I sighed and moved faster down the hall, needing to remove myself from the unpleasantness. Something, or rather someone, waited for me who was much more pleasant.
Joseline
The same bartender from earlier handed over a fresh version of the same drink I had before.
“Try not to spit this one out,” he said with a wink.
I grinned at his cheeky and flirtatious words.
“It’s time for me to take my leave,” Eben said, drawing my attention.
“What? Are you sure you don’t want to add a parting remark to draw some more blood first.”
He put a hand over his heart and acted wounded.
“Never.” He grew serious. “It was a true pleasure to meet you, Joseline. I’m sure we will see each other again.”
He smiled at me in an odd, sad way then walked off into the crowd.
No sooner had he disappeared than Lucas emerged from the arch. I watched him take two steps toward the exit to the grounds behind the castle then pause. He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before landing on me. A flicker of flame lit his eyes. He moved in my direction, a predator on the prowl. My pulse immediately picked up speed.
“Not where I left you,” he said.
“No. It was too chilly without you. Did everything go all right with your mom and dad?”
“Yes. They know Annice is unacceptable. There will be no binding tonight.”
He drew close, leaning in so his lips almost touched my bare neck. I listened to him inhale deeply. He growled, a sound that sent a shiver racing through me.
“Did you have something else in mind for the rest of your evening?” I asked, trying to focus.
“You smell different,” he said, pulling back abruptly. “Did someone touch you?”
I smiled at his serious face.
“Is my sunshine missing?”
He studied me closely and gently brushed his fingers along my cheek while the flames flickered on and off in his eyes.
“No. I smell a man.”
“Someone took pity on my wallflower-self and danced with me.”
He looked away for a moment, his eyes scanning the crowd.
“Does it bother you that I danced?”
“No. It bothers me that I wasn’t here. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You’re here now.”
He gazed down at me.
“I am.” He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. He seemed different. Less annoyed and tense, but something was still off. I set my barely sipped drink aside and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him.
“Do you want to go back outside where we can talk?” I asked, looking up at him.
“No.” His eyes blazed and dipped to my mouth.
My pulse skipped, and I parted my lips in invitation. The memory of the kiss we’d already shared consumed me. The fire reignited in my veins.
“Joseline,” he said before lowering his mouth to mine.
The touch of his lips reignited what I felt for him. I made a sound, and his hand slipped around to the back of my neck to hold me in place. I needed Lucas. I didn’t understand how or why, only that it was real and consuming. His tongue danced with mine as the music thumped in my ears along with my pulse.
When the thumping in my ears grew too pronounced, I pulled away, gasping for breath. Lucas didn’t give me time to recover. Instead of reclaiming my mouth, though, he kissed his way down my jaw to the column of my throat. My breath rasped out of me at the jolt of lightning that hit my center as his teeth scraped the skin.
He pulled back slightly and studied me. Whatever he saw made his eyes glow brighter.
“Come,” he said.
He took my hand in his and led me away from the bar, toward the hall from which he had emerged. My knees felt weak, but I kept up with him as he started down the corridor. He didn’t go far, seemingly picking a door at random. He pulled me inside and spun me around.
“Beautiful, Joseline,” he said, stalking me.
I backed up against the wood panel until the door clicked shut.
He stopped inches from me, his breathing just as rapid as mine.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked.
“No.” I never wanted him to stop.
His lips curved slightly, the self-satisfied grin making me reach for him. We came together with a fury of need. His hands moved down my sides setting a blazing path along my barely covered skin. We lost ourselves in taste and touch. If what I felt was magic made, I never wanted it to end.
Something thumped against the door. I couldn’t hear it but could feel it.
Lucas growled and hit the door in return.
“Can they hear us?” I panted.
He tore his mouth from mine.
“No. Magic.”
“Good.”
Instead of kissing me again, his lips sought out my throat. I gripped his hair and groaned as his teeth scraped my skin.
“Again,” I begged. He obliged, sapping what strength I had left in my knees. Gripping my hips, he kept me upright as he licked where his teeth had scraped.
“I need you,” he said. “I need to know.”
I knew what he wanted, and I wasn't afraid of it. I grew hotter at the image of his teeth sinking into my skin.
“Do it, Lucas. Taste me”.
With a groan, he pierced my flesh. I gasped at the sting then moaned at the feel of his lips and the first pull.
The thumping came again. Lucas held me tighter in response. I threaded my fingers in his hair and held him in place. I never wanted it to end. He fed in long pulls that made my need for him burn hotter. I never wanted to stop feeling his lips on my skin.
I’d barely finished forming that thought when he licked my skin with a long swipe of his tongue and pulled back to stare into my eyes.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Yes. A thousand times, yes.”
I lightly touched my neck and looked at my fingers. There was no blood.
“My saliva seals the blood in but doesn't heal the wound. It makes subsequent feedings easier on you. If you will allow it.”
My stomach tightened at the thought of his mouth gently sucking on my skin again and again.
“I hope we can do that a lot,” I said, trembling with need.
