A drama-queen sigh sounded through the connection. “Mom totally exaggerated. My friend’s mom had a fender bender. No biggie.”
“She said you had a concussion.” Desi was okay? My brain wouldn’t quite wrap itself around the idea.
“Nah. I got a lump on my head.”
“And a broken leg.” My heart started to settle into a normal rhythm. Oh, thank you, God. Thank you, God.
“That was the other guy. He was on a motorcycle. Sucks for him, huh? Anyway, um, I’ll stay at my friend’s house tonight, so you don’t need to come. Sorry Mom freaked.”
I deflated a little. “Oh. Well, I’ll come by tomorrow since I’m almost there.”
Her sweet little girl laugh made me smile. “You are? Yay! I’ll see you in the morning.”
“It’ll have to be after dark, hon.”
“Oh yeah. Oopsy. Bloodsucker babe.”
I laughed as relief made me lightheaded. “Okay, sweetie. See you soon.”
“I love you, Cyn. Like, a ton.”
“I love you too.” My heart felt too full just then. I adored that kid. Too bad she had to grow up with Misty. She was a great kid now, but what would happen when she grew up and figured out how her mom brought home the bacon? If she didn’t already know. A sad sigh slipped out.
The driver’s door opened, and my scruffy chauffeur hopped in. “Where to, ma’am?”
“Um. The Creole, please.” If my options were a hotel room or spending Valentine’s Day alone with my aunt, I’d so take the hotel room. This was the least romantic Valentine’s Day ever, and I would much rather be tossing back a whole lot of booze with Candy at Eclipse.
The truck shuddered as the driver shifted into gear. I glanced back to see if my car was secured. He better not fuck up my Mini Cooper. I’d waited for over a decade to afford a nice car. We pulled onto the freeway at about five miles an hour. This would be a long ride.
“You know what the worst part of this job is?” My driver grinned companionably.
Do I want to know? Not really. My night pretty much sucked ass at this point, so of course I got the tow truck driver who wanted to lay his problems on me. Super.
He started to talk about all of the motor vehicle accidents he’d ever pulled someone out of. Mostly teenagers. All of the people he knew and went to school with, his kids knew and went to school with. Right. I so wanted to hear about this when I’d spent the evening thinking Desi might lay broken in a hospital room from a head-on collision. I cringed when he went off on semi-trucks and what they do to convertibles with liquored up kids in them. It would be rude to clamp my hands over my ears, right?
Could this night blow any harder? I squelched the thought. No need to tempt fate by asking the no-no question, even inside my own head. My stomach growled again. Hunger ripped into me. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something else. I could smell the driver’s blood, and I wanted it. My tongue rolled around my parched mouth. I was desperate for distraction.
“We’re here.”
My eyes snapped open. The wild orgy of neon lights down the Strip assaulted me. I loved Vegas. It was so unapologetic about what it was, a city of sinful indulgence. It was loud, brash and tacky. It said money with an edge of sleaze. I sighed as a tight smile pulled at my mouth. My fangs rubbed against my lips. Made it before dawn. Now I just had to find somewhere to feed.
I collected my things as the driver backed my car into an empty space in The Creole’s parking lot. This was the newest and most expensive hotel on the Strip. It had the architecture and scrolled wrought iron that screamed New Orleans. No wonder Andre liked this place. Beautiful fountains out front spouted water in time to classical music. The driver shook my hand before I turned to walk toward the hotel. I felt the veins pulse beneath his skin. My ears buzzed from the hunger. I dropped his hand like a poisonous snake and jerked away.
Every step was weaker—my legs shook beneath me. Icy tendrils slipped down my spine. The massive glass doors slid open to admit me, and the crazed lights of the slot machines blurred before my eyes. I swayed a bit before I managed to walk through the big white marble lobby. Ironwork surrounded the front desk, and flickering lanterns hung suspended over the staff member standing there. The black counter gleamed in the low light.
“Hello… I’d like to check in.” I braced my hands on the desk to steady myself.
