by Lexi C. Foss
“He’s just tiresome and boring,” she said.
“Were you interested in him?” I asked.
“I think half the daughters of the gentry have wanted him at one point or the other. He’s a living god with blond hair, blue eyes, and exceptional manners. But I hear that he’s a bore in the bedroom.” I took a sip of my lemonade and tried to ignore the insinuation. I would have agreed with her a couple of days ago. “You don’t have to tell me what he’s like.”
“We aren’t that close,” I replied.
“Oh, well. Did you know that my father is hosting a charity ball tonight? I’m sure that Jasper was invited despite his low rank. It’s only polite. Did he invite you to come?” She chattered away.
“No, he hasn’t mentioned it,” I replied.
“Well, I’m inviting you. You are an ambassador’s daughter, and completely gorgeous. I’m sure we could find a suitable partner for you,” she gushed.
“Just not Beckett.”
“Heavens, no. My brother defies my father at every turn. I really hoped that one day he’d get out of this rebellious stage. It’s almost as if he’s been in it for centuries,” she said. I began to wonder if Beckett might not be our target, but perhaps his father or maybe even his whole family. I had the security of the stake strapped to my thigh, but I knew Miss Stuart wouldn’t make a move in broad daylight.
“Usually young men grow out of that rebellion,” I said flatly.
“You would think. Anyway. I hope you come. It is formal, of course. If you can’t drum up the proper attire just give me a ring and I’ll have my seamstress get something for you. Oh, and it’s sort of a dress-up masquerade affair. I’m so excited. I’m going as Marie Antionette. We have French blood in our line. You should totally do something Egyptian. It would be stunning.”
The conversation felt contrived and forced. I didn’t know if that was just my own prejudices against the gentry or something real that I was picking-up on. I needed to ask Jasper about the ball.
During the break in play, he rode over to me and dismounted his horse. I stood up to greet him. He wrapped me up in his arms and whispered in my ear.
“Chelsea seems harmless, but she is as cut-throat as any vampire I’ve ever known,” he said, leaning back to look into my eyes.
“She invited me to the ball tonight,” I said.
He winced. “I hate those things.”
“I know you do, but we really should go. It will get us into Richmond Manor. I think our problem lives within those walls.”
His eyes darkened. “Do you mean Beckett?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Just because he sucked you off doesn’t mean he isn’t our target.”
His face grew serious, and I knew he was focused on our mission. “Samarie, I can vouch for Beckett. I’ve never liked the prick and half of that earlier was a joy for me to just give it to him for once, but he isn’t our guy.”
“Must have been a good suck,” I commented.
He ran his thumb over my lips, forcing down my bottom lip, then slipping his thumb in my mouth. “Suck it,” he said. Heat rippled over me as he commanded me to do with no enthrallment behind it. I clamped down on his thumb and sucked as he pulled it out of my mouth with a moan. “You didn’t give me your lips, so I had to take what I could.”
I sighed and stared at him. “I need to be focused.”
“You are the best slayer I’ve ever encountered. I don’t doubt you. Don’t doubt yourself.”
“How many slayers have you known?”
“How old do you think I am?” he asked. Point taken. “Listen to me, Beckett is clean. His family may not be. We will go to the ball, but if we do, you will owe me.”
“I’ve got a napkin that say you owe me,” I replied.
He grinned widely. “Sounds like mutual satisfaction to me.” He leaned down and captured my lips in a heated, passionate kiss, which I knew would grab the attention of every nosey busy body in the gentry. He slapped me on the ass, then returned to his horse. I turned my reddened face away from the crowd. When I dared to glance that way, Chelsea raised her glass to me and nodded. I nodded back for whatever it meant.
After the match, I spoke to a few of the people I’d met before when my father had been around to introduce me. It wasn’t long before a showered Jasper with slightly wet hair rescued me from Lady Contessa who was going on about her latest corgi litter.
