“That would explain a lot, actually.” I thought back to how she had appeared mesmerized when I first was introduced to her, but it still didn’t explain the sadness she seemed to have for me. Could she see how much of my aura the wraith had overtaken? A shiver slipped through me at the memory of the silver destroying my succubus red. “She must know enough about wraiths to understand most infected don’t survive.”
The muscles in Randal’s jaw tensed. He lifted his drink to his lips as though trying to swallow whatever words had rushed to the tip of his tongue.
I forced myself to glance around the room, mainly because I couldn’t look at Randal after my harsh reminder of what he had already lost. The room was lit by a soft glow stemming from recessed lights bordering the edge of the ceiling. A sophisticated shade of grayish blue coated the walls, and the same honey-colored wood I had seen throughout the house trimmed them. A wall-sized window caught my attention next. It was the same as the one downstairs, and had me wondering if the entire back walls of the house were solid glass. It was too dark to see the view they framed. A king-size bed dominated the center of the room, looking inviting with its silken bedspread and overstuffed throw pillows.
One thing caught my attention about the room: There was nothing hung on the walls. No trinkets, not even a single picture on the nightstand. There was nothing to distinguish this room as one used by anyone. To anyone else, the room would have appeared to be a guest room, but I knew better. This was Randal’s room. It oozed the same level of sophistication he did and smelled of his spicy cologne.
“This is your room.” I stepped to the nightstand closest to me and ran my fingertip over the smooth wood.
“It is.” Amusement hung heavily in his words, sending a triumphant shiver through me from having been right.
My eyes traveled to meet his. “Is the entire back end of the house made of glass?”
“Yes.”
“Did you really think moving into this place through then?”
A low rumble of a chuckle spurred from him. “We did, actually.” He walked over to the large window in question and pointed to a black button protruding from the wall. “Pressing this releases a blackout shade built in to the window. Each room is equipped with one.”
“So, you picked this house with, what I’m sure is, a magnificent view of the woods and mountains only to block it out most of the time with shades? That doesn’t seem practical. Shouldn’t you have thought about finding something else?” I was being serious, but a slight amount of playfulness was etched into my words. Maybe it was the alcohol in the drink already working through me, relaxing my muscles and thoughts.
He swirled the liquid around in his glass, causing the ice to clink along the sides, and smirked. “One would think, but as I have already mentioned, the sunlight does not bother me except around high noon.”
“Right.” I had nearly forgotten. “And your sisters are the same.”
“Yes.”
I took a sip of my drink. “I guess it was an okay purchase, then.”
“I’m glad you approve.” A faint smile touched his lips, one I found to be sexy as hell.
“Are you going to show me the rest of the house? Or are we stopping here for a reason?”
Randal’s eyes smoldered with intensity. “Was there another portion of the house that intrigued you besides this?”
A fluttering sensation flitted through my stomach. Damn, he was good. There wasn’t a single thing I could think to respond with. The flirty, wild side Randal always seemed to hide had come out to play again.
“Touché.” I took another sip of my drink, hoping to drown the butterflies and tendrils of lust spiraling through me. I had to keep myself in control. The wraith couldn’t be allowed to gain any more strength.
As though he could read my mind, Randal sauntered forward in a calculated, seductive way, erasing the space separating us. He took another sip from his drink and licked along his bottom lip, his eyes never leaving mine. My heart pulsed through my body as the yearning to kiss him vibrated through me. Here he was, seducing the succubus once more.
Chapter 7
“Do you really care to see Arabella’s room, or Bianca’s for that matter?” He was inches from me now, his hot breath slipping along my exposed skin. “The bathroom perhaps? On second thought, there might be another room of interest to you …” Playfulness wrapped around each of his words, sending shivers racing along my spine.
I cleared my throat, hating how easily he could elicit such feelings inside of me, even while I struggled so hard to keep them at bay. “And what room would that be?” My voice was nothing besides a breathy whisper.
His fingers swept out to toy with the strands of hair draped over my shoulder. “My office.”
I closed my eyes as his fingers trailed along my neck, wishing Lexy’s potion helped me control myself in all situations, not just the ones involving the wraith, because I sure as hell could use some freaking self-control about now. There was a house full of people below us—most of which harbored super-hearing capabilities—and a good reason for why I should be pissed at Randal. Plus, there was the issue of how situations like the one we were leading to fed the wraith. Now was not the time to have zero resolve when it came to Randal.
As his lips grazed the sensitive skin along my shoulder, my thoughts and worries drifted away. “What would you like to do, Kenna? Stay in this room, or cross the hall to my office? The choice is yours.” His teeth nipped along my neck, reminding me of what it felt like to be bitten by him. The sexy dream I once had of us in an office with walls lined to the ceiling by books filled my mind. Remembering his ability to create dreamscapes, I wondered if he had replicated that office.
