Page 31 of Resurrecting His Soul
“More like always.”
“Whatever.” She dropped the smile. “But seriously, I don’t want to leave you exposed. Melina has to know going after you is the best way to get to me.”
Allison was quiet for a few minutes, and Lisandra just watched her. She was waiting for the inevitable explosion when Allison would insist she didn’t need protecting. For too many years she’d been the one taking care of Lisandra. It made sense that she wouldn’t be happy about the roles being reversed. Protecting the people she cared about was in Allison’s blood, and Lisandra was the person she cared about most.
Finally, Allison looked up and met her eyes, and let out a long sigh. “If it will really make you feel better, I suppose you can sleep in here tonight.”
“It will,” she said.
“Okay.” Allison held up a finger. “But if you snore like you did when we stayed in that Marriot a few weeks ago I’m going to smother you with my pillow.”
Lisandra reached across the bed and grabbed a pillow, hitting Allison with it before her friend had time to realize what was happening. “I don’t snore.”
“And cows don’t moo!” Allison yelled, then she reached for her own pillow and took aim at Lisandra.
Lisandra ducked, and Allison missed her.
“You know, a pillow fight between a human and her vampire best friend has to be the worst example of a fair game,” Allison pouted.
Lisandra’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? I seem to remember you insisting you would kick a vampire’s ass. Now, suddenly, we are stronger than you?”
Allison smacked her across the face with her pillow. “No, but I knew it would distract you long enough for me to get a shot in.”
It felt good to laugh. For a moment she stopped worrying about the danger her new shot at life had put Allison in; the one person who’d fought for the past few years to keep her safe when she wasn’t strong enough to walk away from her abuser. Now, their roles were reversed, even though Allison would never admit it. As strong as Allison was in all the ways that mattered when it came to her being an amazing person, she wouldn’t stand a chance if Melina went after her. It was her turn to stand up for Allison, and she would be damned if she would let the jealous bitch anywhere near her friend.
Chapter Twenty
Ricardo
The sound of laughter on the other side of the door made him pause. He was going to tell them the kitchen was ready for human use, but he didn’t want to interrupt. So much time had been spent worrying, and he couldn’t take away from their moments together like this. Lisandra’s laugh was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever heard. Still, he could hear how her laughter seemed a bit off. Like it was tinged with sadness. With worry. With his palm against the outside of the door, he shut his eyes and focused on her laugh. He hated that even in this moment, in what sounded like a pillow fight with her best friend, his love was still hurting. Still afraid that she or Allison were in danger inside his home—well, it was their home, too, as far as he was concerned. Even Allison was welcome to stay forever if she liked. The only thing stronger than his desire to hunt Melina down and rip out her throat was his desire to stay with Lisandra. She believed in him, and if he killed Melina the way he wanted to, she would know what a true monster he really was.
The guilt was something he was going to live with forever, no matter how many times Lisandra told him he was good, or said she forgave him for pulling her into his world. It didn’t account for the lives he had taken, or the fact that he had created a monster in Melina. He’d taught her how to be a killer. Something dark had drawn him to Melina back then. It was the very thing that had made him pause when he attacked her, and why he didn’t kill her then, but changed her instead. Darkness in a human could mean anything, though, but it could have been something evil that always lingered within her. He just never foresaw a time where he would want to change. So that little bit of dark inside her had seemed like a good thing at the time. He never imagined he would turn a new leaf and find a life with someone he loved. He hated that she was so worried. Whatever he had to do, he was going to keep her safe. Allison, too.
Like a creeper, he stood outside the door and waited until they grew quiet. When it seemed like they might be taking a break, he removed his palm from the door and lightly knocked, and waited until he heard Lisandra say, “Come in,” before he opened the door.
Both women were sitting on the bed, a pillow in their laps, and their hair was a mess. He laughed at the aftermath of their pillow fight.
“What are you laughing at, Grandpa?” Allison asked. She sat up a bit straighter and narrowed her eyes at him.
He stared back at her, and his eyebrows drew together. “Grandpa?”
“I’d say being over four hundred years old more than qualifies you as a grandpa,” Allison said.
Lisandra laughed, then quickly covered her mouth with both of her hands. “Sorry. But she has a point.”
He winked at her. “I might be a grandpa, but you sure don’t seem to mind kissing this grandpa.”
Allison jabbed her in the side with a wide smile. “Oh, I think she’s been doing a lot more than just kissing you, Grandpa.”
Lisandra’s eyes grew wide, and she smacked Allison in the arm.
“What?” Allison held her arms up like she was innocent. “I didn’t say you had anything to be ashamed of. He’s one sexy ass grandpa.”
Lisandra turned. She was looking back and him and ran her eyes up and down his body. “Yeah, he sure is.”
Heat ran through his body, and he groaned. “You are pretty sexy yourself,” he said. Lisandra’s smile was full of mischief. “Keep looking at me like that and I am going to remind you how good this grandpa can make you feel.”
Her eyes ran over his body again and he found himself drawn to her mouth. She was biting her lip and seeing her teeth bite into her plush bottom lip nearly made him come undone.
