Ever After Series: Paranormal Romance Box Set (Steamy Vampire Romance)

by A. C. James

I laughed. “Well, I don’t believe in soul-mates or any of that love at first sight bullshit. It’s either there or it’s not. When you’re eager to walk away instead of staying or fighting for what you want it’s not really love. He walked away too easy and a little bit each day I realized I didn’t love him. Not really. I loved him in a childish way. I loved him in a whirlwind, teenage, swept-up sort of way that wasn’t love at all but like a drug. And I don’t ever want to feel like that again.”

  Arie inhaled, and I couldn’t tell but it seemed like he might be holding his breath. The uncertainty hanging in the silence was deafening. I knew, in that silence, anything could happen, and held my own breath for what followed. If I spoke, whatever he intended to say would be gone.

  “To fall asleep and to wake up beside a kind soul, a truly kind soul, is a rare thing. It defines love, and after thousands of years I still haven’t found myself next to someone whose flaws complement my own in the morning.”

  I felt so much overwhelming sorrow and anger that Katarina had made him this way. I blamed her for him not connecting with anyone or letting anyone in. And I wanted to change that.

  “You know, turtles can live to be over a hundred,” I said after a pause. “But just because they haven’t been hit crossing the road doesn’t make them wise. It just makes them damned lucky.”

  Arie laughed. “What are you saying? You mean waking up next to a turtle is luck? Or I just haven’t been lucky enough to find the right turtle?”

  “Well maybe not it’s not all luck. They have to know just when to cross the road. But even if you look both ways you might not realize the right moment when it gets there.”

  I laughed at the absurdity of my poorly formed analogy. No wonder he couldn’t get what I was saying. I didn’t understand myself, as tired as I felt. Arie pulled me a little closer and I smiled in the darkness that covered my face like a veil, although with my head tucked into his chest he couldn’t possibly see my face.

  “If I’d never come to the Coffee Grind you’d be safe. You need to get some rest. And I need to find Katarina.”

  “Yeah, I’d be safe and bored and still waiting for life to happen while dreaming of something better. I’m not afraid of crazy. I’m not afraid of Katarina. And you don’t know that I’d be safe when my aura has become such a beacon.”

  “You should be afraid of her.”

  The truth was that she scared the pants off me, but I didn’t want to admit it. “You forget I’ve seen crazy things my whole life. A psychopathic undead vampire is just another level of crazy. The dead don’t scare me. It’s the living that worries me.”

  “She wasn’t always like that.”

  “Like what…crazy? Or a bitch?”

  Arie let out a harsh laugh. “Both.”

  “You loved her.”

  “Like a drug.” Arie sighed. “I’m sorry that I push you away.”

  It was hard to reconcile this tender, broken man with the one who’d tied me to the bed, taking what he wanted. But I suspected having a past like his would build a wall that he only let down in moments like this. “Don’t beat yourself up for it. Just buy yourself a turtle. It’d be the perfect pet for you because they live so long.”

  I yawned.

  Arie laughed. “You should get some sleep.”

  Curling myself around Arie like a pillow, I fell into a satiated sleep.

  ***

  When we woke up the door to the loft was ajar. Arie hesitated before bending time and moving so fast I couldn’t follow his blurry figure dashing around the loft—through the bathroom and then the trail of his figure headed down the steps. I followed him and waited at the foot of stairs.

  He closed the door to the loft and locked it. “She was here. She must have dazzled Harry to let her in. I heard someone in the loft. That’s what woke me…”

  “How do you know it was her?”

  “She left me a note on the bathroom mirror,” he said in a scathing voice. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

  I rested my forehead on his chest. Arie wrapped his arms around me, stroking my hair.

  “Whatever happens, I’m with you now,” I said in a whisper.

  Arie sighed. “Holly, I will love you forever, whatever happens.”

  “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear that,” I said, smiling into his chest.

  “You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.”

  I laughed. “Oh? How long is that?”

