My stomach lurched at the thought. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy a good drink, but the thought of wading into a room full of willing bloodwhores and letting loose on them spoiled my appetite. “I think dinner’s a much better option.”
And so we went out, and Roman and I drank a goblet of blood while the others plundered the menu at a local seafood house. I grinned, because before long Roman was joking with the men as if he were one of them, and I began to see a side of him he rarely showed—the side that needed and longed for friends. For buddies. He couldn’t have them with his subjects, and I doubted he trusted anyone in the Court well enough to fraternize like this. But he was spot-on having fun, from what I could tell, with Smoky and the others.
By the time we finished and left the restaurant, it was closing time—midnight—and we were all much more relaxed.
Nerissa yawned. “I need to sleep. I have my workout with Jason tomorrow and since it’s a weekend, he’s training me twice as hard.”
Roman insisted on escorting us to our cars and asking her about what she was learning. He slipped into the backseat of my Mustang, saying he’d just fly home from our land. Nerissa repressed a laugh, though I caught a faint snicker, and proceeded to tell him all about her martial arts training.
“I could hire you the finest trainers, dear wife.”
The minute it came out of his lips all three of us suddenly fell silent, and then first Nerissa cracked up, and then Roman and I joined her.
“That sounds so freaking weird. I can’t believe I’m married to a vampire. And a prince at that. This is just the final straw. After word gets out, I’ll never be able to go back to the Puma Pride. Do you realize what they’re going to say about me? I’ll be officially excommunicated. Pariah.” She was laughing, but I could hear the hurt beneath the surface.
Apparently, Roman could, too. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “I am truly sorry that your love for Menolly—and now this—has put you in such a position. And I’m sorry that your Pride mates can’t see beyond the surface to honor the love you hold in your heart. You will always be part of Menolly’s family and—now—mine.”
Nerissa glanced into the backseat at him. She placed her hand on his. “Thank you, Roman. Thank you for understanding.”
“You’re my second wife, and my first wife’s true love. What kind of monster would I be if I didn’t acknowledge your pain and the hurt it causes you in your heart?”
And then we went back to discussing her training, but the shift in mood had firmly set in. Not the awkward oddness of the situation, but the feeling that we were now truly bound together by something greater than words.
As we pulled into the yard, Roman leaned over the backseat and planted a kiss on both our cheeks. “You have a good evening, and start looking at what kind of suite you want. I think . . . we have five rooms, along with a bath, that are not being used on one of the upper floors. The windows for your bedroom can be removed, so the sunlight will never reach you. So, five rooms—a bedroom, dressing room, sitting room, workout room, office, and bath.”
And with that, he slipped out of the car. Leaning back in through the passenger window, he added, “The rooms are quite large. I’ll have someone measure them and send the information over tomorrow. Start planning now so I can hire decorators.” And then, with that, he was off in a blur and vanished into the sky, in bat form.
Nerissa stared after him. “I’m guessing this isn’t going to be a DIY project with visits to Home Depot, is it?”
I snorted. “With Roman involved? Not likely. I doubt we’ll be donning painter’s pants and climbing stepladders. He means it, by the way, about the planning. So I guess we’d better spend a few evenings going over designs. I’m not picky, though I do like green.” In fact, I loved green. Nerissa loved pink. I had the feeling we were going to end up in Christmas Town by the time we were done—either that or a dated Laura Ashley ad for cabbage rose print dresses from the shabby chic era. But as long as we were together, it didn’t matter.
Inside, we found the others giving Vanzir, Roz, Iris, and everybody else a rundown of the wedding. When they invited us to join in, I shook my head.
“No, I think I’m about weddinged out. What about you, Nerissa?”
She snorted. “No, just no. As much as I love this dress, I want to get out of it, wash the blood off my arm, and then take a long, hot bubble bath.”
We left the others to tell them about the night and headed downstairs. When we were in our cozy nest, Nerissa and I helped each other out of our clothes. We were both too unsettled and tired for sex, so she filled the tub with Warm Vanilla Sugar, her favorite fragrance, and climbed in, easing back to rest her head on a bath pillow.