Blood Rites: (Royal Blood #3)

by Amity Cross

  “We will deal with it, like we always have.”

  I rolled my eyes, listening to the party start downstairs. Music filtered through the house and I found myself wanting to get off the phone so I could be there when Lorelei arrived. If she arrived.

  “Sounds like you’re having a party,” Sykes drawled. “Am I keeping you?”

  The last thing I needed was for a man like Sykes to turn up uninvited to a staged society fling I concocted to get a woman into bed. “Not at all,” I replied, trying to sound bored. “I was coerced into hosting an event at my residence. Appearances, you know.”

  “Of course.”

  “Will Royal Blood be a problem for you?” I asked, turning our conversation back to business.

  “Maybe, but our clubs have had a long standing rivalry. Not of my doing, I assure you. It goes back beyond my time.”

  Fuck, Sykes talked slicker than any mafia boss I knew. Just by talking with him, I understood that he was meant for bigger things than biker gangs. The Necromancers were his springboard that had come pre-loaded with a network of petty crime. I alone could think of a dozen ways to capitalize on that and expand, which was the only reason why I was talking to the bastard.

  “I understand you are acquainted with Jacques Lafayette?” Sykes asked.

  My blood began to run cold at the mention of the notorious human trafficker. Yes, I knew Lafayette, but I didn’t trade women that way. This was a red flag and a fucking huge one at that. Sykes was about to become bothersome and I hated bothersome.

  “I know of him,” I said carefully.

  “I would like an introduction if you can manage it. Let’s call it one of my terms of business.”

  Fuck. “Shall we discuss this further next week? It would be much better to discuss specific terms in person, yes?”

  “Of course,” he replied with a chuckle. “Where are my manners. I will have my people talk to yours and arrange the specifics. Enjoy your party, Mr. Vaughn.”

  There was a click as the call disconnected. I put the phone down and rubbed my eyes, feeling strung out. This was turning out to be more trouble than it was worth. Motherfucking Lafayette? Sykes was looking to do more than take his operation international. I was a bad man, but he was a borderline sadist.

  “All good?” Hawkes asked.

  “For now,” I said, standing and straightening my jacket. Fixing my cufflinks, I nodded toward the door. “Is she here?”

  “Not yet.”

  I was glad he said ‘not yet’. My balls were going to burst if I didn’t get to fuck something soon, add that telephone conversation to the mix and they were now fucking blue. “I’ll be down in a moment.”

  The door clicked closed and I was alone. Checking my appearance in the reflection of the darkened windows, my thoughts firmly landed on Lorelei. If she didn’t come, then what was I going to do? Pursue her, of course. I couldn’t even think about fucking another woman with her on my mind. No, fucking someone else would be empty until I could taste her.

  Taking a deep breath, I opened the office door and strode down the hallway. If I had to suffer this party without her…this was all for her. Just to get her into bed, I reminded myself. No connections, no commitments, no falling for her.

  Hesitating at the top of the stairs, I regarded the party below, the finely dressed men and women who I’d have to mingle with to keep up appearances. Time to put my game face on.

  I began to descend as the front door opened and she stepped across the threshold. She was just…there.

  I halted my stride, pausing on the staircase, my gaze taking her in. A fine, red silk dress hugged her curves, accentuating her breasts and hips, illuminating her ivory skin. Her hair was curled, pinned up just so, and I felt the urge to let the chestnut waves out so they could spill down her elegant back. I envisioned running my fingers though her locks and tugging her head back so I could take her mouth with mine.

  I sucked in a breath, but I couldn’t catch it. She was fucking stunning. I’d never seen a woman more beautiful than Lorelei Lansford.

  As my gaze collided with hers, it felt like the wind was knocked out of my lungs.

  What the fuck was with that?

  Six

  Lorelei

  The party was in full swing by the time my car pulled into the driveway.

