"How do you always know where I am?"
"Sir, how many of these conversations will we continue to have it has after all, been ongoing for decades?"
"Yes Albert I know as you have previously said, it was a gift from your father." Albert's father had served him for many years before Albert had taken over, he remembered Fred fondly.
"I believe, I am going to remain here for the evening could you ensure that I am not disturbed."
"Sir are you well, these last few days I have noticed you lack energy. Before you say it, do not worry I do not believe anyone else has noticed."
"I am well I am sure, just in need of some rest."
"As you say sir, I will ensure you are not disturbed. Before I leave can I ask when Mistress Beth will be returning?"
"As long as I can ask why you wish to know?"
"The house feels just a little bit emptier with her gone. Surely you have noticed?" He could hear the sadness in Albert's tone; it wasn’t something he had heard before.
"Yes, you are partial to her company aren’t you?"
"Naturally sir, she is a woman of class. Do you know she reminds me of a real lady one fit to run a kingdom? My Louisa adores her, when she takes a lunch break Beth sits and reads with her."
This was news to him, Albert's wife Louisa used to have a prominent role in the house. However, a car accident twenty years past had left her without the use of her legs, since then she had developed arthritis. It hadn’t mattered how many Doctors he had brought in Louisa had not recovered. He had once spoken to them both about turning Louisa, to improve her quality of life, both had refused. They believed that each of them needed to move through life as god intended. Whether god intended it or not, Vlad could at least see that Louisa had the best quality of care and attention. He had built a home for them close to the main house, attached to the pool and with a full time attendant, so Louisa's needs were well taken care of. However, neither had liked an attendant so together with his Elite they ensured she was cared for.
Thinking of Beth reading to Louisa made his body warm; it was the kindness in the gesture. He too felt similar to Albert; the house was a little emptier a distinct lack of laughter.
"She is a kind person Albert, and I am sure she is honoured that Louisa blesses her with her time."
"I am sure she does, I will leave you to retire sir. I will however say that if you continue to feel a little off, I will be asking Ben if May would be willing to provide a check-up."
Albert always had been bossy. What he could not understand was how the butler ended up running, not only the house but his life?
"I will request that you do not do that, I will not have May placed in contact with Talia."
May was Beth's younger sister; however she was one of the most talented people he had ever met. At twenty, she was already a doctor and specialised on a research project into the workings of other species. Vlad would not risk such a boon to other species being lost, because of Talia.
"I certainly would not allow that to happen, good evening sir." With that he left, leaving no doubt that Albert was insulted by Vlad questioning his ability to keep May safe, sentimental old fool. As he locked the doors and lay down, he smiled at Albert's indignant departure. As he closed his eyes Albert left him and a young blonde haired angel joined him in his unconscious state.
Chapter 15
Beth was bored and frustrated. During the day she went about business for Vlad, by night time she was back at home with her family which was lovely, but she felt as though she had lost some of her independence. It was lovely spending time with the pack but she missed Vlad, she missed Albert and Louisa, hell she even missed seeing Ice's grumpy ass.
Flinging herself on the bed Celia flounced into her room. "Okay Miss depressive, get your ass up and ready. We are going out."
Now that sounded like a plan one Beth was in agreement with. Especially after today when she had taken a tour of one of Vlad's Warehouses, only to find that he owned the 'Sky' clothing line. She loved their clothes; in fact she had gotten a glimpse of their new line, and had even acquired some for herself. Using her new employer discount, which she had emailed Vlad and informed him of she just hoped he agreed with this new perk, maybe a 75% discount was a little too optimistic. It did however mean that she had a new and exclusive dress for tonight. Feeling spurred on she jumped in the shower.
Emerging from her room, nearly two hours later she was impressed with the cut of the dress. With no back, and a low cut front it was without doubt risqué and so worth it. In a blood red tone, the length ended at her knees on one side, on the other side it ended mid-thigh. The result was classy and extremely sexy. On impulse she took a photo on her cell and messaged it to Vlad, with a big kiss.
