BloodGifted (35 page)

Chapter 40

Bargain Sealed

LAURA

A lone, tall lamp shone in—what I assumed to be—Alec’s room. Bare white walls with recessed shelves filled with books stared back at me. There were no windows. A crystal chandelier, on a long chain, hung down from a pale, stuccoed ceiling. In one corner of the room stood a four-drawer cabinet, identical to a smaller version next to a four-poster iron bed. The tall lamp next to it was also metal. Actually, apart from the bed covering and the needlepoint cotton floor rug, everything in the room was metal.

‘L
et’s discuss this,’ he said.

I
spun around to face him, and as I was still out of breath all I could do was stand there, with my arms clenched by my side, and glare at him. He moved away from the door and came slowly toward me. I took a step back.

‘
It occurred to me, I don’t like the idea of becoming a single mother!’ I managed to say between breaths.

‘You should have thought of that sooner.’ He pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor.

I stared open mouthed at his chiselled body, the rippling muscles of his torso and the sword and serpent tattoo on his left breast. It was identical to the image on the stained glass window. On impulse, I reached out and touched it.

‘All the men have one. It mark
s us as belonging to Luc’s clan,’ he said.

‘Does he have one, too
?’

‘Yes.’
The look in his eyes intensified. ‘Keep touching me, Laura.’

My hands traced the hard planes of his chest, stomach and the delectable trail of dark hair that disappeared below the top of his jeans.

‘You told me never to touch you, again. You still feel that way?’

‘If I did, I woul
dn’t be agreeing to this. It’s only sex, nothing more. A means to an end.’

‘Did I promise anything more?’

No, he didn’t. This was, as he so succinctly put it, a business arrangement.

He leaned down, as if to kiss me.

I turned my head away. ‘No kissing.’ I couldn’t afford my heart to be engaged any more than it already was. I needed this to be mechanical, detached, void of emotion. If he could be like that, then so could I.

Something flickered in his eyes. ‘Sorry,
darling
, but it comes with the whole package!’ He drew me to him, and any protest on my part ended the moment his mouth touched mine.

How did he know to part my lips just the right way and delve
into my mouth like he owned it, kissing me with an almost fevered energy I couldn’t help but return?

How wrong I’d been to tell him never to touch me again,
nor kiss me, when my whole body came alive when he did; when it ached for him. There was no way I could fight this and if I lost my heart to him, what then? Could I stand it if he went away? The thought frightened me.
This is only sex; only sex
, I repeated over and over in my mind, but I knew I was fooling myself. It was far too late for that.

Slowly he undid
the buttons on my shirtdress, slid it off my shoulders and let it  drop to the floor. My bra soon followed, my nipples hardening at the touch of his hands as they caressed my breasts, while his mouth teased and taunted mine, reducing me to a near-quivering mess.

H
e scooped me up and laid me in the centre of the bed then took my face in his hands and tenderly kissed my eyelids, my nose, cheeks and chin, before returning to my waiting lips.

T
he Serpent Rings blazed into life, eclipsing the sad, little light emanating from the bedside lamp. Alec leaned over and switched it off. The room was bathed in a warm, red glow as if the rings themselves were endorsing what we were about to do.

He
lowered his head and this time his mouth and tongue explored one breast while his hand cupped the other, his thumb and forefinger circling and teasing my already sensitised skin.

I closed my eyes and revell
ed in the sensations he aroused in me, arching into him as my body purred at his every touch. My hands roamed his back, his firm shoulders and as he eased down the length of my body, leaving a burning trail with his lips, any coherent thought disappeared. As his tongue dipped into my navel, his fingers hooked into the top of my panties and slowly drew them down. They joined my dress and his T-shirt on the floor.

I lay there t
otally exposed as Alec’s heavy-lidded gaze hungrily devoured me.

‘You’re breathtaking,’ he said, then
rose and removed his jeans. His naked body was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and for what seemed like ages, we simply gazed at each other. In the glow of the unearthly light provided by the rings, I could see his eyes had darkened into a deep purple whorl from which I never wanted to emerge.

He
crawled onto the bed, parted my legs and lay between them.

His kisses seared my mouth as his hands further explored my body, touching, stroking and sweetly torturing my most secret place till I was scrunching the sheets and
moaning his name.

He lift
ed his head and looked at me through hooded, almost drunken eyes; his breath as ragged as my own. Then raising himself slightly, Alec hooked his arms beneath my knees, lifted them and spread my legs as wide as they’d go.

My heart hammered in my chest like a construction drill. I could almost hear it. I’m sure Alec could, for his eyes blazed
just before our mouths meshed once more and he surged forward into me.

I sighed in sheer relief as his body fit perfectly into mine. There was no discomfort, no h
urt, only the sweet friction as he plunged fully into me, moving slowly at first then increasing the pace until my body tightened like a coiled spring, building, building until it broke and my body shuddered with the strength of my release. But Alec continued until another peak washed over me with such intensity I cried out, and only then I felt him tense as he took his own pleasure and spilled deeply within me.

I
lay there breathing heavily, unable to think, unable to move, utterly at bliss with the pleasure my body had just experienced. It was something Matt had never been able to do.

‘Oh, no, I’
m not finished with you yet,’ he said as he slid down the length of my body again. As he reached the apex of my thighs, he looked up at me, and the hunger in his eyes was clear.

I nodded, grasped the bars of the bedhead behind me and held on for dear life
as Alec dipped his head between my legs. His fingers gripped my thighs and held them apart as his tongue lapped at my sensitive core. It was such exquisite torture that when his fangs penetrated the soft skin of my inner thigh, I came so strongly I nearly ripped the bars from their sockets. The mix of pain and pleasure was exquisite and unlike anything I’d experienced before.