  The outside of the manor was adorned with fairy lights, the sounds of music and laughter floating on the summer breeze and I stared out at it with wonder. I’d never felt this excited to come to a party in my entire life. It had everything to do with Sebastian Vaughn. The anticipation of seeing him again was killing me.

  My door was opened and I stepped out onto the footpath, my heels clicking on the pavers. There was a man in a black suit at the front, checking invitations and another opening the large double doors for guests to enter.

  Approaching, I handed my invite to the man, who scanned his list and I was ushered forward. My heart began to race in my chest and I felt like slapping myself. Get a grip, Lorelei!

  Stepping into the foyer of the grand house, I scanned the crowd of finely dressed socialites. I knew I was one of them by birth, but it didn’t stop me from feeling like an outsider. Fancy dresses were a compulsory thing for me, not because I liked wearing them. Mother always said I had to put my best foot forward for the Lansford family name. We were rich through business, not title and to these people? Title was everything.

  Not one of them stopped to say hello or acknowledge my existence and I stood awkwardly for a moment, wondering if I’d made the right decision by coming here. Raising my head, my gaze collided with Vaughn’s and he stopped mid-step on the staircase, his lips parting.

  I stood in the middle of the foyer, dazed and for a moment it was just the two of us. My skin began to heat, but I couldn’t bring myself to look away. He was as handsome as I remembered, but this time he wore a tailored tuxedo with a crisp white shirt and bow tie. He looked good enough to eat. I resisted the urge to bound up the staircase and into his arms. Magnetism…that was a thing right?

  His gaze never left mine and I began to wonder. Did he feel it too? That…pull?

  He began descending the stairs once more, his hand lightly trailing down the bannister as he approached. I waited in awe as the crowd seemed to part for him without his gaze even leaving mine. He commanded attention, demanded respect… Sebastian Vaughn was a powerful man and his sights were set on me.

  Finally, he stood before me, his gaze traveling across my lips, over my breasts and down, before caressing their way back up.

  “Lorelei.” His voice was just as silky as I remembered.

  I flushed as his slow perusal of my body continued. “Sebastian.”

  “Please, no one calls me Sebastian,” he said with a smile. “Call me Vaughn.”

  He held out his hand and I placed mine in his, delicious shivers racing up and down my bare skin. He bent to lightly kiss the back of my hand and I almost spontaneously combusted as his lips brushed against my knuckles.

  “I wasn’t sure that you would come,” he murmured, standing again, his fingers tightening around mine.

  I flushed. I wasn’t, but it was Bex who’d convinced me. “What makes you say that?”

  Vaughn smiled, something passing through his expression, but it was fleeting. “Would you care for a drink?” he asked. “Or a dance, perhaps?”

  I smiled. He appeared to be flustered. “Yes.”

  “Yes, to which?”

  “All of the above.”

  He led me into the middle of a large room off the main foyer, a ballroom of sorts, and I realized that the music I heard before was a jazz quartet set up in one corner. Vaughn pulled me around, commanding my attention once more. His right hand curled into mine and his left slid across my waist, tugging me close. Our bodies were pressed together and my lips parted ever so slightly, the feeling of him against me sent sparks everywhere. They were lighting up the room.

  All these finely dressed people, a live band, fresh flowers and fairy
lights, champagne, fancy finger food, waiters… It was exactly like a fairy-tale ball in here. If this was how he got women into bed, he was pretty good at it. I was swooning and I never swooned.

  “Is this your house?” I asked, trying to make small talk as he began to move me to the music.

  “It is,” he replied, his lips curving into a smile.

  “It’s very nice.”

  He chuckled. “I suppose it is.”

  We swayed back and forth to the music, his grip tightening on my waist. The rest of the room seemed to fall away and it was just us. His blue eyes seemed to pierce right through me and into the places I usually kept hidden. The very places where my fantasies lay, and he was in them.

  “Do you feel it too?” I whispered and instantly flushed. I hadn’t planned on that slipping out, but Vaughn…well, he had this thing about him that totally blew my carefully placed guard right out of the water.

