by Ann Cory
A combination of smells caught her attention, dark aromas she could almost taste. Bourbon. Blood. Sex. Musk. A lustful hunger started in the pit of her stomach.
The light continued to flash. On. Off. Aubrey’s arms rested at her sides and she leaned her head back. Invisible lips brushed along her ear with whispered promises to slake her rapacious appetite. Her body lifted up out of the car. She moved her lips to ask questions but her words were inaudible. The voices soothed her. They promised safety. Someone cared for her greatly and waited for her arrival. Aubrey wondered if they meant her mother.
Fingers combed through her hair and swept along the slope of her neck. Lips teased along her flesh, the heat from their breath penetrating her skin. More fingers slid along her legs, higher toward her inner thighs. The movements promised fulfilled desires and mind-numbing orgasms. Despite her inability to see anything or anyone, she parted her legs, groaning as fingertips prodded beneath her panties and taunted her clit. Hands tight around the steering wheel she ground her hips until her body shuddered.
As she came down from the euphoric high, faint voices floated around her head.
He waits for you.
The flashing red light stopped and the sudden blackout rendered her blind. Her body moved through the darkness on a chariot of invisible arms, her feet dangling beneath her, unmoving, unfeeling. Had she been in an accident? Was she dead?
A crimson red glow came into view, creating a tunnel that looked to stretch forever. Aubrey glanced behind her, unnerved to find the tunnel stretched just as long the other direction. Whatever hands had carried her had disappeared. Her feet touched the ground and she teetered a few moments until she regained her balance. Seeing no other choice, she continued on.
After several minutes of walking into nothingness, a door opened. Aubrey stepped into a blood-red room lit with hundreds of candles. Immediately the amber glow soothed her and prompted her all the way inside. Fascinated, she could only stare at her surroundings. Elegant glass vases filled with roses hung from the blackened stone walls. Sensual baroque music played faintly in the background and beckoned her forward.
“Where am I?” She was startled to hear the sound of her own voice as it echoed off the walls.
“Welcome.”
Aubrey looked around for the owner of the feminine voice, but didn’t see anyone. “Excuse me, wh-what am I doing here?”
“He sent for you. I will inform him of your arrival. Please, make yourself comfortable and someone will bring you a drink.”
Who was this mysterious he? “Wait, who sent for me?”
“Varick.”
The name hung in the air, as mystifying as the room itself.
A contoured chaise lounge sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by transparent curtains held open by red ropes. It looked luxurious. Something fit for a queen. She walked toward it and ran her fingers along the fabric. Velvet. Sinful. The texture against her flesh nearly brought her to another orgasm. Nothing about the night made sense. Since the moment she’d walked in on Gil, she’d felt stuck in a dreamy haze. Perhaps this Varick person would help her make sense of things.
She tested his name out on her tongue. Varick. A liquid sigh escaped her throat as a thrill fluttered low in her belly. How was it possible her body instantly became aroused at the thoughts of a man she’d never met before?
You do know me. I’ve never been far away.
Aubrey gasped at the faint words that echoed around her. Trembling, she took a seat on the lounge to keep from falling. Too many voices. A silly imagination. Clearly it was all a dream.
It beat her flimsy existence.
Legs outstretched, body tense, she chewed on her lip and admired the rest of the room.
The beauty impressed her. This Varick, as the voices called him, had exquisite taste. Gold roses adorned picture frames of delicate artwork. Lampshades covered with sheer scarves gave the room a rich ambience. The tension from her neck and shoulders lessened. Here she could be someone else. Here she was safe.
“Pardon me, miss. Might I offer you a drink?”
Startled, Aubrey glanced over her shoulder. A tall, dark-haired woman walked toward her carrying a silver tray with a glass of red liquid.
“Would you care for a glass of wine while you wait?”
Even in a dream she could stand to be pampered. “Thank you, yes, I would.”
