Léopold's Wicked Embrace (Immortals of New Orleans)

by Grosso, Kym

  Still, as she stood drying her skin, disappointment washed over her, as she realized he hadn’t come after her. The reality of the situation was that she’d just had a one night stand. Whatever she thought she felt, she swore to bury it so deep that she wouldn’t feel a thing the next time she saw him.

  But as she walked into the room, her eyes flashed to Léopold’s and a rush of excitement tightened in her belly. No, Laryssa don’t. Struggling to get control over her reaction, she averted her eyes to the two good-looking men who sat at the kitchen table. She remembered the tall man with the goatee and tattoos as the person who’d driven her to Logan’s home. Dimitri, beta of Acadian wolves. The other man looked as if he was a soldier, with his square jaw and tightly cropped hair.

  “Good morning,” Laryssa said loudly, interrupting their quarrel.

  “Laryssa,” Léopold sighed, giving her a small smile.

  “Léopold. Um, hi.” Hearing her name on Léopold’s lips startled Laryssa. The last time he’d said her name with his French accent in that low smooth tone, he’d been buried deep inside her.

  Léopold, at a loss for words, let his eyes roam over Laryssa. With only a touch of light pink gloss to her lips and very little makeup, Laryssa displayed an innate beauty he suspected she didn’t realize existed. Loose brunette curls fell unrestrained over her shoulders, complementing the tight white shirt that clung to her curves. Her black jeans with matching leather riding boots gave her a contemporary look, tempting him to run his hands over her hips and buttocks. A hungry smile emerged across his face as he wondered if she’d enjoy a riding crop.

  He sniffed into the air, enthralled with the ambrosial aroma of her essence that he’d remembered from the night before. Only now she smelled like soap and almonds. Underneath it all, her natural scent remained ingrained in his mind. The urge to taste her overwhelmed him and his gums tingled in response, his fangs begging to release. He glanced to the wolves, who had been watching him like a hawk. Slapped into reality by Dimitri’s grimace, he broke out of his spell, and quickly concealed his reaction to her.

  “You remember Dimitri and Jake from yesterday, no? Let’s see, I have breakfast for you. Arnaud brought it. I’d texted him while you were sleeping. I hope you like fruit. Some pastries. Let me see what he brought.” Merde, I sound like a love-struck fool. Léopold cringed at how he was speaking to her in front of Dimitri and Jake. Quickly, he rummaged through his refrigerator, retrieving the items he’d asked Arnaud to bring and set them on the counter. He pulled a plate, flatware and napkin out of his cupboards and placed them on the breakfast bar, away from the wolves. “Here you go. Dimitri brought coffee.”

  “Thank you,” she quietly replied. Giving a small smile to Dimitri and Jake, she sat down on a stool and stared at the feast that was big enough for ten people. “There’s plenty here. Maybe we should put it all on the table. Would you guys like some?”

  “Thank you, Laryssa,” Dimitri said, thoroughly enjoying watching his friend squirm. “At least someone here has manners, huh, Jake?”

  “Hey, why didn’t you serve us? I’d love some mango,” Jake added.

  “Because if I’d offered it to you first there’d be nothing left for the lady. Dogs get scraps,” Léopold countered.

  “Hey, hey, hey. No need to get nasty, bro. We brought coffee. Just sayin’,” Dimitri teased.

  “Yeah, right.” The truth of the matter was that Léopold had simply forgotten about the food. As he pulled out extra plates from a cabinet, he glanced over to see her taking a bite of a strawberry and nearly dropped them. The juice dripped down over her pink lips and she caught it, licking her finger.

  “Don’t you love fruit?” Dimitri asked, smiling like a Cheshire cat. Léopold had it bad, and it was even funnier that he kept saying that he didn’t want a relationship. Maybe this wasn’t exactly a relationship, but Laryssa was definitely having an effect on him.

  “Tais-toi,” Léopold scolded, annoyed that Dimitri and Jake were practically undressing her with their eyes as she ate. The more he told himself he shouldn’t care, the closer he was to throwing her over his shoulder and taking her to his bedroom.

  “Come on, man. You know I’ve got this thing about watching girls with food.”

