Love Bitten (Vampire Blood Royals Book 1)

by Sabrina C Rose

  “No, I just need my coat,” Erica replied abruptly, hoping to hurry the skinny dark-skinned woman along. She didn’t have time to talk.

  Barbie gave her a startled look before disappearing into the back room.

  Erica drummed her fingers against the coat check counter as she waited for Barbie to return with her belongings. She wondered how long it would take for Stick to notice she was gone.

  When Barbie returned, her long skinny fingers were pressed against the communication device in her ear.

  “Yeah, I see her. She’s, uh… right here. Hold on a sec,” Barbie tossed her a confused glance as she laid her coat between them.

  Erica snatched it away and turned on her heel, but Barbie was already removing her earpiece and stuffing it into her hand. Why did she have such rotten luck?

  Erica held the device up to her ear. “Yeah? It’s Erica.”

  “Where’s your phone?” Stick asked, his tone reaching several levels of over it.

  “I, um, must have left it in the VIP area.”

  “Then why aren’t you back at your set to retrieve it?”

  “I-I had to use the bathroom.”

  “At the coat check?” The impatience in his voice exploded. Erica whirled around, looking for her boss’s angry face. He wasn’t in sight.

  “I…I thought I left something in my jacket.”

  “What? Your brains?” Stick roared over the comms before clearing his throat. His next words barely passed for the professional club owner he was going for. Apparently, Julius was nearby, or her hotheaded boss would have laid into her instead of presenting a more rational air. “Hurry up and get back to your station. Our patrons are never to be kept waiting.”

  “I’ll be there in a second,” she said, even while shrugging her coat on.

  The line silenced. She returned the comm to Barbie, who’s wide dark brown eyes stared at her in incredulous shock. The waifish girl tsked and shook her head. “You’re skipping out? Stick isn’t going to be happy.”

  Yeah, well, she had bigger fish than Stick to fry right now. Erica shrugged and made her way toward the exit. Several bouncers were still at the entrance, checking people in and out of the club. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she settled in the shortest line, praying like heck she’d make it out before she was caught.

  Please let Harmon check me out. She prayed to every god she could think of. With any luck, oblivious Harmon would let her pass without question. He never paid attention to conversations over the comms. Every bouncer except him would have noticed she’d promised Stick she was going back to the VIP area and not to the exit.

  “Hey. You with the blonde hair. Hold up a second.” A stranger weaved through the crowd toward her.

  What now?

  Please let it be some drunk trying to get her phone number. At least then she could ignore him. That was generally how those interactions went. She’d pretend he didn’t exist, and he would grumble some obscenity under his breath and move on.

  “Hey, blondie!”

  Ignoring how grating that term was, she continued her pretense and willed the line to move faster. It was only a matter of time before Stick realized she wasn’t going back to her station. Time was running out.

  For once, she hoped that karma would just stop with her bull crap already. No such luck. The guy in front of her paused to make small talk with a bouncer who blocked the exit.

  What did I ever do to deserve this? She tilted her head to the sky and frowned.

  Erica tapped her foot impatiently, trying her best to ignore the voice coming from behind her, still calling after her. After a moment, Harmon turned his attention onto her. By divine luck, he motioned for her to step on the yellow florescent feet painted on the floor in front of him. As she predicted, he didn’t ask a single question.

  “Hey!” The stranger caught up to her and tapped her shoulder. Of course, Harmon the Oblivious didn’t sense her plight.

  Thankfully, the bouncer beside him stood a little straighter and broadened his shoulders in a stark warning that he wouldn’t hesitate to use every bulging muscle in his body to toss the stranger from the club if he messed with her. “Is he bothering you, Eri?”

  She should have said yes. Or better still, she should have bolted to her car as fast as her legs could carry her. Neither happened. The bouncer stepped forward, partially shielding her from the stranger.

  The guy behind her threw up his hands in surrender.

