by Kyle, Celia
Dammit! The do-not-disturb feature on her phone turned off at seven every morning, which meant if she didn’t get her ass in gear, she’d be late for work—if she wasn’t already. Still, the desire to wake Orrin for one last roll in the hay was almost too strong to resist. Another ping from her phone brought her to her senses, or what was left of them anyway.
Scooting away from Orrin, Sara moved gently to avoid waking him. If he so much as looked at her, she’d get fired for abandoning her position because she probably would lie in his bed for days, letting him do all manner of naughty things to her. Sadly, she didn’t have the luxury to lie around in a sexual stupor. She wasn’t an obscenely rich eternal vampire, after all, and she had rent to pay.
But she needn’t have worried about disturbing Orrin’s slumber. She should have realized a vamp wouldn’t rouse so easily once the sun had risen. The blackout curtains in his suite did an admirable job of keeping the light out, but she padded over to them to make sure all leaks were banished. Losing such a talented lover to the scorching effects of the sun would be such a shame, even if she never saw him again.
Which she fully expected. Men as powerful as Orrin Nicolaides didn’t dip their pen twice in the same ink pot. That stung a bit, but she couldn’t expect a master to get all gooey over a poor witch with no social equity and a penchant for bad boys.
In the dim light coming from the living room of the suite, Sara managed to locate the shredded remains of her dress and her red fuck-me pumps. In the heat of the moment, having her dress torn off by a sexy-ass vampire had really tripped her trigger. In the cold light of day, standing in a stranger’s hotel room and already late for work, she wasn’t nearly so appreciative.
Exactly, how the hell was she supposed to make her way to her apartment naked? Streaking had been popular back in her grandmother’s day, but it was frowned upon now. Even in Othercross, home to shifters who had very little qualms about showing off their bodies.
Quietly opening each drawer and cupboard in the entire suite, Sara found nothing but air. It seemed he’d rented the room for the night and had brought nothing but his tux. Double dammit!
Checking the closet one last time in the vain hope of finding a forgotten set of sweats stuffed on a shelf, she pulled a fluffy robe from a hanger and shrugged into it. It was better than nothing, especially since there wasn’t time for any of her roommates to bring her a change of clothes. Not if she wanted to make it to work anywhere close to on time, anyway.
Grabbing her phone, she finally checked her messages. All three of her roommates had texted her repeatedly through the night, but she’d missed them because of the Do Not Disturb feature. She grimaced at forgetting to let them know she’d found a friend for the night, and judging by their texts, they were getting ready to coordinate a search party.
Hurrying out of the bedroom, she quickly sent a group text letting them know she was okay and then slung her purse over her shoulder before stooping to slip on her red pumps. What a sight she’d be, scurrying around in a fluffy hotel robe wearing fuck-me pumps. Talk about the ultimate walk of shame!
At least she wouldn’t be naked.
Just as she started to open the heavy door, her phone binged again. Her roommate Hazel was demanding to know who and where and how many times. Sara smiled like a satiated maniac as she swung the door open, eyes glued to her screen as she typed a response. One step out the door and she smacked face-first into a warm, hard body.
“Oh!” she cried as she struggled to not drop her phone.
The man spun around to face her, a scowl darkening his handsome face. When his gaze drifted down her frame, a small glimmer of amusement lit his green eyes as understanding dawned.
Dammit. She couldn’t even get out of the room before someone spotted her!
“And who might you be?” he asked, lips twitching in a smirk.
“Better question,” Sara clapped back, “who the hell are you and why are you lurking around a hotel hallway, perv?”
The man threw his head back and chortled. Sara glared up at him as he took his time catching his breath. Jerk.
“I’m Aiden Sinclair,” he finally managed between gasping hiccups of hilarity. “And I’m not a perv. I’m a wolf shifter. Oh yeah, and Master Nicolaides’ guard.”
Sara’s face flamed hot as an embarrassed blush crept up from her chest all the way to her hairline. Just her luck that the first person she’d run into was someone close to Orrin.