“So many lifetimes in the dark,” he said softly, lifting his hand to my face. “So many nights without hope of seeing the sun. Now, I can feel it on my skin and remember how it looked.” His fingers traced over my features as if he was memorizing details he couldn’t believe true.
“You may not know what you are, but I do. You are everything, Joseline. My sun. My reason to exist.”
He tenderly kissed my lips then met my gaze once more.
“Will you stay with me?” he asked.
I understood what he was asking. Something between us had shifted with that taste. Thoughts of my old life and returning to it seems so inconsequential when faced with the possibility of spending every day for the rest of my life with Lucas.
“I won’t ever leave.”
His mouth crashed against mine in a kiss so demanding I had no choice but to surrender. He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He pressed into me, the evidence of his desire rubbing me in all the right places.
I tore my mouth from his and started pushing the jacket from his shoulders.
The vibration of the door being hit again stopped me. I looked up at Lucas.
“Maybe we stole someone’s room,” I said.
“I doubt that.”
His eyes blazing a deep red, he moved me to the side, pinning me to the wall with his hand against my chest and swung the door open. From my position, I couldn’t see who was standing in the hall only inches from my head.
“Lucas, this is—”
“I’m busy, Mother.” His angry tone was met with a moment of silence.
“Please excuse us, Silvia,” his mother said. Footsteps faded away.
“Lucas, are you feedi
ng on a willing person?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” I said, pushing at his hand.
His angry gaze flicked to me and softened. After a moment’s hesitation, he released me. I patted my hair and checked my dress before stepping into view.
My cheeks flushed at the sight of his mom.
“Are you all right dear?” she asked, her gaze dipping to my neck.
“Yeah. Other than getting interrupted so you can throw other girls at Lucas while he’s trying to be with me, I’m fine.”
Her brows lifted slightly. Crap. Bad second impression when I was just thinking of forever with her son.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “High emotions and not really thinking clearly.”
She chuckled, a fond smile on her lips.
“I quite understand the pain of interruption during afterhours delights. I hadn’t realized…” Her gaze bounced between us.
Chapter Eight
Matched not Mated
Lucas
I was in hell. Joseline’s sweet flavor coated my tongue, the taste of summer and sunshine heating my blood as much as the scent of her arousal. Yet, I could do nothing about that because Mother had that look in her eyes that said she wasn’t going away without my compliance with whatever she had in mind. Something that was beyond my ability to give when aching with unfulfilled need. I could barely concentrate on anything other than Joseline’s fluttering pulse.
“Mother, as you can see, tonight is not a good time to continue your annoyingly persistent quest to match me with some soulless female for the rest of eternity.”
She lifted a brow at me, a single refined arch that let me know I was dangerously close to crossing a line.
“You want me to be happy,” I said. “I was happy until I had to open the door. Now, I’m frustrated and in a bit of pain.”
Her gaze dipped to my tented pants and the erection I had no hope of hiding.
“I see. We will talk later then.”
She tilted her head at me and finally stepped away from the door.
I slammed it closed and looked at Joseline. Her lips curved, and her gaze dipped to my pants.
“Probably not the best way to greet your mother.”
“She’s hundreds of years old. Nothing shocks her. Let’s focus on something else.”
“Oh? Like what?”
Her playful tone toyed with me, driving me insane with need. I pulled her close and inhaled deeply.
“You.”
I kissed her soft skin and slowly peeled the dress off her shoulders. Her pink nipples stood out against her pale skin. I trailed my fingers over her collarbones and listened to her breath hitch. She licked her lips and watched me with darkening eyes. I could see her need and exalted in it.
Not taking my gaze from hers, I bent low and licked the first tight bud. She hissed in a breath and closed her eyes, her fingers digging into my scalp. I switched to the other and suckled hard before giving her a light bite.
Her eyes flew open. Her scent grew heavier.
We stared at each other for a long moment. The beat of her pulse fluttered just under the flushed skin of her throat. Each rise and fall added to her scent. Her blood called to me. It sang in my veins, filling me with light and heat as much as the desire in her eyes filled me with the need to possess her completely.
I leaned in and broke the seal to feed again, not because I needed to but because we both wanted it. I swam in her flavor, feeling the sun on my skin and seeing its light in my mind with each swallow. More than that, I felt her. My Joseline.
Her hands smoothed up my chest and pushed the jacket from my shoulders. Licking her skin, I stopped the blood flow and met her dark amber gaze.
“No more interruptions,” she whispered.
“No more.” I hooked the loose sleeves of her dress with my fingers and, bit by bit, eased the dress from her body. Each inch of pale perfection called to me. Unable to resist, I kissed her.
Joseline
As soon as his mouth touched mine, something primal took over. A need to be with him. To mark him as mine and mine alone.
I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled hard, ripping buttons from the holes with more strength than I thought I possessed and sending them flying. Lucas growled and dragged my long skirt up, his hand gripping my thighs and lifting me against the door. Heat pooled in my middle as his hips ground against mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on tightly.
