The door probably stopped outsiders from wandering to the inner grounds, or maybe hid the yard waste for Avery’s gardeners to deal with. Shain went to it, moving away the tangled vines, and found an old, black sliding lock that he forced open.
Beyond it was a sandy path dividing tall hedges. He chuckled at his own blooming, childlike curiosity. It could only lead to the woods or the driveway; nevertheless, he was buzzed, and bound to investigate. He’d never cared to roam the whole of Avery’s property before, and already his dark mood was starting to lighten.
The path did not go in a straight line, but curved left then right, then left and right again. Every step closer his energy increased, feeling a draw to what he’d discover at the end.
Before he got there, the sound of soft splashing gave the first clue of where he’d end up. He slowed as the trail curved left again and expanded to a clearing, ten or so yards from a pond.
A pond that was indeed occupied.
Who could be taking a midnight swim? Party guests? Staff?
Rather than announce his presence, he hung back behind one of the bushes that flanked the entrance to the path. Peering around the tall shrub, he glanced at a feminine garment nearby in the grass, a pair of flip-flops next to it.
What was more eye-catching was who was in the water.
A woman. Naked.
Alone.
She hummed an unknown tune, floated on her back, breasts glistening in the soft moonlight. Shain’s eyes widened, transfixed at her profile while she smiled, occasionally lifted a leg in the air, showcasing a shapely calf.
He raised an eyebrow. Well, well. Who have we here?
She changed position, swam past the shore, and climbed out near the hovering oak tree. The overgrown shrub hid her naked body, and Shain frowned at the obstacle, moving for a better glimpse. From there, he got a full view of her sitting on the tree swing. Back and forth she swung, humming, tipping her head, her shoulder-length blonde hair dripping on the sand below.
A smile tugged the corner of his mouth.
Without a doubt, it was bold to be out there alone, sans swimsuit, on private property. Whether she was a guest or a trespasser, Shain sensed she didn’t have permission to be there, which made the scene all the more riveting.
The mystery woman used the rope to pull herself up to stand on the seat, balancing, swinging dangerously high a couple of times, then dove into the water like a daring mermaid, barely making a splash.
Shain blinked his dry eyes, mouth open.
His wish to see something new had been granted, tenfold.
A hot tightness in his stomach formed, followed by a heated flare to his chest. These were the first warnings that he shouldn’t linger, for he recognized it as the hunger that’d been haunting him. It swelled and spread throughout his core, firing a need that only paralleled bloodlust.
He tried to ignore it, glancing back at the house. Was he missed?
Hell. Did he care? Nothing on earth would make him leave.
Turning his gaze back to the woman, he set his hand on the branches to part them, watching her tread water. By far, it was most beautiful, unguarded moment he’d witnessed in years. He hungered to be a part of it, though any interruption would only dispel the scene.
Like a shot of adrenaline, the hunger spiked, and he involuntarily clenched the branch, pricking his palm with a thorn.
He hissed.
The woman stopped humming. “Who’s there?”
Fuck, he mouthed silently, cursing the thorn now dewed with his blood.
Shain remained still as stone, closed his eyes, and prayed she’d dismiss the sound.
“Show yourself,” she demanded, voice shaking.
Damn him for scaring her. He didn’t move, holding his breath.
“I know you’re there. I can smell your blood from here.”
Chapter Two
Private show was over.
The fact she’d said she smelled blood proved she wasn’t human. Perfect. Shain didn’t mess with humans. She had to be a vampiress; no other underworld creature would dare venture on Avery’s property. Even fairies were petrified of her, and they loved everyone.
Being caught would not deter him from finding out who she was and why she was there.
Straightening, he came around from his cover. “Nice night for a swim.”
She treaded back. “Don’t come any closer.”
He drew to a slow halt. “Oh. Well. I have no intention of joining you.”
She glanced past his shoulder, likely checking to see if he was alone. “You were watching me.”
“I was.”
