Hyde (24 page)

She picked it up out of the purple sack and held
it in her hand tightly. She wanted to cry realizing he would feel
nothing. It would leave her still be attracted to him, just as she
was with Aleks. She wondered if there was a cure for the way she
was attracted to the opposite sex?

She picked up the Christmas gift she had bought
him and walked down the stairs.

She went into the kitchen first and looked at
Roland, "I need his glass of wine."

Roland looked at her confused, "Why?"

She held up the vial, "I need to free him."

He looked at it and nodded. He passed her the
glass and watched as she drained the vial into the glass. He took
it back and poured red wine into it.

He passed her a glass as well. She smiled and
carried both in with the gift under her arm.

"So what are you plans over the holiday?"

She passed Andy the wine still smiling even
though a small part of her heart was breaking.

"Well I was thinking that maybe I might see if
you wanted to go to the outdoor rink and skate. Then I have dinner
at my moms." He took the wine from her, "Thanks."

She nodded watching it hit his lip press against
the glass. He swallowed nodding, "Bit tart for me."

She grinned, "Drink up and I will get you a
glass of white."

He laughed, "You trying to get me drunk?"

"What, me? No way." She knew her eyes were
dazzling him, her charms were at their peak. Any second he would
realize there was nothing special about her. She couldn’t feel her
heart beating. The absence of a beat scared her.

His glass emptied, he made a face making her
laugh. He took a step toward her looking at the gift, "Is that for
me?"

She nodded passing it to him, he looked at her
as if nothing had changed.

"Can I open it now or will you come with me to
my moms?"

She nearly spit her wine across the room, "Oh
uhm, what?"

He laughed, "I'll just open it now. I left yours
at my place, so you'll have to come and get it."

Her face flushed, "You want me to come to your
house? No don't open it. I will come to your house."

"Its an apartment not a house, it is definitely
not this place. My dad owns a pharmacy so, yeah we don’t have a
Roland at my moms."

She laughed, "No one has a Roland."

Roland walked into the dining room with a fresh
glass of white wine, "I am taking that as a compliment Hanna
dear."

She giggled nervously giving him a look, "It was
meant as one. Andy wants me to go to his house over Christmas." She
gave him her best-panicked look, "What day am I free?"

Roland looked as if he were thinking but Hanna
knew he was processing, "Boxing Day. Unless you want to hit the
shops?"

She frowned, "No I'm cool. No shops for me."

Andy looked at her glass of wine, "You drink?
You're how old?"

She laughed, "Well I am nineteen, but my mom was
European so I've always drank wine with dinner. My aunt and uncle
were good with it."

Roland nearly choked with laughter.

Andy raised an eyebrow, "Well it's twenty-one
for legal age."

Roland smiled, "I believe there is something
about your parent or guardian allowing it in the home though is
there not."

Andy grinned back, "Maybe something like
that."

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Maturing is
optional

Aleksander

"That was rude, it was bloody rude. How was I to
know you'd spit on her like she was the last donut as Aimee always
says? For bloody Christ sake I am your oldest friend." Dorian
dabbed the bit of blood from his forehead.

Aleks snarled, "You are a terrible friend."

"Well that doesn’t make me less of a
friend."

Aleks looked homicidally at Ari, "You ever do
that to me again."

Dorian growled at him, "My turn to warn you of
the boundaries of our friendship."

Aleks felt himself about to leap from the chair
but Ari laughed at him.

"You both are retarded. This is nuts. I get
she's hot, but honestly."

Aleks looked at Ari and nodded, "You're right,
our behavior was atrocious."

Dorian grinned wickedly, "Speak for yourself. I
haven’t murdered anyone today. My behavior has been
impeccable."

Aleks rubbed his jaw where Dorian had punched,
"You hit like a girl."

Dorian laughed, "You better be nice to me or I'm
going to hit your girl."

"She isn’t mine."

Dorian laughed, "Yeah because she doesn’t know
how strongly you feel about her."

Ari rolled her eyes, "I'm outtie, peace out
daddy." Her tone was sarcastic.