  His lips parted, his gaze dropping to my lips. I could feel the entire length of his body against mine as we swayed and I swore he was…no, that was too much to take in. If I thought about Vaughn’s…thing…I’d be done. I’d melt into a puddle right here.

  “The way you flush is quite spectacular, Lorelei,” he murmured.

  “Oh, I—” I felt my cheeks heat again.

  “The things I could do to you,” he murmured, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear.

  I gasped, shivering in his grasp. That was…forthright. I glanced around awkwardly, not sure what to say to that, and realized that there were eyes on us. A lot of eyes. I squirmed, casting my gaze downward, fixating on a pearly white button on Vaughn’s shirt.

  “What is it?” he murmured, lowering his lips against my ear.

  “I, ah… I’m just self-conscious.”

  “You don’t need to be,” he said and I could hear the frown in his voice. “You’re beautiful.”

  I glanced up and saw his brow was furrowed. “It’s just…I don’t like being the center of attention.” I shrugged, feeling silly for even saying it.

  He glanced around the room and his expression softened. “Come.” He let me go and folded his hand in mine, pulling me from the dance floor.

  “They’re insufferable,” he said as he led me through dancing couples. “They’re just fishing for gossip. Pay them no mind.”

  And finding me inadequate. “I know.”

  “I have a place where we won’t be bothered,” he said, smiling down at me.

  Oh… Shit, I was flushing again. I really had a bloody problem with that.

  We left the ballroom and emerged into a dining area, where a few couples here in deep conversation, but they didn’t glance up at us as we passed. Vaughn led me toward the large windows at the side of the room and pushed aside the curtains before opening the door to the balcony. Oh, that kind of private. I stepped through, the sounds of the party behind us drifting into a dull murmur.

  The balcony was empty, the curtains hanging the length of the windows inside hid us from the rest of the party. It felt daring, risky…and sexy as hell. Clear, white fairy lights were entwined through the wrought iron bannister with garlands of little white flowers and greenery, lighting the scene with a soft, romantic hue. This side of the house opened up onto the square, the private garden shielding most of the view from the neighboring properties in the row.

  Vaughn let go of my hand, closing the door behind us, and I walked forward to clasp the iron balustrade, casting my gaze out into the night. People milled below, drivers and cars lined the streets and none of them were looking upward. It was busy down there, but up here we were alone.

  The way Vaughn looked at me, and the way my body reacted to his, it was something else. I was having a hard time believing it was real. After a lifetime of being a pawn, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was another of those moments.

  No man could make a woman feel like that…it was a myth. Instant knicker soaking, instant love, instant attraction…it was all an elaborate ruse to make single woman feel inadequate.

  “Do you like it?” Vaughn asked, coming to stand beside me.

  “The decorations are lovely,” I mused, brushing my fingers against the flowers.

  “As are you.”

  I laughed to cover my embarrassment.

  “I’ve been wanting to speak with you ever since the other day,” he murmured, brushing his hands against his tuxedo jacket.

  I’d been fantasizing about the exact same thing and I flushed. “You have quite the reputation.”

  “I consider that fact moot where you are concerned, Miss Lansford.”

  I frowned. “Moot?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Moot.”

  What did he mean? That he wasn’t like that? That he wanted something else? I was completely thrown.

  “My father is in Corporate Resale,” I said, fishing for a reaction.

  “Yes, I know of your father,” he replied.

  “I thought you might’ve invited me because of him,” I said, glancing away.

  Vaughn sucked in a deep breath. “No, not at all.”

  “I mean, I understand if you did. I’m used to it. The business deals. I would just like you to be up front about it, is all.”

  “Lorelei,” he said firmly. “That’s not why I invited you.”

  I glanced up at him, my heart suddenly beating a mile a minute. “Then why did you?” I whispered.

  “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, his expression darkening.

