Aidan was really laughing now, his head thrown back, his golden eyes glowing, his face transformed, almost boyish with mischief. Neither woman could resist the pure joy, the fun he was experiencing for the first time in centuries. It made Marie want to cry with happiness, and it was an aphrodisiac to Alexandria, knowing she wielded so much power over such a creature.
“She is not telling the truth. Ivan spilled his own coffee and dipped his arm in the cream puffs. I was nowhere near him. And the bee probably just happened by. How can I be responsible for an insect’s attraction to that man?” He looked wide-eyed and blameless. “As to the flowers, I was only glowering at them because she was acting so silly over the damned things.”
“Silly?” Alexandria echoed. “I’ll show you silly, you savagebeast.” She started toward him purposefully, but Marie held up a hand.
“Now, now, children. Joshua is up, and we wouldn’t want him to find the two of you fighting.”
“We wouldn’t want him to find out his hero has feet of clay,” Alexandria corrected, glaring at Aidan.
He moved toward her then, a deliberate stalking, gliding around Marie in his silent, fluid way, making Alexandria’s heart pound frantically in anticipation. His perfect mouth was curved in a taunting smile. Hastily she stepped backward, tripped, and would have fallen if he hadn’t reached out a hand and caught her.
“Running away, little coward?” he whispered softly, teasingly, dragging her close into the shelter of his arms.
Marie discreetly left the room, deserting the younger woman to her fate, hiding a grin behind her hand as she went.
“Aidan.” There was an ache in Alexandria’s voice. She didn’t mean for it to be there. It was just that he was so close, the heat of his body enveloping her. His mouth was inches from hers, their hearts matching the same desperate rhythm.
His thumb brushed her lower lip in a light caress, sending a flame shooting through her soul. His golden eyes held hers as he lowered his head, his mouth finding hers with unhurried hunger, slowly savoring every inch of the silken interior, exploring, coaxing. His hands slid to her hips, his fingers tightening, pulling her against him, pinning her softness against his hard, demanding body.
There was a trace of resistance in her, as if she were still fighting for survival, her sense of self-preservation warning her she was in danger. But the bond between them was growing with their proximity, with each blood exchange, with the explosive chemistry between them. Already her mind sought his; her soul reached for him. Even her heart was softening, becoming willing. Her body cried out to his. Only her head, so stubborn, prevented him from claiming his rights as her lifemate.
His mouth moved over hers, deepening the kiss, sweeping aside her objections on a wave of fire, dragging her deeper and deeper into a world of sensuality, of the night, of all that went with the demands of their blood.
“Holy macaroni!” Joshua’s voice was awed and disgusted at the same time. “Do you like that gross stuff, Aidan?”
Alexandria jerked herself out of Aidan’s arms and rubbed at her mouth, trying desperately to regain her breath.
Aidan ruffled the boy’s blond curls. “Yes, Joshua, I like that stuff, but only with your sister. She is special, you understand. Someone like Alexandria only comes along once in a few hundred centuries.”
Joshua was regarding his sister with a speculative grin. There was a devilish light in his eyes. “She seemed to like it, too.”
“Well, I didn’t,” Alexandria denied adamantly. “Aidan Savage is a jerk, Joshua. A big jerk.”
The grin spread. “She did like it,” Joshua stated. “You must kiss pretty good, Aidan. She never lets anyone kiss her ‘cept me.” He turned his face up for Alexandria’s kiss, his little arms circling her neck as she bent to do so. “Nobody else better kiss you either, ‘cept Aidan and me.”
“That is the way it should be,” Aidan said complacently. “We will have to be especially vigilant now that Mr. Ivan has hired her to do his drawings. He has that look about him. I would be willing to bet he wants to kiss Alexandria.”
“Don’t worry, Aidan. I won’t let him,” Joshua said staunchly. “If she does go to work for that guy, I’ll follow them everywhere and make him stay away from her.”
“That would be just the thing, Josh.” The approval in Aidan’s voice had the little boy beaming proudly.
“I can’t believe,” Alexandria interrupted, “that you are having this conversation with a six-year-old.” She hugged her little brother tightly to her and returned the warmth she had been missing. He had been too long away from her. But not so long that he couldn’t still argue with her.
“I’m almost seven.”
“It’s still inappropriate.”
Joshua smirked at Aidan. “Don’t worry. She always says that when she doesn’t know what else to say and wants me to shut up.”
Aidan reached down and one-handedly lifted the boy up to his shoulder. “That is because she liked my kisses and is a bit flustered. We will have to forgive her this time.”
“Oh, I see how it’s going to be.” Alexandria glared at the two of them, but her dimple appeared despite her best effort at ferocity. “You guys are planning to gang up on me.”
They looked at each other, exchanging a smile. “Yes,” they said at the same time.
Alexandria felt her heart turn over. Joshua had never had anyone but her to watch over him. He had never trusted anyone else, never looked up to anyone else. She couldn’t help but be happy that Aidan was taking such an interest in him. Aidan was stealing her heart with his gentleness. Joshua was her world. She could see Aidan’s genuine affection for the boy, could see that they were developing a real rapport. And she felt tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of the two of them together.
“Come on, big fellow, we need to get you some breakfast. Mr. Ivan left wearing his food on his clothes, the man’s so clumsy. You should have seen him,” Aidan informed the boy.
Joshua giggled. “He spilled his food?”
Aidan glided easily toward the kitchen, as if Joshua’s added weight was incidental. “He was a complete fool. Even Alexandria had a difficult time trying not to laugh, not that she would admit it. She pretends she likes him,” he whispered, knowing perfectly well she could hear his every word.
Alexandria trailed along after them, uncertain whether Aidan needed another kick in the shins or whether she should just act dignified and ignore him. It was a difficult choice.
I can read your mind.His voice in her mind was like a physical caress.
Her eyes flashed fire at him. She wouldkick him, the first chance she got. He knew exactly how he affected her, the cad. Thousand-year-old playboy. Hound dog. Swine. He deserved to be kicked. Hard.
“I never spill my food, Aidan,” Joshua confided solemnly. “At least not anymore. When I was baby I did.”
“Sisters do not have the same effect on their brothers as they do on grown men. Believe me, Alexandria could make me spill my food.”
Joshua shook his blond curls. “No way, Aidan.”
“It is true, Joshua. I do not want to admit it, but she definitely could. Scary, is it not, the effect women have on men?”
“Why? She’s just a girl.” He rubbed his nose and grinned at his sister. “And she’s always telling us what to do.”
“Right now, I’m going to tell you to eat your breakfast and get ready for school.” Alexandria aimed to sound tough, though she was trying not to laugh. Joshua was far too precocious for his own good. “I’ll walk you.”
Aidan turned slowly and regarded her with his steady golden gaze. Alexandria ignored him, all too aware that he objected to her going out. But she was determined to be assertive. She was not going to change her entire life because of him. The more she allowed Aidan to convince her of things she could and couldn’t do, the more she was drawn into his world.