She took the glass and raised it to her lips. When she turned to ask the vintage, she found herself alone again. With a shrug she rested her lips along the rim and tilted the glass. The delicious liquid easily slid down her throat and tickled her insides. Notes of dark cherries with a hint of leather livened up her palate and left a silky residue on her tongue. Aubrey closed her eyes. Images shifted in her mind like a naughty slideshow. Two people naked, their bodies entangled with one another, sheets crumpled at the bottom of the bed. Melodious sounds of heavy breathing and elated moans drifted into her ears.
The dark musky smell returned, only stronger this time. Infusing her with a decadent invitation. She squirmed. The feeling of warm breath against her neck awakened her desire. Her nipples reacted sharply, pushing through the thin fabric of her lightweight blouse. She hadn’t bothered with a bra when she’d gone to see Gil. Aubrey opened her eyes and blinked back the haziness.
In the distance, a figure emerged. At first glance he was strikingly handsome. His clothing differed from the usual men’s fashion, but weren’t at all unappealing. The tightness of his black pants enhanced the bulge of his cock, drawing a sigh from her lips. A white long-sleeve shirt hung open to the last button, exposing his smooth, toned chest. His dark hair, black as midnight, hung long and straight. Her heart thudded fast as her ravenous appetite increased.
With a mere look he’d managed to awaken her entire being. If she hadn’t believed in lust at first sight before, she believed now.
He walked toward her with a suave, sophisticated gait, watching her with his dark, piercing eyes, almost hypnotic, like the flashing red stoplight. She couldn’t turn away. His gaze offered something she wanted, without knowing what she wanted. It promised fulfilment, pleasure, satisfaction, and loyalty.
“Aubrey.” The last part of her name faded off and made her dizzy.
She wet her lips several times until they parted enough for her to speak. “Yes.”
“I’ve looked forward to our meeting. At one time I never thought it possible, but here we are. Together at last.”
He had an accent she couldn’t place, but it made him all the sexier. Whatever sweet, delectable words he wanted to seduce her with, she would gladly listen to.
Her head grew heavy, and she rested it against the soft velvet lounge. She should scream, and run instead of sitting in a vulnerable position. The man was a stranger and shouldn’t be trusted. Her mind said move, get out of there, but her body wanted to be open, alive, and at the mercy of his predatory gaze.
“I won’t harm you, I promise.”
He knelt at her outstretched feet, the bulge inside his pants prominent and erect. Could he sense her soaked panties? Did he smell the headiness of her sex? The aroma of musk exuded from him and drove her wild. She couldn’t help but steal glances at his cock encased within the sleek, black pants. They were so tight, outlining his sex, drawing heat from between her thighs.
Aubrey shuddered at the thought of how thick his cock was and bit her lip to keep from salivating. She needed something to slide down her throat and quench her growing thirst. What had happened to her drink?
“My beautiful Aubrey.” His voice made her toes curl in ecstasy. “I thought I’d lost you. Are you hurt?”
Pain was the last thing on her mind. “I don’t think so. How did I get here?”
“I saved you.”
She found it difficult to focus on his words, his chiselled features were distracting. “I-I don’t understand. Did I need saving?”
The look on his face had her believing so. “Yes. Your car almost went over a cliff.”
Somewhere in the
back of her mind a scene played, but she couldn’t internalise it for anything.
“I don’t remember.”
His head tilted to the side. “I expect you’re still in shock. Let’s talk of more pleasant things, shall we?”
He removed her shoes and caressed the bottom of her feet. No man had ever given her a foot massage before. She had always been touchy about her feet, but now she welcomed it. Pressure along her upper sole made the right side of her neck tingle.
“I control everything from here.”
His voice was deep. She could listen to him talk forever. Control was an issue she’d always had, but the way he spoke made her vulnerable. Questions swam in her mind but as he circled his fingers along the soles of her feet she started to forget them.
“I’m Varick.”
Her mind strained to remain clear. “Have we met before?”
He paused the movement of his hands and pressed his lips together. Aubrey admired the shape of his face. Square jaw, slight cheekbones and unblemished skin. His full lips parted slightly.
