The Dragon's Witch Mate

CHAPTER: 13

Liam found himself disappointed that Vienna did not live farther from work. The tow truck turned up shortly after they had received their smoothies. Not wanting her to have to pay for the tire, he gave the tow truck driver enough money to cover the cost. Liam made a point to tell the driver not to tell her he had paid for it. Just to tell her it was a repair, and that it was free.

The drive back to her house took only twenty minutes since most of the traffic had subsided already. Walking her to her door, he smiled down at her. "Do you need a ride to work in the morning? I have to drive back to that area of town tomorrow for a meeting."

Vienna shook her head. "No, that is okay. I have a ride."

As she bit down on her lower lip, he resisted the urge to ease it with a light kiss. Before he could ask if she was sure, the front door flew wide open, and there stood before them, Ziva, who looked first at Vienna, then at Liam, before giving them a big smile. Liam shook his head when she started to open her mouth, worried she would say she had seen him the other night. Ziva's smile broadened. "You made it for dinner," she simply said before grabbing his hand and pulling him into the house.

Laughing, he let her lead him into the living room where he heard Vienna behind him. "Ziva, darling. What are you doing?"

Stopping, Ziva let go of his hand and looked up at her sister before sticking out her lower lip. "I thought he was going to eat with us."

Vienna took on a very scolding tone. "Ziva, you cannot grab strange people by the hand and drag them into the house."

Liam found himself smiling down at the little girl, who frowned for a moment before finally saying, "I am sorry."

"Go and wash up, I will be right there," Vienna said to her little sister.

Ziva started down the hall, then turned and ran back to him. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Liam winked at her. "I don't know. I was hoping your sister would ask me. Whatever is being cooked, it smells amazing."

Ziva nodded. "My sisters made spaghetti." She then turned toward Vienna, "Can he stay and eat with us?" She paused for a long moment before adding, "Please?"

Vienna sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "Ziva go...and maybe."

Ziva beamed up at him before practically skipping back down the hall where he could hear her sisters. Liam turned, looking over at Vienna, who looked surprised. "She is really cute," Liam said.

"Thanks, she does not usually act that way," Vienna smiled, "Well if you are interested, we are apparently having spaghetti for dinner. Would you like to stay and eat with us?" Vienna asked him.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking because you cannot think of a way to not ask me since..." he let his voice trail off and made a hand gesture pointing toward where Ziva had just bounced off too.

"No. I would like for you to join us for a dinner," Vienna said, and he noticed a slight flush on her cheeks.

"In that case, I would love to," Liam replied.

Vienna felt her cheeks heat up so much she wished that the floor would swallow her. She could not believe her sister had just done that. She had invited Liam for dinner because Ziva had basically trapped her into it, but once he had accepted, she was glad.

"Great." Smiling at him, Vienna let him down the hall. "I hope you don't mind being in a room full of girls."

Vienna heard him chortle and when she got to the kitchen, Zara and Clover both stopped talking and stared at him. "Liam, this is Zara and Clover."

Before they could reply, Ziva ran down the hallway with Tiara and grabbed Liam by the hands. "Come on, the table is set already."

Smiling over his shoulder at them, he said, "Guess I am going this way."

When he got out of earshot Zara grinned. "Who the hell is that?"

Clover smiled, blushing. "You did not tell us you were bringing a guy home tonight."

Vienna grinned at her sister's reaction, feeling her cheeks heat up again, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. "He gave me a ride home after my flat tire, and Ziva invited him to dinner."

Zara and Clover looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Glad you find this funny." Shaking her head, Vienna grabbed the bowl with the salad. "Come on, let us get the food on the table. It is time for dinner," she said.

Clover grabbed the bowl of spaghetti and Zara grabbed the basket of garlic bread. following Vienna into the dining room. Liam was sitting between the little girls, who both seemed to be trying to talk over each other. "Guys, it is time for dinner. If you two are going to talk his ears off, I'll move you from your place," Vienna warned.

Both girls pouted. Vienna winked over their heads at Liam. "Liam, have you met my youngest two sisters, Tiara and Ziva?" Sitting down, she pointed to the older two as they set down the food on the table. "And like I was trying to introduce you to earlier, Zara and Clover. Guys this is my new friend Liam. He drove me home today."

Liam shook Tiara's hand first, smiling at her before looking at Ziva. "Ziva, that is a pretty nice name, for such a little one."

"I will be big one day like my sister, Vienna," Ziva said.

"I am sure you will be," Liam agreed then looked at Clover and Zara. "It is nice to meet you both."   