Alec rolled off me and to the side, taking me with him. I lay cradled in his arms, 
utterly sated and content and for a while neither of us spoke. Just the sound of our breathing filled the darkened room. Eventually I angled my head up to see him looking at me. His eyes caressed my face then swept down to my mouth, before he lowered his head and kissed me again, long and deep, his tongue stroking and enticing mine into total surrender.

Soon he was on top of me again
, holding my thighs wide apart and plunging even deeper, his groans and sighs mingling with my own. He lifted my hips for even greater penetration, moving within me in a steady, all consuming rhythm and as I threw my head back, his mouth locked onto my nipple, drawing it into his mouth, teasing and sucking till my whole body convulsed with the intensity of the coming climax. And when it did come, I screamed and felt the tears trickle down my face.

Once again, I lay
there panting, exhausted, while Alec rained delicate kisses on my face. ‘Go to sleep…’ he said softly.

I
was sure I heard him say, “my darling” as I closed my eyes and surrendered to the darkness.

Chapter 41

“Curiouser and Curiouser”

LAURA

I’m not sure how long I slept, but the electric clock on the nearby cabinet showed 1.35 a.m. The room was dark and if not for the glow provided by the Serpent Rings it would have been impossible to know whether it was day or night. Several days could have passed while we made love—for that’s what it was. It had gone beyond the sex-to-end-the-curse bargain we had made. Alec had kissed me with such passion I wondered whether he was as detached as the impression he gave.

My body felt sore, but wonderfully exhilarated at the same time, although there was still a slight tenderness on my upper thigh where Alec had bitten
me. I almost giggled aloud as I recalled the way I reacted when Lora, the young woman I had met at the Ritual, told me where her vampire boyfriend liked to bite. Now I had let Alec do the same.
So much for Buckley’s!
I thought.

I gazed
at his beautiful face as he slept. He looked so young as he lay next to me, one arm thrown above his head, the other around me, that it was hard to imagine he’d been alive nearly a century. His cheeks were no longer pale as they had been a few hours ago when he had dragged me to his room, but they were now flushed and healthy, and his lips which had been just as colourless, were now stained dark crimson with my blood.

I
wanted to kiss them, wake him and make love all over again. In fact, I wanted to lave my way down the length of his body as he had, so wonderfully, done to me. He brought my body alive, and not only that, but I realised I wanted no other man to touch me, but him.

That moment,
I gave up the fight and completely surrendered my heart to the man who lay sleeping beside me.

Oh, did I have a problem!

I needed time to think and work things out, and I couldn’t do that with him so close. Alec completely scattered my thoughts.

Careful so as not to wake him, I
moved out from under his arm, got out of bed and searched for my clothes. They lay on the floor where he had stripped me and the pleasant butterflies went off in my stomach at the memory. I quickly put them on, tiptoed to the door and slipped out, then made my way down the hall toward my room.

I
reached the staircase that separated the two wings and noticed light coming from the next level. As far as I knew, no one usually ventured up there. I guessed that was where the ballroom Luc and Alec had spoken about, would be.

From my knowledge of Victorian houses, the more ostentatious ones had ornate domed ceilings and long galleries their wealthy owners used to showcase their latest acquisitions. Guests would usually ascend an elaborate staircases that led to grand ballrooms for Coming-Out Parties and Christmas pageants. It was all part of the show.

I was standing on just such a grand staircase.

Something beckoned me onwards and
I ascended the stairs to the very top. Ornate rose plaster mouldings adorned the ceiling and the fine-veined marble on the stairs and balustrade stood out in the glare from the overhead lights.
Pity it’s nigh
t, I thought, as the darkness hid the glorious colours on the tall, narrow, lead-lined windows.

I have to see this during the day. It must be
beautiful
. It needed airing, though. I wrinkled my nose; the closer I got to the top, the mustier the smell. I wondered if the cleaners ever came here.

On reaching the top level,
I was confronted by a gilt-framed mirror spanning the width of the wall. My reflection gazed back at me.

Well. Now what
?
I looked down one length of the corridor. It led to the west wing while another led to the east. It was odd, for unless the ballroom was somewhere behind this mirror, it was simply a dead end.

Curio
user and curiouser.
I crouched down and ran my hand along the base of the mirror.

I remember
ed reading somewhere that occasionally these old mansions had trick walls, as the owners liked to impress their guests. But my fingers detected nothing unusual. What I did find strange was that although this level hadn’t been visited in who-knows-how-many-years, there was no dust. I slid my finger along the mirror to be sure. It was clean. Maybe the cleaner did know about it.

I stood in front of its wide expanse
with hands on hips. Here was a mystery I was dying to solve. Then as I moved I noticed a barely perceptible aberration in my reflection. I peered at it more closely, moving a little to the left and then to the right. It was definitely there. Placing my finger where it began, I could feel a hairline join. Bullseye! Now all I needed was to find how to open it. There was no indication anywhere near the mirror—I checked that already. If the original owner had wanted to surprise his guests and create the desired effect, the mirror would have had to open as they reached the top—as if by magic.

I scanned the ground for a hidden button or pedal that could be tripped by foot. Nothing. Perhaps it was somewhere on or under the balustrade. Running my
hands under the smooth marble, my fingers brushed against a small metal lever. I pushed it up. Bingo! My reflection widened as the mirror slid apart and flooded the corridor with light.

‘L
aura! Are you up there?’ Alec called out.

‘Yeah. The ballroom’s incredible!
’ I called back down to him.

Slowly the ballroom appeared. I had the impression of sunlight bouncing off more mirrors, crystal and brass chandeliers, parquetry flooring, then a hand covered my mouth and another dragged me in.

Jean’s face loomed inches from my own. At the same instant I heard the mirrored doors snap closed behind me.