A Bloody London Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 2) (21 page)

“I’m going to make you laugh tonight, and there’s not a ’fang’ you can do about it,” he teased.

She grasped both of his index fingers in her hands and pulled them away from her face. “Oh, that was a bad one. You deserve a bite to the neck,” she mock-threatened.

He wiggled his index fingers playfully as she held onto them.

“You’re looking a lot better than when I last saw you, kiddo,” she observed softly.

“I took a lickin’ from Katrina since then, you know.”

She winced, but smiled.

“Another bite earned over that one?” he ventured with raised eyebrows.

She looked at the ceiling briefly through narrowed eyes while shaking her head. “Nope,” she replied matter-of-factly. “Just tickling!” With that, she released his index fingers, only to move in a blur and begin tickling his ribs. Despite a twinge of soreness, he flailed and twisted as he tried to evade her wriggling fingers. However, she wrapped her arms around his midsection from behind and continued to dig her fingers into his sides. He laughed and struggled, while she evilly giggled. He was amazed at how spry and balanced the vampire was in a pair of heels.

After a few seconds she stopped, but continued to hug him to her body closely for a minute or so longer. He tried to catch his breath while chuckling to himself as a happy feeling surged through him over the playful exchange.
Mission objective number one accomplished
, he mused.

“I needed that,” she whispered before releasing him.

He frowned slightly, curious as to the reason behind her comment.

“So, where are we going tonight?” Gil asked with a curious expression, appearing suddenly from the living room. He had changed into a pair of leather pants and a tight-fitted, gray and black shirt. It made Caleb think of the trendy, devil-may-care California club scene.

The young rocker stared at Paige with raised eyebrows and a grin on his face. Clearly, he liked what he saw. She looked back at him with a forced smirk.

“Wow, babe,” Gil offered. “You look like one of those sexy women from a rock video.”

She frowned momentarily and shrugged. “Thanks, I think,” she offered while observing Gil’s attire with an appraising expression. “You look like the classic vision of a Hollywood rocker tonight, Gil,” she added.

Caleb recalled her earlier comments about club attire and glanced at her with a mildly concerned expression.

But her demeanor turned abruptly cheerful, and she changed the subject. “Well, getting back to our plans for tonight. First, we get something for you two to eat,” she ventured. “I’m thinking someplace Asian.”

Caleb frowned. “Since when do you pick restaurants?”

“Shush!” she mock-admonished, placing her forefinger against his lips. “I happen to know of a little Asian restaurant and bar not far from here, and the online reviews are great. So, then we head to a downtown club called The Gecko Room for some alternative rock and dancing.”

“Sounds good. And guess what? Remember when you promised me last December that you wanted to get me out clubbing with you someday?” Caleb recalled with a smirk. “That day has finally arrived.”

She beamed with sincere satisfaction. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I?”

He grinned back at her as Gil watched both of them suspiciously. The young rocker interjected, “Let me tell you, Paige rocks on the dance floor, dude.”

“Aw, she rocks anyway, floor or no floor,” Caleb quipped with a smirk.

“Thanks, tiger,” she replied with a grin. “And I’m anxious to see how you do out there yourself.”

Caleb wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, well, one of my ex-girlfriends said I look like a Muppet when I dance.”

Paige chuckled. “I’ll have you know, I happen to like Muppets,” she admitted shyly.

“Is that like Kerbett the toad?” Gil asked with knitted brows.

“That’s Kermit the frog, fry-brain,” Paige corrected him irritably with a roll of her eyes.

Caleb was getting the distinct impression his vampire guardian wasn’t exactly enjoying her time with Gil lately. He admitted the two didn’t seem like a likely pair, though it wasn’t really his business to say so. He just wanted Paige to be happy, no matter whom she dated.

“Oh, yeah,” Gil replied awkwardly.

“Oh, Caleb? Do you have a minute?” Katrina called from the front part of the house.

He adopted a curious expression as he headed in that direction. He stopped at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor and looked up to the top. What he saw nearly caused him to lose his breath.

