Roman came again, spurred on by her cries.

He rolled away, to the side, spent. As he lay on the floor, his head turned to the side as he watched us, Nerissa moved up to lay me back. She covered my face with kisses, as her fingers traced over my breasts.

And then, the world fell away, Roman included, as we focused on each other. Touching, teasing, persuading, tongue against skin, lips against breasts, legs entwining, her fingers tickling my stomach, until the room was filled with a sex haze so thick you could cut through it with a knife.

There was no end to me, no beginning to her. We moved as one, knowing each other so intimately, so intently, that every touch resonated through both of us, every kiss rocked the room. And then, the kindling caught a spark, and we were up, like a rocket, riding our passion. The world around us could have ended, and we would never have noticed.

I rested my head on her shoulder, still flush with the warmth of her love. Nerissa softly combed through my hair with her fingers, then traced down my arm to my hand, embracing it, threading her fingers between mine.

I murmured a soft
“I love you”
as everything came back into focus. And then I realized where we were. As I slowly sat up, Nerissa following suit, I looked around. Roman was gone.

“When did he leave?” He wasn’t anywhere in the room.

“I have no clue.” Nerissa stretched, a luxurious expression on her face. She wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging her knees to her chest. “This was…different. But not bad. Not nearly what I expected.”

“Me either.” I leaned against her shoulder. “How did you know?”

“Know what?” She shivered, and I grabbed a throw off one of the fainting couches and draped it around her shoulders.

“That Roman is lonely. I didn’t see it. I had no clue. I thought he just wanted…” But I stopped. He’d made gestures before, said things that caught me off guard. Maybe I
had
known, but hadn’t wanted to see it, because once something became apparent, it meant I had to deal with it.

“I think I knew at the VA meeting, when he was watching us. On the way home, we talked. He said…he started talking about our wedding, and that led to me asking about his weddings. He didn’t say much, but then he looked at me and said,
‘There can never be enough love in the world. I’m so glad Menolly has you.’
And he sounded lost, like a little boy out in the rain who doesn’t know where his home is.”