He took one look at me and stepped away from the desk. Great, he would call security because I shook like an addict. When the world spun, I closed my eyes to make it settle.
“Ma’am?”
“Yes?” The man stood before me and held out a tall glass of red liquid. Blood. I snatched it from him and downed it like a shot, chugging the cold tangy nectar.
His half-smile flashed a long fang. “You looked a little pale.”
I set the glass on the shiny counter. “Thanks.”
“Your name please?” His hands hovered over his computer keyboard.
“Cynthiana Trent. I’m a guest of Andre St. James.”
Every inch of the skinny man froze for a moment before he resumed his movements. His voice squeaked a bit. “Of course, Ms. Trent. Here’s your key. Let us know if you need anything, anything at all.”
“Oookay.” He just got all weird. What was that about? I shook my head. Never mind. People got strange around Andre. I guess even his name could do it. Rubbing my shoulders to ease the long night of tension, I tried not to wince. God, I was tired.
The walk back through the casino was a trip. A million reflective surfaces showed nothing but a pair of floating blue eyeballs. I couldn’t wait until I’d been a vampire long enough to start seeing my reflection again. Unfortunately, it could take a hundred years or more.
Of course, there were a million banks of elevators, and they all went to different sets of floors. I was way too tired for this many options. How tall was this building anyway? I had no idea, and at this point I really didn’t care enough to investigate. Stepping into an elevator that should go to my floor, I poked the right button. The door slid closed, but nothing happened. My brow wrinkled as I stared at the panel. Oh, do not let me get stuck in this damn elevator. That would so top off this crappy night. I pressed the button again, harder this time, just in case it was a funky button. Still nada. Zilch. Zip. Nien. Denied.
“Shit.”
Then I saw the tiny sign that read “Please insert keycard here” with a little slot to do just that. Oh. Duh. Heat rushed up my cheeks, and I was grateful no one was here to see this. This was a weird hotel. I’d never had to use my key to make an elevator car move before, but maybe it was some new security thing. I shoved my keycard into the opening and pressed the button to my floor.
The elevator rose smoothly upward. I leaned against the cool glass wall while exhaustion weighed down my body. A bed sounded great. Hotel rooms were all the same, but I’d give kinky sexual favors for a shower and mattress right now. Too bad Andre wasn’t here. I snorted in self-disgust. What could I do about his “destined for each other” stance? The man was too stubborn to give up, but what did I want? I just didn’t know. He was so sweet and so damn pushy at the same time.
I sighed, too tired to think about this. The elevator slid to a stop, and the doors opened to let me out.
“Whoa.” I jerked to a stop. This wasn’t a hallway lined with doors. This was a foyer with one set of double doors. Oh. Shit. This was the penthouse. When Andre said a comp room, he meant the fucking penthouse. Shock rolled through my system. My hand shook as I lifted the key to the slot recessed into a gold panel beside the doors. Maybe it was a mistake. But no, the fancy curved knobs clicked. I reached out and twisted, and the doors opened on silent hinges.
A huge breath escaped my lungs as my heels sank into the deep carpet. The whole room was done in an explorer theme. A huge globe was set into a polished wood table in one of three seating areas. I had my own kitchen and b
ar. There was a bathroom and two televisions, one of them a big screen. There was a dining room big enough for twelve. Why would anyone have twelve people in a hotel room? Behind the table was a wall of windows that overlooked the Strip. Lights twinkled for miles before they gave way to the inky black of the desert.
“Ooooh.” Now that was a view.
I stepped around the entertainment center and through the door I assumed led to the bedroom. My eyes bugged out.
“Wow,” I breathed.
The same floor-to-ceiling windows continued in here, and right next to the windows was a massive black hot tub. Four people could fit in there easily. Two plush robes were folded and stacked on top of the wide shelf that surrounded the tub. On the opposite side of the room stood an enormous four-poster bed. I chuckled. Four people could fit in there too.