“Thank you. If I had to listen to one more thing about dogs, I was going to hurl,” I said.
“You, my dear, are a perfect fit for this life. You are polite and sweet as crumpets to their faces, but vicious as hell to their backs,” he said with a laugh.
“Ball tonight?” I asked as we climbed into his Aston Martin.
“Unfortunately. I spoke to Beckett. He is going to make sure that our names are on the guest list, and he wants to help us track down the target,” Jasper said.
I waited until he climbed into the car before I prodded him. “Did you enjoy your shower with the Viscount?”
He grinned. “Are you disappointed that you didn’t get to watch it?”
“That depends.”
He laughed. “Sam, what I did with him was for you. I’m not interested in anything else with him unless that is what you want. I meant it when I said I’d do anything for you.”
“Seems like an intimate act to perform just to pleasure me.”
“Don’t get me wrong. The man knows how to suck a dick, but my focus is and will always be you,” he said.
“What if I want you to watch me with him?”
He took a deep breath. “Is that the game we are going to play?”
“I’m just testing how far you are willing to go,” I replied.
“I’m not a possessive man, but I don’t really want to share you. However, your needs override my own.”
Without saying it, I knew that he would do whatever I wanted. It wasn’t about Beckett and the encounter that had turned me on. I loved the idea that Jasper would do whatever I wanted. He had his dominant streak, but it was tempered with the absolute focus on my needs. I shouldn’t compare him to Vega. They were nothing alike, but I needed to heed Miranda’s words and not get my heart involved.
The rest of the ride back to my flat was quiet. When we arrived, I grabbed his hand.
“Jasper. You don’t have to walk me upstairs. I’ll see you in a few hours for the ball. Okay?”
“What’s wrong?” he asked. I shook my head. “Haven’t I proven that you can talk to me?”
“I just need to think and sort out some of this. My father also has records of all the gentry and his meetings with them. I’m going to look through the Stuart file and see what I can find. Just give me a little room to breathe, okay?”
He lifted my hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it. “Alright. I’ll see you soon.”
I exited the car and rushed to the door of the building. I needed to get inside and sort my feelings out and prepare for the ball.
The moment I stepped into the flat, I knew something was wrong. I reached to my right where an umbrella stand sat with one of my many sticks. The four-foot long oak staff felt like home to me. I’d been trained to dance with the stick in a traditional Egyptian form, but I also had been trained to use it to fight. E.V.I.E. adapted my dance skills and fighting styles to perfect the use of the stick against vampires. In fact, the end was blunt. With enough force, I didn’t need a pointy end.
I twirled the stick and readied myself for a fight. The first attacker stepped out of the front cloak room. He lunged toward me in the darkness. His knife flashed catching the light from the outside windows. I dodged his attack, spinning the stick around to strike him in the back. His body bowed away from the strike, then as he began to turn, I jammed the end of the stick through his back at his heart level. He burst into dust, coating the entry and my clothes with his leftovers.
Before I could recover, another attacker grabbed the back of my stick, jerking me off balance. Using my dance training, I stepped lightl
y three steps forward until I regained my composure. The vampire snarled showing me his fangs. I smiled at him and shrugged. If he thought fangs were going to scare me, he was wrong. It ignited a fire in me that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.
The thrill of the kill. I loved it. I craved it. Which was why I was drawn to the danger of a vampire relationship. My training was engrained into my soul, but the very pleasure it brought I’d learned to savor.
I jerked him the opposite direction and he lifted a long knife to jab at me using the momentum I’d created for him. As he tumbled toward me, I reached under my skirt, and retrieved the stake I’d strapped there before going to the polo match. He saw me lifting it and tried to change his direction, but it was too late. I buried the stake into his chest. I quickly closed my eyes and mouth as his dust exploded around me.
I stood waiting for the next attack, but nothing happened. I knew better than to drop my guard. I couldn’t remember a time where I’d fought less than three vamps at a time, and typically they didn’t give up even after I’d dusted two of them. Stubborn asses who underestimated the pretty girl with a stick.