  “Long enough that I’d forgotten that once you love then comes fear of losing the person that you love, and I don’t want to lose you.”

  He ran his fingers into my hair, holding my head against his chest, and I inhaled the scent that was distinctly his on his cold, hard skin. I could stand like this forever, forgetting about all the craziness. I kissed his chest through his cotton t-shirt. Arie tilted my chin up with his fingertips before his mouth came crashing down. His mouth was very clever as his tongue explored mine. His fingers trailed down the line of my back and followed the curve to my hips where his hands dug into my bottom.

  “Mmmmmm, you smell so good,” I said with a sigh. “I’m going to go take a bath.”

  “Okay, I’ll leave you to it then.”

  He planted a kiss on my forehead before letting me go. I trudged up to the bathroom and tried to ignore the message in lipstick scribbled on the mirror, then turned on the water to fill the tub. I can kill her anytime I want. I understood now why his declaration of love came when it did and came with the fear of losing me.

  Suddenly, I realized the real reason for her breaking into the apartment. As I stood in front of the vanity I saw that the protection amulet that Rue had given me was missing. I’d left it sitting there and it wasn’t there now. Since Katarina had been a gypsy witch before Arie turned her it only made sense that she would know the purpose of the amulet. What made my blood turn cold was the fact that she knew that I had it. She must have been watching me when I went to Rue’s shop. In my godmother’s vision she had seen me wearing the protection amulet the night of the gala.

  How will I protect myself now?

  I took off my clothes and submerged myself in the water, letting it wash away my panic. My eyes were closed when I heard Mystic meow. I opened my eyes to find him sitting on the corner of the tub just above my head. Mystic had always hated water. It was very uncharacteristic for him to be within ten feet of the bathtub let alone perched on it, towering over my head. I sat up a little straighter in the tub.

  “Hey, boy.”

  An unexpected hiss followed by a growl emanated from him. His ears folded back before he swiped at me with his claws extended. Without cause he clawed my neck, drawing blood with a long scratch down my throat. I splashed water at him and he darted out of the bathroom. Mystic had never attacked me. I wiped at the blood and held a washcloth to the wound until it stopped bleeding. I couldn’t believe my cat attacked me. And I didn’t know what to make of it. Mystic had always been so loving and gentle—a loveable ball of fur that curled next to my head while I slept.

  Even though the bleeding stopped I knew more blood would need to be spilled to quiet Katarina’s cruelty. And I had nothing to offer but my blood. I only hoped it would be enough when innocent people were dying over some ancient jealousy. I just wanted peace, but sometimes blood must be spilled in order to obtain it.

  Chapter 17

  The last few weeks leading up to the gala went by faster than I imagined. Arie never left my side. Mystic had been acting strange and spent most of the time hiding under our bed, but fortunately the scratch down my throat had healed without scarring as I thought it might. My face was plastered on a billboard near the Loop. Its intended effect was to draw Katarina out of the woodwork but we wouldn’t know whether it had worked or not until the night of the gala. And tonight was the night.

  Victoria came over to help me get ready. I told her I needed help with my hair and make-up. Usually, I wore my hair twisted in a bun because it frizzed out of control otherwise.
I scarfed down some dinner sitting at the breakfast bar with Victoria. There was a knock on the door to the loft. I rose to answer it but Victoria placed a hand on my arm and stopped me in my tracks.

  “Wait,” Victoria said. “You’re not expecting anyone.”

  I watched as she went to the door and opened it. A man with a bouquet of black roses stood on the other side.

  “Flowers for a Miss Ellis,” the man said. “Can you sign here?” He handed Victoria a clipboard and a pen.

  Victoria scribbled her signature and took the vase of flowers. She sat them on the kitchen counter and handed me the card that came with them. It read: “Enjoy. I’ll see you tonight.” The roses were beautiful, although I would have thought Arie would send red or white. Except the florist messed up the arrangement or they must have been damaged during delivery because one of the twelve blooms was missing.

  “They’re beautiful,” I said.

