“Okay,” I said, looking at the sofa.
“Take my bed. Don’t worry, I’ll stay out here on the sofa.”
In his room, I put on a pink thigh-length cotton nightshirt I’d picked up at the store. In his bed, the memories of the passion we had shared came rushing back to me again. I breathed in the scent of the sheets and inhaled the scent of Devon and me together there not so long ago.
Then again, this was also where he held me captive. Too many thoughts swirled in my head that I was unable to process how I should react to him. Just because he was now helping me, could I forgive him for what he’d done to me? And there had to be something in it for him. Money. It had to be money. Wasn’t that all he cared about?
My body definitely had its own opinion on the matter of Devon; one that didn’t care about motives or reasons. Just pure and simple longing for the exquisite male being in the next room.
I could call to him now. Invite him in.
No, stop thinking about him. Go to sleep.
My body was so screwed up by the events and the jet lag and my internal clock adjusting to the new sunlight hours that it was difficult to get to sleep. Not to mention all the worries in my mind. Who stole the painting and why were they framing me? Would the bank provide any answers? It seemed that my fate was in Devon’s hands.
I tossed and turned while images of making love to Devon penetrated my mind. Images then turned into a full-blown fantasy. My hands ran over my breasts, as I visualized his hands touching me. My sensitive nipples immediately hardened into peaks, longing for his fingers to touch them, his mouth to warm them. Running my hands down my body, I discovered how wet I was already. Ready for him.
I reached inside me to moisten my fingers and then found my oversensitive nub, waiting. Anticipating. For several minutes, I touched myself while fantasizing about Devon until I couldn’t take it any longer.
Climbing out of his bed, I opened the door and saw him still sitting in front of his laptop.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Making sure we’re all set for the bank tomorrow.”
“Are we?”
“Yes.” He cocked his head as he examined me. “You okay?”
My cheeks must have been flushed and my breath still ragged with longing.
“No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I want you. I need you. Come to bed with me.”
His face contorted with a jumble of confused emotions, but he recovered quickly and stood. “You sure?”
“Yesss,” I purred.
In a few strides, he made it to me and grasped both sides of my head in his hands, forcing me to look at him.
“What is it? Another ruse?”
I would have shaken my head, but couldn’t with his hands keeping me still, forcing me to look at him. “No ruse.”
“Don’t you hate me?” His blue-green eyes searched mine, which made it difficult to think. The heady scent of his masculinity and animal magnetism inclined me to close my eyes and breathe him in.
“Yes. And no. I don’t understand you. Or what you’re doing.”
“But you want me?”
I took his hand and placed it over my breast, sure that he already noticed my erect nipples poking through the thin cotton. His fingers caressed my nipple through the soft fabric.
“I’m confused and I’m scared. And I don’t want to think anymore.”
He reached under my nightgown and up to my pussy, which was weeping with anticipation. A low, guttural moan escaped him as he inhaled sharply.
My lips trembled as I focused on the lust-filled expression that came on his face. Then he leaned down to kiss me and I wrapped my arms around him as I savored the taste of his mouth once more. I jumped up to wrap my legs around him and he caught me, carrying me back into the bedroom and placing me on the bed.
“I’ll get your mind off everything else,” he murmured.
Then he pulled my nightshirt up over my head and began a sweet, sensual assault on all my senses, kissing and licking my sensitive skin until he finally reached my thighs. I writhed on the bed, waiting, waiting for more. He finally kissed me there, licking and sucking until my body tensed and I grabbed the sheets. Already so on edge, it didn’t take much to send me over.
“Oh God, Devon!” I screamed as I shattered.
He removed his clothes quickly as my eyes raked over each carefully sculpted muscle. Then he reached into a drawer and grabbed a condom.
“You don’t need that with me,” I said. “I can’t carry diseases or get pregnant.”
“One perk to fucking a vampire.” He grinned mischievously.
Then he grabbed the magnificent girth of his cock and teased me with it.
“Now,” I begged. “Please.”
He played around my entrance some more. “How bad do you want me?”
“This bad,” I said and pulled him into me.
He entered slowly, continuing the sweet assault on my senses. I waited patiently, savoring the sensation as he filled me bit by bit. Then I grabbed him as I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him in deeper.
“Fuck me, Devon.”
He impaled me so deeply I screamed out.
“You want it hard like this?”
“Yes!” I called when I recovered.
I wrapped my legs tighter around him as he filled me deeper and harder again and again. Then I lifted my hips so my oversensitive clit reached his cock. The intense pressure rocketed me to new heights and I clawed him as I came again.
“Yes, Layla. Come all over me.” Then he rammed his throbbing cock into me three more times before his head rolled back and he shot his fluids deep into me.
After we recovered, Devon rolled beside me and held me close. With my mind cleared and body sated, I finally fell asleep in his warm, protective embrace.