My shoes clicked on the marble floor in the bathroom beyond the bed. I had to explore the whole suite now. There was a shower with tons of nozzles that would spray me from about ten different directions. This place was crazy. Still-just-barely-making-the-bills girls like me weren’t allowed in rooms like this unless it was to clean up after people like…Andre. I sighed, then almost fell out of my cute shoes when the phone beside the toilet rang. Wow, they could take a dump and do business at the same time. That was real multitasking.
Reaching out a tentative hand, I picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hello, Ms. Trent. What may I get you for dinner? Or perhaps a cocktail? Compliments of the hotel owner, of course.”
Right. Andre said it was all on the house. My stomach growled like a rabid, frothy mouthed werewolf. Though not for blood this time, thank goodness. Free food sounded too good to pass up just now. “Um. Can I order something to eat?”
“Of course, Ms. Trent. What would you like?”
Something simple. Something that wouldn’t freak me out. Something I could afford without breaking open the piggy bank. Which was probably nothing on their menu. “A chicken salad sandwich, please.”
“Of course. What would you like to drink? We have every blood type on tap.”
“O negative, please.” I drank the same blood type that I had. It made it more bearable for me, as if I just got some kind of daily transfusion. That made sense, right? Less “bloodsucking undead whore of Satan” and more “poor chick who got a vampiric STD out of the one-night stand from hell”.
“And would you like that in a glass or shall I send up a sheep?”
Sheep, the vampire term for humans. Maybe it made them feel better about sucking them dry, but it all still seemed a bit twisted to me. “In a glass. Thanks.”
“We’ll send a bellman up shortly.”
“Okay.”
Some people would think I should be used to this, but modeling wasn’t the glamorous work Hollywood made it out to be. Hours spent frozen in muscle-straining, back-breaking positions where the photographer went ballistic if you breathed too deeply and messed up his reference points and lighting. I got to wear the forty thousand dollar necklace for a photo shoot, but it wasn’t mine. None of it was for me. But this was. All mine. For tonight anyway. A giddy laugh bubbled out, and I danced in a little circle.
I plopped onto the bed and fished some cash out of my purse to tip the bellhop. Eyeing the huge hot tub, I promised myself a swim as soon as I finished dinner.
A sharp knock sounded from the living room. “Room service.”
I heard the door open as I walked out of the bedroom. A tiny woman in a tuxedo set a tray with covered dishes on the bar. She took a few bottles off the tray and stooped behind the counter. “Ahem.”
She straightened, a strained smile on her face. Her words tripped over themselves. “Ms. Trent. I just wanted to stock the mini-fridge with O negative i-in case you get thirsty later. Compliments of the owner.”
What was up with these people? Did Andre terrify them so much that they were scared of me by association? Or, wait. Did I look like road kill? Like the rabbit I squished into a bunny pancake? That would scare anyone. I couldn’t even see myself in a mirror to check. Ack!
Lifting the covers off my dinner, she revealed the most enormous chicken salad sandwich I’d ever seen. With golden crispy French fries piled beside it. My mouth watered as the aroma curled toward me.
I smiled at the bellhop, but she shuddered and stepped back. Ah. A human who had a healthy fear of vampire fangs. Smart. Unusually smart. I wondered if she ever pulled sheep duty. Probably not. There were humans who liked the job. Some even got off on it in a super icky way. I tossed the tip on the bar, grabbed the tray of food and walked backward toward the dining room.
“Thank you. Have a nice night.”
“Of course, Ms. Trent. Please let us know if you have any other needs.” She scooped up the cash and darted for the door.
Chapter Three
Floating naked in the hot tub, I let the swirling water tug at my hair. The heated jets loosened my knotted muscles. A contented sigh slipped out. I didn’t even want to consider how bad this night would have ended without Andre. A night with Aunt Misty just couldn’t compare to a penthouse suite. The mere thought of Andre made the hot water feel like a caress against my skin. I wished it were his hands that moved over me. My nipples tightened, and my pussy clenched on emptiness. Fire flooded my system as I shuddered.
I jerked upright, ripped from my little fantasy when a knock sounded on the door. Water coursed down my face. I swiped it out of my eyes and tucked myself next to the side of the tub to use as cover.
