Chapter 7
“Give me your phone,” says Sebastian as he stalks toward me.
I open my mouth to protest, but I think better of it and stop myself before words come out. I’m in way over my head here, and maybe it’s not a bad thing if I get fired after all. While I wanted this to be an adventure, I didn’t realize it would come with the price of my identity. I squint at him as I struggle not to slap the phone in his hand.
Sebastian says, “You can email your mother to stay in touch, but be warned I will be reviewing all correspondence.”
Sebastian walks over to his desk, and his chair creaks as he sits down. I guess this means I’m not fired, yet.
My phone clatters on the desk when he sets it down, and he leans back in his seat to temple his fingers and place them against his mouth. He stares at me long enough that I begin to fidget. He says, “Sexual attraction is a difficult thing to resist, Margaret.”
What the hell? I glare at him because I’m not sure if I should be mad that he thinks I can’t control myself or happy that he understands why I kissed Alexander. “My brother is a very attractive man.” Sebastian sits up. “But you should know something about him before you get carried away. He’s also very dangerous.”
Oh, this guy is a piece of work. I say, “If your brother is a player, then I agree things could get awkward if we were to have a relationship that was merely a one-night stand. Still, that’s a huge assumption based on what you saw. It was just a kiss.”
Sebastian gets up and walks over to me as he says, “I doubt it.” His voice gets lower, and my heart finds it sexy even though my mind is angry. “You’re a young woman with a strong sex drive. It’s natural for you to want to be with Alexander in a physical way.” Sebastian reaches out and lifts up a lock of my hair. My skin prickles with desire as moisture pools between my legs. It’s so wrong that I’m attracted to the brother of the guy I was just with. Stop it, heart. I stare up at him, and he moves even closer before he lets the strand slip through his fingers and says, “It’s time you knew.”
“Knew what?” My voice comes out softer than I intended, and I hate that it shakes a little from the way he makes me tremble with wanting.
“First, I need you to understand the nondisclosure you signed is more than enforceable by law.” He steps away from me abruptly and says, “The fact is, if you reveal what you know about this house and Alexander and me to anyone, I will kill you.”
I inhale sharply. Who is this guy? I ask my heart. But she doesn’t answer with anything but love for the man. I say, “I wouldn’t.”
“Hmm.” Sebastian walks over to his desk and lifts up my phone. I watch as he swipes his finger across the screen and taps on it, and I wonder how he knows my password. I’m surprised when he smiles, and it hits me he must be reading my texts and likes the one where I said he and Alexander are smoking hot.
Anger surges in me as the heat of my embarrassment flushes my face. “That’s an invasion of privacy, you know. And how do you know my password?”
He ignores my questions. “I’ll allow you to email Krista too.” He smiles at me. “But no pictures.”
He threatens to kill me, treats me like I’m his daughter who got in trouble, and pretends this is funny? My temper flares. “Allow me? Allow me!” I stomp over to his desk. “News flash. I’m not your possession. I will work damn hard at my job, and I appreciate all the perks that come with it. I screwed up, and if you need to punish me, then dock my pay. But I do not belong to you, and you don’t get to allow me basic human rights.”
Sebastian hisses at me, and I stare in shock at his transformation. His eyes blaze in an unnatural way, and when he opens his mouth I gasp. He reveals two long, sharp fangs, and my adrenaline finally kicks in to snap me out of my trance. “Oh!” I squeak before I turn and run away. But I only get two steps before Sebastian magically appears before me. He grabs my arms to stop me, and I struggle to get free.
His grip is tight enough that I might have bruises, and he says, “Margaret! Relax. Nobody is going to hurt you.”
I stop fighting, because I’m no match for him. A small whimper escapes my lips as I gaze up at him and realize how stupid I’ve been. I discover he’s human again. The clues rush through my mind. The dark house. Pale skin. Sebastian’s super speed, and the way Alexander just leapt over the fence. I whisper, “You’re vampires.” My stomach lurches as if I’m going to be sick.
