Aaron's Kiss Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 7) (44 page)

“Sure, but you need to stand really still this time. I know it’s hard, but you almost wobbled us both to the floor that last time.”

Dominic stood right outside the little room and listened to the little boy and his new friend. Brent was a great kid and Dominic had already fallen in love with him. The girl, however…he was not aware that Sara had had her friends over to the mansion yet.

“Okay, Pete, I gots it. I mean, I have it. Whew, that’s a hard one to remember, isn’t it?”

Pete? They had a guy in there too? Shit, the room was not near big enough for one adult and a kid, much less all three of them. As Dominic started forward to see how they had managed it, “Pete” spoke again.

“Yeah, I know, buddy, but you and I will work on it until I leave tonight. You’re doing really well. What’s the other rule you need to practice?” he heard her ask as they both exited the little pantry.

“I have to say the ‘g’ when it’s on the end of a word. Dominic, look what’s...what we have been doing.” This time he emphasized the ‘g’ a little too hard, but he at least remembered.

Dominic just stared at her. Pete. This was Pete. He was not a “he” at all. He was a she, a very beautiful she. He stared at her for too long, Dominic realized, when she looked nervously at Brent. It was then that he noticed she was wearing sunglasses. He realized that he had stopped breathing and as he inhaled deeply, bringing her scent into his lungs, he staggered slightly. Sweet and spicy—cinnamon and nutmeg, he thought.

Dominic looked at her sharply. No, no fucking way. It was the pantry, not her. Yeah, that was it. She was not his mate. Not her, not now, not fucking likely.

Duncan chose that moment to enter the kitchen where the other three had been standing. Duncan bumped into Dominic lightly and it broke the spell that had seemingly come over him.

“Oh, Master Dominic, I did not expect you until tomorrow evening. Master Aaron and Sara have gone into town for some games to play on the weasel…err the gaming toy in the living room. They should be back shortly.”

Dominic glanced back at the now closed pantry door where the girl had presumably gone back into, and then at the back door to the outside. Escape, no not escape. Escape was for someone who was trapped and he was not going to be trapped. She was not going to sink her fucking claws into him, thank you very much. Dominic looked at Duncan and realized he had missed whatever he had been saying to him.

“Is there something wrong, sire?”

“She’s...I thought...is she Peter the cable guy...err girl? Her, that girl, is she Peter?” he asked, and immediately felt stupid.

“Actually, it’s just Pete. And yes, sire, she is most definitely a she.” He looked at Duncan’s smile and cringed inside.

“How...how long?”

“How long? Well, I believe she’s been a girl her whole life, sire.” Duncan was not trying to be a smartass. He just answered Dominic’s question. But right now it wasn’t being helpful. It was being…shit. Pete was his mate.

Dominic took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It was her. It was her. It was her was all he could think about right now, like a horrific loop going round and round in his head. He felt as if someone had pole axed him. All these centuries, and he comes back to the main house one night early and there she was. He should have stayed away. Now...he would not need to stay away to avoid her. She would just be there, always in the back of his mind. He was not going to have it happen. Not to him, not now, not fucking ever.

Dominic had seen what Colin had gone through and, yeah, it had ended okay for him. But no fucking way was he going to be trapped by a fucking girl, a fucking human girl. Not the same one every fucking night. Fuck!

When Pete came out of the pantry again, he was still standing there, not having any idea why. He was angry. More than angry, he was livid, and she looked pissed, although he could not figure why she would be mad. He was the one who had to have her. She could go her whole life without one thing from him, but he would die without her. Of course he would have to drink from her, feed from her to bond with her, but that was beside the point, he thought angrily. She simply was not allowed to be pissy, damn it. He had been mad first.

“You stay the fuck away from me, do you hear?” He heard himself snarl at her. “I don’t want you sniffing around looking for a piece of ass and you sure as shit are not going to be spending eternity with me.”

Dominic felt a bit of something touch his skin, hot and painful. He didn’t know what it was and he knew in that moment he should have stopped to breathe before he’d spoken to her. He could see her building up, her anger washing over her body like a silken sheet. Her hair sparked and there was a slight light coming from behind the sunglasses she had on. When she stepped toward him and poked her finger into his chest, he almost looked down to see if she had a blade. It hurt that much.

“Why you worthless worm. You...you son of a bitch. What gives you the... I don’t care. No one has the right to speak to anyone they’ve just... I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, but I wouldn’t spend five minutes, no, I wouldn’t spend five seconds with you if my very fucking life depended on it.” She grabbed her coat, flew out the door, and disappeared in the darkness. He made to go after her when suddenly, Brent was standing in front of him.

“Move, kid, I’m not finished with her yet.”

Dominic had not meant to snap at Brent, but just then he heard a loud rumble of a motor start up. He wasn’t near finished with her yet and she was getting away.

“You were mean, Dominic, and you made her mad. You were mean and there weren’t no reason for it. She’s my friend and you yelled at her.” He watched, stunned, as Brent slammed his small fist into his belly then turned and fled the room, Duncan fast on his heels.