  “Hey, I don’t want any trouble, alright,” he said. The drawl of his deep city accent was apparent. “Some guy wanted me to give her this.”

  The man, whose gelled-black hair was shellacked to his skull, thrust a gleaming white business card toward her. Erica took it and flipped it over in her hand. It was completely blank except for a phone number printed across one side. Her eyes searched the greaser in front of her for answers. “What’s this?”

  “I dunno. Some guy paid me fifty bucks to give you this and say you have a deal.”

  5

  JULIUS

  JULIUS WANTED TO RIP HIS brother’s throat out for not intercepting the club owner before he’d whisked him away from Erica. He watched her intently from his vantage point in the crowd and fought a smile. She’d returned her coat to the woman at the coat check and headed for the bar. Good. At least he would have more time with her tonight. She was quickly becoming an addiction. Her touch left the beast inside of him unsettled and craving more.

  We’re here for the club, not the girl. Evan’s voice crept up inside of his mind, even though he was across the room.

  He was one to talk. He was dancing in a throng of them.

  Unlike you, I’m tracking the cash exchange at the bar, Evan said. Since we’ve been here, Stick’s cleared nearly ten thousand at the bar by the entrance alone. Or did you forget we didn’t just come to Savu for some skirt?

  I know what we’re here to do, Julius said when Stick placed a hand on his shoulder and pointed out one of the performance stages where a couple of girls danced in unison.

  Then act like it. I’ll be over in a minute. When we’re done scoping the place out, you can get back to your precious piece of ass.

  Julius fought a growl. Don’t call her that.

  Oh, someone’s touchy! Evan’s sing-song voice grated on his nerves.

  Julius grumbled. Get out of my head, Evan.

  Do your job, your highness, and I won’t have to be.

  Fine.

  Julius’s teeth set in a hard line as he followed Stick around his club. The owner prattled on about the sound systems, the max capacity, and every boring thing that was not Erica. Apparently, his brother was done counting the money exchange at the registers since he met up with them quickly. To his disappointment, his brother droned on about the business, asking questions that could easily be deduced by looking around. If Julius didn’t know any better, he’d think his brother wanted to keep him away from Erica. But for the life of him, Julius didn’t understand why Evan cared who he wanted in his bed.

  “And how do you staff your establishment?” Evan asked, clearly ignoring Julius’s train of thought.

  “Word of mouth mostly,” Stick explained. “There’s no dearth of paying clientele, and that tends to attract the best promoters and bartenders in the city. In the beginning, most of my staff were walk-ins. Funnily enough, I was fully staffed before the doors opened without having to rely on any of my contacts or placing an ad. And based on the applicants that have come in, I could probably staff bars at four more locations.”

  So, the dragon had thoughts of expansion. That intrigued him. From the cover charge at the door, the line that snaked around the corner, and the turnover at his bar, Julius was quite certain the dragon’s cash flowed like a river. His king needed that.

  “Do you have the market to open more establishments?” Julius asked, turning his attention to the task at hand. The quicker they could secure a deal with the dragon, the faster he could get back to Erica.

  For a moment, his
eyes drifted up to the VIP overlook, searching for her. Still, it remained empty. He scanned the club until he spotted her near the bar, filling a tray and readying her return to the VIP area.

  “Of course. The city is growing exponentially,” Stick replied. “The market is ripe for new business development.”

  He’s telling the truth. Evan shot over to him, but his thoughts drifted again.

  He watched Erica straighten her almost-too-short shorts before lifting the tray over her shoulder. The bare skin of her legs made him lick his lips. The beast inside of Julius let out a low growl as several partiers eyed his beauty while she made her way back to the VIP area. None of them were worth her time. He was already aching from the loss of her velvety soft skin against his. Just the slightest touch from her drawing on his skin… Her sun-kissed warmth had set him ablaze, especially when her pulse raced, thrumming from her wrist and through his hand. It radiated in his body and throbbed in his chest as if her heart beat for his.

