ChapterEleven
Leo stood behind his usual chair at the dining table and tapped his fingers against the top of it.
He'd busied himself with work until a short time ago, when he'd had to change clothes. But now all he could do was wait for the others to arrive.
And the others included Yesenia.
It took everything he had to keep some of his dreams about her at bay. And as her scent grew stronger, signaling her approach to the dining room, he had to tamp down his instinct to rush to the door to touch her, pull her close, and maybe nip her neck or shoulder to taste her sweet, rich blood once more.
Even if he could eat food again now that his heart beat, all vampires still needed to drink some blood to maintain their strength and health, not to mention what little resistance they had to the sun. Regularly drinking blood meant it would be rare for him to die in the sunlight, and he'd only burn badly after more than an hour or two. Abstaining from blood meant the sun would kill him within five minutes.
So without Yesenia offering, he'd had to resort to drinking once a day from donor blood collected in a cup. Just the thought of biting another female's neck made his instinct recoil and want to lash out.
It was yet another complication finding his bride had wrought.
If he could drink from her daily, he'd be stronger than ever before, physically. But of course that would mean keeping her, all but inviting his enemies to come attack her. And until her magic was strong enough, she was so fucking fragile.
So, no matter what his cock and dreams wanted, he needed to keep his distance.
The door opened, garnering his attention. Nora and Ambrose entered first. A beat later, Yesenia followed and he sucked in a breath.
She'd always be beautiful to him—fated ones always were—but something about seeing her in a dark red gown, trimmed in black, revealing her breasts and the dip of her waist, made his cock instantly go hard.
Not only that, her hairstyle featured braids forming a loop around her ears, highlighting the small points he wanted to nibble, with the rest pulled back into a chignon, which helped reveal the planes of her face.
She was bloody beautiful.
What he wouldn't give to lick those pointed tips and whisper what he wanted to do with her naked body under him, on top of him, and in any way he could get her.
Realizing he'd have to step from the chair to assist one of the females into their seats, and Leo had no desire to show off his hard cock, he looked away from Yesenia and focused on the small portrait of one of his elderly ancestors. Thinking of some of the horrors caused by them quickly cooled his lust.
And just in time, as well, since Ambrose helped his mother and Leo had to dash to pull out the chair for Yesenia. Once she was seated, he should've removed his hands from the back of her seat. But he couldn't seem to do so, not when her lightly floral scent filled his nose, or how he could clearly hear her heartbeat, tempting him to bite her exposed neck where it met her shoulder.
Yesenia looked back and up at him, and as their gazes locked, the rest of the room faded away.
Her brown eyes had a warmth to them that put him instantly at ease and made him want to reveal things he didn't tell anyone.
Then he remembered some of those thoughts would hurt his family, or at least put them at risk, and Leo snapped out of the spell, walked back to his chair, and sat down. Time to play the arsehole and push her away again. He grunted. "You're late."
Yesenia rolled her eyes. "Have you ever tried squeezing into a dress like this? Or try to finagle your hair into some overly complicated style before? Because I think not. If you had, you would've commended me on making it here at all before midnight."
He nearly smiled. "No, I can't say I've ever wanted to wear a dress. Although you do look lovely."
As soon as the words left his lips, he mentally swore. It wasn't his place to impress the female.
She glanced at his chest, his shoulders, and back to his face. "You don't look too bad yourself. Lovely, I'd say."
The way her eyes had caressed him, Leo was glad to be sitting down again. "Don't call me lovely."
She raised an eyebrow. "Sexy, then? Hot? What is it that the Brits say in my time…ah, that's right—fit. Are those less offensive to your ego?"
Ambrose silently laughed and Nora outright did. After glaring at his sister and nephew, he replied, "Sometimes you speak nonsense."
Yesenia grinned. "And so do you. It's as if you have to use French words to describe anything almost seen as 'forbidden' or 'inappropriate'—derriere, décolletage, and la petite mort. The list could go on."
At the last one, Leo sputtered a bit. Just where had she learnedthat? "Do all females talk so bluntly in your time?"
"Not all, but back home in Boston, we say things in English—ass, boobs, and orgasm, respectively."