Aleks felt for Dorian in a small way, even if
his efforts had been sad and he was reaping his own rewards. Ari
still had not accepted he was her family. Her only family. Her
uncle was kept safe by believing he'd won a free winery in Italy
that he couldn’t sell. In reality it had been Dorian's winery.

Dorian waved, "Thanks for hanging out."

Ari laughed going upstairs.

Dorian wiped the last of his black blood from
his eyebrow. He groaned rolling his eyes exactly the way his
daughter just had, "Look mate you need to tell her how you feel.
She's fucking sexy. I've thought about the things I would do to her
since the minute I saw her. Had she not been on deaths door I might
have. Now she looks ungodly hot."

Aleks growled again.

Dorian put his hands in the air, "I'm just being
real with you. She's a smoking hot vampire. Her sex drive is going
to explode. One of us is going to be there for that."

Aleks laughed, "You're awfully confident for
someone she barely knows.

He shrugged, "I only need a minute."

"Wow, not something I ever imagined I would hear
you admit to. I mean there have been rumors."

Dorian stood up quickly, "Oh that’s it."

He was gone in a wink.

Aleks realized what was happening and quickly
flashed from the room to Giselle's room. It was ajar.

Dorian was hovering over her bed, he whispered
in her ear. She moaned in her sleep.

Aleks crossed the room in a step grabbing his
arm, "You are sick." He whispered harshly.

Dorian grinned, "Look at that face. Can you
imagine your…"

Aleks dragged him from the room quickly before
he could finish his sentence.

Aimee was standing in the hallway with an
eyebrow raised, as they wrestled their way from the sleeping girls
room.

"What's going on?"

Dorian grinned at Aimee, "Aimee James. My
favorite death dealer."

Aimee looked at Aleks who shrugged, "Nothing.
Just making sure Giselle was comfortable. You know."

Aimee nodded giving Dorian a disgusted look, "I
see."

She walked around them to the door and peered
in, "Don’t mess with her." She spoke more to Dorian but Aleks felt
his share of the anger.

Aimee walked away shaking her head, "Perverts.
You're acting like frat boys. Act your age."

Dorian licked his lips watching her walk
away.

Aleks shoved him, "Get a grip. Find a girl I
haven’t been in love with, please."

Dorian raised his eyebrow, "Like that new Hanna.
I hear she's a siren. You know what they're like in the sack. I
barely survived the one I was with a while back. She was nuts, it
was amazing."

Aleks rubbed his temples, "Being around you is
like being around a sixteen year old boy. You walk around letting
your cock do all the talking."

"Least I use mine for something beyond getting
rid of the odd glass of wine."
He was gone from the hall before Aleks could attempt choking him
again.

Chapter Forty: All worked up with no where
to go

Hanna

Andy had kissed her goodnight, he'd let his hand
run up her back, he'd done everything a guy really into a girl
would do.

She sighed filling her wine glass up again.

"He called you a minor." Roland chuckled.

"I am a minor, eternally."

Roland frowned, "No you're not. You were eight
when your dad gave you up but you weren't eight in human years,
more like eleven in real age."

She gasped, "I'm twenty-one? How is that
possible?"

Roland sighed, "No in real years you're more
like twenty-eight. You age differently as a child when one of your
parents is a Siren."

She grimaced, "Twenty-eight? Gross!"

He laughed, "I think the bigger problem is what
you're going to do about the police officers feelings? I can tell
you like him, a lot."

She nodded, "I do. He's sweet and kind and
gentle and respectful. He would never lie to me, I just know that.
I could trust him with my heart and he would treat it like it was
the most delicate flower." She flopped onto the couch nearly
spilling her win. "He does birthdays and holidays and lives a
normal amount of time. He probably has normal families with weird
aunts and his mom smothers him in love. He's the all American boy
next door."

Roland sat across from her frowning, "Sit nicely
in your dress Hanna."

She sat upright and scowled at him.

"You need to think about this seriously. You
can't like one guy and really like the other and lead them both on.
That’s a terrible thing to do to someone." He sighed, "You need
that charm bracelet as well."

