The Men of Otherworld: Collection One by Yasmine Galenorn Read Free Book Online Page B

her neck and with one, smooth motion, slid his fangs into the flesh—deep and painfully. She cried out and stiffened as he coaxed the blood up, and then, he decided to give her a taste of the other side.  
    Within seconds she was murmuring at his touch, moaning gently as he poured on the glamour. A moment later and she squirmed, reaching up to brush her fingers across her breasts. One more lick of the blood running down her neck and she came, harder than she’d ever come before. Roman knew the signs. As he pulled away, he thought with regret that she’d never feel it again—not unless she found herself another vampire. Even if she knelt at his feet and begged, she’d never be allowed in his stable. He didn’t like sycophants and he didn’t like liars or posers.
    He slowly withdrew, delicately tapping his face with a napkin. “Dotti?”  
    She blinked, coming out of haze into which he’d thrust her. “Yes, Lord Roman?”
    “Gather your things and leave my house. I don’t ever want to see you again.” And with that, he turned, and strode out of the room, leaving her behind. The day had started rotten and was just getting worse.

    As Roman leaned toward his computer, glancing over the monthly summaries his secretary had provided, he paused, his thoughts drifting. Every tap at the door put him on alert. Damn it, why didn’t Caleb give him time to bug out of the country? He thought about doing just that, leaving now and pretending he’d missed the phone call this morning, but Blood Wyne would know, and when his mother got a bug up her butt, there was no stopping her.  
    Finally, he sat back, buzzed his secretary and pushed aside all the business matters that were on his calendar. He had already made one call he hadn’t wanted to and promptly at seven-thirty, the door opened and Menolly and Nerissa walked in. Neither one looked thrilled to be there, and he couldn’t blame them.
    “I’m sorry I ruined your evening. I know you had plans.” Roman stood, bowing gracefully. A little courtesy went a long way. “I wouldn’t have called you if I had any choice in the matter but family…”
    Menolly snorted. “Dude, my family’s dysfunctional. Yours? Downright scary. They call, you jump.” She turned to Nerissa. “You understand, right? Be polite, regardless of the circumstances.”
    Nerissa nodded, staring at Roman. Her eyes were fixated on his, and he felt himself pull back. He would never tell anyone, but the person in this world that frightened him most, among the living, was this woman—Menolly’s wife. She, alone, saw him as a rival. And in his experience, rivals often ended up dead. But he’d made a promise to Menolly that he’d never hurt the werepuma, and he would keep that promise. Above all, Roman was a man of his word. Honor meant everything to him.
    Those lovely pink lips had been around his cock once, in an ill-fated threesome that he tried hard to forget. As smitten as he was with Menolly, he knew it was hopeless to try to win her away. Her heart belonged to Nerissa and he had finally accepted that. But one day the werepuma would age and die, and he and Menolly would still be alive. Then…then he would make his move. Until that day, they would play the game by the rules that the girls had set forth.
    “My brother will be here shortly. Caleb is the regent over in western Europe—France, Spain, Italy, and a few smaller countries. He insisted on meeting you. He said my mother told him about you.” Even the words ‘my brother’ left a bad taste in Roman’s mouth. He didn’t like any of his siblings—they were whiny and annoying, they pranced around like royalty instead of assuming an air of dignity. But Blood Wyne kept reminding him they were always that way, even before she’d turned them. But that wasn’t a good enough excuse.
    “As long as he doesn’t touch Nerissa.” Menolly brushed back Nerissa’s hair. She’d affixed a pink bow around the werepuma’s neck, tied in the front,