  By the gods, he could only wonder what it felt like to be inside of her.

  Focus, Julius.

  As much as he hated his brother’s invasive thoughts, he was right. Now wasn’t the time to launch himself at the girl across the room and fuck her into the floor. That would come later. He followed his brother’s advice and focused on something else. He admired the ink on his pale hand.

  With a blotchy pen and an impossible time constraint, Julius was still starstruck at her feat. It was amazing how much it looked like the insignia of his house. Right down to the feather’s intricate crisscrossed pattern that beveled in elongated diamonds. Even unfinished, it would pass for a near perfect replica of what adorned the breastplate of the armor he wore back home.

  It’s just a coincidence. Evan said without pausing in his conversation with Stick.

  Or instinct. Of course Erica drew his house insignia. Julius had never believed in fate, but glancing down at the bird on his hand, he knew that was what drew them together. He loved watching her work. She radiated like a fireball. In her singular focus, everything else seemed irrelevant to her. He wondered how that singular focus would perform when he finally got her into his bed.

  By the all gods, he wanted to claim her.

  The beast inside of him agreed and let his fangs drop for the third time that night.

  For fuck’s sake. If you blow this for us, let it be on your head.

  Let it be on your head? You’re even starting to sound like them, Julius teased but was diverted when Erica ascended the stairs. She wore a small smile all to herself and seemed to bounce on her toes in excitement. He hoped their deal excited her as much as it did him.

  His brother, however, had other plans. Evan purposefully found ways to keep Stick talking, thwarting Julius’s plan to get back to the VIP area. He even asked that they travel to the rooftop terrace that had been closed off for the coming winter months. Despite its impressive view of the city, Julius was only enthralled by one thing at Savu. And it was abundantly clear that Evan didn’t want him to get to her.

  Well brother, that’s too bad. She’s mine now.

  6

  JULIUS

  THE PHONE IN JULIUS’S POCKET buzzed for the tenth time in the past two days. He looked at the display and frowned. Not Erica.

  “Answer it,” Evan said, his voice competing with the faucet inside the adjoining master bathroom in their penthouse suite.

  There was nothing to answer. A text message flashed on the screen.

  There’s a building on the avenues…

  “Open the home screen,” Evan said turning off the faucet in the bathroom, clearly reading the message through his thoughts.

  Julius thumbed several buttons, trying to get his phone to respond. He hissed his disapproval when it did nothing more than show the time and date.

  “Hold your thumb on the button at the bottom,” Evan coached from inside of the bathroom. This time, the incessant noise of a fan whirled above him. Then the water turned back on.

  “What the hell are you doing in there?”

  “Cleaning my teeth. Humans are sensitive to the smell of synth blood. They don’t even realize they’re smelling it, but they find it off-putting.”

  “Good to know.” Julius half shrugged, wondering if that was the reason Erica hadn’t called him yet. Was she put off by him?

  “They also seem to like toothpaste a great deal,” Evan continued. “There are pictures of it everywhere. So, I figured I’d give it a try. You know, understand the culture a bit more. I don’t care too much for the mint flavor. It burns the hell out of my mouth. But bubble gum is my jam.”

  Julius rolled his eyes as he watched the silhouette of his brother put the tube to his mouth and squeeze.

  Julius lifted a brow in amusement. “I don’t think you’re supposed to eat it.”

  “Don’t judge me.” Evan poked his head out of the bathroom. Globs of foam circled his lips as he scraped what looked like a miniature white hair brush on the inside of his mouth. “It’s called a tooth brush. Humans are so obvious, it’s almost comical. Now read the message so I can see what the wolf wants.”

  Julius fought another eye roll.

  There’s a building on the avenues we should check out tomorrow. It’s a beaut.

  “Text him back. Tell him we’ll go.” Evan never once looked at Julius as he painstakingly typed two letters: O. K.

  “What’s a beaut?”

  “A beauty,” Evan explained.

