by Jasmine Hill
“You can sit with us,” a woman to her left invited.
Bree took a seat next to her. “Thank you. I’m Bree.”
“I’m Chantelle,” the woman said brightly. “And this is Madison.” She pointed to a young woman opposite her. “We met when we arrived and realized that we were roommates for the weekend.” Chantelle leaned forward. “What do you think of the weekend so far? It’s fantastic, isn’t it?”
“It’s certainly interesting,” Bree responded. She wasn’t going to talk about her night with Vincent, particularly with people she’d only just met.
“I have to confess,” Chantelle continued, “that I was a bit dubious about the invitation at first. But then when I see that they’ve gone to all this trouble and expense…” She waved an arm around. “I see that there was nothing to worry about. I mean, this really is the best Valentine’s weekend celebration.”
“They really have gone all out,” Bree commented. “Just look at the food art at the breakfast banquet.”
Chantelle nodded, eyes wide in agreement, and popped a strawberry into her mouth.
“Have you seen Tyler and Craig this morning?” Madison asked Bree. “I thought I saw you talking to them last night.”
Bree spread butter on her roll. “I only met them briefly, and I haven’t seen them today.”
“Can you imagine that they’re our Cupid pairing?” Chantelle interjected. “I’m paired with Tyler and Madison with Craig. And they’re sharing a room, like us. What a coincidence.”
“I’m sure it was designed that way,” Madison pointed out. “It would make sense.” She frowned. “We met them last night and we’d arranged to meet for breakfast this morning, but I haven’t seen them.”
“They’re probably sleeping off their hangovers,” Chantelle remarked. “They were pretty wasted.”
“Perhaps.” Madison bit her bottom lip. “I banged on their door this morning, but there was no answer.”
Chantelle shrugged. “I don’t think they’ll be far away. Maybe they went for a walk to clear their heads.”
Bree looked around at the other guests. “Is there anyone else missing that you’ve noticed? There definitely seem to be fewer people here than last night. A lot of them could still be in bed, of course.”
Madison used a croissant as a pointer, waving it at Chantelle. “Remember meeting Sophia and Tina last night? Tina’s the pretty Asian girl and Sophia has that gorgeous red hair?”
Chantelle nodded.
“I told them we’d meet for breakfast too and I haven’t seen them yet.”
“It’s a big place,” Chantelle pointed out. “Or they could have just decided to skip breakfast.”
Bree took a sip of juice. “Is everyone sharing a room?”
“Everyone we’ve spoken to,” Madison answered.
Bree kept her own single-room status to herself. She wasn’t sure what it meant, if anything. Perhaps it was just the luck of the draw. Or somehow Vincent had orchestrated it, but that didn’t make much sense either, as she’d only met him the previous evening.
“What are you wearing tonight?” Chantelle changed the subject.
“Slinky evening dress. It’s deep blue.”
“Nice.” She nodded approvingly. “The color will make your eyes pop.”
Bree smiled. “That was the idea.”
Madison looked her over critically. “With that figure you can wear anything. You’d make a hessian bag look decent.” She sighed and threw the remainder of the pastry she’d been eating on her plate. “I have hips and a butt, and if I keep eating like this, I won’t fit into my dress.”
Bree laughed. “You’re voluptuous. Men love that in a woman.” She looked at her watch. “I’m going to get some fresh air and take a walk around the grounds. Then I think I’ll have a bubble bath. What time does the gala start? I know it was mentioned last night in the welcoming address.”
“Drinks start at eight,” Chantelle replied. “But I really think you can turn up at any time. I can’t imagine there’s a strict schedule.”
Bree stood and pushed in her chair. “Great. I’ll see you girls then.” She walked over to the refreshment station, poured herself a coffee in a takeaway cup and grabbed some biscuits to snack on, then headed outside. She wanted to get some exercise and fresh air.
The fog hadn’t lifted much. It settled like a heavy blanket, chilling the air and casting a general pall of dampness over everything. She walked briskly along a narrow, pebbled path. She was disappointed with the arid lifelessness of the landscape. She supposed it was the perpetual fog that didn’t allow the sunlight through. It was weird. She’d never been anywhere in Australia that was so bereft of sunshine and flowers.