  Victoria shrugged. “You should start getting ready. The car will be here for us in an hour.”

  I nodded, and headed upstairs to shower. The strapless black dress hung in the closet. I stepped into the gown and zipped up the side. The full-length mirror in the bathroom revealed a stranger. The rhinestones on the corset bodice sparkled under the vanity lights as did the spider web of rhinestones that draped its bell-like bottom. I clasped my locket around my neck. It wasn’t fancy, but at least it was silver. The fingerless black velvet gloves came up over my elbows.

  “You look lovely,” Victoria said in a whisper.

  I startled. “I didn’t even hear you come up behind me.”

  “Sorry. Here, sit down. I’ll do your hair and make-up.” She pulled out the stool under the vanity counter in the bathroom.

  Our eyes met in the mirror. “Tonight it has to end,” I said.

  “One way or another, otherwise the Legacy will send someone else to deal with it.”

  “Maybe they should have, because I don’t think this is good for Arie.”

  “He’ll deal with it.” Victoria twisted my hair up into an elegant design and held my hair in place with rhinestone pins before she set about doing my make-up.

  “I’m nervous about tonight.”

  Victoria dusted mineral make-up over my face and dusted my cheeks with rouge. “Don’t worry. We’ll both be there.”

  I remembered what Rue had told me—that she had seen my death—but there was no turning back now. I had to trust that Victoria and Arie could protect me.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  She applied my eyeliner and mascara more liberally than I would have liked. “We won’t let her hurt you.”

  “I want to believe that everything will be all right.”

  Victoria smeared my mouth with lipstick. “Take a breath. You’ll be fine. I promise.”

  Somehow I doubted that, but what else was there to say other than ‘everything will be okay’ and just hope for the best, even though I knew deep down it wasn’t true? Rue couldn’t be wrong. Victoria slipped out of her clothes and put on a gown that shimmered silver. She looked like a star that lit up the sky with her pale skin, pale hair, and sparkly silver dress. Then she donned a silver mask with a white feather that covered her eyes. Victoria had told me Tessa loved masquerade balls and planned the gala accordingly. Her cropped hair didn’t need much of anything, but she’d spiked it and put on make-up before dinner. I envied that she didn’t have to do much of anything to maintain her hair, unlike mine. I’d opened my locket, and was staring at my mother’s face smiling back at me when Victoria’s cell phone rang.

  She answered it and hung up abruptly. “It’s time.”

  I slipped on the black spike heels with ruffled lace that reminded me of a spider web and I very much felt like I was tangled in one now. I dreaded wearing them. Even though I’d practiced walking in them, I was still unsteady on my feet, but at least I was able to walk without falling flat on my face.

  A limo waited for us in front of the apartment building and a chauffeur opened the door for us. Arie wanted to do a perimeter sweep and scan for Katarina before the gala. He’d told us to meet him there.

  When we arrived at the club it was already filling up with a crowd mix of those who wore glittering gowns and others who wore dark colors. Some wore masks while others carried black fans. Others looked like Goth versions of Glamour magazine models. We pushed our way through the growing crowd and made our way to the elevators. Victoria swiped her key card. When we reached the second level it appeared to be occupied only by vampires, along with the regulars, our human clientele. They were all decked in their finest and I wondered about the age of some of their garments, which appeared yellow rather than white.

  Arie sat at the bar.

  “Over there,” Victoria said as she gestured toward Arie.

  He must have heard her because he turned toward us almost as soon as she spoke. As we made our way to the bar he gave me an appraising look. Arie wore a simple black and white tux which made him stand out among the rest of the crushing bodies vying for the bartender’s attention and a drink.

  “You look stunning,” he said when we reached him.

  I could feel warmth flood my cheeks. “Thanks.”

  “Can I get you a drink?”

  “I just want club soda.”

  Arie flagged down the busy bartender. “A club soda for the lady and a pint of Puncture.”