The same woman’s voice called out. “Room service.”
I frowned. “You already—”
“A bottle of champagne, compliments of the owner.” I heard the front door slam as she left.
I wasn’t even surprised when Andre entered the bedroom cradling two flutes of bubbly. A grin pulled at my lips, and I was…happy to see him. That was a surprise. A definite change from the start of this hellacious night.
He toasted me with one of the glasses and handed me the other. “Compliments of the hotel owner.”
I took a sip, and the bubbles tickled my tongue and lips. “Uh huh. And who might the owner of this hotel be?”
“Me.”
“You just happen to know the owner, huh?”
“Intimately.” A look of worry crossed his face, and fine tension ran through his body. I noticed he hadn’t had any of his drink. “Are you all right? You were treated well?”
“Your entire staff is terrified to fuck up in front of me.” I leaned back a little to look at him as he walked closer.
A dark smile crossed his face. “They should be.”
“Why?”
He settled on the ledge that wrapped around the hot tub. “Because you’re my…friend. I expect my friends to be treated very well.”
Friends. I’d never thought of him that way, but it didn’t feel wrong. It fit. Friends with benefits fit even better. His muscled thigh was less than an inch from me, and his scent enticed me. He needed to be naked. My gaze ran up from his leg to the bulge of a large erection pressing against the expensive fabric of his slacks, over the wide expanse of his chest to the light green fire in his eyes. I took a deep breath, which lifted my breasts from the water and made it lap at the beaded tips. His gaze dipped to skim my naked body, and I damn near whimpered.
“May I join you, cherie?” His deep voice rumbled the request.
What the hell? Let’s face it. This tub had been made to have sex in. I met his gaze and licked my lips slowly. “Yes.”
His breathing hitched. He reached forward to run his fingers through my wet hair and cupped my jaw in his big hand. I leaned into his touch, my eyes never leaving his. He stood and watched me watch him as he undressed. Oh, now, this was a show not to be missed. I moved back to the end of the tub, propped my arms on the edge, and waited.
A slow smile pulled at his full lips, and h
is lids slid to half-mast. His jacket hit the floor while his nimble fingers loosened his silk tie. He flicked open the buttons of his shirt to reveal the smooth skin of his muscled chest. Thank you, God. I could watch him forever. He was such a gorgeous man. I could watch, but I’d rather participate.
“Now the belt.” I would explode if he didn’t get in the tub soon. The movement of the water stimulated everything.
His fingers tugged at the buckle to leave it hanging while he fumbled with his fly. “You enjoy this?”
“Hell, yes. Hurry up, or I’ll start by myself in here.”
He paused in his undressing. Damn it. “That would be…interesting to see.”
“More interesting than doing it yourself?” I cupped my hands around my breasts, lifted them and tweaked the nipples.
“Mon Dieu.” He groaned and shoved his slacks to the floor, then toed off his shoes before he strode toward the tub. As he stepped over the ledge, I met him halfway. Our lips touched, and our tongues stroked together. His arms tightened around me, pressing me to his chest. I moaned into his mouth when his cock jutted against my belly. He lowered us into the swirling water, and it caressed us, sealed us together.
My head fell back. “Please, Andre. I can’t wait.”
I gasped as he lifted me to set me on the lip of the tub. Teetering, I leaned back to grab the outside edge of the shelf that surrounded the hot tub. He shoved my thighs wide and pulled my knees over his shoulders. His wicked grin flashed up at me before he licked a path up my thigh. Heat exploded through me, and I panted.
He switched to the other leg and offered it the same treatment. His hot, wet tongue against my skin was amazing. Goose bumps erupted down my arms.
“Don’t stop,” I begged. He was almost where I needed him.
His lips parted on my thigh, and fangs sank into the corded muscle there. He drank from me. Licking, sucking, stroking with his tongue and teeth. I came so hard starbursts flashed before my eyes. My pussy spasmed, and a tingle of heat raced through me.
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