She shivered and picked up her pace. Perhaps she wouldn’t be out too long after all. At least she’d be more than ready for a warm bath when she returned to her room. The bath was one of those deep claw-footed tubs that she couldn’t wait to test out and she’d packed her favorite bubble bath. She finished her coffee, folded the empty cup up to discard later and shoved her hands into her pockets. She trudged on, thinking over what she needed to do to prepare for the evening.
At least she felt more comfortable about the weekend and she knew Vincent was in part responsible for that, even if she hadn’t seen him all morning. He’d left her the apple blossoms and the note, so she expected to see him that evening at the gala. She gazed around at the bleak terrain, a shiver of apprehension coursing down her spine. It was quiet, eerily so, as if nothing lived there. It was silly, but the place was giving her the creeps. A rustling in the bushes ahead caught her attention. A pair of eyes, glowing malevolently, peered out of the underbrush.
Bree gasped and stopped in her tracks, but the animal didn’t move, just stared, yellow eyes unblinking as if ready to pounce. Bree whirled around and took off back the way she’d come. Whatever animal the yellow eyes belonged to, she was happy to leave it well alone.
* * * *
Vincent roamed the corridors, remaining in the gloom so as not to draw attention to himself. He usually kept to his rooms until early evening, but he was worried about Bree. He didn’t like the idea of her wandering around unaccompanied. Dante had arrived, and that fact alone concerned him. He stopped and peered over the stairwell. Guests mingled below, chatting and sipping coffee. A trolley with an assortment of biscuits and sandwiches sat next to the tea and coffee station. At least they were remembering to feed people.
He couldn’t see Bree anywhere and he hoped she was holed up safely in her room. He should check on her. The old grandfather clock struck three p.m., its deep chimes echoing down the corridor. Surely she wouldn’t be getting ready for the gala yet.
His decision made, he proceeded downstairs to the lounge area, where he grabbed a bottle of Dom Pérignon from the fridge and two glasses from behind the bar. He retraced his steps to the upper levels until he was standing outside Bree’s room. He leaned against the door jamb and knocked once. To his dismay, she didn’t call out and ask who was at the door, but just swung it wide.
“You shouldn’t open the door until you find out who’s on the other side,” he said by way of a greeting. He held up the bottle and glasses. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
She smiled and stepped back to allow him entry. “Happy Valentine’s Day to you too. Thank you for the blossoms. They’re beautiful.”
He smiled. “Apple blossoms signify ‘preference’. That’s why I chose them.” He strode across the threshold and was pleased to see that logs were on the fire and it was burning warmly, taking the ever-present chill out of the room.
Steam billowed out of the bathroom, leaving a heady, exotic scent hanging in the air. She’d wrapped a towel turban-style around her head and was swathed in a silk robe.
“I hope I didn’t interrupt your shower.” He put the glasses on a small table and started to unwrap the foil around the neck of the bottle.
“No. I just got out of the bath actually. I went for a walk in the grounds earlier and it was a little chilly.
”
He frowned but didn’t comment. How could he tell her it wasn’t safe? She’d demand to know why. “Have you eaten?” he asked instead.
She nodded. “After my walk, I investigated the mansion a little and used the staircase to get some exercise. I had a sandwich after that.”
Knowing she’d been wandering around, blithely uncaring of any danger, gnawed at his gut. It wasn’t just the threats that he was aware of. It was also the fact that he couldn’t vouch for any of the guests. For all he knew, there could be a serial killer in their midst.
He finished unwrapping the foil, placed the bottle on the table and raised his head to look at her. She was fresh-faced and flushed from the heat of the bath. His gaze locked on her mouth. The rosy plumpness of her lips begged to be kissed. He dropped his head and took her mouth, sucking on her bottom lip before nipping it. She gasped in surprise and he took the kiss deeper, plunging his tongue in to tangle with hers. She tasted like sweet cherries. He gripped her ass and dragged her closer, the tropical scent from her bath enveloping him. She was soft and pliant and warm, and kissing her was doing crazy things to his head.