Chill bumps spread across my skin as Randal’s lips grazed my collarbone. His hand came around to cup the nape of my neck, the feel of his soft touch and tender kisses sending spasms of want through me. My fingers intertwined within his hair as he made his way to the other side of my neck. The desire to have him pierce the skin where he was sucking and licking rocketed through me. Having him feed from me while we had sex had been the most erotic thing I’d ever done, and I desperately wanted to experience it again.
Randal gripped my hip with his free hand and inched us toward the bed. The moment the backs of my knees pressed into the thickly padded mattress, he was reaching for my glass and setting it on the nightstand along with his own. I was lying across the bed, him hovering above me, in the next second. My hands glided along the smooth fabric of the blazer he wore. Without releasing his lips from mine, he shucked the thing off and tossed it to the foot of the bed. I tugged at his shirt until it was fully released from the waistband of his slacks, and then slipped my hands beneath. The urge to feel his skin against mine was irresistible. His teeth nipped harder at the side of my neck as I raked my fingernails across his chiseled abs.
He pulled away and gazed into my eyes. “Are we finished playing nice in bed now?” A sensation of sparks showered through me at the rough baritone of his voice. “If so, I can assure you, I know all about the things in the books you read.”
Heat rushed to color my cheeks. I had forgotten he checked out one of the vampire sex slave novels I had on my coffee table once when he had come over. The hunger flickering in the depths of his gray eyes both excited and terrified me as he continued to pin me with his stare. He was serious.
Randal Vincent was about to rock my freaking world; it was written all over his face.
“You have a house full of people,” I muttered, my mind clearing now that his lips were no longer on me. “And the majority of those people have supernatural hearing.”
“Are you admitting you are not able to be quiet?” Lust brightened the color of his eyes as his challenge hung in the air between us.
Holy hotness. I needed to put an end to this moment right now. There was no way I wanted to give everyone in the house another reason to dislike me or stare at me as though I were a leper. No more flames to the drama fire, no matter ho
w much I wanted Randal. He would slowly kill me with sex if I allowed him. I wondered if I should mention something to him. After all, there would be no better mood kill.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” I said instead.
“Well.” He slipped off me and straightened his clothing. I didn’t miss the half smile cutting across his face though. “At least you are honest.”
I pushed myself up onto my elbows, feeling the dull ache of pent up desire throb through me. Turning him down hadn’t been the most pleasant idea I had ever had, but it was necessary. While I watched him closely as he tucked his shirt back in, I wondered if now would be a better time to explain why we needed to put our sex life on hold. At least it would wipe the smug, self-satisfied smile off his face.
My cell chimed with an incoming text before I could say a word. I moved to retrieve it from inside my clutch that had been tossed to the side during our moment of heat. Either Dex had heard our panting from all the way downstairs and was texting to give me guff about it, or else it was from Lexy.
I hoped it was from Lexy.
“Expecting something important?” Randal asked, taking note to my hasty movements.
“Yes and no,” I answered.
When my fingertips grazed the coolness of my cell inside my purse, I felt my heart beat triple time. I pulled it out and glanced at the screen. A text from Lexy illuminated it.
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I’ve been doing some digging. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only spell I’ve found within my realm of magic able to remove a wraith from a person. I’ll keep looking, but don’t get your hopes up.
My stomach grew sour as I reread her text, wishing it said something different. There had to be another way. Asking someone to die for me wasn’t going to happen. My hands shook as I attempted to type out a response.
Thank you. Please keep looking. ~ Kenna
“Are you all right? Who is texting you?” Concern saturated Randal’s words as he started toward me.
I clasped my cell, purposely covering the screen so he wouldn’t be able to read it. “It’s Lexy. She was wondering how well her concoctions were working for me.”
Another text came through. Randal maneuvered around me and reached for his drink on the nightstand. Turning away from him, I swiped my thumb across the screen to read it.
I understand the severity of what the spell calls for, but it seems to be the only way. I’m not trying to be a downer, but you do realize there are only ten days left to find someone, right?
I chewed along the inside of my lip. My time was dwindling. I knew this, but there wasn’t anything else I could do. I wasn’t asking anyone to die for me; it wasn’t an option.
I know. I’ll keep you posted, but please continue searching for another way. ~ Kenna
Someone shouting Randal’s name from downstairs caught my attention. A loud crash and the sound of glass breaking came next, causing me to jump. “What the hell was that?”
Randal exhaled. His expression had twisted into something grim at the sound of the noise, leading me to believe he already knew who was causing the ruckus downstairs. From the look on his face, he didn’t appear to like the idea of whoever it was being here.
“Natalia.” He sighed.
My heart dropped to my toes at the mention of his crazy ex. “What is she doing here?”
In fact, how did she know where here was? Was I right in thinking she had been following me? Maybe it was time I confronted her, and asked her what the hell her problem was. The picture of me kissing Sam popped into my head, along with the message that had been written across the back. Being called a slut was not something I took lightly. Maybe it was time I showed her that. Vampire or not, I didn’t care. I was still about to show this crazy bitch I wasn’t one to mess with.
Apparently, I’d found a new way to direct my pent up sexual frustration. She happened to have red hair and could be labeled as a party-crasher.