Well, just great, he thought. He had handled that very nicely. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Cursing himself, Dominic left the house. He suddenly felt as though he did not deserve to be around anyone right now. And what the fuck was Sara going to say?

CHAPTER FIVE

Pete called the house the next afternoon, hoping that the master of the house was gone and Duncan would answer. He did and she was so relieved that she couldn’t speak for several seconds.

“Hello, is anyone there?” Duncan asked.

“Hi Dunc, it’s Pete. I was wondering if I could please come by and get my tools and my bag? I left in kind of a hurry last night and walked off and forgot to get them.”

Pete was so hoping he wouldn’t mention why she had left in a hurry, or worse, ask her what she had said to his master to piss him off like that. She thought him the rudest of all men. If he was Mrs. Sara’s husband or mate whatever Brent had called him, then Pete could only feel sorry for her and their kids.

“Oh, Miss Pete, I’m so sorry about last night. I do not know what to say about Master Dominic. He has never —”

She cut him off before he could say much more. “Duncan, I so really don’t want to talk about it, if that’s okay with you. Do you think I could come by and get my things? I don’t want to get you into trouble or anything, but I need my tools. They’re kind of expensive and I’d be hard pressed to replace all of them. Plus, there’s a lot of them I’ve had made or made myself. I can be there in an hour. I’m at one of my part-timers now, but I’ll be done in a few.”

“Yes, miss, please come and get them. Master Dominic is...he is not able to be up and about right now, so you coming in an hour will suit just fine. I will be expecting you, as will the missus. She would like to have a word with you, if you would not mind. She feels very badly about what transpired last evening.”

Pete did not want to talk to the missus or anyone else in that bedlam. The more she had thought about it, the more she thought the missus’ husband or mate or whatever the hell he was, was nuts.

“Is she going to hold my stuff hostage if I don’t want to talk to her? Because I gotta tell you, Dunc, the thought of talking to her or that fucking mate of hers, that makes my belly turn up. I don’t want to speak to anyone. I know they hired me for a job, and I’ll finish it for them, but only if and when that ‘master’ isn’t up. I just want my shit, but if I have to leave it or talk with her, then I’d just as soon replace it. So you tell Missus that I said thanks but no thanks. See ya.” And she hung up.