“Yes.”
My legs turn to rubber, and my knees give out before Sebastian catches me and scoops me up in his arms. I lean against his chest, and my heart nearly bursts with warmth. This man would never hurt us. The intensity of my emotion makes tears prick at my eyes. He carries me over to the couch, and when he sets me down I don’t want him to let go. I reach out for him, and his hand is cool in mine as I grab on and say, “Don’t leave me.”
My words shock me, and when Sebastian sits on the edge of the sofa next to me I blink and wonder if I’m in shock as I say, “I’m not sure why I just said that.” He gazes at me with sadness in his eyes. I feel his pain, and hot tears roll down my face, because it was my heart talking, and I imagine what it would be like to leave the man you love behind. I think Sebastian picked me for this job because he was in love with the girl who belongs to the heart I have too, and he wants her back. When Sebastian places his hand on my cheek I lean into it and ask, “What was her name?”
He jerks back. I’ve startled him, and I think it’s time for me to reveal my truth too. I say, “I feel her. I think a piece of her soul came with the heart. She loved you deeply, Sebastian.”
His eyes shine with moisture, but his weakness disappears in an instant, and his face gets hard as he says, “I see.”
He’s mad? Oh no! Does he think my donor wants his brother now? I grab his hand. “I kissed Alexander. She didn’t.” I sit up, and cotton is soft in my hand as I clutch at his shirt. “It’s like I’m two people. My heart wants you, but the rest of me is attracted to Alexander.”
I release him, and he gets up to sit on the couch across from me. He holds his head in his hands, and my heart aches. She wants me to go to him, but I don’t think it’s a wise idea. Kissing one Hart brother did enough damage. Even though I’m not happy with the way Sebastian tries to control me, it hurts me that he’s in pain. I try to lighten the mood and say, “You know I think you’re hot, but I have a thing for guys who look like shirtless cover models.”
Sebastian glances up at me with a small smile. “Whatever am I going to do with you, Margaret?”
Love me. I need to stop listening to my heart, because something Sebastian said earlier comes rushing to the forefront of my mind. I ask, “What did you mean when you said Alexander is dangerous?”
“Earlier today he wanted to feed on you, which is why we went out.”
The metallic flavor. I don’t succeed in hiding my grimace as I realize I was tasting blood when I kissed Alexander. Sebastian says, “We both have excellent control, but I believe my brother is quite taken with you. There’s a fine line between hunger and sexual attraction, and it makes him more dangerous.”
“So if--” I shake my head. “This is hypothetical, but if Alexander and I got involved he might bite me by accident?”
Sebastian says, “Yes.”
Great. I’ve fallen for a man who wants to suck my blood as much as he wants to screw me. Wait a minute. I’ve fallen for a vampire. I think about the story Sebastian gave me as part of my interview process, and I wonder if he and his brother are searching for their soul mates.
My heartbeat gets loud in my ears, because I know the answer. My donor was Sebastian’s, and there is a possibility I’m Alexander’s. I gaze over at Sebastian. “I think I need a drink.”
He gets up, and ice cubes clink in a glass before liquid splashes over them. He hands it to me. “This is whiskey. Sip slowly.”
I nod and taste the amber liquid. It burns my tongue before I swallow, and I let it sear its way down my throat. A wave of heat washes over
me, and while my instinct is to pack my bag and get the hell out of Dodge, I know I can’t. I was carefully selected to be part of the Hart brothers’ world. I’m now privy to a well-guarded secret, and my pride won’t let me back down from the challenges it will pose. If I get the chance.
Sebastian has a drink too, and I ask, “Do you want me to leave?”
“Do you want to go?”
I shake my head, and his voice is soft as he says, “You belong here.” He sighs. “One way or the other.”