  The bartender brought us our drinks and we made our way to a table over by the balcony overlooking the club below. A woman wearing a short black dress sat alone at the table. Without acknowledging her, Arie and Victoria sat on either side of her which drew her attention from one of the burlesque acts performing on stage below. Her lips parted and a look of alarm passed over her face before she rose without saying a word to either of them, leaving the table.

  “That was a little rude,” I said to Arie before taking her seat after she departed.

  Arie said nothing.

  Victoria laughed. “How else were we supposed to get a table? This place is already packed.”

  The first act was finishing up when Tessa approached our table wearing a green dress that made her eyes stand out. Arie nodded at her in greeting while Victoria focused on the stage.

  “Arie, I need you to come with me,” Tessa said.

  “Why?”

  “The security footage shows a woman that resembles Katarina, but I can’t be certain.”

  He arched his eyebrows. “Victoria, I’ll be back. Take care of her.”

  Victoria turned. “Of course.”

  Arie turned to me and kissed me unexpectedly. The gentle, lingering touch of his lips brushing against mine felt as if he were taking the time to memorize the curve of my mouth before he left. He’d never kissed me in front of anyone else. I think it surprised Tessa and Victoria almost as much as it surprised me. His kiss was long enough that it left a tingling sensation in my stomach but short enough that it left me wanting more. If a kiss could form words I think the one word his kiss could say would be good-bye. It was tender and romantic yet frantic and violent all at once. I didn’t want it to end. And I wasn’t ready when he pulled away and followed Tessa away from our table. My tongue curled behind my teeth. As Victoria watched me I wondered if I’d ever feel our breath blend and our mouths merge as the tangle of his hands caught in my hair, or his fingers trailed down my curves, ever again.

  “Damn.” It was all Victoria said and somehow that one expletive fit so well.

  “She’s here. I know it. I can feel it. It’s really her.”

  “Relax. I’m sure Arie and Tessa will take care of it. She’ll never get up here without a key card.”

  The second act took the stage and it was a woman who recited poetry while doing a striptease that we’d booked. I couldn’t focus on her words as her clothes were thrown out into the audience, who howled. I bit my lower lip, waiting for Arie to return. While the audience cheered, she curtsied before leaving the stage. The woman with the suitcase who had auditioned with her vamp
ire boyfriend was the next number.

  Where is Arie?

  Victoria’s cell phone rang. “Yes?”

  She looked over at me. “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

  Then she hung up the phone. “I have to go.”

  “What? Why?” I asked.

  “Tessa’s head of security wants me to meet him in the lobby. I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere. Like I said, she can’t get to you without a key card.”

  “Trust me, I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to.”

  Victoria nodded and left the table. I tried to focus on the performance on stage below but I felt keyed up, anxious, like something bad was about to happen. The lights dimmed and even though I knew it was part of the act, I felt my hands begin to shake. I wished Arie was here and wondered what was taking him so long. Suddenly, I felt my clutch purse in my lap begin to vibrate and realized it was my cell phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Meet me in the lobby,” Victoria said.

  “What? Why? I can barely hear you.”

  “But don’t…and you need…hurry.”

  “Victoria, I missed half of what you said. I can’t hear you over everyone else.” The packed club made it too difficult to make out her words.

  A clicking noise resounded in my ear as she ended the call without further explanation. I couldn’t decide whether I should wait for Arie or just go; surely Victoria wouldn’t tell me to meet her if it wasn’t safe. There had to be a reason. But still…

  I decided to call Arie’s cell. He picked up on the first ring. “Holly, where are you?”

  “I’m going to meet up with Victoria in the lobby.”

  His muffled voice came through the other end but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying over the audience cheering below. With a sigh, I hung up, and tried to text him instead. Damn. Message not sent displayed across the screen and I realized that I had poor reception in the converted warehouse. My gut told me this was a bad idea but I only had one bar for signal strength on my damned phone. I tossed my cell in my clutch and took the elevator down to the lower level. The club had filled up and wall-to-wall people made maneuvering difficult. Finally, I managed my way through the throng and found the lobby relatively quiet.