He drew back and gazed into the navy depths of her eyes. He’d never seen irises so stunningly blue, like the midnight sky. She swayed slightly and he steadied her, satisfied that he could affect her in such a way. He’d waited a long time to have her, hadn’t really acknowledged that it would ever happen. But here she was before him, kissing him and desiring his touch.
He held up the bottle of Dom. “Champagne?”
“Yes, please.” Her voice was low and husky, and his cock responded immediately.
He poured two glasses and raised his in the air. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
She echoed his toast and took a sip of the bubbles. He eyed her over the rim of his champagne flute. The elegant column of her throat as she swallowed fascinated him. She licked her lips, gathering the residual drops there. He groaned inwardly. If he didn’t leave soon, he’d be tossing her onto the bed.
He checked his watch. They had plenty of time until the gala started.
He sat in the armchair and leaned back into the cushion. “We have a few hours until we need to be downstairs. Any suggestions?”
Chapter Nine
Bree studied Vincent as he relaxed in the chair. She still felt surprise every time she looked at him. It wasn’t just his perfectly chiseled features and Adonis body, but his total resemblance to the man she’d been dreaming about. It was eerily uncanny but comforting at the same time. She hadn’t thought a man so smoking hot and masculine actually existed except in her subconscious.
He studied her intently, his charcoal eyes like smoldering embers. His desire for her blazed from him, his pheromones almost thick in the air. It was intoxicating, and she grew wet and hot in response. She wanted nothing more than to feel his thick, hard cock in her throat. Her mouth watered for it.
She dropped to her knees and crawled towards him. His eyes gleamed and he spread his legs to allow her to slip between them. She looked up at him, licked her lips and hurriedly unzipped his jeans. He lifted his hips and she pushed the denim and his boxers down. She gasped in delight as his cock sprang free, rigid and thick, the tip bobbing near his navel. His size nearly took her breath away. She squeezed her thighs together, the telltale pinch deep inside reminding her exactly where he’d been the previous evening.
Bree grasped the base of his cock, using two hands to encompass his massive girth. She bit her lip, wondering if she could manage his size.
“You can do it,” he urged, his voice rough. “Just relax.”
She dropped her head and licked the crown of his shaft, flattening her tongue and flicking it over the sensitive tip.
He groaned from deep in his throat and thrust his hips up. She wrapped her lips around the head and sucked hard, fluttering her tongue over the ridge.
“Fuck!” His barked expletive spurred her on and she dropped her head lower, sucking him in farther.
He tugged the towel off her head and gripped her hair, urging her up and down his length. She bobbed deeper then drew back to lick the precum off the tip, moaning when his salty taste hit her tongue. She slipped her hand between her legs, desperate to relieve the throbbing desire in her core.
She gripped the thick base of his erection and worked him as she sucked. Saliva coated his length and dripped from her chin to mingle with his arousal. He growled from deep in his throat and gripped her hair harder. “That’s it, baby. Take it deeper.”
Dipping her head, she licked him clean from base to tip then closed her mouth over his length and took him deep. Her gag reflex kicked in, but she breathed through it. She relaxed her throat and focused solely on pleasuring him. She needed to please him, because pleasing him was thrilling her. His groans and grunts of satisfaction were like her own personal aphrodisiac. She bobbed her head, quickening her pace, then slowing to lap at him leisurely. Bree cupped his smooth balls and sucked one into her mouth as she tugged him hard.
“Fuck, yes,” he snarled, his hips jerking in time with her hand.
She was using every trick in the book to bring him to the edge. She wanted him to climax so intensely he’d never forget it.
Her channel quivered and her pussy seeped liquid heat. She closed her mouth around his crown and sank low. Her saliva lubricating and oiling her glide down his cock. He fisted her hair tightly and manipulated her head as she sucked him in. He was so far down her throat that her lips stretched wide and her eyes watered, but she sank lower still.