  I shivered as he stepped closer, my body tingling in anticipation. I felt his hands slide across my waist and he tugged me forward gently, making me fall against his chest. He lowered his head and I stared up at him, entranced. I was caught in his bad boy web, but I wasn’t sure that that side of him was real. He’d been nothing but a gentleman since I’d arrived.

  “This is all for you,” he murmured.

  “Me?” I gasped. The party? This whole thing…it was for me?

  “You.”

  His lips brushed against mine and I squeezed my thighs together as his touch mainlined right into my privates. Bloody hell.

  “Lorelei,” he murmured, his voice all kinds of sexy and husky.

  Vaughn’s fingers traced a path along my back, then against the curve of my neck before he cupped my jaw in his hand, his thumb stroking my cheek. Suddenly, I wanted all of him–right here, right now.

  “Vaughn,” I sighed in some kind of desperate plea for him to take me.

  His lips met mine and my body came alive. I slid my hands up his chest and into his hair, his hand dropping back to my waist. The tip of his tongue teased my skin and I parted my lips to allow him access and he took it, sliding into my mouth with a groan. Oh, he tasted just as beautiful as he looked…

  Our tongues twisted and our kiss deepened, my hands tugging at his hair, his fingers biting into my skin through my dress. The whole thing was unbearably passionate and I found myself wet between my legs and pressing against him.

  His hand skimmed my waist, pushing between us and trailing over my stomach. There was no way he could touch me there without pulling my floor-length dress up to my waist, but he was obviously going to have a go. Don’t stop. His fingers brushed along my lower abdomen, skimming gently across the red silk, down, down until...

  There was a cough behind us and just like that, a preverbal bucket of ice water was thrown over my head. I jerked backwards, breaking our embrace and blinking hard. Vaughn’s eyes narrowed in annoyance and he turned. It was his beefy friend from the other day.

  Vaughn sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Would you excuse me for one moment?” he asked me, his voice calm and even. How could he be so together after that?

  I nodded, falling back against the bannister, my clit aching from his almost-touch.

  Bloody hell indeed.

  Seven

  Vaughn

  The moment I held Lorelei in my arms, I knew this was going to be different.

  The moment I kissed her…fuck.

&nb
sp; It was like a switch had been flipped in my head and my world had been tipped on its axis just like that. It was an odd sensation.

  I strode toward Hawkes, thoroughly pissed that he’d interrupted our interlude. The ache had become almost unbearable and she was so responsive…did I feel it too?

  “Mr. Sykes is here,” he murmured and my eyes widened.

  “He’s what?”

  “He turned up twenty minutes ago. I’ve kept him comfortable, but he’s demanding to meet with you.”

  Fucking asshole. I squared my jaw, I knew he was going to be a motherfucking handful, but to turn up at my home uninvited? The man had some fucking gall.

  “Don’t allow him to see me with her,” I hissed.

  Hawkes’ gaze flickered to Lorelei. “He already has, Sir.”

  My jaw tensed and I scowled.

  “This one is different?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

  I felt Lorelei’s gaze on my back. Knowing that I had to let her down made my skin crawl. I snarled at Hawkes before turning and striding back to stand before her.

  “I have to apologize, Lorelei,” I said, eliminating the anger from my voice. “I have some urgent business to attend to. Unfortunately, it’s unavoidable.”

  She smiled, the disappointment in her eyes clear as day. Well, if it was any consolation, my cock felt the same way.

  “I understand,” she murmured.

  “Please, enjoy the party.” I hesitated, her big brown eyes searching mine. “It’s for you, after all.”

  Before she could worm her way underneath my skin anymore, I strode from the balcony, Hawkes hot on my tail. I felt the void opening up between us and I felt cold. Instant attraction was one thing, my cock knew all about that, but I didn’t know what the hell this was.

  The moment we stepped into the dining room, Hawkes opened his trap, laying down the score. “He’s upstairs in the study. He brought two men with him, possibly armed.”

  “Most likely,” I murmured. “Not possibly.” Better to assume they were.