Enrique watched me walk towards him with a surprising amount of hunger on his face, he didn't try to hide it, he didn't try to temper it. I couldn't reconcile the protector from on the plane with the vampire before me. I was left a little confused. I stopped just in front of him and smiled, then when he made no move but to smile languidly in return, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him in an embrace. He did hesitate then, maybe lusting after me from a distance was acceptable in his eyes, but actually following through with physical contact was a no-no. That settled my suddenly rapid heartbeat. Maybe Enrique wasn't looking at me the way I had suspected at all. Maybe I had got it wrong. Eventually though, even he couldn't resist the opportunity presented and his arms wrapped around me in return, one hand sliding lower to cop a feel. I jumped in alarm and further surprise. Just what was he playing at, this was not the Enrique I had come to know.
I pushed back from him and swatted his hand away. “What's the matter with you?” I said in a low but steady voice. He just smiled winningly back.
“How are you, little Hunter? You look... well.” I could tell there was a lot more he wanted to say there, but well worked.
“I am. Thank you.” I picked up a glass of champagne as it floated past on a waiter's tray and took a sip, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling that Enrique was simply not himself tonight. “Thank you for everything,” I added quietly, returning the moment to something a little less dangerous, but equally as emotional.
His smile dimmed a fraction, a more serious look coming over his features. “It was my pleasure, Señorita. Entirely my pleasure.” I relaxed a little at his words.
We stood in silence for a few seconds and then he took my arm and directed me to some comfortable seats in the corner, helping me sit beside him, so we could face the room and also talk more privately than in the middle of the dance floor.
“Have you received all of your memories?” He was drinking champagne too, although his was already almost all gone. He casually placed an arm along the back of the bench seat we were on as well and crossed his legs, giving the picture of utter ease and contentment.
“Yes. I think I'm all back to normal.” Well, except for visions of blood and recurring images of Nero's death that is.
“Excellent, I am so glad. We cannot have our Sanguis Vitam Cupitor unprepared.” Many of the vamps only ever referred to me as my first prophesied title, not bothering with the rest. I guess it's the one I've held longest.
“I didn't know you were a supporter of the Prophesy, Enrique?”
“Of course, it is why I approached Michel to form an alliance. You do not think he was the only one to recognise you for what you are, do you?”
I hadn't really thought about it. Michel had known what I was, or what I could potentially become, even before I moved to Auckland. He had sensed my power from afar and arranged for my successful transfer to the city and once I came here, he made sure it was him I came to know first and foremost. You'd almost say he engineered our getting together. Hell, that's exactly what you could say. He did.
But, I'd long gotten over that, he'd proved again and again that despite the planned meeting, he had well and truly lost his heart to me too. It used to piss me off, the how of our getting together, but sometimes even fate makes us believe someone else had a hand in it, who's to say Nut didn't organise Michel into this role as well.
So, although I was aware of Michel's interest in me from the start, I hadn't really thought too much about anyone else's. Enrique's knowledge wasn't that much of a jump in understanding though, was it? I wondered briefly how many other vampires had wanted to seek me out as well. I shuddered a little at that thought. Michel was enough of a handful.
Enrique had received a refill to his glass and was having another sip, he obviously wasn't concerned that I hadn't answered his question, his other hand across the back of the seat had started playing with my hair. I got the distinct impression he may have had quite a few drinks and was a little bit tipsy. Maybe that was why he was acting so strangely. Although he had mentioned on the plane that we would, no doubt, be more than just acquaintances from now on, I was sure he had meant we would be like brother and sister. Care for each other, wish to only protect. From the feel of his hand on the back of my neck and the way he had manoeuvred himself snug against my thigh, I wasn't so sure about that right now though.
He shifted slightly to turn towards me, his leg making the material of my dress move apart at the split, he lowered his hand holding the champagne glass down to my thigh and ran a finger along the flesh displayed there, the wine almost tipping over the top of the glass. “I like your dress, little Hunter. It suits your luscious skin.”
“I think you're drunk, Enrique.” I had started shaking, I wasn't happy with where this was going, but I was still trying desperately to figure out a reason why. This was not the Enrique I had come to know on that plane.
“Vampires don't really get drunk, not on alcohol any way.”
“What do they get drunk on?” I moved slightly to put some space between us.
“Power. Blood.” His hand holding his glass came back to rest on my thigh. “Sex.”
Holy hell, where was the Enrique who saved me? This was definitely a whole other vampire, that was for sure.
“You need to back off, Enrique, Michel would castrate you if you tried a move.” It was the only thing I could think of to say. And as soon as the words were out, Michel was in my mind.
Ma douce, do you need me?
I swallowed. This wasn't Enrique, something was wrong and Michel coming to my rescue now could be disastrous. I needed to figure this out and I needed to be able to do it on my own. Michel must have heard my thoughts and although I could tell it was reluctant, he withdrew from my mind with a simple caress that whispered his faith in my ability to handle the situation on my own. I couldn't believe the sense of power his actions caused in me. A power of belief in myself.