“That’s it,” he coaxed, releasing her hair to caress her cheek with his thumb. “You look so fucking hot stuffed full of my cock.”
She relaxed and slipped farther down, her mouth gaping around his thick root. She stilled and loosened her body, breathing through her nose and keeping him lodged deep in her throat.
“Oh, fuck!” His cry was strangled and animalistic.
She gripped his muscular thighs, sinking her nails into his skin and focused on working him with the muscles of her throat. His heavy balls slapped against her chin and he thrust up, blocking her airway for a beat. Then he roared, his bellow so loud it left her ears ringing.
“Fuck!” He jerked his hips and held her head still as he came in hot, thick bursts. He was so deep, and she was so full of him that his cum pushed past the thick wedge of his shaft and dribbled down her chin.
Bree gave him a moment to recover before she drew back, allowing his heavy length to slip free from her throat. She’d never given head like that before. He’d been so deep that she could have choked on him. But she’d loved the power it gave her, knowing that she could bring him to such an intense climax with just her mouth.
She sat back on her heels and gazed up at him, relishing the dazed look of worship on his face.
“That was fucking mind-blowing,” he muttered, his voice husky. He sat forward, his eyes on her chin. “You have my cum all over you. “
Vincent gazed at his cum oozing down Bree’s chin and watched in lewd fascination as it dripped to her chest. She was covered in his scent. It was deep inside her and coated her skin. Just thinking about marking her in that way had him wanting her again immediately. Blood pumped to engorge his cock anew and within seconds he was rock hard. Bree’s eyes popped wide as his erection grew thick and long.
“I can’t believe you’re ready to go again,” she gasped.
He couldn’t quite believe it either. Not after the best head he’d ever had in his life. He chuckled. “You’ve taken the edge off, baby. Now it’s your turn.”
She made a move to rub his cum off her chin. “Don’t,” he instructed. “I want you to smell like me.”
He stood and swept her off the floor to her feet. He picked her up, strode over to the bed and tugged the coverlet down, then sat with her straddling his lap.
“I want you to sit on my face while I eat you.”
Pink tinged her cheeks at his bald statement, and he smiled, loving the way that he could make her
blush.
“Lose the gown,” he ordered. ‘Then get your sweet little pussy up here.”
She slipped the silk off her shoulders and stood perfect and naked before him, her flawless skin almost luminescent in the firelit room. She was a vision. A goddess. And he vowed in that second that he wouldn’t let her go. She’d captured him. He’d never in all his years known a woman like her and he knew he wouldn’t again.
He lay back, and she climbed on the bed and crawled up his body to settle unashamedly on his face. He thumbed the lips of her sex open and groaned when he saw how hot and wet she was for him. Her channel oozed liquid heat and her scent enveloped him. His mouth watered to taste her. He swept his tongue around her silky labia, tentatively sampling her. She tasted tangy and piquant, like fine wine and cranberries. He lapped at her leisurely, deliberately avoiding where he knew she wanted him to go. He wanted to keep her on the edge, to tease her, to make her beg for him.
She inhaled sharply and gyrated her hips, forcing her pussy into his mouth.
He slapped her ass cheek and spoke into her slick folds. “Don’t rush me or you won’t get want you want.”
She whimpered then stilled, her breath coming in quick little pants as he licked her slowly and relentlessly.
Her juices flooded into his mouth and he lapped them up, relishing the taste of her arousal. His dick was throbbing, aching painfully with his need for another release. She was ambrosia to him, his own personal nectar of the gods. One taste and he was hooked. He had to stop himself from getting carried away. He wanted to taste more than her juices on his tongue. Was desperate for it.
He gripped her ass and pulled her hard against his mouth, finally slipping his tongue into her tight, slick channel.
She moaned and ground onto his face, locking her knees against his head and circling her hips.
She was hot and swollen and ready to come. He groaned into her folds and, locking his mouth onto her center, he sucked hard and flicked her clit with his tongue. She jerked and whimpered.
He drew back, gathered her slickness and found the puckered hole of her ass. He slipped a lubricated finger in and she tensed.