After a few hours of sleep, Devon woke me to go to the bank. My dreams were filled with delicious thoughts of him and I didn’t want them to end. Waking up during daylight went contrary to my internal clock so I moved sluggishly, until I remembered how this might be the last time I ever woke.
He had arranged for a specially equipped van that blocked out all sunlight in the back. He got me into the car under an insulated tarp, but I caught sight of daylight around us and it almost blinded me. Then he drove to a bank branch that had an underground garage so we could enter through the elevators.
A couple of hours later, we returned to the flat. I thought it had been a waste of time. We had unlocked my account, but the five million pounds was long gone. Devon was far more optimistic about it. He took the printout of the account numbers where the money was transferred and sat at his laptop as he set about tracking where the money had been dispersed. I tried to follow along as he explained offshore accounts set up under what were most likely fronts with fictional organizations, but all my questions slowed his progress.
“Tell you what. Why don’t we each take a task, make us more efficient,” he said. “I’ll focus on the accounts, you focus on figuring out where the painting went.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Start with art galleries in London. Ask questions. Follow leads. Ask more questions.”
“All right, I’ll try, but I don’t know what I’m doing. This is your forte, not mine.”
“You’ll be great. Besides, you can describe the painting much better than I can. The details and so on.”
“I’m on it,” I said. It was better to do something productive than to focus on what would happen tonight if we didn’t get Stefano the answers he wanted.
Otherwise I’d spend my time remembering the hot sex with the delicious shapeshifter beside me and fantasizing about spending my last few hours in bed with him.
We spent the day tracking leads. I thought we weren’t getting anywhere, but Devon was excited.
“Slow but steady progress,” he said.
“I can’t afford slow,” I said, hitting the armchair in frustration. “I’m
sorry,” I said, instantly regretting my outburst. “Thank you for all you’ve done to help me. I appreciate it.”
The hours had passed too quickly and it was time to go back to Stefano’s.
I had to make one more phone call before we left. Joey.
“Can I use the phone in your room?”
Joey
“Hello.”
“Joey, it’s me. Lay—I mean—Angelica.”
Hearing her voice triggered so many emotions, I didn’t know where to begin.
“Angelica! Where are you? What happened? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“You disappeared. I’ve been worried sick about you! Where have you been?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have much time.”
“I tried calling you. So many times. Left you a message. I wanted to go to the police, but the guys said I was overreacting and that you were probably fine.”
“I am fine, Joey. I’m sorry I worried you.”
“Worried me? I’ve been tormenting myself trying to figure out where you were. The things I imagined—I don’t even want to remember all the awful things. Why didn’t you call me back? Do you know what you put me through?”
“I’m so sorry, Joey. I lost my phone. And it’s just been so—so crazy. If I had time, I’d tell you everything. But a lot is going on right now and I can’t explain it just yet.”
“What do you mean? Why not? Why can’t you tell me something? Common courtesy, you know?”
“Joey, I know you worry about me and I know no matter how many times I tell you not to, you still will. You have this protective streak when it comes to me and I don’t know why. But I’m begging you this time not to worry about me. I have some stuff to take care of that can’t wait. I’ll be out of touch for a while.”
“You’re being so cryptic, Angelica. I wish you could just be straight with me for once.”
“I wish I could too. But I can’t right now.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“I don’t know.”
“We have shows booked this weekend. Are you going to be back?”
The silence on the other end of the phone indicated the answer before she said it.
“I don’t know if I’ll be back. You might be better off finding someone else to replace me.”
“Angelica, no!”
My emotional reaction revealed more about my feelings than I’d wanted to make known.
“It’s not fair to make you wait while I figure all this shit out. You guys should go on, find someone to fill in this weekend, or even one of you can sing the songs.”
“What you’re asking me is too much. You’re not just finding someone to replace you as a singer, you’re asking someone to replace you.That’s impossible.”
“Joey,” she pleaded. “Please don’t do this now.”
The terror of losing her was building up inside me, forcing me to say things I’d buried in fear of never seeing her again.
“Why not? This might be the last time I ever speak to you. And it’s not even in person, which sucks even more. Don’t you know I feel something for you?”
“Of course, Joey. We’re bandmates. We’re friends. We spend so much time together so it’s natural to care about each other.”
“I’m bandmates and friends with Mark and Rocco too. I don’t feel for them what I feel for you.”
“No, Joey. Don’t do this.”
“Don’t deny your feeling, Angelica. I know there’s something between us. You feel it too.”
“I care about you as a friend, but that’s all. That’s all it could ever be between us. So please, whatever feelings you think you may have for me, you have to forget about them.”
“You’re asking for the impossible.”
“I’m asking for the only possible option.” I heard her say “one minute” to someone. “I have to go. Please take care of yourself. I’ll be in touch when I can.”
“Angelica!” I called out.
She’d already hung up the phone.
“Fuck!” I yelled, slamming my phone down on the table.
Devon
“Who was that?” I asked when Layla returned to the living room.
“Joey. The guitarist in my band.”
