So, Roman was her sire. That made sense. And she was obviously enraptured with him. Although he was my sire, and I understood the desire to please, it occurred to me that having been sired once before had taken the edge off that hunger.
“Menolly, Nerissa . . . you are both lovely tonight. Absolutely stunning.” He lifted my hand to his lips, kissing it gently. But as Nerissa reluctantly handed him her hand when he held out his own, he jerked back, eyes flaring crimson. The blood calmed, but he cocked his head. “You dare to wear silver in my house?”
I realized what a faux pas I had made. “It’s my fault. I asked her to.” I paused as he turned to me, looking perplexed. “I . . . I was afraid you and your mother might want to turn her.” The moment I said it, I realized we had been way off the mark in our fears because Roman gave me a what-the-fuck look and started to laugh.
“Oh, my love. If I wanted to turn your wife, I would have done so long ago and without all this pomp and circumstance. Mother has no such intentions either, I give you my word of honor. But if you are wise, Nerissa, you will remove your charm or whatever you have and leave it in the guest bathroom until you leave. We will not touch it, I guarantee you that.” He snorted then, shaking his head. “Hurry now. I have a good sense of humor. My mother . . . does not.”
Nerissa glanced at me, eyes wide.
“I think you’d better do as he says. This wasn’t the brightest idea I ever came up with.”
“I think you’re right.” Nerissa turned and, heading in the direction Roman pointed her, ran as quickly as she could, her skirts swirling around her long legs in a flurry of blues.
When she had vanished through the door, I turned back to Roman. “All right. What’s this about? I don’t like being in the dark, and I don’t like that my wife is terrified because she was called here, too.” I didn’t like being afraid either. There had been far too much to fear lately. “We’ve had a rough week.”
“So I heard through the grapevine. So, you like riding dragons, my love?” He smiled again, a toothy grin, but then quickly sobered. “I cannot tell you what my mother asks. I know what it is, but Blood Wyne swore me to silence until she gets here. But please believe me, neither you nor Nerissa are in danger. Quite the opposite.” He pressed my hand to his lips once again, then crossed to a table with a bottle of wine on it. A bottle of blood sat there, too, and he poured three goblets of that, then a goblet of wine.
Curious now, I was still apprehensive, but Roman had never lied to me and I had no reason to believe he would start now. I accepted the goblet of blood and sipped delicately. It was good, very good, and I cocked my head, looking at him.
“You might say, a rare vintage.”
I hesitated, staring into the chalice of blood. “That could mean a lot of things.”
“It could, but please, don’t worry. The blood was given voluntarily. It’s from a succubus, so it will be sweeter than wine.” He winked. “Their blood is always a delicate mix.”
I nodded. Blood did vary, depending on species, depending on the race. Fae blood was sweeter than human, human far more appealing than goblin. Demon blood could have an odd effect on vampires. The blood of a drunk wouldn’t get a vampire drunk, but it wasn’t as tasty as the blood of someone who was healthy and not under the influence.
Nerissa reappeared. She held out her hand to Roman and he took her fingers in his, bowing as he kissed the top of her hand. He flickered his gaze up to her and winked at her.
“Much better, my dear. You taste far sweeter without the silver. And I give you my word, you do not need it in my house. If anyone were to even attempt to attack you, I would garrote them myself. There would be no forgiveness for such an act.” His eyes grew cold as ice—they were pale as frost, anyway, and now the irises almost vanished. “You are my consort’s wife. You will never be abused in this house.”
Nerissa stared at him straight on, usually a no-no when it comes to vampires. “I believe you, regardless of the weirdness that has happened between us at times.”
“I need you to believe me, and I want you to remember this when my mother gets here.”
And once again, we were back to nerves. We made small talk, mostly me talking about the dragons and Telazhar, for another few minutes before a soft bell sounded—tinkling like glass. Roman held up his hand.