“Not in a way you’d remember.”
His hands resumed their trail along her heel and up her calves. Her breath shortened.
“I picked up on your anger tonight. Someone you cared about let you down. Am I correct?”
Her eyes widened. “Yes, my boy…ex-boyfriend showed his true colours.” All her rage returned and she couldn’t help but vent. “I went to Gil’s place to surprise him. We’d made plans to meet for dinner earlier in the week, but he called at the last minute to say he’d be working late. I have his key, so I decided to surprise him with dinner and a massage. Ten minutes after I arrived, he came down the stairs with a young blonde in tow. They were both naked and couldn’t keep their hands off each other. When Gil saw me, he looked like a kid caught eating junk food when he shouldn’t.”
Stray strands of the stranger’s midnight black hair moved when he shook his head. “I’m sorry. What a terrible thing to witness.”
She felt oddly removed from it now and shrugged. “Well, I’d forgotten about it until you brought it up.”
His eyes were so expressive, framed by dark lashes. “I have a reason for mentioning it.”
He circled her calves and moved his hands up to the swell of her knees. It tickled in a good way and made her scrunch her nose at him. The hem of her skirt lay only half an inch from his fingertips. If he dared go further, she’d tell him to stop, or at least she should consider it.
Aubrey noticed the slick sensation between her thighs and pressed her legs tight together. When she looked up at him, he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the sides. He distracted her at a feral level. The images she’d had flash in her mind earlier came back to her, naked people having sex, only this time she saw their faces. This time the faces belonged to them. Her mouth open, head turning from one side to the other, her body arched and trembling.
She gripped the sides of the lounge to steady herself. Her libido was on fire around him, but none of it made sense.
His coy smile brought a rush of blood to her face. Could he read her mind? Could he see the images behind her eyes?
As if to relieve her of worry, he looked away. “Do you remember what happened afterwards?”
She shook her head as if it helped dislodge her explicit fantasies. “Yes. I got in my car and drove as far away from Gil as I could. I was so mad I didn’t even know where I was going.”
He nodded and hummed in agreement. “What is the last thing you remember?”
Aubrey closed her eyes, bringing herself back to the last memory she could recall. “Some dark shadow. It flew over my car, I think. A flashing red light. Then I was here. And apparently you saved me?”
He nodded his head. “Yes. Had I not intervened, you’d be dead.”
Chapter Three
Varick’s pulse quickened at the thought of almost losing Aubrey. All the years of watching her from a distance, making sure she was safe, and in a split second he’d experienced true fear. He hadn’t even realised until now how fiercely possessive he was of her. How much it pained him to see her with other men. She’d been his from the very beginning, even before he’d realised how strongly he’d come to care for her. Now, he couldn’t imagine any other man touching her. Not if he had any kind of say.
He thought it surreal that they were in the same room together, talking, his fingers touching her delicate flesh. Smooth as porcelain. Every muscle in his body twitched. To be close enough to feel her warm breath against his skin. His mouth watered for a chance to taste her lips. It wouldn’t be easy, but he had to restrain himself. If he breached her trust now, all would be lost.
Her brows furrowed but did nothing to hamper her luminous green eyes. “How did you stop me? Were you in the car behind me?”
The questions would be tricky to answer. He could tell her the truth or talk in circles. Her beauty only strengthened his need to protect her, but she wasn’t a child anymore. She deserved to know.
“I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Varick didn’t dare move his hands beneath her skirt without permission. The feel of her skin—magnetic. He craved her womanly softness. Her heady scent played games with his senses, making him want to lose control and have her the way he’d always pictured their first time together. All the long years of saving himself would be more than worth it. She deserved to have a man treat her right and please her. When she let him, he would take her over the edge time and again hold her in a tight embrace until she fell into a peaceful sleep. His gaze settled on the delicate slope of her neck. A potent craving crept in and her mortal blood teased him, but he fought to control himself.
Aubrey narrowed her eyes. “Why do you look at me with—”
“Such passion,” he interrupted.