Enrique smiled up at me, unaware of what had transpired in my head and shifted away, his arm from behind my seat also returning to his side. “You are correct, little Hunter. I am acting completely and utterly inappropriately. My mind is clearly distracted. Forgive me.”
“What's got into you?" I said with relief. "This is not the Enrique I know and trust.”
He looked a little pained at that and I think he would have answered me, given the chance. But he didn't get the chance, because a tall blonde haired, buxom Italian came to stand in front of us, her blood red slinky dress defying gravity and making my splits look like small tears in the fabric.
“Drowning your sorrows, mio caro? I told you, I value strength not weakness and this is... weak.”
Enrique looked up at our newcomer and smiled bitterly. “And I told you, Alessandra, that I would no longer play your games.”
She laughed out loud, a clear sound like tinkling crystals ringing through the room. “But you play them so well, my love. How can I not be addicted to your jealousies, but” - she flashed a look of disgust at me, the first time she had even acknowledged my existence - “you could have chosen a better rival for my affection, mio caro. This one has already been used and abused.”
Several things happened at once then. Enrique abruptly stood, no doubt to defend my honour, Erika appeared with a Svante sword drawn and pointed at Alessandra's throat and I leapt to my feet and punched the female vampire at the top of my most hated list. My fist connecting squarely on the nose making her shriek and splutter and blood pour down her body to mingle with the colour of her dress.
Who said I couldn't take care of myself?
Chapter 17
Let's Get This Party Started
“Take a breath, chica,” Erika said to me. Svante sword still drawn and held at Alessandra's throat as she bent over trying to stem the flow of blood from her now fractured nose.
I hadn't realised I had been holding my breath, but I let a long rush of air out at her command and tried to unclench my fists. Fucking Alessandra, I hated this bit
ch.
“What are you doing here, Alessandra?” I asked through clenched teeth. I sure as hell wouldn't have invited her. Although she had an accord with Michel, like Enrique did, she had long been after my kindred for more personal reasons, much to my chagrin. And then to top it off she had betrayed Michel, when Gregor came to New Zealand trying to seduce me away from him. Just where she stood in the whole political minefield that was Michel and Gregor I wasn't sure, but she definitely wasn't on my ally list.
“Why, Michel invited me of course, bambina. He had to have some form of company while you were away.”
OK, red flag to a bull moment. If Michel's arms hadn't come around my waist right at that moment I would have launched myself at her and gouged out her eyes. She did not deserve to look at my kindred in that way.
“Let go of me!” I cried. “I won't hurt her. Much.”
Michel just laughed as he held me still firmer in his arms.
“And you're laughing at me?” I asked incredulously, trying to wriggle my body round to glare at him.
“You are amusing, ma douce,” he murmured against my ear, then in my head, She is teasing you, she wants you to fight because she knows you are not at full strength.
Then let me prove her wrong, I shot back.
You are unarmed.
I reached out and broke my champagne flute in half against the table to the side, leaving a nice jagged weapon at my disposal. Not anymore.
He didn't reply nor release his rigid hold, instead he turned to Alessandra and said icily cold, “You are abusing my hospitality and pushing my kindred too far. You will make amends immediately or leave.”
She just smiled sexily and shifted her hips into what she no doubt thought was an alluring position. She had forgotten the blood streaking down her front, it kind of spoiled the moment.
“Michel,” she purred. “I am only here to be of aid, you need my support in the coming battles. I think dismissing me would be detrimental, mio caro, no?”
In an instant Michel had released me. I thought briefly, great, now I can stab the bitch, only to have the strong arms of Jett slip around my waist and lift me off the floor and back from the scene in front of me. Which, when I managed to get my shock and anger under control again, was Michel's hand around Alessandra's throat and her body shoved against the wall with her feet no longer touching ground.
“You forget, dolce, who I am.” I had heard Michel use this tone before and I had certainly seen Michel exert this kind of Sanguis Vitam before as well, but it always took my breath away regardless of how often I saw him wield his power and strength. If he wasn't at full strength yet, you would not have known it, he glowed with thrumming and menacing power, the room practically hummed with it as it danced around our bodies. The hair on the back of my arms was standing straight up, my breath was stolen from my throat and my heart rate was rocketing. It's not that I was scared of Michel, at least my mind wasn't, but my body sure as hell was. It was a natural fight or flight response and my body wanted to run the fuck away. Quickly.
I glanced around the club and noticed all of Michel's vampires were on high alert, leaking their own Sanguis Vitam all over the show. Enrique was well and truly sober again and looking terrified of the power display Michel was putting on, but not daring to move in case he noticed him as well.
Nobody said anything for a while and I really had no idea which way this would go, but shit! The woman had disturbed my party, I'd had enough of stroppy vampires ruining my vibe.
“If you hold her still, I'll stake her,” I said evenly.
Michel slowly glanced over his shoulder at me and I winked. He started laughing quietly and shook his head in disbelief. After a full minute of chuckling he lowered Alessandra to the ground, but didn't let go of her throat.
“It pains me, but we have an accord. You have already pushed the boundaries of said accord to the very limit, I suggest you not try my patience any further. This is your last warning, next time I let her stake you. Capito?”