  Laryssa looked over at Dimitri, hearing his comment and laughed.

  “Come sit with me. Please. There’s plenty here for all of us. Ya’ll are making me self-conscious watching me stuff my face.” She patted the seat of the chair next to her.

  “I’d love to,” Dimitri said and obediently sat down. “See how nice your girlfriend is. You could teach him some manners.”

  “I’m not his girlfriend. We barely know each other,” she stated calmly with her eyes pinned on Léopold’s.

  “Really?” Dimitri inquired. He glanced at Léopold who stood smoldering across the counter.

  “Really,” Léopold agreed. He detected a flash of hurt in Laryssa’s eyes as he confirmed her statement.

  Laryssa glared at Léopold then forced herself to look away. There was no way she’d let him see how angry she was, at him, at herself. She’d known she’d set him up when she denied being his girlfriend. She’d told the truth, obviously, because he agreed that she wasn’t. What was worse was that it was apparent that her shower had done little to tamp down her attraction to him.

  “We have much work to do today. I’m going to go get ready. Can you two conduct yourselves like gentlemen around her while I’m gone?” Léopold asked, walking away toward the hallway.

  “From where I’m sittin’, I’m not the one she has to worry about.” Dimitri laughed as the vampire spun around and gave him a scowl.

  “Behave,” Léopold ordered right before he slammed his bedroom door.

  “He’s got issues. Treats people like they’re house pets. Seriously,” Laryssa noted.

  Jake and Dimitri broke up laughing.

  “It’s true,” she smiled, taking another bite of her danish.

  “Amazing how you can spend a short amount of time with someone and get to know them so well.” Dimitri put some fruit on a plate and began to eat. “I understand you had a run in with a demon last night. How’re you feelin’, cher?”

  “I’m good. The marks are gone.” She rubbed her hand above her breast where it’d scratched her.

  “Glad to hear you’re okay. That’s some pretty quick healing, though. Now I know you’re not a wolf. Or a vampire. You seem a little like a witch but that’s not it either. Maybe a fae?” he guessed.

  “Didn’t he tell you already?” Laryssa asked.

  “No. Despite spitting tacks and needles, Leo’s got a sense of honor. He said he promised you that he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

  “A sense of honor, huh?” Léopold had kept her secret. Why couldn’t he have just betrayed her? She wanted a reason to hate him, to make her feel anything other than what she was feeling. Not only had he thought of her, getting her breakfast, he’d kept their conversation in confidence.

  “He did tell us what happened last night,” Dimitri told her, his expression growing serious.

  “Everything?” she gaped. What exactly had he told him?

  “Well, yeah, the bit about you going off to the lake.”

  “He was busy,” she said coolly, recalling how she’d seen him biting his donor, her moans of pleasure. Foolishly, she had given into her own primal urges and she’d been the one making similar sounds hours later.

  “Yeah, about that. You do know he’s a vampire, right?”

  “Hard to forget.”

  “I just want to make sure because I’m not sure what we’re gonna be doin’ today or where this is going to lead us, and he is what he is. You can’t be runnin’ off when he…” Dimitri’s words trailed off as he took a few minutes to think of the best way to say what he was thinking. He didn’t want to scare her, but not only did he turn wolf, Léopold was nothing short of deadly when he perceived danger.

  “When he what?”

  “When he becomes who he is. Ob
viously, you’ve seen the fangs and well, it just is in his nature. The women and men, the donors…he needs to feed. Now I’m not sure what you think you saw him doing with that woman last night, but he really does try to make his bite painless.”

  “And you would know this how?” Jake asked, grabbing a donut from the plate. He smiled and walked over to the windows.

  “I know, okay?”

  “But that woman…” Laryssa began.

  “Let’s just say that I’m experienced in the way of the bite,” Dimitri explained.

  “You let a vamp bite you?” Jake laughed.

  “Yeah, I did.”

  “You let him bite you, didn’t you?” Laryssa inferred, shocked at what he was telling her.