“What are you? Some kind of pervert voyeur?” she remarked.
He smiled, cocking his head. “Vampire? Yes. Voyeur? Maybe. Pervert? No, ma’am. That’s the risk you take for swimming with only the cover of darkness. I was merely enjoying an innocent walk around the grounds. I didn’t expect to find anyone skinny-dipping, especially when Avery is throwing the mother of all parties at the house. I just needed fresh air.”
“You’ve gone pretty far for fresh air.”
“I have. Are you a friend of Avery’s? Or the Masseys?”
“Obviously not.”
His nightsight wasn’t sharp enough to see the exactness of her features. “Are you staff? Out here on break?” If this audacious mermaid was staff, he was going to steal her from Avery at any price.
“Could you just—go away? Please?”
The trace of desperation in her last word both amused and offended him. “Why? I promise I’m not a threat to you.”
“Said the wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
She thought he was a predator. Not that he could blame her. He used his most gentle tone. “On the contrary, I can assure you I’m very much a gentleman.”
“A gentleman is just a patient wolf.”
He laughed. “Touché. What’s your name?”
“So you can run off and tattle on me? I don’t think so.”
“I have no intention of turning you in.” He touched a hand over his heart. “I give you my word. As a patient wolf. A wolf with a name.” He bowed, then raised his gaze with his most charming grin that usually made women sigh dreamily. “Shain Trevyn.” When his name didn’t receive the immediate usual recognition, it was clear she wasn’t a local. He was quite sure he’d met every tempting vampiress in Atlanta. Either she was new to the area or visiting.
“Well, Shain. Looks like you’re pretty entertained with my peaceful-night-in-the-pond-in-solitude turned awkward-moment-with-a-wolf-in-a-suit, but I’m far from amused. If you would just look away so I can get my clothes, I’ll leave.”
“Why do you want to leave? You looked as though you were really enjoying yourself.”
“I was.”
“Until I came along?”
“Yes.”
“If you think I was watching in hopes to see you naked, I wasn’t—”
“Oh, please.”
“It’s true. I’ve seen my share of beautiful bodies. I’m sure there’s nothing about yours that’s exceptional from the rest.”
“Then why did you watch?”
It took him a moment to gather his answer. “It’s rare to catch a woman alone, bathing by the light of a summer moon, singing to herself. I couldn’t look away. You seemed so content, I sincerely had no intention to disturb you. Please don’t abandon the pond because of me.”
Her voice shook a little as she said, “I can hardly stay in here now.”
Looked like his foul mood had followed him and spoiled another’s. “My apologies for ruining your swim. It’s just been a long time since I came upon a scene of such, well, innocence. You weren’t putting on a show, simply enjoying your own company. I can’t remember the last time I felt that…happy.” How true that was. “Again, I apologize. I’ll leave.”
Silence stretched as he waited for her to relent that he could stay.
“I thought you were going,” she said.
For the love of... Was he that repulsive? “At
least tell me your name. I’ll leave with that, I promise.”
She hesitated. “K-Kimber.”
Getting her name somehow saddened him a little, that he couldn’t get to know more about her. He bowed his head in thanks. “Goodnight, Kimber.” The second he turned around, melancholy reared its ugly head. Just like that. He’d been gifted a few minutes of sweet distraction, but the lid had slammed closed much too fast. Shoving his hands in pockets, he trudged through the sand toward the path. Back to the monotony.
“Why did you leave the party?” Kimber called, surprising him.
He froze mid-step. Then he swiveled around with a smile. “Fresh air, like I said. I don’t have really have to have more reason than that.”
“Sure, you do. I mean, you could’ve just walked a few feet from the house. For the ‘mother of all parties,’ you obviously weren’t having fun, since you came all the way down here. Alone.”
He gave a one-shoulder shrug. “It’s the duplicated event. The usual guests, the repetitive gossip, the games we’ve all played before. I guess I’m bored.”
“Bored? Oh. I see.”