Chapter 8
I don’t finish my drink, because my head begins to swim before I’m done, and I leave Sebastian to go to my room. The floor is cool under my feet as I wander over to the windows and gaze out at the water. The tide is retreating, but occasionally a wave makes it to the rocks to splash up, and I can’t hear the rush of it as it gets sucked away, but I imagine the sensation is similar to what Sebastian might be feeling. He brought me here to be with him, and while my heart loves him, my soul wants his brother.
I wonder what really happened the night my heart donor died. She had no next of kin, and all I have for information is that she was twenty-four and in a car accident. Sadness washes over me, and I wish my heart could speak so I could know the story. I retreat from the window and change into a tank top and sweatpants for sleeping. But I’m not tired, so I grab a lap blanket from the end of my bed and go to my sitting room and curl up on the couch. The fine yarn of the knit throw is soft on my arms as I gaze at the box of books and consider starting another one. My thoughts are interrupted when a light knock raps on my door.
“Come in,” I say.
I turn to Alexander and begin to stand, when he rushes over to me and drops on his knees. He grabs my hands and says, “Maggie, I’m so sorry.”
His face has more color, the way Sebastian’s does now, and I think it’s because they fed. I say, “No. Don’t be sorry for this.”
“But you’re here for my brother. You don’t belong to me.”
“My heart is here for Sebastian.” I squeeze his cool fingers. “But I want you.”
He drops my hands and presses his palms against the sides of my legs. He slides them up toward my hips as he leans in and kisses me. It’s powerful, hungry, and I grasp onto his arms and spread my legs to wrap myself around him as if I’m drowning in it. I press my breasts against his chest, and the layers of cotton between us are thin as my nipples harden and beg to be stroked.
Alexander breaks away, and I inhale deeply as he moves down to my neck. I throw my head back as the heat of my desire threatens to explode. He stops nipping at me and drags his finger so lightly down my scar that it tickles, and I flinch. He stops and asks, “Does it hurt?”
I shake my head. “Don’t stop touching me.”
“Maggie, what are you asking?”
I gaze into his green eyes that have darkened with his need, and I take his hand. I place it on my breast. “Touch me.”
He groans as he cups me and rubs his thumb over my taut peak. I gasp as an electric shock of pleasure races to my core. Alexander uses his other hand to tug me closer, and his erection is thick and hard against the juncture between my legs. I moan and gyrate against him. “I need you, Alexander. Please.”
“Maggie.” He breaks away, and I watch his chest inflate and retract slowly as he takes a deep breath to blow out. “This is too fast for you.”
I’ve been with one guy, another heart-transplant patient, and while it was sweet, it was the actions of two people who didn’t know how long they had left to live. It was a physical connection that didn’t mean much more. The sensations Alexander’s touch gives me make me feel like a virgin again. But I’ve never been more sure of my sexual power than now. “It’s not fast enough,” I say. “This is like the story I had to recite, isn’t it? We’re soul mates.”
“No. That was supposed to be you and Sebastian.”
“But it’s not.” I reach between his legs, and denim is rough against my palm as I grip his cock. “You’re the one I want.”
He groans and rises to his feet. He reaches his hand down to me, and I grasp it as I stand. He says, “Your heart belongs to my brother, Maggie. That’s why you’re here.” His voice holds a note of anger as he says, “I could fuck you right now, and it would be amazing.” I stiffen at his harsh word, and then his tone softens. “But I won’t do that to Sebastian, and I won’t do it to you. When I have all of you, we’ll make love.”
I blink as I wonder how he plans to win my heart over. I’m not sure it can happen, and I almost whimper as I say, “Alexander, please.”
“God, Maggie. I’m a weak man around you.” He surprises me when he scoops me up and carries me to my bedroom. His arms are powerful, and the muscles flex under my thighs with a strength that makes me realize how fragile I am. He tosses me on the bed, and my mattress bounces beneath me. Alexander steps back and clenches his fists as he gazes at me. His eyes flash, and he says, “No.”
I scramble up to my knees as I wonder if he wants to feed on me. “Alexander?”
“You aren’t mine.” I think he’s reminding himself, and when his eyes return to their normal color he adds, “I can’t.”