“Oh, um, pleased to meet you. I’m Sara Hart.”
He nodded and shook her hand, still far too amused for her taste. “So you were Orrin’s snack pack for the evening, huh?”
She opened her mouth to argue but then snapped it shut and yanked her hand back instead. Orrin had fed from her several times last night, so technically speaking, she had been a bit of a snack for him. Hard to argue the truth. Not knowing what to say, Sara tried to edge past the beefy shifter.
“Well, I need to be going…”
Her words fell away as the door across from the suite opened and out walked Cora Murphy and her new groom Deo Nicolaides, Orrin’s son.
Because of course.
Cora wasn’t Sara’s boss, per se, but she was definitely her superior, pretty much in every way. As a lowly receptionist, Sara figured there weren’t too many people working at OAJ who weren’t her superior. So, though Cora didn’t have the direct power to fire her, a single complaint to the uppity-ups would certainly see Sara out on her fluffy ass.
“Sara!” Cora cried, pulling her into a hug.
“Hey, good morning,” Sara replied, pretending to be happy to see her colleague. “What are you two doing up so early after your wedding night? And in the daylight?”
Deo hugged his beloved close to his side, beaming down at her with unadulterated devotion. “Heading out for our honeymoon in Transylvania. Cora’s assistant—”
“Intern,” Cora corrected. “Kelly Holloway.”
Sara knew Kelly, had even gone out drinking with her a few times. They weren’t coven mates, but witches tended to party together, and Kelly certainly knew how to have a good time.
“Right,” Deo said, “Kelly came over a few minutes ago and cast a protective spell over me so I can venture into the sun.”
“Really? I’ve heard rumors that could be done but I’ve never known anyone who could.”
“Not many witches can,” Cora explained. “Kelly and Iris Holloway are the only two I know of. Of course, without either of them going with us, it will only last a short while, but plenty of time to board his father’s jet and get airborne.”
“Wait, did you say you’re taking your honeymoon in… Transylvania?”
Cora shrugged, ignoring Deo’s grin. “Well, technically Romania, but we’ll be traveling all over the Transylvania region. Followed by a trip to an underwater resort in Fiji.”
“Yeah, Cora’s going to wave at me from the other side of the glass.”
Sara smiled, ignoring the pings from her phone. “Sounds like the perfect trip for a siren and a vampire.”
“We think so,” Cora said, leaning her head on her husband’s shoulder. “So what are you doing here so early in the…”
Her blue eyes flicked from Sara to Aiden and back and then widened in surprise. “Oh! So you two…?”
Aiden looked back at Cora blandly for a second before realizing what she was implying.
“No!” he practically shouted, glancing around to make sure no one had heard. “No way!”
Yeah, that really boosted a girl’s ego.
“No, you’ve got it all wrong.” He wasn’t done denying her. “I did not neglect my duties last night, and I don’t want anyone thinking I did. Especially not for a piece of witchy tail. No offense,” he added over his shoulder to Sara.
Before she could think of a good comeback, Deo stepped in close to her and took a deep whiff. His eyes popped open wide and then a grin split his face in two.
“My…father?” he gasped and coughed, incredulous.
Saved by the nosy roommates!
“Oh, sorry, guys. Gotta run. Have a great honeymoon!”
Running in pumps while trying to keep the front of her robe closed wasn’t as easy as Sara had hoped, but she managed to make it to the elevator bank just as one opened up for her.
“Hey, Kiki,” she said, closing her eyes and praying to all of the gods and goddesses that had ever been and ever would be that Cora and Deo would take mercy on her and let her ride down alone. Only once the box started moving did she finally breathe…not to mention pay attention to what her roommate was saying.
“…now!”
“Sorry, Keek, what did you say?”
Kiki huffed. “I said, you let us worry about you all damn night and then have the gall to send some lame text about hooking up with a guy without details? We demand them now, Miss Hart.”
“Yeah, what she said,” chimed in her third roomie, Trinity.