Zara grinned mischievously. "It is nice to meet you, Liam." She grabbed the bowl of spaghetti and everyone made themselves a plate as she continued, "It was really nice of you to drive Vienna home today."

Clover smiled and Vienna tried not to groan out loud while fixing her own plate of spaghetti.

"I was just in the right place at the right time," Liam said.

The girls instantly started talking about their day, Ziva and Tiara being the loudest. In the middle of Ziva's story about a boy who was mean to her, she looked up at Liam, "Vienna says boys pull girl's hair when they like them. Is that true?"

Liam grinned and Vienna saw his shoulders shaking as he tried not to laugh. "Yes, your sister is right, boys sometimes pull hair when they like a girl."

Tiara frowned as if taking in that piece of confirmation from Liam. "Did you pull my sister's hair before you drove her home?"

Zara and Clover coughed. "No, I have not pulled your sister's hair, be assured," Liam replied.

Zara, not to be left out of the conversation, said, "Don't you like my sister?"

Liam smiled at both the girls before looking at Vienna. His eyes locked onto hers. She felt her cheeks heat up, and her breath caught as she waited for his answer. "I do like your sister, but I think your sister would get mad at me if I pulled her hair, so I thought I would try something different."

Tiara nodded. "Good, I don't like it when the boys pull my hair."

Zara and Clover, unable to hold back any longer, burst into laughter. Covering her face, Vienna tried to think if there was ever a more embarrassing moment in her life and found she could not think of one. Counting to ten, she looked up to find Liam smiling at her. He winked before going back to talking with Tiara and Ziva.

Vienna was happy that the dinner went smoothly after that. She found herself a little surprised at how easily Liam adapted to sitting between two young girls who were determined to keep his attention during the meal. He smiled and asked all the right questions, making the appropriate noises when the girls took a breath during their stories. Zara and Clover asked him a few questions, which he answered easily. When dinner was over, Clover and Zara volunteered to clean up. Tiara and Ziva ran to their rooms to finish up the last of their homework.

Helping clear the table, Vienna walked with Liam into the living room. "You were great with them."

Liam smiled. "Your sisters are very sweet."He walked over to one of the family pictures. Picking up the frame, he studied it before looking at her. "You have a lot of your mom in you, but if you look carefully you can find just a few hints of your dad in your features too."

"Yeah." Vienna paused to look at the picture. "I think Ziva looks the most like our father with her coloring, but there are traces of both of them if you look close enough."

Carefully putting the picture frame down, he looked around for a moment. "Are your parents on vacation?" Liam asked Vienna.

Shaking her head, she looked away for a second before looking back at him. "No, they passed away a few years ago. I have been raising my sisters."

There was a quick flash of sympathy on Liam's face before he stepped closer to her, tracing the line of her cheek down her jaw with the back of his hand. "I am sorry to hear that," he said.

Vienna nodded, wanting to say thank you, but found herself swallowing a small lump in her throat. This was usually when most guys took off running, and she found herself a little sad at the thought that he might leave and not come back.

Their eyes locked and he slowly bent down, brushing his lips against hers. Her eyes closed and she thought she heard a growl coming from him. His hand slid around her neck, gently cupping the back of her head, pulling her up. When his lips brushed hers again, she sighed, parting them just a little and moaning when she felt his tongue come out and slide against hers. She jumped when she heard footsteps running down the hall. Blushing, she quickly took a step back as Ziva ran into the living room.

"Vienna, can you help me?" Ziva asked, her math book in her hand.

"Sure, give me one moment, I will be right there," Vienna said and watched her walk back to her room.

"I should get going." Liam headed to the door.

Vienna followed him, wondering if her cheeks were as red as they felt. When he reached the door, he opened it and turned to look at her.

"Thank you for the ride home," Vienna said.

Liam reached out and gently stroked her cheek, and her eyes closed enjoying his feather-light touch. "It was my pleasure. Are you sure I cannot pick you up on my way downtown tomorrow?"

Vienna started to tell him no, that she would take her sister's car when Zara suddenly popped into the living room. "Hey Vienna, I forgot to tell you, tomorrow I am going to have to leave early with the girls. I have a study group for a test."

She realized that her sister was listening. "I, um, guess I could use a ride," Vienna said.

Liam smiled and she saw him give Zara a thankful smile. "Great, I will be here by eight if that is okay with you?"

Nodding, she told him good night and locked the door behind him. Shaking her head at Zara, she headed down the hall to Ziva's room to help her with her homework, her lips still tingling, and still tasting Liam's kiss. She tried to get her pulse to slow down as she concentrated on helping her sister.