She appeared visibly shaken and he smiled. At any moment he could destroy the warm flow between them and harm her fragile emotions.
“Er, yes, with such passion. You claim to know who I am, but I can’t for the life of me figure out where I would know you from.”
Fear almost kept him from exposing the answer. She’d been lied to by many men over the years and he didn’t want to be added to that list. “I’ve watched over you for a decade. My mentor, Dante, watched over you for a decade before that. You’ve never met me personally, but you’ve seen me in your dreams.”
What he wouldn’t give to kiss away the stern lines that bracketed her sensuous lips.
A frown marred her brow. “No, I’d remember. Besides, nightmares are all that consume my sleep.”
Varick knew her nightmares well, which is why he entered her dreams and led her to happier thoughts. “It’s not uncommon to forget dreams and only remember the bad ones. I have often turned your nightmares into dreams.” He drew his face close, talking barely above a whisper. “Do you recall a figure who appears right before you wake?”
Her gaze deepened, eyes darting back and forth as she stared into his face. He held his breath, hoping she’d remember.
She tapped a finger to her forehead. “The one dressed in white. Long, dark hair. I can’t make out his face, but I remember, vaguely. How would you know something so personal?”
His breath left in a rush. She had seen him. “When you’ve struggled in your sleep, I’ve slipped inside your mind. I’m the figure in white. I help you leave the world of your nightmares.”
The crease in her forehead increased. “Why?”
He smiled. If only she’d realise he did it out of love. “I never want you to feel alone or be scared.”
The look in her eyes sent heat rushing through his body. Varick yearned to reach out and stroke her cheek, to feel the texture of her perfect lips against his own. To splay his fingers through her sweet smelling hair. The power she held over him was intoxicating, a drug he couldn’t deny. He’d always worried that being in her presence, he’d get the urge to feed. But not with her. Not with his Aubrey.
His cock pressed against his pants painfully, and
he half expected it to bust the seams. Every minute with her only magnified the strength of his need for her. Made him hungry to claim her lips and body as his.
Her beautiful gaze alternated between grief and sadness. If only he could caress away the doubts and make her believe in his existence. Show her the level of his devotion. Love away the demons that haunted her with every stroke of his cock.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand any of what you’re telling me. Why did you bring me here?”
He reached out to smooth away the wrinkles from her forehead.
Eyes wide, she recoiled from his touch. “Don’t.”
Varick felt the gentle warmth disappear. He was losing her and it hurt him to the core. “Aubrey, I…”
Like a shield, he felt her place a block between them. “Am I a prisoner?”
How could she think such a thing? If anything he was the prisoner. “No, of course not. You can leave anytime you wish. I promise. I wanted to make sure you were safe. I had nowhere else to bring you.”
She wet her lips, leaving a glossy sheen along them.
“And where exactly is here?”
Varick didn’t know how to answer. By all rights he shouldn’t have brought her here. Still, he worried she was slipping from his grasp. “My home. There are over a hundred rooms in this mansion, this is the West Chamber. I don’t know how to explain our connection without adding to your confusion. You’ve been through so much already tonight.”
She jutted out her chin and gave him a hard look. “Try. I feel like I’m going crazy here. I want to run, but something keeps me here. It doesn’t make sense.”
Blood rushed through his veins as he fought to keep from kissing her. He wanted to reassure her that he posed no threat, but not with words. He’d do anything for her. “You’re confused because you do know me. Your mind just won’t let you believe what you haven’t seen.”
Her long hair swayed as she shook her head, exposing her delicate neck. How he longed to bury his face there and breathe her in.
“No, I don’t know you at all.”
Varick ran a hand over his face. Maybe he’d made a mistake. He’d been so caught up in his own desires he’d failed to consider she might not feel the same. “Listen, please. I understand you’re confused. I would be too, but I won’t lie. You stay because deep inside you’re comfortable around me. You know I won’t harm you because when you’ve seen me, I’ve been your safe place to fall.”