She nodded awkwardly against his hold. Then with a bored shift of his shoulders, Michel thrust Alessandra toward Enrique.
“Enrique, take your lover in hand and leave. We will discuss strategy tomorrow, but you both are no longer welcome in my home this night.”
Lover? Well that explained a lot. What a fucking idiot Enrique is to take on that wench. It was clearly having an effect on the man's behaviour. And not in a good way at all.
As Enrique gripped Alessandra's arm firmly, no doubt leaving bruises in his wake and dragged her out of the club, Michel turned to me and smiled, a small twinkle in his eye.
“Now,” he said sauntering over to me, then ran a hand down my face and around the back of my neck. “Have I left you alone long enough, ma douce? May I now have the pleasure of your company for a while?”
“I don't think it would be wise to leave me to my own devices, I tend to pick fights with your allies.”
He chuckled, that delightful sound rumbling though his chest and making me melt in his hold. “Oh, but the effect it has on my libido.” He rubbed his hips against me sinfully, placing his other hand in the small of my back and crushing me against him.
PDA moment number one, but this I could combat. If he wanted a handful, he could have one. I moved against him with a small smile on my lips as well, then snaked my arms up and around his neck, pulling his head down towards me. His eyes shot amethyst and violet just before my lips softly brushed against his mouth, then continued around his cheek, across his jaw and down his neck. I bit the skin over his pulse playfully and received a stiffening of his arms around my waist in response. I think I had successfully taken him by surprise, he hadn't expected me to play the game so well, let alone so openly. This was his arena, where he usually had me at a disadvantage. I'm not sure if it was the fact that Alessandra - and Enrique to a certain extent - had pissed me off, by placing a dampener on my evening, but I was all for getting a bit of a party spirit back in the room.
“You want to party, ma belle?” Michel asked huskily in my ear, my mouth still playfully sucking over his pulse.
“Ah-huh,” I said, too busy having fun.
Music started thumping through the speakers in the room and Michel manoeuvred me onto the dance floor with practised ease, somehow managing to shift us both without me having to stop nuzzling his neck.
“You are driving me crazy, ma douce. Stop, before I ravish you right here,” he husked.
“If you can't stand the heat, vampire....” But I just kept nibbling his ear, his neck, anywhere I could get my teeth to.
“Oh, I can play with fire, Lucinda, but can you?”
I just laughed against him, swaying to the music, nibbling his body, inhaling his scent, swimming in all of him. I had no intention of backing down, to hell with the vampires who danced around us, to hell with anyone else, I finally felt like this was a party.
Michel shifted me in his arms and returned the favour, his mouth going to my ear and down my neck, nuzzling against my hair, finding my pulse and sucking gently on it. His hands had gone down my back, one resting on my hip, the other slipping through the slit perfectly placed there, to rest on my bare skin under the slinky material of the dress.
Oh, dear God I want you, ma douce. Right now, right this second. I want to bury myself deep inside your wet folds, I want to feel you convulse beneath me, I want to drink you down while you come for me again and again and again. And I don't ever want to stop.
I was already on board with all of that and thankfully he must have decided that sort of entertainment was better carried out in the privacy of his chamber - even exhibitionists have their limits - because he started working us towards the door marked private. I didn't fight, I just moulded my body to the length of his and let him lead me over there. Just before we made off the edge of the dance floor however, he received a firm tap on the shoulder.
Michel's head shot up, magenta flashed in his eyes as he snarled in annoyance at the cause of the interruption.
“Your timing as always, Gregor, leaves a lot to be desired,” Michel hissed in return.
Gregor just smiled openly at Michel, not in the least bit concerned that he was being washed in the angry Sanguis Vitam of a joined Master Vampire.
“Michel,” he said with what appeared to be genuine affection. “I know how distracted you can get, mon ami. You would not return to the party until it was well and truly over. I have only one night in your fair city and I believe Lucinda needs me.”
I was sure Gregor was enjoying himself. Michel must have given him an idea of why he had been invited to the party, he was clearly under the impression that it was at my request and because I needed him. He held all the cards and he was loving ruining Michel's plans, and no doubt quite happy to deny him an intimate moment with me. Gregor had always taken every opportunity to put a wedge between my kindred and myself. He saw it as his job to educate me, making sure I was aware that I did not necessarily have to fall into bed with Michel just because I was joined to him. Of course, Gregor's solution, was for me to fall into bed with him instead, but that was just a technicality as far as he was concerned.
Michel was practically vibrating with anger, I knew this could escalate quickly, so I stepped between them and gave Gregor a quick glare. “Give us a moment please, Gregor, I'll be with you shortly.”
He bowed low and when he came back up a wicked smile played over his lips only managing to elicit a terrifyingly low growl from Michel, but he did back off and walk to a booth a few feet away, getting the attention of a waiter and no doubt ordering his first of many stiff drinks.
I grabbed hold of Michel by his jacket lapels before he could storm off after Gregor and rip him to pieces and propelled him through the private door letting it shut quietly behind us. The hallway was dark, no lights were on, but the magenta in Michel's eyes was enough to illuminate the space.
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