What is it with these guys and ownership over me? My temper flares. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
Alexander chuckles dryly. “No. I don’t suppose you do.”
I’m afraid he’s going to leave, and while I think my plans for sex are off the table I don’t want him to go. I say, “You called me Maggie. Thank you.”
Now he smiles, so I pat the bed next to me. “Don’t leave.”
He tilts his head. “The couch is better.”
I chuckle as I get up, and we move to the sofa. We sit, and he puts his arm around my shoulders. I cuddle into his chest, and even though he’s not warm, it’s comforting. I gaze up at him, and warmth floods my body and my mind. “What happens now?”
“You become Kitty Kane.”
I slide my hand into his and think about how I’ll be the physical version of the Hart brothers’ pen name. I’ll be playing a part and living a life I can’t fathom creating on my own. From the number of books they wrote as Brock it’s clear they’ve been doing this a while. I ask, “Will she be famous?”
He squeezes my fingers. “Sebastian and I are good at this. We’ve already outlasted two pen names.” He grins at me. “People grow old and die. It’s a pity.”
I smile and think about the kiss I just experienced with Alexander and the way I felt when Sebastian held me in his arms earlier tonight. Fate stepped in and gave me a heart to save my life. But I think she gave me so much more. She’s given me the adventure I crave and the love I didn’t realize I needed. I may not have a long time in this world, but before I go, I want to love and be loved with passion so fierce that it takes my breath away. Whether it’s Alexander or Sebastian, I have a heart that will let me live life in a very big way.
The End
About V. Vaughn
Violet lives in coastal New Hampshire where she spends most mornings in the woods with her dogs, summer at the ocean and winters skiing in the mountains of Maine.
www.violetvaughn.com
Inescapable by Elle Thorne
Inescapable by Elle Thorne
Who wants to be immortal in a land where death feels like the only true escape?
Étienne Arceneaux. Ancestor of Lézare. Released from the bonds of slavery by death. Only this was not the death any man would have wanted. The only remedy to avoiding that death was the last one he would have wanted.
Except Étienne wasn’t given a choice. The high witch of Black Glade Coven, Latrice Mathieu knew that he would play an important role in the future of the New Orleans supernatural society.
She never knew how much.
See a side of Leandra Mathieu’s grandmother Latrice you couldn’t have imagined. She travels north after the Civil War to take her white tiger shifter daughter Lucia to the man who fathered her. Only to lose her.
Follow Étienne on his path
to freedom, and then take Étienne’s sojourn back to Arceneaux plantation, the place he’d never thought he’d return to, where he meets Celine Arceneaux, a redheaded fiery beauty that claims his heart as fiercely as he claims her body.
Life is not quite so simple for the returned Étienne Arceneaux in the Arceneaux Plantation, a place that put the scars on his soul which are almost as visible as the scars on his body.
Inescapable scars.
Inescapable lives.
Inescapable futures.
Chapter 1
Étienne tiptoed through the darkness, stopping to calm one of the dogs that hung around the slave cabins of Arceneaux Plantation. He petted the dog’s head and prayed the others would stay quiet for him this time, like they had all the other times.
He was quiet because there’d be hell to pay if he were caught again where he shouldn’t be.
Étienne was no child with a curfew. No, not at all. Étienne was trapped in slavery. Trapped, though he was the son of the plantation owner’s son. And yet his birth, and even his very life, had been kept a secret.
His toe hooked on a rebellious tree root, but he regained his step before catapulting and thrown into a headlong fall. A fall wouldn’t be a good thing. Not just because he’d get caught and feel the lash of the whip on his shoulders—his flesh hadn’t healed from the last time three days ago—no, not just the excruciating touch of the whip, but also the possibility he’d lose the precious cargo he was carrying tonight.
Taming the Vampire: Over 25 All New Paranormal Alpha Male Tales of Contemporary, Military, Shifters, Billionaires, Werewolves, Magic, Fae, Witches, Dragons, Demons & More Page 69