She nodded, "I just don’t know who to pick. Andy
is sweet but Marcus is hot. He makes me think things and want
things. He opens my mind and my bod.."

"STOP!" Roland put his hands over his ears, "By
the gods is there no female friend you could discuss this with. My
word."

She laughed, "I think of you as a father
Roland."

He nodded, "Trust me my dear, no father wants to
hear this conversation, not even by accident. This is best
discussed with a friend."

She tried not to look hurt.

He softened his face, "Hanna try Aleksander, his
life is always some kind of disaster. If anyone can offer some kind
of advice on this its him."

She laughed, "I will. I'll see him tomorrow."
She got up off the couch, "Thank you for dinner Roland. It was
spectacular."

He smiled, sipping his brandy, "It is as always
my pleasure."

She went up the stairs to her room. She looked
at herself in the mirror. She wondered what it would be like to be
with Andy. His handsome rugged good looks and strong muscular body.
She imagined his arms around her waist, kissing her neck.

She smiled feeling the imaginations coming true.
She looked into the mirror, she tried to see what they saw. Her
eyes were boring, her hair was shiny and pretty but not enough to
drive men to madness. Her thin upper lip always bothered her more
than anything. Her ruddy skin seemed so imperfect compared to women
like her mother. Even in a picture you could fall in love with
her.

"You look beautiful."

She turned seeing Marcus sitting in her
windowsill.

His grin looked cruel.

She felt her stomach twist, he knew about Andy
coming for diner. Guilt filled her.

"How was dinner?"

She smiled, "It was delicious."

"Of course it was, Roland is a master chef. Did
he make lamb?"

She shook her head, "Pheasant."

"Ahh yes." He stepped into the window, with
every step toward he looked more menacingly at her, "I do love his
pheasant. Was it the cranberry stuffing?"

She took a step back toward her door, "It
was."

"How did Officer Paulson enjoy his meal?"

She sighed, "He enjoyed it."

Her back pressed against the wall near the
closed door. His next step brought him directly over her, "Of
course he did, he had my girl with him."

She frowned, "I did nothing wrong?"

"You never kissed him once?"

She wanted to shake her head, but the smell of
him had her mind playing tricks on her. Had she kissed him? She
recalled his kisses on previous occasions but Marcus was over
powering her mind.

"I don’t know, maybe a small kiss. Like I would
give any friend."

He bent down into her face, "He isn’t just any
friend though is he?"

She swallowed hard, she wasn’t afraid of him.
Not completely. "No, he isn’t."

His face dropped down into her neck, he licked
his way up her throat.

"No he isn't. Do you know how I know that?" He
planted a hot kiss on her jugular.

She shook her head, "You smell him on me?"

He pulled back from her neck, his fangs hung
slightly from his mouth over his lower lip.

He kissed her cheek directly beside he mouth, "I
do smell him yes. But," his hands roamed the front of her body, "I
also can smell your response to him."

His hand rested at the bottom of her stomach.
His mouth continued to kiss her cheeks, always staying out of reach
of her lips.

She felt her breath grow ragged, she wanted him
to lower his hands and touch her where he was making heat build
inside of her.

"Has something happened you need to tell me
about?" He kissed her mouth, taking control of it. His lips sucked
her in, his teeth dragged softly against her lower lip as he bit it
gently.

His hand grabbed the dress, pulling it up as his
other hand held her against the wall tightly.

He held the dress up but bent on one knee. He
placed a kiss on her thigh. His warm wet lips dragged their way
across her thigh to the inside.

"Is there something you need to tell me
about?"

She heard his words but her body was buzzing
from the anticipation of his next kiss.

She moaned. His lips pressed harder against her.
She felt herself spreading her legs slightly, she remembered the
feeling of him inside of her. His hands began to move up and down
her thighs. She hadn’t noticed his hand no longer pinned her to the
wall. He caressed her and continued to place soft kisses against
her.

"I love how you taste." She felt as if she were
floating above the room. She couldn’t feel her legs, just the
pleasure.