Chapter 18: Keeping up Appearances

Dimitri POV

Ariana's aunt and uncle were pleasant people ... but he couldn't wait for this dinner to end.

He wanted to hold Ariana close while they ate, to feed her, to call her "sugar baby," and to take liberties that would outrage her family. Instead, he contented himself with eating pasta that had enough garlic to wipe out an army of vampires, and laughing at Aunt Sally's and Uncle Bill's reaction.

"You ... you can eat garlic?" Aunt Sally asked, flabbergasted.

"I can. I think it may be a genetic quirk," he confirmed. "Like dogs that overeat because they feel hungry, even when they're full."

Uncle Bill considered this. "Well, maybe that's an adaptation that's to your advantage. I don't know that much about genetics, but I watch a lot of science and nature documentaries."

Ariana smiled. "It's fortunate, because I LOVE garlic. Not that I wouldn't give it up in a heartbeat, considering--"

She stuffed a piece of bread in her mouth. Whatever she'd been about to say would clearly have been ill-advised. Dimitri wondered if she almost blurted the truth: that she would have been afraid to kiss him with garlic breath.

"Considering you're staying in my villa," he said smoothly. "And my servants aren't immune to garlic. But I always cleanse my mouth and eat my garlic in a room far away from the others."

Ariana choked on the bread and he slapped her on the back. "Careful," he advised, amused.

Swallowing the bread, she reached for her water. "Of course. I'll only eat garlic when I'm with you from now on."

Elder Gods! Did she mean to make that sound so seductive, or was it merely an innocent remark? Either way, it did nothing for his desire to whisk her away and explore this connection. D*mn his need to keep her aunt and uncle safe.

Of course, his sugar baby would be devastated if something happened to her surviving close family. And, on a strategic level, he just couldn't let them stay where they were to become bargaining chips. 

"On another subject, I want to apologize to you, Mr. and Mrs. Norton," he said formally. "Irina shouldn't have been able to get remotely close to you."

Sally looked guilty. "It was mostly our fault. We have so much distrust of your family. We ... we didn't know whether to believe you when you offered us help."

Dimitri wanted to pound the table. "And so, you put your niece in an impossible position," he said with an edge.

"DIMITRI," Ariana warned. 

Sally gestured with the salt shaker. "You have to understand! All of a sudden you were telling us to go with you, that our lives were in danger--"

Ariana put a comforting hand on her aunt's arm. "It's alright, Auntie." 

Her eyes seemed full of steel when she glared at Dimitri. He wanted to talk some sense into her. He couldn't control his family! He'd just gone against centuries of tradition for her. Something no Lyunov had ever done.

Bill huffed. "We could have gotten a little more warning, maybe--"

"There was no warning. I couldn't get your niece alone without it seeming creepy or scaring her," Dimitri defended.

Steely-eyed still, Ariana passed him the bread, and he had the sense she'd like to throw it at him, or dump the basket over his head. "I'm sure you did your best."

He grinned to himself, sensing the strength in her. She wasn't about to yell at him in front of her aunt and uncle, but she wouldn't let him off the hook, either. He smelled her intoxicating perfume and the scent of her blood. It could fog his mind, and he needed to be clear-headed to deal with a handful like her.

He'd rarely been more challenged or stimulated in his long, long life, and he could handle one woman and her aunt and uncle. Especially since disciplining Ariana came under the heading of pleasure ... he'd never inflict pain, emotional or physical. But he would show her to whom she belonged.

And he expected to have that opportunity as soon as dinner was finished and her aunt and uncle had gone to bed.

* * * * *

Ariana POV

Honestly.

Overnight, he'd taken her from her home, even if he'd saved her life, If it weren't for his family, she'd still be a normal college student ...

And a princess.

Whenever those thoughts came up over the years, she shut them out, locked them in a box. No point in lamenting the past or wishing about "what might have been." She had wonderful parents, friends, and a future in biotech.