Katrina stood at the top of the stairs with a smirk on her face as she appreciated his reaction. She was dressed in a bright blue sequin halter dress with a plunging neckline and open back that fit her like a glove. Her red hair was straight, flowing down her back like a beautiful ruby river. He took note of the strappy blue high-heeled shoes and sequin clutch purse, which finished off the ensemble perfectly. He forced himself to take a breath as he stared up at her sexy vision.

“You like?” she asked, having clearly observed his complete reaction like a scientist studying a test subject. His response pleased her, and she reveled in having captured his attention completely.

“You-You’re stunning,” he stammered with a grin.

“Thank you,” she beamed, slowly stepping down the stairs towards him. “You look handsome and tasty all at the same time, yourself.”

She savored the fact that he stood there simply watching her approach, like a deer transfixed by the stalking of a predator.
Of course, that’s exactly what I am
, she considered with satisfaction. She was particularly pleased to see something other than disappointment or resentment in his eyes after all that happened between them recently.

He was mesmerized by her sexy appearance as she descended the stairs and felt a surge of pride run through him.
She’s my mate and mine alone.
He felt other, more animalistic urges rise in him as well.

She stopped before him at the foot of the stairs and bent down to kiss him on the lips. He eagerly responded and reached out to grasp the sides of her waist with both hands. She felt the magnetism in his kiss, and a surge of satisfaction passed through her.
Oh, this is good
.
I should’ve worn this for him a long time ago
.

Her arms draped around his neck to rest atop his shoulders, and she pressed another kiss on his lips. She felt his arms begin to enfold her and smirked into his kisses. “Now, now,” she admonished playfully. “We have an entire evening ahead of us.”

He wasn’t thinking at all about the evening ahead, instead feeling other immediate desires rise in his body. But she removed her arms from around his neck and gently disengaged his hands from around her waist so she could step back.

“Later, my love,” she promised.

He merely nodded and stared at her hungrily.
Wow
. S
he looks completely irresistible
.

Paige appeared around the corner to view the pair and grinned with admiration. “Nicely done, Red,” she complimented.

“Ditto, Paige,” Katrina replied in kind.

“Whoa,” Gil said with widened eyes as he rounded the corner to view Katrina’s outfit. “Smoking hot, Katrina!”

“Thank you, Gil,” she replied appreciatively.

“Both the ladies look smokin’ hot,” Caleb interjected, to which Paige smiled thoughtfully.

The four gathered their jackets and proceeded to the garage. Katrina suggested Paige and Gil take the rental car so that she and Caleb could return earlier in the evening if her mate grew too tired. Paige gave a pained expression, but conceded the merits of her suggestion.

Knowing that Caleb enjoyed driving her Audi, Katrina encouraged him to drive them to the restaurant. While her goal was to please him, she particularly wanted to make him the center of the universe that evening. She hoped he could recapture some of the thrill he had experienced when they had first started dating last fall. She feared that their recent disagreements were taking a negative toll on their relationship and wanted to plant new, enjoyable memories that night.

Caleb was somewhat tired but drove them to their destination capably, though much of the credit went to the impeccable aid of the car’s GPS. He barely stifled a yawn as he walked around the car to open the door for Katrina.

The Lotus Garden was a trendy, chic Asian restaurant catering to a sophisticated, yet youthful, crowd. It was bustling with customers, though, much to everyone’s relief, Paige had called ahead to make reservations earlier that evening.

The four of them were seated at a table where the food was prepared tableside in an entertaining, uniquely oriental fashion. The two vampires placed Caleb between them, while Paige placed Gil to her opposite side. During the meal, they chatted about the atmosphere and the merits of Saki over other alcoholic beverages while the chef prepared their food in miniature courses. As was common with vampires, the two women picked at their food, which consisted exclusively of vegetarian items.

Katrina paid close attention to Caleb throughout the meal and often placed her hand over his, or draped her arm around him affectionately. He appreciated it and made an effort to return her attentions in kind.

Paige also noticed the improved relations between Caleb and Katrina with a degree of satisfaction, feeling that her interventional visit to Atlanta was continuing to be quite successful. However, she found it difficult to concentrate upon Gil fully, inwardly feeling a pull to Caleb in ways that bothered her slightly.