“Am I on speakerphone?”
“Duh!” Hazel said. “Don’t leave us hanging, Sara.”
Sara sighed. Normally she enjoyed sharing the juicy bits from her escapades, but she’d already suffered enough humiliation, and it was barely seven o’clock!
“Ladies, can we table this till tonight?”
“Not a chance,” Kiki said. “Now spill!”
Sara knew her friends well enough to know they weren’t going to let up. They’d text her throughout the day, maybe even drop by to force her to tell them everything. She wouldn’t put it past them. No, she didn’t have much choice, and truth be told, she was dying to tell someone about the great sex she’d had. Besides, holding a phone to her ear would stop anyone from trying to talk to the woman running around in pumps and a robe.
“Fine,” she said, a smile lifting the corners of her lips as she recalled spotting Orrin for the first time. “So, after Deo tossed Cora’s garter, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I knew someone was watching me…”
Chapter Three
Orrin woke slowly, for a second unsure of where he was. Then the memories of the night before came flooding back. Sara… something. A beautiful witch he couldn’t get enough of. Rolling over, he hoped to still find her lying next to him, though he wasn’t terribly surprised to discover the other side of the bed cold and empty. Disappointed, yes. Surprised, no.
A quick glance at the clock confirmed his own internal clock. It was close to sundown and he was famished. His body ached as though he hadn’t fed in weeks, even though he’d had plenty to drink last night between the drunken, vamp-curious human females and Sara.
Just the thought of her had his cock standing at attention. Willing it to go down did no good, so he reluctantly crawled out of bed and padded out to the fridge in the mini-kitchen. His people had stocked it with his favorite blood type, but just looking at the bags loaded in the fridge made his stomach churn.
Like any other vampire, he preferred fresh, hot blood spurting into his mouth over chugging down thick, cold blood. It was probably similar to humans who preferred freshly cooked meals over frozen dinners. Slamming the fridge door shut, he wandered back into the bedroom and went straight to the closet. Staring at the contents, he couldn’t put his finger on what was wrong with the scene. Something was off, but—
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the suite’s door opening. Hope sparked in his chest that the delicious little witch had returned for a repeat performance.
“Everything okay, boss?”
Disappointment doused the spark. It was just his guard, Aiden. The shifter’s exceptional hearing was just one of the reasons Orrin employed him. Hopefully, his discretion would keep him employed.
“In here,” he shouted, tugging on a robe. “What kind of hotel suite only has one robe? Remind me never to come back here.”
“Yes, sir,” Aiden replied, joining his boss in front of the closet. “But you can’t blame the hotel for that. Your tasty little snack pack left this morning wearing the other one.”
Orrin’s heart sped up, wondering why Sara hadn’t worn her own clothing. Then he suddenly realized why. He’d destroyed her lovely, sparkly dress in his eagerness to be with her. Guilt hit him like a shovel to the face over such ungentlemanly behavior. He didn’t regret shredding the dress, but he should have had someone bring her a fresh change of clothes. What an ass!
Turning away from his guard, Orrin clenched his jaw and his fists to keep himself from hurting the man. He didn’t usually become emotionally involved with his one-night stands, but he didn’t care for Aiden’s comment.
“How did she seem?”
Aiden’s eyebrow quirked upward at the unusual question as a slow smile spread across his face. “She looked rode hard and put away wet, boss. Worse for wear and well-fucked. You done good.”
To his great surprise, Orrin spun on his heel, grabbed Aiden by the throat, and slammed him against the wall. “Do not disrespect her like that!”
Aiden scrabbled at Orrin’s hands for a second and then fell limp in defeat and confusion. He tried to nod, so Orrin released him. To the shifter’s credit, he managed to land securely on his feet, one hand rubbing his throat.
“Sorry, boss,” he said warily. “Didn’t mean to offend.”
Orrin turned away again, shocked at his reaction to the guard’s crude joke. It wasn’t like him to lose control like that, much less over a “snack pack,” as Aiden liked to call his boss’ conquests. A headache was forming behind his eyes already and his night had barely started.
