18. Stranger Danger
Intruder:
A person who intrudes, especially into a building with criminal intent.
Tessa
“So, why do you keep your guest bound?” Nero finally took our attention back to the man who was zipped-tied and bleeding in front of me.
“Oh, him… yeah, this guy kept on watching me. I don’t think he’s a pervert, so I need to know why but the man is not speaking, and honestly, I was about to cut off his digits when you came in.” I smiled sweetly and showed him my trustee cutter, which made the man let out a pathetic squeak and looked at me in horror. “Oh, great, now you’re scared.” I shook my head and mentally blame myself for wasting time and not going ahead with the finger-cutting instead of verbally insisting on him to tell me who he was and who sent him. I was off my game, I’d been too spoiled staying and laying low in Nero’s apartment.
“Tell me, who sent you,” my voice was icy calm, the man trembled and tried to take his hand away from my grip. “What’s your name? Look, I know you don’t want to lose a finger, but I don’t like to wait. Nero is here, his boy is here, and I need to bond and do stuff people do with their boyfriend’s family. You should speak now,” my patience was wearing thin when I swiftly grabbed a pinky and clipped it. The man yelled in pain, oh… sweet cry of agony. I do miss it. It has been too fucking long.
“You stupid bitch, you’re going to die here with these vampires. I’m trying to fucking save you!”
I tilted my head and faced him. There was something true in his words, but something was missing also. He was hiding something and I could feel it. Years of studying people I know exactly what every eye twitch, smirk, eyebrow lift, and scrunching nose means. He was lying, the man was hiding something.
“Uh-huh,” I lazily put his pinkie in a baggie that I prepared earlier and dangled the severed limb in front of him. “You can still attach this, most humans can live without it, but losing a thumb will be harder.” I shrugged, “At least you’ll slip your grasp on things,” I grabbed his wrist and was ready to dismember his thumb when the man whimpered.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
“Rigel, fuck… Rigel sent me to get you,”
Satisfied with the answer I tossed his pinkie onto his lap and the man slumped in his seat. Sweat trickled down his temple, he looked pale and honestly just sad.
“Tell, Rigel to step back. I have enough issues to deal with, I really don’t want to track him down and return the deed.” I got up from the coffee table and went straight to the kitchen to wash my hands. Nero and his eldest, Ammar, followed behind me.
“Son, get Aldrich and send the man back to Rigel. I’ll wait for you back here when you’re done.”
I heard him instruct his son before Nero was at my side and put his hand on my waist, kissing my cheek, silently telling me that I did a good job. It was not something in me to feel good with someone’s affirmation of my action. I worked alone, and I never needed support and encouragement but when Nero gave me one, I swear my insides purred with joy.
Damn him…
“So, are you slowly inducing me into your family by introducing me to your children? Do you expect me to mother them around and hope that it’ll bring out the maternal instinct in me? Cause I’m not sure I got one.”
The man laughed and turned me to face him. The kiss was sensually engaging, I was pliant in his arms, and his hand went to the back of my neck, holding me still as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slipped deeper, enticing my need for his closeness. His primal growl made me arch my neck and let him pull away only to latch his lips on my throat.
Fuck…
My heart was pounding so fast, and I was getting needy that I spread my hands on his chest, feeling the firmness of his finely sculpted body. Nero gave me one more hot scorching, panty-twisting, heart-burning kiss before he slowly backed away when I heard Ammar was back in the apartment.
“Should I give you two more time?” His son asked with an amused tone in his voice. I didn’t know how to react. Ammar was so much different from Vesper, he had an aura of seriousness that made him look like no one dared to disrespect him. He was more like Nero than Vesper did, maybe because he’s the oldest.
“Come on, I want both of you to get to know each other.” Nero ushered me to the living room and placed me beside him, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. Which was strangely comforting, hmm…
“I could see that you’re really good at extracting information from your enemies,” Ammar stated the obvious. Duh…
“Oh, I don’t have enemies, well maybe I have one now. But I usually have my subjects, I don’t spend enough time with people to have them as enemies, eh, that came out differently… but, Nero can explain my situation. Sorry, I’ve got too many things on my mind, and eh… I’m hungry I think I skipped lunch.”
I blushed when my stomach growled telling me that it needed to be fed. My vampire lover kissed my temple and told me to stay while he ordered my favorite cheesy lasagna from the deli across the street.
“You’ve been busy that you forget to eat?” Ammar asked trying to make conversation and I decided to answer him while waiting for Nero
“Um, yeah, with my commissioned drawings and my list.”
“Oh, you’re an artist?”
“Something like that,”
“Have I seen your work anywhere?
“I have it on my website, I cater to a very specific kind of clientele. I don’t put them on display.”
I was interrupted by the cheese smell of my favorite pasta dish and I probably drooled if not for the quick work of Nero shoving the generous portion of pasta in front of me. I might’ve moaned when I took my first bite, cause both vampires looked at me like I was their entrée.
“She’s very good at what she does,” Nero finally cut in after he cleared his throat, making his son focus back on the conversation with his daddy. And the daddy vampire was looking extremely handsome tonight. Well, he always seems to effortlessly appear so edible, I think to myself while I watch him as I munch on my… lunchner. That’s probably not even a word, I thought as I eat my lunch-dinner lasagna while watching the vampire daddy show his vampire son, my website. The man seemed proud of me as he slid between pictures and Ammar seemed to agree with him.
“These are very good Tessa, let me know when you’re ready for an exhibition I can set it up with the crowd that’ll appreciate your art.” The son nodded his head. I was swallowing down my cheesy baked pasta with more coffee. But then Nero quickly swiped my coffee with a bottle of water, huh, he must’ve seen my jittery hand.
Sometimes I get too excited from a session that I had an adrenaline crash at the end of it, then the situation combined with my hunger. I was just glad Nero was not making a big deal out of it and he just simply gave me what I needed.
“I’ll get Aldrich to tighten up security and make sure no one bothers you with your time.” Daddy Nero caressed my cheek with his thumb, then the man smiled when I instinctively leaned into his touch. Eww… Tessa, you need to get off the cheese-drunk lust and sit straighter. My inner self was trying to give the full belly Tessa a pep talk on how to act appropriately when daddy vamp had his son in front of me. Manners, Tessa.
“Thank you,” It was a new feeling that I was still adjusting to. I never did have someone who’d do that for me cause I usually take out my trash. But being with Nero had taught me that it was okay to let go of my control from time to time. I may be a psychopath but I think I have learned enough to blend in with society.
“It makes you uncomfortable?” Ammar asked as he studied my composure which I schooled immediately and that made him chuckle.
“I’m used to being on my own.” I decided to sit closer to daddy vamp since I’m not good at being studied, not by my grandparents, and not by my psychiatrists. What can I say… it brings back childhood memories. Bad ones, where they were all over my personal space, trying to fix me and I didn’t like it.
Ammar must’ve sensed my reluctance, we talked for a few more minutes before he decided it was time for him to leave.
“Father, I think I’m going to leave now. Tessa needs her rest, I’ll be staying at the den for a couple of days before heading back home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He said to Nero while nodding in my direction telling me to have a good rest.
“You have very diverse children, it’s like night and day between Vesper and Ammar.”
He laughed and pulled me onto his lap, or maybe it was me who climbed onto him eagerly the second his grown man-child was out the door. Meh, who cares about the details, not me, not as long as I get to straddle daddy Nero, kiss him, grind his erection and hear his sweet sexy growl.
Ah, there’s something enticing about those feral noises…