ChapterTwelve
For the duration of dinner, Yesenia had almost forgotten the fact she was stuck in the past and desperate to bring her siblings to safety.
The bickering, the teasing, the serious conversations about magic and how to spot someone cheating at cards had made the time fly by. More than that, it had almost felt as if she was with the loving, caring family she'd always dreamed of having.
Oh, it'd be even better with Meadow and River present, of course. However, her father wasn't remotely warm or caring, and her mother had died before Yesenia was two; her father had also deliberately kept her mother's family strangers to make his daughter more dependent on him. She barely remembered her stepmother, either, as she'd died shortly after Meadow had been born.
In short, she'd never had such a teasing, easygoing meal before. The closest she'd had was with friends as a teenager. But then she'd been shunned by her friends ten years ago, and those had stopped too.
And thanks to her father's machinations, it'd been years since she, River, and Meadow all had been able to simply sit down and enjoy a meal together.
Now all she wanted was to have the sense of belonging, with friendly meals, for the rest of her life. Funny how the small things she'd always pushed aside as unimportant were now meaning so much.
By the end of the dinner, Yesenia was more determined than ever to study hard and bring her siblings to this place. Even if them staying with Leo would be temporary—until she figured out how to monetize her abilities and support them—it should do River and Meadow some good.
Not only that, but her presence seemed to already be helping Nora and Leo's relationship, and maybe the vampires could help with her brother and sister, welcome them into the fold and everyone could help to heal one another despite their many differences.
Of course, before any of that could happen, Yesenia would have to sleep with the vampire and suffer his claiming. Although maybe "suffer" was the wrong word to use for the event. All the heated looks he'd given her at the beginning of dinner had made it hard not to squirm in her seat. She knew it was probably only his instinct fueling his lust, but she'd take it. Especially since it'd been years since her last awkward human lover, who'd been too freaked out to touch her ears.
And to a fae witch, stroking the tips of their ears was akin to someone sucking their dick or licking their clit. So, all in all, an unsatisfying experience when a partner avoided them like the plague.
When everyone was finished eating—or drinking, in Nora and Ambrose's case—Leo was at her side before she could do more than toss her napkin on the table. Sometimes she forgot how damn fast vampires could be.
He pulled out her chair as she stood. "Time for our private meeting, witch."
His deep, gravelly voice made her shiver. Since Leo smiled smugly, he'd noticed.
Damn him.
He held out his arm and Yesenia had long since learned that in 1890, a female should take a male's arm if he offered it in formal situations such as dinner or a ball.
Not that she could imagine Leo attending something like a ball, dancing and mingling with a crowd. Especially since he was a Dark Lord, which was almost like paranormal royalty. In other words, people probably always tried to kiss his ass to get what they wanted, and she suspected he didn't like it.
As she wrapped her arm around his, she most definitely didnotlean a little closer toward him and take a deep inhalation to revel in his musky male scent mixed with citrus. Nor did she let her breasts graze his bicep as if by accident.
Leo lowered his lips and murmured near her ear, his hot breath tickling the sensitive tips, sending a rush of heat through her body, which ended between her thighs. "If I lift my jacket and let you see my arse in private, does that mean I can nip your finger again?"
Her first response should be a hell no. And yet at the memory of when he'd pierced her skin, suckled, and made her come harder than ever before, she sucked in a breath. "Maybe, but I'd need more than that. After all, you'd be getting the better end of that bargain."
He snorted as he guided her out of the dining room, opened a hidden door in the wall, and escorted her up a staircase. The light was dimmer here, but the stairs were wide enough she didn't have to let go of his arm.
The semi-darkness made his voice that much sexier to her, for some reason. Maybe because he was no longer whispering. "You and your negotiations. I should've known."
She turned her head toward him as they reached the first-floor landing and raised her brows. Thanks to Nora's tutelage, she knew what to do. "Vampires love to negotiate." She leaned in a fraction, hoping that thanks to his instinct to claim her, it would affect him like how he'd been affecting her. "In fact, I've heard it's sort of a turn on."
"Turn on?"
Since they were no longer in the dining room, she decided to be blunt. "It makes your cock hard."
He growled and leaned his face until it was a mere two inches from hers. He was close, oh so close, and she could barely focus on what he was saying instead of his full bottom lip and the hint of a fang. "One of these days, you're going to bait me a touch too far, witch."
She grinned. "That's the plan."
He gently pushed her up against the wall and her breath caught. Not in fear, but anticipation as his front pressed against hers, highlighting the firmness of his chest and the additional hardness in his crotch.
A nice, long cock, judging by what nudged against her, even with all the damned layers of clothing between them.
Just knowing she could do that to him made her even wetter. Males had barely tolerated her before, and she rather liked this small bit of power over him.