Now, though, she lived off Dimitri's generosity. At least her uncle had something to do at the villa as a contractor, and her aunt always helped him in his business, so she had a purpose. Ariana couldn't even go to school! She could take online classes, though. It wouldn't be the same, not being able to do lab work with other students, but Dimitri promised to give her some lab space. 

Give her, h*ll! She would make a lab for herself.

But for now, he absolutely couldn't blame her beloved aunt and uncle for not trusting him when his family had robbed them all of their heritage.

"Dimitri," she said, trying to be reasonable, and putting on a smile. "What exactly did your people say to my aunt and uncle?"

That struck a nerve. He combed through his long, loose silver hair. "My men were supposed to say, 'Come with us to safety. Be reunited with your niece. But her isn't much time.'"

Bill gave him a sardonic grin. "Something got lost in the translation, then. What we got was two extras out of a horror movie on our doorstep demanding we come with them or else. Barely enough time for us to make a cup of tea before they hustled us out the back so our neighbors wouldn't call the police."

Dimitri's skin went even paler, the color of chalk. He leapt up, furious. His hand brushed her shoulder, scorching like a heating pad. "I'll go talk to my men. That shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry."

Her heart squeezed, seeing the guilt on his face. He could be a sweet man when he wanted to be.

Dimitri stalked out of the room. "Heads are going to roll," he snarled over his shoulder.

Left alone with her family, Ariana scooted closer to her aunt and held her hand. "I'm sorry, Auntie. I had no idea--"

Uncle Bill shivered. "When those guys came out of nowhere, we took our time. We weren't sure we should go with them. The next thing we knew, four other bloodsuckers were in the house, and they made a motorcycle gang look like choir boys. They said they'd kill us, and the neighbors, if we didn't come with them."

The guilt felt like a ton of bricks. "I'm sorry ... I could barely get my bearings after Dimitri whisked me out of his parents' castle and brought me here ..."

Sally wrapped her arms wound Ariana. "You have nothing to apologize for. These horrible Lyunovs swept you up. I told Amalia we ought to tell you about the danger. To warn you."

A memory stirred.

She'd walked into her mother's hospital room in the Oncology Critical Care Unit and stumbled on a tense confrontation between Sally and her mom.

"You HAVE to tell her before it's too late," Sally whispered urgently. "You won't be here to protect her, and I'm not sure Bill and I can."

Amalia's weak, pale hands trembled. "You're right. I just hate her knowing that this kind of evil exists ... she's dealing with so much right now."

"And what's going to happen after you're gone? This is the year! This is what we were afraid of. This is why you ran--"

Amalia shuddered in the bed, her vitals going all over the place. The nurses rushed in, and one of them said to Aunt Sally, "I'm sorry, but no upsetting conversations! She's trying to rest. Please try and keep it peaceful and stress-free."

Sally retreated, walking right past Ariana without seeing her.

Ariana snapped out of her reverie. "You tried to convince her in the hospital, didn't you?"

With a guilty look on her face, Aunt Sally said, "As I said, I should have told you after she passed, but you were already dealing with so much. Just tell me that Dimitri is going to keep you safe. Bill and I will work for him for free."

Ariana shook her head. "He'd never accept that--he feels responsible for his family's crimes. Besides, I'm doing some work for him, too. He's got his own company, and he's interested in my research ... he did give me that grant to help pay my tuition, and that wasn't just out of guilt or obligation."

Uncle Bill's eyes narrowed. "Just so he's not trying to take advantage of the situation. You're a pretty girl, smart, classy."

Aunt Sally's face went white. "BILL!"

"Dimitri isn't," Ariana said, a little too quickly. "He's been wonderful to me. He wouldn't hurt me. He hates the thought."

It shocked her beyond words to realize that the words rang true.

Dimitri returned, his face a stormy mask. "We have a problem. My men aren't as loyal as I thought ... the two I sent to fetch you were secretly bribed by my brother to capture you, but Irina's men got there first! From now on, all of you belong to my household ... swear fealty to me, and you'll be under my protection forever. Starting with you, Ariana."