“I have no clue, but I can assure you, she will not be here for long.” He slipped his arms through the sleeves on his blazer and smoothed his hair back into place before turning to leave the room, not knowing how right he was.
Whether he got to be the one to ask her to leave first was to be determined.
I grabbed my glass off the nightstand and stalked after him, being sure to hold on to all the anger rolling through me as I went. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Natalia came into view. Randal had been right about who the disturbance was, not that I had doubted him.
My eyes skimmed over her, taking in how horrible she looked. The woman was a complete mess. While her red hair was straightened to silky perfection, her mascara had become smudged beneath her bloodshot, puffy eyes. Who knew vampires could look like such a hot mess after crying? Dressed in a barely-there royal blue cocktail dress, which hit about mid-thigh, she seemed to be swaying where she stood. Shattered glass lay in front of her, which must have been what we had heard. I wondered if she was drunk or if she had finally cracked.
Knowing how quick a vampire’s metabolism was when it came to alcohol, I narrowed my eyes, looking for the telltale sign she had recently fed. My nose curled with disgust when I spotted a smear of blood at the corner of her mouth. Obviously, she had fed from a human who had been under the influence of alcohol.
“There you are, my sweet,” Natalia cooed as Randal stalked toward her. She stumbled forward with her arms outstretched, but tripped over her own feet. Randal caught her. The man’s reflexes were incredibly catlike. “Always my hero.” She brushed her fingertips against his cheek as she looked up at him through clumpy eyelashes. I wanted to deck her.
“What are you doing here, Natalia? How did you even find the place?” Randal’s voice was low, but it somehow still carried over the music floating through the house. Maybe it was because everyone had grown silent, opting to take in the scene unfolding rather than hold a conversation.
Natalia skimmed Randal’s bottom lip with her thumb as she stared up at him. He turned away from her touch and carefully released his grip on her. Always a gentleman, I thought, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I was invited,” she slurred. Her lips twisted into a wicked smile as she gripped onto his shoulder and kicked off her heels. “Someone in the family still loves me enough to keep me in the loop, my darling.”
Randal pivoted, his eyes blistering with rage, as he searched the faces of those around him. “And who might that be?”
I wondered the same, but not for long because I knew who would give up such information.
Natalia pressed her index finger to her plump lips. “Shhh, I’ll never tell.”
Randal’s face hardened as he narrowed his eyes on someone to the right of me. I followed his heated gaze to Bianca. She never did like me, and inviting Natalia to this party seemed exactly like something she would do. Sitting on the white leather wraparound couch in the center of the large living room, her legs were crossed and there was a glass of bubbling champagne held in one of her hands. She glared at Randal venomously.
“Tell me, sister, why would you invite Natalia, knowing how much her presence would anger me?” Randal’s voice boomed through the room, and I knew then anything I could have said to either of them wouldn’t hold a candle to the rage they were about to encounter from him.
“Why wouldn’t I, dear brother?” Her voice was a hiss as she kept her eyes trained on Randal and her drink clasped in her hand. “Natalia and I have always been close. In fact, there were often times I thought of her as a sister. Am I supposed to have nothing to do with her, because you decided to toss her aside after so many years as a companion to replace her with that?” Bianca’s eyes raked over me as though I was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. I straightened my shoulders and held her stare.
Randal toyed with the cuffs of his shirt and stalked forward. The music floating through the room seemed to soften. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional so those of us without supernatural hearing wouldn’t miss a
word of their conversation, or if it was part of the song.
“Do not disrespect Kenna.” Randal’s words dripped with fury. “I have never advised you to distance yourself from Natalia. I understand you have been friends for many years due to my and Natalia’s previous status, but you will not treat our breakup as some flippant decision I foolishly made under the influence of Kenna’s beauty.” His sharp inhale met my ears. “You do not dictate whom I date, and you are well aware Natalia should not have been invited to tonight’s events.”
No one made a sound as the two continued to stare sharply into one another’s eyes. While I knew Randal harbored a sense of authority over his sisters, as well as other vampires due to his age, I had never seen him put it to use until now. There was no denying the clout he held over his sisters especially. It vibrated in the air around him.
“While you may have chosen this house and forced Arabella and I to relocate here, you do not have the power to govern whom I invite through those doors.” Bianca lifted her chin in defiance and took a sip of her champagne.
Randal jammed his hands into the front pockets of his slacks and shuffled his feet. Tension seemed to roll off him, dispelling in the air. I had never seen Randal this angry before.
“Her presence is not to be granted in this house again,” he snarled. “Do I make myself clear?”
A wicked smile twisted Bianca’s lips. “What’s the matter, dear brother? Are you afraid Natalia’s presence might tempt you?”
As if it were her cue, Natalia stepped forward and trailed her fingertips along the back of Randal’s neck. My stomach rolled when I noticed he didn’t shy away from her touch. In fact, he didn’t move at all.
“You and Natalia belong together.” Bianca’s words seemed heavy with persuasion, while at the same time demanding.
Succubus Kiss The Complete Series Page 38