  “Then why not say that? Is that a wolf thing?”

  “No, it’s a human thing.”

  “Humans are strange.” Of all the creatures in his acquaintance, humans of the alter realm were by far the most eccentric. From their funny listening devices to how they spoke, he never quite kept up with how fast they changed. What he needed was a guide. His thoughts turned back to Erica. She’d be perfect. If only she’d call him. Because, unlike his brother, Julius didn’t have the luxury of plucking relevant information from their minds. Evan never had to work to guess at what people were thinking.

  “I do too have to work.”

  “Why do you insist on reading my thoughts?” Julius complained.

  “Because it annoys you.” Evan grinned, wiping the toothpaste from his mouth. “Besides, humans are easy to read. You’re not paying enough attention.”

  “Says the mind reader. When’s our next visit with the dragon?” Julius pushed off the door frame of the master suite and walked toward his brother who’d turned on the water a third time.

  “We’re not going back to Savu.” Evan frowned as he looked at him in the mirror.

  “Excuse me? We’re cutting ties with the dragon? The same one who seems to attract riches and hordes of beautiful people as easily as water rolls downhill?”

  “I didn’t say we weren’t going to invest with the dragon. I said we’re not going back to Savu.”

  “Why not?”

  “There’s no need. I have all the paperwork on the desk.” Evan pointed out the bathroom door toward a desk at the far end of the room. Three neatly piled papers were stacked on top. “Besides, you lack focus.”

  “I’m completely focused.”

  “…on the girl.”

  “Her name is Erica.”

  “I don’t care what her name is, we’re not going.”

  Julius didn’t need Evan’s permission to see someone he was interested in. When did his younger brother start caring when he got laid?

  “I don’t care,” Evan replied.

  “Then why are you fighting me so hard?” Julius asked before making his way to the common room and fishing his coat out of the closet near the elevator. He was going back to Savu to find Erica, but what Evan said next gave him pause.

  “Why are you so desperate?”

  The hair on the back of Julius’s neck stood at attention. “I am not desperate!”

  “Says the vampire who lacks the patience to wait out a potential. It’s been, what, a day and a half and you’re already foaming at the
mouth.”

  Julius eyed the bits of foam clinging to the corners of Evan’s lips. He was one to talk.

  “I can control it.” He wasn’t a petulant child who couldn’t keep it in his pants.

  Besides, Julius was hardly foaming. Not yet, anyway. Though, as the hours ticked by, a growing thirst settled at the base of his throat. One that nipped at the ache inside of him. Even though he’d fed that morning, the thirst hadn’t been quenched.

  At the time, he’d thought it was a bad batch of synthetic blood. An ill-formed batch would barely take the edge off. He thought of following it with the real thing. Blood was plentiful in the human realm. But it was dangerous to drink from the source right now. Real blood would only compel the beast in him to track Erica and claim her. A low rumble of approval erupted in his chest at the mere thought of it. His vampire was eager for her.

  “That is why you shouldn’t go back to Savu. You’re barely keeping it together as it is.” Evan’s voice was heady with accusation.

  Thankfully, the phone in Julius’s pocket buzzed before he punched his brother in the face. He opened to a message from an unfamiliar number.

  Hey, it’s Erica.

  Sorry it’s been a while…

  Want to meet up tonight? I don’t have to work.

  A smile broadened his lips into a curve. It was about time.

  “By the gods.” His brother groaned and turned back on the water.

  Julius: Of course. Text me the time and place and I’ll be there.

  Erica: I get out of class at 8, want to meet at my studio around 8:30? I’ll send you the address.

  Julius would have screeched in excitement if cool-headed royals did that sort of thing. He stashed his coat back in the closet, then sat at the bar and stared at the phone screen with a goofy grin, then read her message again. Evan turned off the sink and strode into the common room. He leaned against the doorframe of the master with his lanky arms folded across his chest. His shoulders were stiff.