There was plain judgment in her sarcastic comment. “Oh, you see what?”
“Nothing. You’re just typical.”
That wasn’t something women often labeled him with. “Excuse me?”
“You walk in some extravagant party in a stunning home where your friends are waiting. So boring, he says. So duplicating. You expect others to dazzle you, for the shenanigans to start, because you want and expect them to, because you’ve done it all, and now everything is just so pedestrian. Typical brooding vampire. Woe is me. How unoriginal.” With that, she sank beneath the water, her feet kicking a splash of water his way.
He jerked his hand up to stop his face from getting wet.
What the hell?
He ambled toward the pond’s edge, the water lapping at the tips of his shoes while he waited for her to emerge. Typical brooding vampire? What? And did she use the word “shenanigans”? Shain didn’t know whether to laugh or argue.
She surfaced again, and he was ready to lambast her with words.
The moonlight gently lit her lovely face, and for a second, he was tongue-tied. “First of all, I’m not brooding. I’m bored. There’s a distinction. Second, there’s nothing wrong with being either. Some parties bore me at my age. It does not mean I can’t be dazzled or that I think everything is—pedestrian.”
“Simmer down, Mr. Trevyn. I was just making an observation,” she teased.
His mouth twitched. “I am perfectly—not simmering.”
“It’s nothing to get defensive about.”
“You’re mocking me.”
“Only because I think boredom is the laziest excuse to leave a party.”
“Wonderful. Now I’m typical and lazy?”
She cocked her head. “Hmm. May I give you some advice?”
“You may.”
“Well, it sounds like you’re a high-maintenance guest. And by the looks of you, I can tell a lot falls right into your lap, so you’ve never had to create your own fun.” She swam toward a log near the rope swing and rested her arms on it. “It’s not your fault, and yet it’s one hundred percent your doing.”
His brows drew together. Slowly—so as not to startle his mermaid—he edged closer to the swing. “What do you mean?”
“You’re a smart man. You know.”
“If I did, I wouldn’t ask.”
“First off, you’re wearing a suit in June. You’re taking yourself too seriously.”
He looked down, feigning surprise at his own outfit. “The party called for formal attire. I wanted to don my cargo shorts and Hawaiian shirt; alas, I had to conform.”
“Admit it. You dress like this every day, don’t you?”
“You gauge that, because of the way I dress…uh, how did you put it? Everything comes straight to my lap? Things might come on my lap, but not because they fell there.”
She gaped. “Really? Well. Good-looking men have it easy. It’s nature.”
Ah. A back-handed compliment. He didn’t know whether to be pleased she thought him attractive or miffed that she assumed he ‘had it easy.’ “Your observation is more like an assumption, Miss Kimber.”
“Oh, really? I’m the ass?”
“Granted, I know I’m not hard on the eyes, but you think that automatically makes me special? Gives me anything I want? You should know I’ve worked hard for everything I have, including this nice suit. I still work hard. Beauty is basic among our kind, my lady. Everyone has sex appeal in one form or another. If they don’t in their smile, then they do in their eyes; if not in their body, then with their voice, their social power and so on.” He shook his head with a huff. “You think I don’t know what rejection is? Or that others try to curry my attention strictly because of my looks and not because they actually care about me?”
She sighed. “Fine. I take it back. But I still have some advice for you.”
“And for some reason, I still want to hear it.”
“Everything is what you make it. Sure, there are some things you’ll never experience because they’re out of your control. But the ones that are in your control, like attending this party, are opportunities. You must be creative. Flip the script. That’s what I do.” With that, she sank back under water.
By the gods, who the hell was she? He took the chance to step closer, wrapping his fingers around the rope, but didn’t sit on the swing. He was eager for her to surface, bursting to continue their conversation.
When she did, smoothing her hair back off her face and opening her eyes, she gasped at his nearness. But she didn’t swim away. She rested one hand on the log and treaded with the other.