He entered me swiftly then stilled with a moan.
“Tell me again,” he said against my mouth.
“I won’t ever leave.”
He moved with infinite slowness, loving me like no other after that. Time stopped. Or maybe for us, it started.
Each caress and kiss brought me closer to bliss until I hovered at the very edge.
“Please,” I panted.
He kissed the side of my neck then licked the bite. I ached to feel his lips there. He drew the first swallow, and I moaned. Between the pleasure of having him inside of me and the pleasure of him drinking from me, I came apart. Wave after wave of release ripped through me.
He continued to suckle and prolong the pleasure with each thrust until he too found his release. He licked my neck again as I languidly leaned against him.
“Best sex ever,” I managed tiredly.
He withdrew, setting off a chain of tiny aftershocks that sapped what was left of my strength.
“In all my nights, I never thought I would find someone like you.”
“Someone too tired to stand up?”
“Someone to spend an eternity with.”
He kissed me tenderly then helped me right my dress. I hadn’t been kidding about standing. As soon as I tried, the room spun, and I had to lean against the wall.
“Stay right there,” he said.
He left the room and returned with a large, ornate red chair. He set me in it gently and kissed me softly.
“I took too much. Rest. I’ll get you something to drink and eat.”
I nodded and watched him leave, my gaze lingering on his broad shoulders.
Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back against the velvet covered chair. My whole body tingled with life. What we’d done should have sated my need for Lucas. However, I only wanted him more. And, I would have more. I’d promised that I would never leave him. That meant becoming like him. Could I? I smiled slightly. I could. Without hesitation. Lucas wasn’t bad. Just different.
The door opened.
“You look quite pleased with yourself.”
I opened my eyes and looked at Annice. The anger was plain on her face as she softly closed the door.
“It looks like you heard that Lucas isn’t interested in binding with anyone tonight,” I said. I knew I should have felt bad for her—she was obviously upset—but I didn’t.
“Yes. So he says.”
I frowned slightly.
“You don’t believe him?”
“Oh, I do.” She inhaled deeply.
“Sex and blood. A potent combination for any vampire. I can see why he was distracted.”
I stayed in the chair as she walked further into the room.
“Is this where you go all mean girl on me and tell me to leave your man alone?”
She laughed lightly.
“Not at all. It wouldn’t do any good. You don’t fear me or what I am to make any threat I’d give work. No, action is needed.”
She prowled a few steps closer, her sharp gaze never leaving me.
“So you’re going to what? Drink me dry?”
Her lip curled in disgust.
“I can smell the sun on you from here. I prefer my meals kept in the dark for a few days like most normal vampires.” She shook her head slightly at me. “What does he see in you? A quick lay and a drink of rank blood is hardly the reason to cancel a contract.” Her eyes swept over me again. “The only thing of merit is that Cress De Quie gown you’re wearing.”
“Maybe it’s not what he sees in me but what he
didn’t see in you.”
She reached back and pulled out one of the long, ornate piece hair sticks holding her braided hair up in it’s perfect coil. A length of hair came tumbling down over her shoulder.
“Do you know how hard it is to find a decent bloodline anymore?” She used the hair stick to prick her finger and licked away the dark blood. “Vlad’s is the purest. I can taste him in my blood even though I’m seven sires removed from him.”
“See? This is part of why Lucas wasn't interested in you. He doesn't care about bloodlines or purity. And, neither do I. Go away, Annice.”
“You claim not to care, yet you sit in the binding chair.”
I petted the velvet armrests. Even that much action made the room spin a little. Lucas really needed to hurry up with that drink.
“It's quite comfortable,” I said provoking her purposely.
I knew she was angry. I knew she was a vampire. I knew pissing her off likely wouldn't end well for me. Yet, knowing all of that didn't change a thing. She was trying to intimidate me, and I wasn’t going to roll over for it. No matter how tired I was.
“Go away, Annice. Lucas doesn’t want you. Don’t grovel for his affection when it isn’t there. It just degrades women everywhere.”
“I don’t want his affection. Just his blood.”
With a flick of her wrist, the hair stick she’d held flew at me. The long, thin metal shaft neatly pierced my chest, embedding itself so deeply that only the top of the ornate end showed. It stuck out like a glittering adornment to the leaf embellishment it had pierced. Right over my heart.
For a moment, I only felt a mild sting. Then a burst of pain radiated outward, and I made an agonized sound. No matter what all of those psychologists said, I did not want to die. It fucking hurt. Yet, even seeing the blood and feeling the pain, I wasn’t afraid.
“My, my,” Annice said. “I didn't think that would work. I had heard things about this ball. Having never been invited before, I wasn't sure what was truth and what wasn't. It looks like people can die here. I can’t tell you how relieved that makes me.”
I touched the metal end and gave a tentative pull. My attempt to remove it sent another wave of pain through me. I stopped trying since the damn thing didn't budge. I couldn’t lean forward either. I was pinned to the chair. She skewered me.
The Monster Ball: A Paranormal Romance Anthology Page 67