Even though it was Sunday and Edwina was supposed to be off, she didn’t leave.
And even though it was Sunday and ever since our first Sunday together Lucien had made a habit of being with me in some way all day (even these last three weeks when he’d not been pushy, domineering, Lucien), Lucien did leave. He took off with Cosmo after breakfast, and another demanding, bruising, possessive, branding and undeniably savage kiss, right in front of everyone, going to places unknown and unshared with, oh, say, me.
Stephanie hung out until Avery arrived that afternoon then she immediately took off.
This was how I knew Avery was my protector.
The only thing I knew they were protecting me from was what Lucien commanded Edwina and Stephanie to look out for before he left. In fact, he had a load of commands.
“She rests and she doesn’t speak. Got me?” was his first.
His second, “No phone calls. No visitors. She doesn’t go near any door and she doesn’t go outside.”
His third, “She doesn’t sleep, not even a nap, not without me in the house. Not just today, everyday. Am I understood?”
He could, of course, have told me these things. However, it was very likely I’d give him lip which was probably what he was trying to avoid.
Instead, I spoke directly to his mind.
Seriously bossy vampire! I snapped.
His head jerked toward me. I figured I was in trouble but his lips twitched, he walked right into my space and that’s when I got The Kiss.
I had the sneaking suspicion Lucien was providing protection for me not because my own flipping dream nearly killed me and he needed someone around to keep me awake. But because there were other, more dangerous menaces from which he needed to keep me safe.
I didn’t want to go there but I couldn’t anyway. Lucien was gone before I could form a word in his mind.
It would have to wait for that night and the good thing was, it would delay “the joining” something which, I had to admit, I was looking forward to rabidly. In fact, if I let myself think about it for more than two seconds, I’d start panting and my legs would get restless.
It also scared the hell out of me mainly because just thinking about it made me pant, what would happen when it happened? Would I spontaneously combust?
I had a pad of paper in my hands on which I was meant to write whatever I wanted to communicate. I was doing this even though I tested out my voice in the bathroom and, seeing as my throat felt better (because Edwina kept giving me throat lozenges), my voice sounded almost normal. Edwina gave the pad to me and if I even opened my mouth, her hand would shoot up, palm facing me and then she’d point at the pad.
At that moment, instead of using it to communicate, I was doodling on it.
Then I felt Avery’s eyes on me. Mine slid to him.
He smiled.
Really, even though he was somewhat weird-looking, he was also very attractive.
I ripped the doodling sheet off the top, wrote him a note and passed it to him.
He read it and shook his head, handing the pad back to me, “I’m not a vampire, Leah.”
I wrote another note and passed it to him.
He did the reading thing and gave it back to me. “Yes, I’m immortal.”
Wow!
I was guessing!
My brows shot up.
“Maybe you should –” Edwina started, all of a sudden there, standing behind the couch looking a little worried.
Avery lifted a long knobby knuckled quieting hand and Edwina was silenced.