“What do you mean?” he asked gently, his heart rampaging inside his chest, canines buzzing to grow.
“Your life, if you’re lucky, is long. Of course, it all starts to look the same after a while. So instead of expecting your surroundings to change, you change.” She rested both hands on the log. “Anonymously invite someone to crash the party. When they walk in, even if you don’t know them, exclaim how happy you are to see them. Everyone will wonder how you know them, and why they don’t, and why you think they are worth knowing. Wouldn’t that be a thrill?”
“Sounds socially dangerous.”
“So what? The worst is they’ll be kicked out of the party, and the best is they’ll make new friends.”
New friends. Such lovely naiveté.
“Or read a book,” she added. “Better yet, a series of books. Do something the protagonist does. Pretend you’re him. Dress, behave, and talk like him—or her—all night, never break character. Be fluid. Don’t limit yourself to your gender.”
“You are adorably out of your mind.” Never had he met a vampiress who would suggest such childish games.
“I know it’s more comfortable to be blasé, but life doesn’t have to be. Play a practical joke once in a while. Have you seen the man who hooks fake snakes to people’s clothes or backpacks and records their reactions? I was in tears I laughed so hard.”
“Afraid I don’t watch prank videos or laugh at others’ fear.”
“Then you’re only living half your life.”
He was grinning now and sank to his haunches to meet her at eye-level. The clouds shifted away from the moon, casting a glow on her face as she smiled up at him too.
Shain’s heart pinched in his chest with full-blown, pulse-racing, eye-blinding lust. It was her eyes that slayed him. Lightest blue, deep set and pure, like sapphires. By the gods, I want to see those eyes looking up at me as I sink between those thighs.
Her smile faded. She must’ve read the desire on his face that he hadn’t meant to reveal. She shrank back into the water, turning to swim away. “I-I have to go.”
He scrambled around the bush to catch up to her. “Don’t. I’m sorry—”
Her voice shook. “I’ve been out here long enough.”
“Was it something I said
?”
“Will you go now?”
He felt like a stubborn child and sounded like one. “Do I have to?”
She swam to a large rock and hid partially behind it. “If you’re not going to leave, can you please turn around and move over there while I get out?”
He turned his back and gave her space. “Where are you from? Did you come here with anyone?”
“It doesn’t matter.” The water shifted noisily from her movements. A hum began at the base of his spine, spreading up his back to his brain. He shook his head to dismiss it. “May I escort you to your car?”
“I didn’t drive here.”
“May I give you a ride?”
“Definitely not.” Then he heard her barely whisper, “Oh, God.”
He turned his head toward the force luring for his attention. What was happening? Luscious energy coiled around his body, seducing him, while a soft fragrance snaked to his nose. He drew it in, drugged, feeling his eyes glow as he exhaled. Heart pounding, he squeezed his eyes shut, fighting the lust.
Don’t look.
He was becoming aroused from nothing.
Well. Not from nothing. From her.
Teeth growing, breathing unsteady, he was unable to stop himself, and looked. Every sinuous curve, the dip of her waist and pronounced hips, he traced with his gaze.
Much more woman to her than he’d imagined.
He clenched his jaw so hard he worried he’d crack his teeth.
Ignoring him, she didn’t bother buttoning her romper, clutching it closed with one hand, the thin garment clinging to her curves while she forced her feet in her flip-flops.
Forced by an unknown, undeniable compulsion, he moved toward her.
She looked up sharply and scrambled back, as if she’d forgotten his presence. “Don’t touch me.”
Shain held up his hands. “I wasn’t…I’m sorry…” Yva, have mercy, she’s everything I need right now.
Her chest heaved as she stared up at him, her rapid heartbeat low in his ears.
“I want to see you again,” he admitted, searching her eyes.
Her knuckles whitened from her grip. She was shaking. From fear? Or desire?
“You must be joking,” she choked out. “Is this some of kind of sick game?”
His Dark Embrace Page 2