  “It was out of necessity. Trust me. He was in bad shape and well, yeah. But believe me, he didn’t want to do it. I guess I should’ve listened to his warning, because the way it felt…”

  “Please stop talking,” Jake urged. “My virgin ears don’t want to hear this. You and Léopold. No.”

  “Fuck you. We didn’t have sex. That is exactly the presumptuous attitude that causes problems. My point is,” he turned to Laryssa, “that vampires have two ways to bite. Pain or pleasure. And he’s gotta eat. So there ya go.”

  “I can guess which way he went with you,” Jake jibed.

  “Shut it, Jake. Can’t you see I’m trying to clue Laryssa in on my vast knowledge of the vamp world so she doesn’t freak out again?”

  “You’re a real doctor Phil.”

  Laryssa laughed.

  “Seriously. The guy has to eat,” Dimitri argued.

  “If she didn’t like the sight of his fangs, just wait until she sees yours, wolfman,” Jake said.

  “Jake brings up a good point….even if he’s being kind of a dick.” Dimitri glared at him and then continued talking to Laryssa. “I know you have kind of kept yourself out of the supernatural world and I’m sure you have your reasons, but he’s right. At the first sign of danger, there’s a good chance I’m gonna strip down and go wolf. I may not be able to respond with words, but I’ll be able to understand you.”

  “Did you just say you’re going to strip?” A huge smile broke across her face. She looked at Dimitri and then Jake, and couldn’t help but picture them naked. Laryssa’s face heated and began to turn pink.

  “Yeah, we love to go nudie, baby.” Dimitri laughed. “Seriously, though, you can’t run off when you see my wolf. I won’t hurt you. And neither will Jake, here.”

  “Thanks for letting me know. It’s not every day that I see men taking off their clothes and turning into little furry animals,” she giggled.

  “Wolves. Big ferocious wolves,” Jake insisted. “Jeez, this woman knows how to hurt a guy’s ego. Maybe she wants a demonstration right now.” He began to unbuckle his pants.

  “No, no I don’t.” Laryssa covered her eyes and started laughing even harder.

  “Easy, Jake. Keep your pants on. Leo’s gonna kill us if he comes out here and sees you showin’ your junk to his girl.”

  “I’m not his girl,” she insisted.

  “Yeah, whatever you say, cher. Okay we showed you ours…ready to show us yours?”

  “Well, I didn’t exactly get to see the show,” she remarked with a grin. “But I do appreciate you telling me about your wolf thing you do…even if I didn’t get to see you change. I will, however, take a rain check on that one.”

  “Hey, I can show you,” Jake challenged.

  “Not here. I’m tellin’ you both, Léopold will freak. As much as my boy enjoys a good romp in the hay, he’s just getting used to the nudity thing.” Dimitri had seen the way Léopold was looking at Laryssa. Léopold could think whatever he wanted about his no relationship rule, but there was no denying the possessive way he was acting around her. What happened between the two of them remained to be seen, but if Laryssa was a bone, he didn’t want to pick a fight with the big dog in the bedroom who thought it was his.

  “As much as I’d love to see you change, and I really would, I think that maybe Dimitri’s right on this. Léopold can get a bit cranky.” In truth, she’d like to make him jealous, but playing games with his friends wasn’t her style. She found herself drawn to Dimitri, though. His honesty was refreshing. It didn’t take her but a few minutes to realize that she wanted to share with them what she’d told Léopold. “Okay, I’ll show you mine. Ready, boys?”

  “Hell yeah, let’s go,” Dimitri said.

  Laryssa got up off her stool and moved toward the center of the great room. Dimitri stood and walked over to Jake, who was intently watching. She smiled at Jake and extended her hand to him, letting her energy focus toward her target. His donut flew straight out of his hand and into her own.

  “Got it,” she laughed and took a bite. “I’m a naiad.”

  “Damn, bro, she just took your donut.” Dimitri clapped his hand on Jake’s shoulder.

  “Hey, now. Was that necessary?” Jake said, feigning indignation. He licked his fingers and grinned.

  “She’s amazing, isn’t she?” Léopold appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Goddess, she was showing them what she was and demonstrating her powers. Either she was completely unaware of how powerful Dimitri and Jake were as wolves or incredibly brave.