Knowing she would have to get past Ben, she slipped a little jacket on and buttoned it up. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she was surprised to find her mom, Morgan and Imogen all dressed up and ready to go.
"Hey guys. What's going on?"
"Well we decided a girls night out is in order." Her mom looked impressive in a pair of black figure hugging jeans, and a strapless blue top. Celia wandered in with Leyland following.
"Well ladies, I am going to be your chauffeur tonight. Although with you gals dressed to kill, I think a bodyguard is more of a requirement."
By the time they hit Silver's Club, everyone was well on their way to being a little tipsy and it was shaping up to be an enjoyable night. Beth hadn’t had so much fun in ages. Watching men try and chat up her mom and Morgan was a hoot. Her mom just knocked the men down flat; Morgan had always been shy and unsure of herself, so she flustered her way through it always trying to be nice. But Imogen was hysterical, after telling them in intricate details of how she would cut their balls off, before feeding them to her wolf mate they scuttled off rather quickly.
After losing her jacket in the car, she was more relaxed than she had been since Talia arrived. Heading to the toilets she tried to squeal when a hand caught her round the waist, and closed over her mouth. Taking a chunk out of her assailants arm resulted in a familiar chuckle, no longer outside of the toilets she found herself in a small, dark room. Looking round her in surprise, she was in a large cupboard space, surrounded by stationary supplies.
"Well princess, you didn’t expect to send such an erotic picture and not have any consequences do you?"
He was there behind her touching her. His hands were bracing her hips, rubbing in gentle motions over the fabric of her dress. "I think you will have to become my muse, all of my creations seem to accentuate your beauty."
He moved his hands up to the sides of her breasts, and slid them down again, fingertips just skirting her breasts. Leaning back into him, she felt his erection pressed against her back. His head bent, touching the nape of her neck, in a slightly open mouthed kiss, his tongue flicking out to caress the point where her pulse pounded. She released a moan, just as his hand moved round to slide down the gap in front of the dress.
"I am not sure that I am happy at the thought of so many men drooling at the expanse of your naked flesh. I would be unhappy if any of them had the opportunity to sample what I have not yet tasted."
His words vibrated over her neck. She could feel her body reacting, her increased heartbeat, her chest rising and falling like a balloon, increasing with every breath. Pushing back again, she ground herself against his erection. It was Vlad's breath that quickened this time.
"Then maybe you should taste, stake a claim before anyone else." She was playing with fire, but she needed something only he could give her.
"Don’t make threats princess; I have already staked my claim. Don’t make me demonstrate it; you wouldn’t like the demise of another on your conscious."
Grounding her hips again, resulted in a little nip to her neck. "If someone stakes a claim on me, I need unequivocal evidence of it I am afraid."
The kisses on her neck, felt like feathers dropping, so gentle and caressing; a need inside was building and it ne
eded sating.
He could feel her pulse; hear the blood thrumming inside of her. The need to taste her was increasing with every second. If she wanted his claim he could do that. Sliding his hands down to the hem of the dress, he slid it up, caressing her thighs as he lifted. The feel of her creamy skin under his rough callused hands, felt like velvet on a stone.
Vlad knew he shouldn’t have come here, it was madness. When he saw the picture he had stared at it for some time as the blood pounded through his body. He couldn’t have stayed away even had he been chained to a wall; he would have found a way to get to her. As his hands skid upwards towards her core, his heart fluttered in anticipation of the gift he was going to unwrap.
His hands brushed the thin fabric of panties that were so scant he didn’t see the point of wearing any. The impulse to rip them off was only held back by the knowledge that when he left her, she would be naked bar her dress. Not an acceptable notion, no, if he did that he would have to take her with him.