When the last one stepped out of the kitchen, I groaned. My pretty white dress was already covered in ashes. The particles of the dead had worked their way into the gaps between the toes in my high heeled strappy shoes. And I was horny as fuck thanks to Jasper and his teasing. This guy was three times my size and didn’t break into that ridiculous smile. He stared me down, knowing my abilities and power.
“It couldn’t have just been another easy one,” I said.
I almost saw a grin cross his face, but instead, he locked in on my movements as I crossed into the receiving room to give myself more space to work. Getting into a fight with this brute in a hallway would mean certain death for me. However, I’d defeated bigger guys. His speed was astounding despite his bulk. I barely dodged his first blow. I wasn’t so lucky the with the second strike. His fist slammed into my cheek, knocking me to the ground. My staff rolled away from me. He pounced downward to strike me again, and I dodged the blow. His fist struck the carpet.
Bastet decided to join the fight. She jumped toward him with her claws extended. She marked his face with three deep scratches. It was enough of a distraction for me to grab my staff and right myself.
“You are a sly little cat, aren’t you?” he said.
“Meow,” I replied.
He struck quickly again, and I anticipated his strikes just barely, but with not enough time to take my own shot at him. He spun around and drove his fist into my kidneys. I sank to my knees in pain, with a pathetic yowl. I hated myself for giving him the satisfaction of hearing my pain. But in that, I heard his arrogance open the door for weakness. Looking over my shoulder, I watched him smile with his hands on his hips.
I coiled my muscles tightly, ignoring the pain, spinning around and thrusting my staff upward. He stopped mid-laugh and rained down a cloud of dust over me. I crawled to the side of the room to get out of the mess. I hoped there weren’t any more, and I guessed that there wasn’t since Bastet decided to take a seat in my dust- covered lap.
“I’m sure I have a bruised kidney,” I said to her as I ran my fingers through her fur. She replied with a meow. “Yes, thank you for the assist. Your goddess would be proud.” This seemed to satisfy her, and she began to purr in my lap. I needed to gather my strength so I didn’t pass out from the pain and make my way to the Bastet statue which would heal me. However, each time I tried to maneuver; searing bolts of lightning slammed through my muscles making it impossible for me to move.
I passed in and out of consciousness until I heard a light tap on the door. The noise coming from my mouth was more of a moan than a word.
“Sam!” Jasper’s panicked voice accompanied several bangs on the door before it flew open. I saw his blurry form rush across the room. He lifted me up, and I winced in pain. “Okay. The statue. You need the statue.”
He carried me over to the Bastet artifact. Gently, he lifted my hand and placed it on the head of the goddess cat. I felt her power surge into me, and my body arched. Jasper held me tight as the power rippled through me repairing the damage done by the vamp attack.
“How many?” he asked.
“Three. Jumped me right after you left. I couldn’t move to call for help,” I said.
He lowered me down onto the couch. I realized that he was wearing a shimmering golden shirt with a brocade black vest. The black silk ascot at his neck was pinned with a single white diamond.
“I’ll search the house,” he said, leaving me on the couch.
“You look nice,” I said. He stopped, and looked back at me to see if I was serious. An adorable, boring smile crossed his face, and I realized that I loved his boring parts, too.
“Thank you.” He searched the flat and found nothing. Had there been anything else, I would have been dead. My body healed quickly, and I showered while Jasper swept up vamp dust.
I opened my closet and smirked at the idea that Chelsea Stuart thought she needed to help me with my wardrobe. One of my favorite designers had just sent me a gorgeous white dress with a golden Egyptian motif. I slipped into a golden pair of heels with beads that hung down around my ankle.
I stood there in my lace panties and bra when Jasper leaned on my bedroom door frame. He admired me without stepping into the room.
“Too bad we don’t have time,” I said.
