Vampires and Vixens (Psy-Vamp) (22 page)

Noah had been miserable for the two
weeks that he’d been away from Hannah, but it would have aroused too much
suspicion to miss his own brother’s funeral. What a strange event that had
been! It was a small gathering for family only, and some of those people knew
that it was a farce. Roman had actually hugged Noah at the end of the services
and told him to be happy. Now, that was seriously weird, but then again Roman
was probably in a state of shock. Noah felt guilty for the deception, even knowing
that it was the only way he could be with Hannah.

He smiled as he walked down to the lake
and found Hannah exactly where he’d expected to. She was sitting in the grass
reading. In just those two weeks he’d been gone, she’d blossomed with her
pregnancy. He still couldn’t believe that she was his; couldn’t believe that he
could do all of the things that he’d fantasized about for so many months.

When she heard his footsteps, she looked
over her shoulder and smiled. “You’re back!”

He jogged the rest of the distance and
sat down beside her on the grass. “You can’t imagine how much I’ve missed you.”

She leaned into his side and sighed. “It’s
a good thing you’re here. I’m not sure I could have gotten back up off of the
ground with my huge belly.”

He kissed her softly on the mouth and
stroked her belly. “You look beautiful.”

“I look like a Weeble,” she grumbled.

“Well, at least you don’t have to worry
about falling down,” he teased.

“Hmmm, maybe I picked the wrong
brother,” she mused.

He leaned forward and covered her mouth
with his. He drank in her sigh and slid his tongue playfully across her lower
lip before pulling away. Her dazed look made him grin.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll let you have
your way with me now.”

He laughed. “I think we’d better wait
until we get home. My brother doesn’t need to see us together again.”

“That’s for sure,” Nathaniel said as he
walked out from behind the trees.

“When did you get here?” Hannah asked.

“Did you really think I’d just let you wander
off to the lake alone while you’re pregnant? Oh, and let’s not forget the fact
that you can’t swim.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “I knew
we should have gotten him a bell to wear.”

Noah laughed. “You can blame me this
time. I was worried and I asked Nathaniel to keep an eye on you while I was
gone.” Then he turned to his brother. “You know, you really have been handling
this well. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Nathaniel shrugged. “I’m still not sure
how we’re going to work all of this out when the baby gets older. I mean what’s
he going to call you? Uncle Daddy?”

“
She
will do just fine with it,”
Hannah insisted.

“Fine,
she
,” Nathaniel conceded.
“As for the rest, I guess it’s kind of a relief.”

“Gee, thanks,” Hannah said.

“Don’t pretend you’re offended,”
Nathaniel said. “It didn’t take you very long to drop me for my brother.”

Hannah sighed. “Fine, I see your point.”

“I still think you’ve been handling this
a little too well and that worries me,” Noah said.

Hannah laughed. “He’s been in a much
better mood since he met the linguistics professor at the local university.”

Noah looked confused.

Nathaniel looked embarrassed. “We’re
just friends.”

Hannah nodded. “They’re
very
good
friends. They have sleepovers and everything.”

“Wow!” Noah said around a laugh. “That
was fast.”

“It’s not like that,” Nathaniel
insisted. “Okay, maybe it’s a little like that, but we’re mostly just friends.”

“It’s always nice to have a
good
friend,” Noah drawled.

“Did you hear anything about Lydia while
you were there?” Hannah asked anxiously. Noah knew she’d wanted to ask him the
moment he’d arrived. Leaving her cousin behind was the hardest part for Hannah.

“Not much,” he said. “She’s out of the
hospital, but I don’t have many details. Justin says she’s doing well but has a
long way to go. Don’t worry; when she recovers we can find a way to bring her
out here to visit. I think it’s unlikely that she’ll have any contact with
Roman so we don’t have to worry about her letting things slip. Oh, and Justin
promised not to tell her you were dead. I wish I could make this easier for
you.”

Hannah squeezed his hand. “I really do
appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and for Lydia. I love you,” she said.

“I love you too,” Noah said with a
smile.

“Well, this is definitely my queue to
leave,” Nathaniel said as he started to walk back toward the path.

After Nathaniel disappeared from sight,
Hannah pulled Noah’s head down until his lips were mere inches from hers.
“You’ve been gone for two weeks. I think you’re going to have to
show
me
how much you love me.”

“Every chance I get, for the rest of my
life,” Noah said.

By Cassandra Lawson

Available
November 2013

After a year of hunting, Tempest
believes she has finally captured the serial rapist who has plagued the San
Francisco area. Her sense of triumph is short-lived when she realizes that she
has the wrong man. Before she can decide what to do with the unconscious man in
her possession, she discovers that they share a secret; neither of them is
human.  Could he help explain the origins of her family’s unusual talents?

When Aiden regains consciousness he is
none too happy to find himself locked in a cage. He is, however, fascinated
with his captor who bears a striking resemblance to a mystery woman from his
uncle’s past. He soon finds that she arouses more than his curiosity. Could she
be the one to end his loneliness? Or will her past prevent her from opening her
heart to him?.

Cassandra
Lawson lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and her two
youngest children. She has always had a very active imagination and is often
prone to fantasizing. These fantasies occasionally claw their way out of her
mind and demand to be given a voice. That is how this book came to life. She is
currently working on the second Psy-Vamp novel.

You can follow Cassandra Lawson on
Facebook.

CassandraLawson