As his fingers slipped into her panties and stroked her inner flesh, the moan reverberated through the room. Her body was on fire, increasing to an inferno as he slipped a finger inside of her. As he slid his finger in and out of her, she leaned her head back allowing him to lean forward and reach her lips. As his tongue slipped into her mouth, his finger pumped in and out, in time. She reached her hand between them and rubbed against his erection. He growled into her mouth, her body arched as she reached her peak. She cut off the kiss as her body prepared to convulse in sweet orgasmic pleasure. And then NOTHING! She was back in the corridor, alone and wanting. Rapidly looking around, he was no-where; other people were staring at Beth who had just materialised with wide eyes. Checking her body for signs of ravishment, other than some red patches from his mouth, she could have been stood in the corridor all of this time.
Her cell beeped, pulling it out she read the message 'to be continued, I too can play your game, princess. Consider this marked. I hope you sleep well."
The bastard, to bring her this close and then leave was unfair. With a smile she responded. 'So you think it is fun, to start something and not finish it. I will have to find someone else to scratch my itch.'
Within seconds his reply gave her chills. "Try it, you wanted a claim here is mine. If anyone touches you, I will find them, beat them, gut them, let them heal and start again. Sweet dreams princess.'
She didn’t send any more messages, what could she say. Going into the toilets she reapplied her lipstick and joined Celia.
"And where have you been? There were some whispers of someone popping in for a visit, would you know anything about it?"
Beth grinned, teleportation always caused a stir. Her mom handed her another drink and they headed to the dance floor. Beth liked being claimed, well she didn’t normally like overbearing men except Vlad he was different. Morgan pointed to a crowd at the doorway; men seemed to have converged at the entrance to the stairwell. More were heading that way.
As they moved off the dance floor, they bumped into some other pack members. It didn’t take long for the crowds to move to the spot they had left. Watching Beth noticed that it wasn’t like the normal crowds, more men were pushing forward. Beth moved round to find out what was going on, only to be stopped by Shaun.
"Hey pretty lady, you might want to keep out of the way before chaos truly hits." Leaning over a stool, she spied the bitch from hell in the centre of what appeared to be an adoring crowd. A crowd that was growing more restless with every minute. Shaun was right, chaos was close behind it. Ignoring Shaun she moved forward, men had started pushing others, jilted females were becoming enraged with their partners.
Ignoring Shaun she moved forward, she could hear her mom shouting her name. As she reached the crowd people started dropping off. Until Ben grabbed her and pulled her away from the people.
"Beth get out, I have more pack on the way."
Ice seemed to materialize next to her. "Wait Ben let me try something. Beth I want you to step closer to that side of the crowd."
"No fucking way, Ice." Ben was shouting over the crowd. He waved at the DJ who cut the music.
"Ben trust me, I won't let anything happen to her."
She watched as Ben paused before nodding. "Fine but I will be next to her."
"So will I. Beth just walk over like you were, Ben will be on one side I will be on the other." She could see her family and friends trying unsuccessfully to move the crowd. Someone would get hurt soon.
Beth moved forward, as she reached the crowd a few people moved away. As she passed where they had stood, others moved. Ben looked on in surprise, it was Ice who explained.
"She's like an antidote, she breaks the hold." Ice was shouting and Ben waved to tell the others to back off. They all stepped away from those pushing closer to Talia. Bit by bit the crowd dropped off, Ben had people moving them out of the club. He would never allow his customers to be at risk. The club had wards to prevent magic being practiced inside, yet it seemed that relatively strong Other's were not always so restricted.
When the last of the crowd moved she faced Talia; who didn’t seem to appreciate all of her adoring fans leaving. Then clarity hit this was Talia's gift, she could seduce people around her. But she didn’t seem able to do that to Vlad or his men. Why hadn’t she realised, she knew Talia had a sexual appeal that much she had seen. But Beth hadn’t realised that this was her gift, she hadn’t seen that before.
"Good evening Beth, it seems I have lost my little harem. Such a shame, not to worry there's always later or even tomorrow night."