“Did you speak with her?” he asked.
“You could say that, sir.” Aiden kept his distance as he followed along and adopted a much more respectful tone. “She walked right into me as she tried to sneak out quietly. I guess she was distracted by her phone.”
“What was her demeanor?” The better question was why he cared in the first place.
Aiden shrugged. “Embarrassed, I suppose, but not as embarrassed as when your son and daughter-in-law walked out to find her standing halfway out of your room wearing only a robe and her fuck—” He caught himself. “High heels.”
Orrin grimaced as he wandered into the living room and opened the blackout shades. Othercross lay below, a beautiful mishmash of modern technology and ancient magic. Lights—both electric and flaming—darted about like fireflies on a summer night. Cars and fairy lights, mostly. Normally he’d find the sight comforting, peaceful, but he was far too worried over the example he was setting for his son.
Not that he was ashamed of his time with Sara. She was stunning and delectable, but a father didn’t want his son to catch him with a woman so beneath his station. Not that Deo needed his sire’s guidance anymore. He was in his forties and now married, long past learning about women from his father. Still, Orrin felt he should set a good example by holding himself to the highest possible standard, and that included choosing his friends more carefully.
Sara was charming and beautiful and everything he wanted in a lover, but even he had to admit she wasn’t master vampire girlfriend material. As delicious as she was, and as much as his body reacted to her, she could never be anything more than temporary. How would it look for a master to be found in the company of a witch in some dead-end job at OAJ?
Despite all of that, saliva pooled in his mouth at the thought of being in her company. He could still taste her on his tongue, which sent his hunger into overdrive. He needed a drink and instructed Aiden to fetch it for him. Maybe if he didn’t look at the cold, inert bag he could choke it down.
A glass appeared in front of him, brimming with dark red blood. He should have been salivating over it, but his taste buds rebelled. Yet he remained ravenous, so he closed his eyes, held his breath, and took a big, healthy gulp. Nope, not happening. He somehow managed to hold down his stomach contents, but just bar
ely.
“Ugh, take it away,” he commanded, thrusting the glass at Aiden. “I must have had too much drunk-human blood last night. I’m hung over. That’s why my body is behaving so badly tonight.”
And why I can’t get Sara out of my head, he thought.
The witch was barely out of his bed, but already he ached to suck and fuck her again. That never happened. Since Bryna’s death while giving birth to his stillborn baby, Orrin’s sexual encounters had been short-term at best and totally bereft of emotion. Typically lasting one night—if not mere hours—his lovers left completely satisfied and he never thought of them again. At least, not in any meaningful way.
“Has it turned or something?” Aiden asked, sniffing the glass and wrinkling his nose at the coppery smell.
Orrin waved a hand as he headed back to the bedroom to dress. “I’m sure it’s fine, but I’m craving fresh blood. I’ll simply drink from one of the human donors at the clan house later.”
But even that had his stomach grumbling unhappily.
Perhaps all of this nonsense was his body’s way of telling him it was time to finally move on from his dead beloved and find some kind of companion that stuck around longer than a few hours. Someone he could make love to and feed from and, possibly, have another child with.
That hadn’t even seemed possible after Bryna’s passing. One didn’t simply lose their beloved—their one true mate—along with their child and move on in a year or two. It took centuries for some vampires to let go of that bond, and some never even tried.
As it was, about forty or so years earlier, Orrin had realized his need to sire an heir. Male or female, he didn’t care, but he couldn’t have a child by himself, so he brokered a deal with an exceptional human female to carry his child, with no strings or expectations. That’s how Deo, his son and heir, came to be, and ever since turning his biological son into a vampire at age twenty, he’d been satisfied.
But the thought of a child running around the clan house again instantly made him wonder what a baby with Sara might be like. Gorgeous, of course, but also intelligent and powerful. Skilled at witchcraft and later, once Orrin turned him or her into a vampire, eternal.