"The stove, please."
He did as she said.
She brought a small bowl over to where he stood, then covered the pasta with sauce.
"Better?" she asked, handing it to him.
Valerius nodded, until his gaze dropped to the noodles. He blinked in disbelief as the shape of the pasta hit him.
No. Surely he was seeing things.
Was that a...?
His jaw went slack as he realized that it was what it appeared. Little tiny pasta penises were swimming in the red marinara.
"Oh, come on," Tabitha said in an irritable voice. "Don't tell me a Roman general is having trouble with penironi."
"You don't honestly expect me to eat this?" he asked, aghast.
She huffed at him. "Don't you dare cop that superior attitude with me, buddy. I happen to know exactly how you Romans lived. How you decorated your houses. You come from the land of the phallus, so don't act so shocked that I gave you a bowl of them to eat. It's not like I have the flying phallus wind chime hanging in my house to ward off evil or something, but I'll bet you did when you were human."
It was true, but it had been centuries since... come to think of it, he'd never seen anything like this.
She handed him a fork. "It's not silver, but it is stainless steel. I'm sure you can make do."
He was still mesmerized by the pasta. "Where did you get this?"
"I sell it and boobaroni in my shop."
"Boobaroni?"
"I think you can figure that one out."
Valerius didn't know what to say to that. He'd never eaten obscene food before-and just what kind of shop did she own that she sold such commodities inside it?
"House of Vetti," Tabitha said, arms akimbo. "Need I say more?"
Valerius was well-versed about the Roman house she spoke of, as well as its risque murals. True, his people had been rather overt with their sexuality, but he most certainly hadn't expected to come face to face with it in this modern age.
"Non sana est puella," Valerius said under his breath, which was Latin for This girl is insane.
"Quin tu istanc orationem hinc veterem antque antiquam amoves, vervex?" Tabitha shot back. Would you stop using that obsolete language, you sheep-head?
Never before had Valerius been both insulted and amused at the same time. "How is it you speak Latin so perfectly?"
She pulled a piece of toast from her oven. "I have a master's degree in Ancient Civ. My sister, Selena, has her Ph.D. in it. We thought it was a goof in college to insult each other in Latin."
"Selena Laurens? The lunatic with a tarot-card table in the Square?"
She gave him a fierce glare. "That loon happens to be my beloved big sister and if you insult her again, you'll be limping... more."
Valerius bit his tongue as he made his way to her table in the dining room. He'd met Selena several times over the last three years, and none of those encounters had gone well. When Acheron had first mentioned her, Valerius had been delighted at the prospect of having someone to talk to who knew his culture and language.
But as soon as Acheron had introduced them, Selena had tossed her drink into Valerius's face. She had called him every insult known to mankind and had even made up quite a few new ones.
He didn't know why Selena hated him so much. All she would say is that it was a shame he hadn't died under a barbarian stampede, ripped to pieces.
And that was one of her kinder wishes for his death.
It would most likely please her a great deal to know his real death had been far more humiliating and painful than any of her rants.
Every time he ventured into the Square to patrol for Daimons, she hurled curses at him, as well as anything else she had handy to throw in his direction.
No doubt she would be thrilled to find out her sister had stabbed him. Her only regret would be that he was still living and not lying dead in some gutter.
Tabitha paused in the doorway and watched as Valerius actually ate his pasta in silence. He held himself rigidly upright and his manners were impeccable. He appeared calm and composed.
But then he also looked so incredibly uncomfortable in her house. Not to mention out of place.
"Here," she said, moving forward to hand him the bread.
"Thank you," he said as he took it. He frowned as if looking for a bread plate. Finally, he set the bread down on the table and returned to his offbeat pasta.
There was an awkward silence between them. She didn't know what to say to him. It was weird to have this man in her presence when she'd heard so much about him.
None of which was good.
Her brother-in-law and his best friend Julian spent hours at family parties, ranting about Valerius and his family and the fact that Artemis had transferred Valerius to New Orleans for pure spite because she hadn't wanted to let Kyrian go. Maybe that was true. Or maybe the goddess had only wanted Kyrian to face his past and put it firmly to rest.
Either way, the person who seemed to be punished most by Artemis's decision was Valerius, who was constantly reminded of Kyrian and Julian's hatred.
Funny how he didn't seem so bad to her.
True, he was arrogant and formal, but...
There was something more to him. She could feel it.
She went to the kitchen to get him something to drink. Her first thought was to give him water, but then, she'd already been vicious in giving him the penironi. It had been a childish impulse that she now felt extremely guilty over. So she decided to break open her wine cabinet and get him something he would no doubt appreciate.