Pete sat on her bed ten minutes later and thought about the people there. Sara seemed all right, a little bossy and a bit nosey, but it wasn’t anything Pete couldn’t ignore if she wanted. Duncan was fun and she found herself cleaning up her language when she was around him. Brent was a great kind and she was already half in love with him. That Aaron guy was okay. She didn’t know what he was to the household, but thought he was someone important to them. But the guy from last night, Pete thought him the rudest of them all. She wondered what their kids would have to grow up with as him as a dad.

~~~

Aaron was in the half room, the room between the dining room and the living room, with Sara enjoying the quiet of the house with her before he had to retire for the day. That’s where Penny, the cook, found him. He looked up at her when she entered.

Since bonding and mating with Sara, his ability to withstand more of the sun had increased. Everyone, himself included, thought that it was because of her magical blood running through his veins. He did not really care; he just loved being with her more.

“Your ladyship, lordship, there’s something wrong with Mr. Duncan. I found him in my kitchen just sitting there holding the phone. He’s all pale, even for him, and I don’t think he’s breathing at all. I took one look at him and thought you should come see him. I think he’s dead, poor old thing.”

“No, we couldn’t be so lucky, Penny. He’s only playing opossum. But let’s go see what the fuss is about. It’s probably because we left the kitchen in a mess again last night, my dear. You wait and see if it isn’t.”

Aaron loved watching Sara eat human food, and she had had a craving for another cheeseburger and fries last night. Watching her eat had always been a major turn on for him; her as well for that matter. He got another erection just thinking about the fun they’d had in the kitchen. He grinned, thinking that it would be worth whatever Duncan wanted to appease him this time.

Aaron reached out to Duncan as he walked toward the kitchen. The sorrow and hurt Duncan was feeling hit him with such force that Aaron flashed to the kitchen just ahead of Sara. Duncan was still sitting in the chair where Penny had said he was, still holding the phone tucked against his ear, staring out into the room, a blank look on his face.

“Duncan? What is it, old man?” Aaron knelt in front of him and gently took the phone from his grip and handed it backwards to Sara who was standing just behind him.

“She will not come...he...they were so mad. I tried to get her to come and get her ‘shit.’ She called it her shit, sire. I do not think I will understand that one. And, oh Missus, I told her that you wanted to speak to her, that you would let her have her things if she would speak to you. I never meant for it to sound like a... It was not a threat. No, I only wanted her to come here. I thought... I do not know what happened between them, Miss Pete and Master Dominic; they were so very angry. I thought maybe you could find out...and poor little Brent, he was crying, sobbing really. She did not slow down to tell him good-bye, you see. Master Dominic had made Miss Pete so upset. She did not say good-bye to Brent. Now...now, she will not come here. Oh, sire, I believe I have let the pooch screw us.”

“Duncan, who was mad at Pete? Was it Brent? Did she make him mad?”

Aaron had really liked Pete, but if she did anything to Brent, the girl would not be able to hide far enough nor deep enough, because he would find her and make her pay. That little guy was the world to all of them in his Kiss. He would also deal with the pooch incident and whatever Duncan had meant by that later. Right now, he needed to get to the bottom of this.

“No, sire, not Brent. Master Dominic and Miss Pete, they had the fight. She was in the pantry working, you see. She and Brent were installing the wire saddle for the weasel. He...well, he just attacked her verbally as soon as she came into the room. He said that he did not want to see her, for her not to expect anything about his ass, and something about an eternity. I believe I might have missed some of that, now that I think about it. I thought they knew each other, that he felt she was stalking him for some reason. But he had asked me if she was a girl, like he had not realized that until that moment, so that could not be it, could it? Master Dominic would have known if she was a female if she was stalking him, would he not, sire?”

“Yes, I believe you’re right. He would have had to have noticed Pete being a girl. Dominic was here while Pete was? I thought he wasn’t due back until tomorrow.” Aaron looked at Penny then Sara, and neither seemed to know either. “Duncan, tell me exactly what you remember. It’s important for me to understand.” Aaron thought he had a pretty good idea, but wanted to be sure before he got too excited.

“He told her not to sniff at his ass and that he was not going to be spending eternity with her. She seemed to think spending only five seconds in his acquaintanceship was too much. I cannot say that I blame her on that. He was a bit harsh with her, if you do not mind my saying so. The poor miss, he seemed...well, unhinged, even to me. Oh, sire, the hatred that came from them. Miss Pete left right away, the poor little mite. And Brent, he was so angry with Dominic, he screamed at him, telling him to go get her. Master Dominic left right as her motor bike started. I thought it was to get Miss Pete to come back for Brent, but that didn’t happen. Then this morning when she called, she said that she did not need her things bad enough to have to talk about what had happened. She would not talk to either of you.” Duncan started to stand then dropped back into the chair. “Oh, my lord! I believe that she thinks you are him, that Dominic is the master of the house not you. She said you were nuts. She thinks...oh master, what have I done?” Duncan look so devastated that Aaron pulled him into a hug to comfort him.

“You did nothing wrong, Duncan, nothing at all. But I think I understand better what happened between them. I think that Pete, much to the horror of our Dominic, is his mate. We’ve all heard what he thinks about having one. The sameness of it, night after night, the same woman for all of eternity, he believes it to be a fate worse than the sun. Her special scent for him must have hit him when she came out of the pantry, or it was already throughout the house when he got here. And I can see him taking it out on her. It’s hard on a vampire after all these years, sometimes centuries, of being alone to finally find the one who would complete you. When he thought Pete to be a boy, it must have thrown him.”

“Mate or not, he had no right to attack her, Aaron. We have to make him apologize to her, or at the very least get her things back to her. We can’t make him claim her, but he damn well isn’t going to hurt her in the process.” Sara’s voice was hard and unforgiving. Her fierce protectiveness for the little human did not surprise Aaron. That was one of the many, many things he loved about her.

Aaron knew from his own experience with finding Sara and denying the attraction what would happen to Dominic if he did not claim Pete as his mate now that he had found her. He would slowly go insane until he became rogue, someone without remorse, killing humans and other vampires alike just for the fun of it. It would be a long and very slow process. Dominic would, in the beginning, make Pete crazy by stalking her and driving others away he felt were trying to move in on her even as he protested wanting or needing her. Then Dominic’s protective instinct would go into overdrive and Aaron was not sure how Pete would react to that. Knowing the girl, Aaron had a feeling it would not be easy on either of them, but Dominic needed to be dealt with and face the consequences.

“I’ll deal with Dominic as soon as I find him. Sara, love, we need to let Pete know that she can come here without harm and that Dominic is not demented or the master of this realm. And that we would like her to come and get her things, plus finish the jobs she started for us. Duncan, find out how Brent is, please, and make sure he understands that we are going to make sure that things are fixed and that his friends will be all right as well. All right, we all have our assignments, but I must retire.”

Duncan cleared his throat before addressing Aaron. “Miss Pete has never had a home cooked meal before, sire. I don’t have any clue what that would even be in terms of human food, but do you think it would be all right if Miss Penny fixed Miss Pete one?”

Penny had been told a few weeks after she had moved into the little cottage by the mansion that she worked for vampires and other magical creatures. They did not want her to become suspicious of certain things that may go on within the walls of Aaron’s Kiss. Penny just put her fist on her ample hip and said that she was not born yesterday and she was pretty sure this family was not the first bunch of bloodsuckers she had worked for, but at least this one was honest and up front about what they were. Aaron had laughed for days.

“Yes, Duncan, that’s an excellent idea. You go ahead. Between the two of you, I’m sure she’ll be very happy with the results.”

Aaron was still grinning as he made his way to his lair in the sublevels of their home. Poor Dominic, Aaron thought, he was certainly in for it now.