“Oh,” was all I said, not sure why her talking to him bothered me.
“I knew he’d be freaking out worried about me and I had to let him know I was okay.”
“What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“I’ve seen you flirt onstage.”
Layla sighed. “There is nothing more between Joey and me than friendship and a relationship being in a band together. The act we have onstage is just that—an act. The crowd responds to it so we have fun with it.”
“Is he aware of this?”
“Yes.”
“I get the impression he feels very protective of you. And that it’s real for him. Or he wants you to be together.”
“He might. But I’ve explained how it can’t be. I need my privacy and he needs to back off.
“Do you think he will?”
“I hope so.” Then she turned the conversation to me. “Why are you asking me all these questions? Are you jealous?” She raised an eyebrow.
“No,” I said a bit too defensively. I looked at my watch. “We need to go to Stefano’s,” I said, trying to hide the regret in my voice.
Her face dropped.
“Don’t give up on me yet, Layla. These things take time. Look at how long it took me to track you down. We just need to convince Stefano to give us more time.”
Her eyes focused on the floor as if she was resigned to her fate. “He’s not a patient man.”
I tried to engage Layla in discussing the possibilities of what happened with the painting. She remained quiet, however, and focused on the scenery as the city transformed to the country.
Back inside Stefano’s imposing Tudor, I told him. “She didn’t do it though. It wasn’t Layla who took the painting.”
“Oh really,” Stefano said with mock interest. “Let me guess, she seduced you and got you to believe in her innocence prattle.”
Perhaps that was her intention initially. Perhaps Stefano was right about her. But it didn’t change how I felt. I believed she was a pawn in someone’s game and I wanted to save her. Too much of the evidence pointed at her a little too tidily, making her the scapegoat.
“It’s the truth. She didn’t take the money.”
He looked unconvinced, but humored me by asking, “Then who did?”
“I don’t know yet. We’re been tracking down leads all day. We just need more time to see where they lead”
“Enough!” Stefano declared. “She’s had enough time to clear her name by now if she was innocent.” Anger clearly boiled under the surface over her supposed betrayal. “Forget this new plan of yours. The job was to bring her here. You’ve done your job so you can leave.”
This was not going well. If it’s how he wanted to play, I’d go along though. “Done. So pay me.”
Layla’s eyes widened in terror and Stefano gave me a critical look. I kept my face impassive so as not to reveal anything.
“Wait here,” Stefano said to Layla. I followed him out the great room, turning back to wink at Layla. “It will be okay,” I mouthed. Then I followed him into the study. He took a manila envelope off the desk and handed it to me. “You know the way out.” He nodded at the guards down the hall and returned to the great room.
I hadn’t moved as I figured out my next move. The guards were watching me, waiting.
“I forgot my bag,” I muttered and followed Stefano. He had his hands around Layla’s neck and said, “Tell me now before I start removing body parts, starting with those fangs.”
“Stefano, please,” she choked out.
Seeing her hurt was too much to bear. Without thinking, I lunged at him, knocking Layla out of his grasp. Stefano focused on me, baring fangs, but Layla jumped onto h
im. The three of us crashed into walls as we whirled about.
“Stefano!” one of the bodyguards shouted.
Both Lee and Garrett were in the doorway. More bloody vampires. They ran toward me, fangs bared and eyes flashing.
I escaped Stefano’s grasp as I leapt in their direction, transforming into a lion in the middle of the air while my clothes shredded to rags.
“Damn shifters!” one of them shouted.
The vampires were strong and quick, but I had more experience. The battle was easily mine. With teeth bared, I knocked Garrett to the floor and tore his throat out. While he grasped at the blood gushing out like a fountain, I shifted back to human form to grab one of the swords hanging on the wall. Whether the blade was sharp or decoration, I’d find out soon enough. Lee ran to me and I sank the blade into his gut.
It wasn’t a fatal blow. Lee was able to keep moving and he jumped on top of me, sinking his fangs into my neck. Pushing the revulsion away, I reached down to grab the sword and pulled it out swiftly, using all my strength to ram it against the back of his neck.
It didn’t cut all the way through, but injured him enough that he released his hold on me. With his neck partially severed, he reached to grasp it, screaming.
While his blood spilled onto the tiles of the great room, I rushed to my feet, swung the sword with all my might and severed the rest of his neck. His head fell to the floor with a thud.
When I turned back to check on Layla, I saw Stefano had overpowered her. He had pinned her on the floor and his extended fangs threatened to pierce her exposed neck. She fought against him, kicking and punching, but he was an old and very powerful vampire so her blows were futile. They both were distracted by the screaming and the scent of my blood.
However, Garrett was still moving. I assumed as a vampire he’d recover and come after me if I didn’t administer a fatal blow. Taking the sword, I plunged it into his heart.
Stefano hissed. “A lion shifter in England?”
“You knew what you hired.”
“I knew you were a shifter. I didn’t care what animal you turned into.”
BloodlustandMetal Page 12