  Surprised to hear Léopold’s voice, Laryssa jumped when he came up behind her and kissed her neck, his masculine scent spiraling into her senses. The man was dizzying and delicious. For a long minute, she felt herself melt into his embrace, closing her eyes. But Dimitri’s cough reminded her that they weren’t alone and that Léopold didn’t want her. Her eyes flashed open and she turned to face him.

  “You’re beautiful,” Léopold praised, his eyes drifting from hers down to her parted lips. Her alluring kiss lingered within inches. The temptation was so great, yet he knew he shouldn’t.

  “I, uh, I was just showing Dimitri and Jake what I can do,” she stammered. Breaking free of his arms, she recoiled, realizing that she’d almost kissed him. Needing distance, she crossed the room and took a sip of her lukewarm coffee.

  “A naiad, huh? Isn’t that some kind of a water-being?” Dimitri asked, closing his fists. He resisted the urge to drag Léopold out of the room and have another chat with him regarding his intentions with Laryssa.

  “A mermaid?” Jake guessed.

  “More like a nymph,” Léopold corrected. He brushed past her, twirling his finger into a curl of her hair, then let it drop. “A freshwater nymph.”

  “Not a mermaid. No tail or scales. Just me.” Laryssa’s skin tingled from Léopold’s touch. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He smiled at her as he popped a blackberry into his mouth. He wasn’t playing fair. Shit, he wasn’t supposed to be playing at all. How am I supposed to ever forget him and our night together if he plans on flirting with me all day?

  “Nice trick with the donut, cher. Can you move heavier things?” Dimitri asked Laryssa.

  “Yes, that and more, mon ami,” Léopold answered for her, enjoying her eyes on him. Try as he might, he couldn’t deny himself. Like a lure, she fascinated him. Watching her enchant the wolves with her engaging personality only made her more enticing. “We can discuss it on the way over to Ilsbeth’s. We’ve got an appointment with a shrewd witch. Best not be late.”

  Laryssa shook her head at Léopold. The man was impossible. Larger than life, he exuded charisma and magnetism, entrapping her emotions. She glanced over to Dimitri who gave her a sympathetic smile. He knew, she thought. She couldn’t decide whether she should feel embarrassed or relieved. Lost in thought, she gasped as Léopold took her hand.

  “Come, ma chérie. I promise to look after you today,” he whispered in her ear.

  As she looked into his eyes, she knew she was in serious trouble. Her heart squeezed in her chest as he ushered her out of his home.

  Chapter Nine

  On the short ride into the city, Laryssa had carefully positioned herself as close to the rear side door as she could get in an effort to keep
her leg from brushing up against Léopold’s. Dressed in an Italian trim-fitting grey suit, he’d casually interject his opinion into the conversation, always giving her a sexy smile in the process. Taking time to undo the top button of his white fitted shirt was the only semblance of discomfort he displayed. Exuding confidence and strength, he’d insisted that he sit with her in the back seat for her protection. Neither Jake nor Dimitri had argued, but simply acquiesced to his demand.

  Stealing glances at him, her eyes always found his. It was as if he knew when she’d look, what she’d say, making her feel as if he’d known her for a long time. Her thoughts drifted to the way he’d held her down, forcing her to admit she enjoyed her submission. If she’d allowed herself to think of what Léopold had done to her for even a second longer, they’d all know what she was thinking. Quickly remembering she was in a car filled with supernatural men, she diverted her mind to a less sexually arousing memory: the demon. Its memory brought an unsurpassed surge of fear to her psyche, one that left her praying she’d survive what was to come. One week. It’d given her one week. She took a deep breath and blew it out, attempting to calm her nerves.

  “It’s going to be all right,” Léopold assured her. He’d sensed her arousal, yet as quickly as it had begun, it was gone, replaced with anxiety. In response, he’d placed his hand atop her thigh, seeking to comfort her. The heat sizzled beneath his flesh. She was fully dressed, but she might as well have been bare to him. Léopold despised his growing need for Laryssa yet all he could think about was making her his.

  “You sure you can trust her? Ilsbeth?” Laryssa looked into Léopold’s eyes, searching for the truth.