"Talia so interesting to see you, although judging by appearances, it must have been a long night already." In a bright green sleeveless, ankle length gown with her hair curled into ringlets, combined with her bright red lipstick and green eye shadow, she looked like a transvestite gone wrong.
"What are you trying to say, don’t forget I can snap your neck before you take your next breath."
"Quite possibly, but you would have to be damned quick. And as for trying another night, I can assure you that you will not do that here again. In fact, it seems that I am the antidote to your sick seduction. Maybe I will start following you around, and every time you try this again, I will stop you."
What in the hell did Beth think she was going to do? Beth was stood facing a bloody old vampire, and brazenly goading said vampire. She must have a death wish.
"Last time I checked Beth; this place was Silver Pack not Vlads place. So I am struggling to see how you can dictate that." She just wanted to wipe the smug smile from her blood red lips, she didn’t even have to answer Ben did that for her as he stepped in behind her. This is what gave her that right, she was stood here with her friends and family, people who would stand behind her through anything, the same people she would stand beside to fight for.
"I did Talia, so I guess it's time to leave." Ben's voice was harsh and angry. Stupid, stupid woman, you don’t mess with an angry wolf. Even with a hint of that magnitude, Talia didn't take heed.
Instead she stepped in front of Ben licking her lips, before lifting a hand to trail a long, almost pointed fingernail down his face. She would have continued down his neck however, Talia didn’t factor in Ben's mate, aka Beth's mom. Beth watched as her mother moved to stand behind Talia. Beth braced herself and saw everyone else in the room do the same, each ready to jump in if Lucky needed them to, Ben included. Whilst they all knew that she wouldn’t need them to.
Tapping Talia on the shoulder, Beth watched as Lucky waited for Talia to turn. When she did she looked down at Lucky before smiling patronisingly.
"Yes human, what do you want?" The condescending tone she used didn’t help Talia; Lucky pulled her fist back and slammed it into Talia's nose, hard. With her mom's exceeding strength, Talia was astonished to find herself propelled backwards hitting the edge of the dance floor.
"You can keep your hands off my husband. Now get the hell out of this city, and away from my family and friends." With a big sigh Bet
h watched her mom look at her with a wink, before checking her nails.
"Mmm, is there anything else you need to say Beth?"
"No I think you covered it." Ice and Shaun were chuckling as they escorted her out. Beth wasn’t quite sure what to make of it all, although the memory of her mom punching Talia would stay with her for some time to come. Ben slowly started letting guests back into the room, it took a while but they all went back to enjoying the rest of the night. By the time they arrived back to pack land, Beth felt a little drunk but immensely happy.
As she undressed rather unsteadily she thought of Vlad. Well specifically his deeply penetrating eyes, his strong jaw bone, lithe, and athletic body (not that she had seen it), and those hands, hands that could literally set her on fire. Beth had a feeling that she had actually come away from their encounter more frustrated than him; it was time to remedy that. If she was burning with desire and frustration, he was going to be joining her.
Chapter 16
Following his encounter with Beth, he had spent the rest of the evening enjoying the peace in his home. Without Talia his staff seemed more relaxed, Albert was busy trying to clean up the constant mess left by Talia, and her idiots. Teleporting to Beth had exhausted him, maybe Albert was right and it was time for him to see a doctor. He just had to make sure they were discreet, if word got out that his strength was weakening it wouldn’t take long for him to be inundated with challenges.
Closing his eyes he dozed on and off. All of his thoughts centred on the little minx that was now plaguing his dreams. The thought of that tight body flush against his was almost too much. The slam of a door ended his silence, jerking his eyes open he felt dismayed to realise that he had not felt the presence of anyone approaching. Things were getting serious when Vlad didn’t feel Talia approaching the house. When Talia burst through the door, her anger was palpable which amused him.
Two Halves of a A Vampires Soul (The Silver Series) Page 9