Valerius looked up as Tabitha handed him a glass of red wine. He half-expected it to be a harsh, cheap Ripple and was pleasantly surprised at the rich, full-bodied taste of it.
"Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome."
As she started away, he captured her hand and pulled her to a stop. "Why did you buy me new clothes?"
"How did you-"
"I found mine in the garbage."
She cringed as if it bothered her that he had learned what she'd done. "I should have emptied the can. Damn."
"Why didn't you want me to know?"
"I thought you might not take them. It was the least I could do since I was part of the reason they were ruined."
He offered her a smile that warmed her heart. "Thank you, Tabitha."
It was the first time he'd said her name. His rich, deep accent sent a shiver over her.
Before she could stop herself, she placed her hand against his cheek. She half-expected him to pull away.
He didn't. He merely stared up at her with those curious black eyes.
She was struck by his handsomeness. By his inner pain, which made her own heart ache for him. And before she could think better of it, she dipped her head down so that she could capture his lips with her own.
Valerius was completely unprepared for her action. Never had a woman initiated a kiss with him. Never. Tabitha was bold with her exploration, demanding, and it sizzled through his body like lava.
Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her back.
Tabitha moaned at the decadent taste of her general. Her tongue brushed against his fangs, giving her a chill. He was lethal and deadly.
Forbidden.
And for a woman who prided herself on following no one's rules but her own, it made him even more appealing.
She straddled him in the chair and sat down in his lap.
He didn't protest. Instead, he dropped his hands from her face and trailed them over her back while she pulled the tie from his hair and loosened the thick, black strands that slid like silk against her fingers.
She could feel his erection as it pressed against the center of her body, igniting her desire even more.
It'd been so long since she'd been with a man. So long since she had felt a desire this potent to wrap herself around one. But she wanted Valerius badly, even though he should be completely off her menu.
Valerius's head swam as Tabitha trailed her lips along the length of his jaw, then under his chin, to his neck. Her hot breath blistered him. It had been centuries since he'd taken a woman who knew what he was.
A woman he didn't have to kiss carefully for fear of her discovering his fangs.
Not once had he ever been with a woman this exciting. One who met him so openly. So wildly. There was no fear whatsoever in this woman. No holding back.
She was fierce and passionate and completely feminine.
Tabitha knew she shouldn't be doing this. Dark-Hunters weren't allowed to get involved with women. They weren't allowed any emotional attachments at all except for maybe a Squire.
She could sleep with Valerius just once and then she would have to let him go.
But more than that, her entire family hated this man and she should, too. She should be repulsed by him. Only she wasn't. There was something about him that was irresistible.
Against all sanity and reason, she wanted him.
You're just horny, Tabby, let him go.
Maybe it was just that simple. It'd been almost three years since she'd broken up with Eric and in that time she hadn't been with anyone else. No one had even appealed to her as anything more than a passing curiosity.
Well, except for Ash, but she knew better than to make a move on him.
And even he didn't make her sizzle like this. But then, he didn't have the pain inside him that Valerius carried-or if he did, he was better at hiding it around her.
She felt as if Valerius needed her somehow.
Just as she reached for the zipper of his pants, the phone rang.
Tabitha ignored it until Marla used her walkie-talkie to say, "It's Amanda, Tabby. She says for you to pick up the phone. Now."
She groaned in frustration. She gave Valerius a hot, quick kiss before she got up. "Please don't say a word while I'm on the phone," she warned him.
Since Amanda had married Kyrian, she had become incredibly psychic, and if she heard Valerius's voice, she would know instantly who he was. Tabitha was sure of it. It was the last thing she wanted to deal with.
She picked up the wall phone in the kitchen. "Hey, Mandy, whatcha need?"
Tabitha turned to watch Valerius as he put himself back together. He pulled his hair back and replaced the small black tie she had removed.
He returned to being regal and rigid as he picked up his fork and began eating again.
Her sister was babbling on about a bad dream, but it wasn't until the term "Spathi Daimon" came up that Tabitha pulled her attention away from Valerius.
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked Amanda.
"I said that I had a bad dream about you, Tabby, that you were seriously hurt in a fight. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay."
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You sound kind of strange to me."
"You interrupted me from work."
"Oh," Amanda said, accepting the lie, which made Tabitha feel a little guilty. Tabitha wasn't used to keeping anything from her twin. "Okay. In that case, I won't keep you. But you be careful for me. I have a really bad feeling that won't go away."
Tabitha felt it, too. It was something undefinable and at the same time persistent. "Don't worry. Ash is in town and there's an extra Dark-Hunter he moved in. Everything's fine."
"Okay. I'm trusting you to watch your back... But, Tabby?"
"Yeah?"
"Stop lying to me. I don't like it."