Did Lex fucking drug me? My hand went to my neck where I remembered a small pinch before it all went black.
Fucking Lex! I stomped across the room as molten heat filled my body. My limbs were shaking from how pissed off I was as my anger skyrocketed to dangerous territory.What the fuck?!I went looking for him, wanting to bring him into the fold with welcoming arms, and he fucking drugged me and put me in my room’s doppelgänger?!What the hell is wrong with him?Did he think this was funny? Did he think he pulled a fast one on me? Making me look like a fool and embarrassing me in front of all the others!
Yanking open the door, my bare feet slapped against the wood floors as I went to the staircase and yelled at the top of my lungs, ready to kill someone. “Oh, Lexington! You have some explaining to do!”
I raced down the stairs, not caring who was in this house or why I was in this house; I was on a mission. I was to find that delicious demon and knock him out, maybe drag him around the house, let his head bump into the corners and tie him to the top of a car. Maybe find his room and cut out holes in his pants and shirts so his nipples and dick were always on display.
Even as mad and embarrassed as I was, I couldn’t do anything that caused lasting damage to him. I just got him back, and he was still an heir, so it’s not like I could skin him alive and feed his pieces to piranhas like I would if he was anyone else. No, this was Lex. I paused my descent, thinking about it for a second and realizing I knew deep down he wouldn’t hurt me. I didn’t know how I knew; it wasn’t like I had seen him since we were kids, but I had this feeling in the depths of my soul that Lex would be there for me if I needed him.Then where was he all these years? Why didn’t he contact me? Why let me, and the others, think he was dead?
There was only one way to find out, and that was to find the little demon myself and demand answers. I finished my descent, opening my mouth to yell for him again, this time, adding some punishment I wouldn’t follow through with, when he popped out in front of me in a red-and-white checkered apron, smiling up at me like I was the most precious thing in the world to him.
“Hello, my rose, how did you sleep? Did you find your bed comfortable?” His eyes shone with excitement, and I envisioned puppy ears standing up straight and a tail wagging, waiting for its master, and my anger melted.
His expression gave me pause, my steps faltering from how beautiful he looked with a pearly white smile splayed across his tan face and eyes eagerly awaiting mine. His deep-black eyes, olive skin, and dark, luscious hair that appeared as if he had been running his hands though it all day were stunning. Underneath the cute, frilly apron, he had on a tight black shirt that showcased his defined muscles, and his arms seemed like they would bust out of the sleeves. His broad shoulders were the opposite of his tapered waist that fit into some snug black jeans. I almost licked my lips as I took him in. He was dark and dangerous in the shadows of the night, but in the light, he was adorable and sexy, something I wanted to lick from head to toe.
His face grew red as his bare feet curled into the floor, and he looked away for a second, but didn’t turn away from my attention. I took a few steps forward, stopping right in front of him as I lifted my hand to his chin and pulled his face back to look at me. “Lex.”
His eyes snapped to mine, staring into them like I told him to focus on me and me only. Inside those swirling orbs of darkness, I saw excitement and joy, as if he was staying focused on me so I wouldn’t disappear. I held his chin as he sagged into my hold like he didn’t want to move out of it until I asked him to. Like he would gladly stay there as long as I held him.
I didn’t know what to say after that. I had so many thoughts and emotions running through my head and body that as soon as my tongue formed the words, my brain would move to the next subject. I wanted to know so much about him and had so many questions about the past but also the future. Yet, none were coming out as I stared at him as if this was unreal.
My stomach made an ugly gurgle as the oven dinged, and Lex scampered away. “Oh, no. Let me get these out of the oven. I think you’re going to really like what I made for you, it sounded like you needed a hardy meal anyway.” He ran to the oven, sliding on matching red-and-white checkered mitts as he opened the oven and took out some dishes.
“Ray, you really need to start feeding yourself better. I know that you’re a vampire and technically only need blood, but it’s still not good to go out fighting and doing what you’re doing on an empty stomach. Food is still fuel, even if it’s not your main source.” He clucked his tongue at me as he scolded me.
Crossing my arms, I leaned against the large entryway to the room, not wanting to get in his way when he looked so intent as he moved all the dishes onto hot plates and then onto a small table in the center of the room. The table had a nice white linen cloth on it, two ruby-red candles, and a vase filled with roses. From the view, he was setting up the table for a fancy date... but I thought I was the only one here?
He finished putting the last hot plate down, then went back to turn it a quarter of a degree so the serving spoon handle was pointing on the guest’s side before removing his apron and oven mitts and throwing them across the room. Then he faced me and gave me another bright smile as he stepped aside, pulling out the chair as he motioned to it. “Come. Eat.”
His toes curled again, the only indicator he was a little nervous, which was almost adorable enough for me to forget him drugging me and kidnapping me. Almost.
“Before I sit, I want to make sure that if I do, you promise to answer all of my questions.” I didn’t want him to think just because he was being nice and I was not yelling obscenities at him that I would give up on getting answers.
He gave me a nod, motioning again to the seat. I kicked off the wall and made my way over. His eyes feasted on me as I walked toward him, almost like he couldn’t believe I was here. I didn’t get it, he had seen me before, so he had to have known he could see me in person whenever he wanted.
I sat down, letting him push in my chair for me since he seemed to want to be a gentleman. It was just another few notches in the adorable department that made me want to smile.
He hurried over to his seat, leaned his elbows on the table, and then glanced at the food and back to me. “Did you want me to serve you?”
His question held no teasing or malice, just genuine curiosity, and I shook my head and dug in myself. I put some of the creamy baked goodness of scalloped potatoes on my plate and then scooped some of the fried brussel sprouts as he placed one of the bacon-wrapped filet mignons for me. This was a heaping pile of food, something I didn’t normally eat in this quantity, but I felt like he put a lot of effort into it, so I dug in with gusto.
After a few bites, I realized he was just sitting there watching me like a creepster. “Hey,”—I motioned to his plate—“you need to eat, too. Don’t give me a lecture and then not follow it.”
He smiled as he nodded, scooping up some food. I couldn’t hold my tongue anymore as I pushed the potatoes around with my fork. “Where have you been, Lex?”
He paused, taking a deep breath before he continued scooping food as he answered me. “Well, I have been to a lot of places. We don’t stay in one place for too long, continuously moving our base around the United States.”
I just took a bite of food when I asked, “We?”
He smiled before looking down at his place, forking his food as he answered, “My uncle.”
I sighed, putting my fork down as I asked what I had been dying to ask him since I saw him. “Why didn’t you come back? Why didn’t you take your rightful place? We would’ve helped you, you know.”
His body stiffened, and he clenched his fork. “Is that so?” The tone of his voice went down as he spoke, and I realized this hit some nerve with him, but I didn’t care. I needed answers.
“Yes! I know for sure that we would’ve helped you. We have been looking for you for—”
“Looking for me? Really? You really think that the men who wanted to kill me before the dust settled on my parents’ graves wanted to keep some snot-nosed kid and raise him to be the Devil family leader? You think that they didn’t want that power for themselves?” The clanging of his fork hitting the plate broke whatever rose-colored glasses I had on, and Lex was shaking with his fists clenched like he was trying to keep in the rage.