“I don’t forget my promises. It can wait,” he said with a grin.
I chose a golden arm cuff which looked like a snake. I slid it up my arm up to my right forearm. The dress slipped over my head and flowed down over my body.
“Zip me up?”
Jasper walked forward and leaned down to kiss my lower back, then I felt his fangs drag up my back pressing into my skin without piercing it. The zipper followed after his tease. He stood behind me looking over my shoulder at our reflection in the mirror. Contrary to lore, vampires can be seen in mirrors. He wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his chin on my shoulder.
“You are the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen, and I will hold you for as long as you let me.”
“You don’t have to amp up the sexual experimentation for me,” I admitted.
He placed a soft kiss on my neck. “I told you that I’d give you whatever you want. You enjoyed it. Right?”
“I did.” I turned around to face him. “But I just have been avoiding us. I’m afraid of it. Beckett isn’t necessary.”
He grinned at me. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“Your first?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’d say he was experienced though.”
“He popped your gay cherry?” I teased.
“My cherry was popped a long time ago, and it ain’t gay. However, I don’t mind experimentation to please you. Besides I’m sure he probably wants his chance at you. I’m not sure I can watch that,” he said, wrinkling his nose.
“It’s only fair. You made me watch.”
“It was just a little fun.”
“Uh-huh. What’s the plan tonight?”
“Find the bad guy. Stake him.”
“Or her.”
“Or her, and come back here or to my place and fuck.”
“How romantic.”
He squeezed my ass. “What can I say? I’m a boring guy.”
“You are never going to let me forget that.”
“Never.”
Richmond Manor stood just north-east of London in Buckinghamshire, and while it would normally be a two-hour drive, it only took us thirty minutes. Vampire reflexes made the trip shorter which was great since we were already late.
We pulled up in front of the huge manor house which sat on one-hundred and twenty acres. It consisted of vast gardens, an aviary, and many statues from around the world. The place was more of a museum than a home. I’d seen pictures online of the ornate interiors in a neo-renaissance style with heavy French influences.
I donned my golden Bastet mask. Jasper wore a bla
ck mask with spray of golden arrows reaching upward at the center. I also carried a golden staff with an ankh attached to the top. This one held no special powers, but I liked the idea of carrying the symbol into the den of vampires. I appreciated that Jasper had done a little research, or perhaps it was just knowledge gained by living over the ages. Bastet was often equated to the Greek goddess Artemis who was a virgin. It was said that she loved Orion, the great hunter, but either accidentally killed him or killed him on purpose.
I stopped just before entering the front doors.
“What’s wrong?” Jasper asked.
I reached up and touched the arrows on his mask. “I don’t want to kill you.”
“Artemis didn’t want to kill Orion, but I’m aware of what you are and what I am. I also know the pain you carry because of Vega DiRossi. I’m giving you permission to kill me should you determine that I need it. I want it to be you. I’d rather die by your hand than live as a monster. This is a reminder of the man I need to be to keep you by my side.”
I cleared my throat and tried to push down my feelings. He touched my cheek.
“You said no strings.”
“I lied. My heart has always been tied to you from the moment I saw you. However, I require no recompense,” he said.
I raised up on my toes and kissed him. His lips moved lightly over mine, and I drank in the gentle restraint I felt in them. His control to not devour me was beyond anything I’d seen in a vampire.
“You’re late,” a voice cut through the moment.
We looked up to see Beckett standing in the doorway holding a glass of champagne. He wore a silver patina mask of a smiling man with a single tear escaping his right eye.
“Yes, well, I had to dust a few of your minions before I came,” I said, taunting him to see his reaction.
His smile faded and he marched down the steps to us. “What minions?”
“She was attacked at her flat by three vamps,” Jasper filled him in. I wanted to protest, but for some reason, Jasper trusted Beckett.
“We shouldn’t talk about this here. Come this way,” Beckett said as he turned to his right, leading us away from the entrance of the manor.