In the end, they all had a thoroughly enjoyable time, and Paige took care of the check. From there, they proceeded to the alternative rock club, which wasn’t far from the restaurant.

Upon their arrival at The Gecko Room, the parking lot was nearly crammed with vehicles, and they had to park in a nearby overfill lot. It was an unusually cold night in Atlanta; the north wind had steadily increased throughout the evening. Caleb and Gil hugged their vampires close to them as they made their way to the front of the building, both oblivious to the fact that neither vampire was affected by the cold.

A crowd of people lingered outside the entrance, and it appeared there might be a wait, but two large-framed men stationed at the door immediately noticed Katrina and Paige and beckoned to them to approach. Caleb and Gil shrugged at each other and followed behind them. In a matter of minutes, after Caleb paid for everyone’s cover charge, the four were in the midst of a sea of humanity. Both men appreciated the warmer interior.

The alternative rock music blared as the dance floor was alive with undulating bodies. An alternating series of neon lights created a surreal atmosphere, and the cavernous interior seemed to magnify and echo the cacophony of music coupled with the dialogue of patrons. Tables lined the periphery of the main walls, and two separate lengths of bar were arrayed to the each side of the large room. It was apparent significant funds had been spent preparing the club for efficient function as well as atmosphere.

The environment was almost complete overload to Caleb’s senses, not having frequented clubs since well before he had dated his ex-girlfriend, Melanie, nearly a year ago. However, Gil seemed quite at home in the surroundings. Meanwhile, Katrina’s and Paige’s attentions seemed heightened by the crush of humans crowded around them.

“Must be like a massive feeding pen to them,” Caleb whispered with dark amusement, having noticed the women’s reactions.

Katrina stopped in front of him, swept her left arm around his waist to draw him against her, and touched her lips to his ear. “Yes, but you’re the only one I want to drink from tonight.”

His eyes widened with surprise as they walked together, having been shocked that she could have somehow heard his whisper over the din surrounding them.

Katrina silently conceded that her thirst was rising by the minute amidst the humans surrounding her. She heard a thunder of heartbeats among the pounding of the music, and the varieties of scents from the various bodies pressing around her was like standing in the middle of a human-scented candle shop. Still, she concentrated and focused on the singular scent of her mate. Within seconds she picked out his heartbeat among the others, and her senses zeroed in on him from beside her as she breathed in and selected his body’s scent. She held her breath for a lingering moment and softly exhaled.

Paige bobbed to the music as they made their way to a small booth in the back corner of the establishment that was being vacated by a group of twenty-somethings. Paige and Katrina received a mix of subtle glances and outright stares from people in the club, both men and women. Gil seemed unaware of the scrutiny, but Caleb picked up on it with unusual clarity. Granted, the two vampires were extremely beautiful, but it was as if other people were magnetically drawn to them.

Minutes later, they were seated at a small corner booth, and Paige swayed to the heavy dance music. A young waitress with long blonde hair appeared at their table, and she took a moment to stare at the two vampires with a wide-eyed expression before speaking.

“Hi. Welcome to The Gecko Room,” she offered courteously. “I’m Cindy. Can I get you something?”

“Sex on the Beach,” Paige blurted.

Katrina glanced at Caleb and insisted, “Choose for us, my love.”

“Two mojitos,” he ordered with a grin, to which Katrina nodded with approval.

“Orgasm for me,” Gil said.

“Great, I’ll be back soon,” Cindy replied with a courteous smile.

A particularly energized dance beat began, and Paige began swaying to it. She grinned and rose from her chair. “Come on, Gil,” she beckoned while grasping his hand in hers. “Let’s cut a rug.”

“Wha --” he started to say, but was pulled behind her with a lurch towards the dance floor.

Caleb chuckled as he watched them go and looked around the room to take everything in. As he scanned to his left, his eyes eventually fell upon Katrina’s beautiful emerald eyes, which focused on him like lasers. The corners of her mouth were upturned slightly as her penetrating gaze bore into his pale blue eyes, causing a shiver down his spine.