Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (19 page)

The elevator was descending slowly. It was my last chance to really torture him.

“Darn it,” I said. “My buckle has come undone.” I bent over, at the waist, and fiddled with the ankle strap on one of my heels.

When I righted myself, Oliver’s smile was gone, and he actually looked a little flushed.

Yes!
I was back in control. I grinned to myself.

Oliver
said nothing the rest of the way to the lobby.

As the elevator doors slid open on the main floor, Oliver placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me through the hotel to the restaurant.

“Party?” the hostess asked as we stopped before her podium. I noticed that she forgot to smile. I found it odd because all of the employees smiled. Not in a creepy way, just in a very friendly and very happy way. Like they loved their jobs and the fact we were there for a visit.

“SaVan,” Oliver answered.

Silently, the hostess led us through the dimly-lit restaurant to where Levi was sitting, already one drink down.

Levi stood as we arrived. He took my hand, the one without the Demon’s Kiss, and he pressed his lips to the back of it. “You look very lovely this evening, Miss Alexander,” Levi purred.

I felt my chest tighten. I knew this was Oliver’s first test, yet he didn’t seem fazed, at all.

Oliver pulled out my chair and scooted it back in as I took my seat. Like a gentleman. A gentleman who finds joy in torturing his mate.

I smiled at him in thanks, but he knew what I was feeling, and he tried to hide his smirk as he took a seat to my right at the small, square table.

I thanked Levi for the compliment and told him that he looked very nice, as well. He nodded in kind. He did look very nice. And hot. He was wearing a light gray suit with a black button-front shirt. He wasn’t wearing a tie, and he had left the top buttons undone. His blond hair was styled in place, and his blue-green eyes sparkled against the glowing candle in the center of our table.

“May I ask what took you young lovers so long?” Levi asked as he took his seat to my left.

Oliver and I exchanged a quick smile, then Oliver said, “No, Levi, you may not.”

“Very well.” Levi smirked in return, his eyes shifting away from us to scan the restaurant.

It was not long before our waitress arrived and took our drink orders. It felt weird to ask for a soda in such a fancy place, so I just ordered ice water. Oliver ordered a Brookehaven Ale. Levi lifted his glass
, and he shook it a little, the few remaining ice cubes clanking against the sides.

“I’ll take another, thank you,” he said, flashing a sexy smile and giving the woman a nod of gratitude.

The waitress’ eyes lingered on both men for far too long before she scurried off for our drinks. I was beginning to worry that it was me who would be tested. I did not like others looking at
my
man.

After glaring in the direction where our waitress had disappeared, I skimmed one of the menus that the hostess had left. I looked it over a couple of times. There were a lot of good choices, and I was hungry
—still nervous, but hungry. I decided on a salad and some sort of pasta that involved a white cheese sauce and some vegetables.

When the waitress returned with our drinks, she seemed giddy as she took our orders, especially Oliver’s and Levi’s. It was hard not to roll my eyes.

Since the hotel accommodated vampires of all sorts, they had mixed-blood-friendly meals to choose from, which meant Oliver would actually get to eat real food with Levi and me instead of just hanging out and keeping us company.

Our salads arrived shortly after our orders
were placed. The waitress did not linger long this time, but she did flash both boys a big, heavily-lipsticked smile as she walked away.

“Oliver, do tell me how my sister fares. Is she happy teaching?”

“She is doing well,” Oliver replied. “She has taken on another class.”

“Oh?” Levi questioned between bites of leafy green lettuce.

“She was co-teaching a paranormal studies class with Ezra Morgan. You remember Ezra?”

Levi’s eyes settled on Oliver’s. “Of course I remember the half-demon, we go way back,” Levi said. He flashed a wicked smile that made me raise an eyebrow. Then Levi barked out a sharp laugh. It startled me. They both looked over at me when I jumped.

I smiled apologetically and they continued their conversation.

“Do tell me more,” Levi said, a smile appear
ing that caused even my heart to stutter.

Okay, I feel there’s something I need to clarify. Levi was attractive, in every sense of the word. He was just…
ugh
, I don’t know. But even though I was hopelessly and madly in love with Oliver, there was just something about Levi that I do not think any sane woman could resist. He was a treat for your eyes, to say the least. He was confident like I had never seen before. Every one of his movements was masculine, and in a very sexy way. And when he was just there, sitting and being normal, he was intimidating. He always looked serious and seductive, but when he smiled…
wow!

Levi was not perfect, and maybe that was part of the allure. At first glance he was, and he was difficult to look at because of this, but once you got closer, you noticed things: like the bulbousness of his nose and the large overbite that gave his smile so much character. His smile, his
real
smile, softened him and made him a whole different person. He was hard not to look at. Plus, that accent only made him sexier…

“Ezra had to take a break, so Ambrose is leading the class now. She seems to really be enjoy—”

“Um, excuse me?” I questioned, interrupting Oliver mid-sentence. They both looked at me. “Morgan didn’t ‘have to take a break,’” I said in a quiet but flustered tone. “The man tried to have you and Levi’s sister killed,” I said to Oliver with a nod in Levi’s direction. “Not to mention the list of all the other vampires he planned to have killed.” I continued to babble about all of the horrible things Mr. Morgan had done or planned to do or had been a part of while Oliver had been gone.

When I finished rambling, Oliver and Levi exchanged a look, and then they both smiled at me, like they found
everything I said humorous. Needless to say, I was confused.

“No, Laney,” Oliver said, leaning over the corner of the table and lowering his voice. “Ezra Morgan is on our side. He is bound to the coven. He
couldn’t betray us even if he wanted to.”

I’m pretty sure my mouth was gaping open with nothing
except “but…but” coming from it.

I
saw it! I was there! I knew all that Ezra had planned. Well, most…

“It was all a setup, Laney,” Oliver said. “It was the slayers who had approached Ezra and asked for his assistance in taking us down. He, of course, reported this information to the appropriate channels. It was his assignment to let things play out as they did.”

“But Felix,” I began. “He said…and he acted like…” I was beginning to feel like a fool. Had Felix played up the entire thing? Had he known all along?

“Felix is very good at making people believe what he wants them to believe,” Levi said as he sat back in his chair, draping an arm over the back while downing the last
few drops of his drink.

I knew his comment was a dig at Felix. I didn’t care. Felix had tricked us. I wondered if Carter knew.

As if reading my thoughts, Oliver said, “It’s best that everyone else still believes Ezra did betray us. Okay?”

I knew what he meant. He meant I could not say a word to Carter.

I sat there in silence, pondering this new information, wondering if I would ever trust Felix again, while at the same time I slowly chewed small bites of my salad as the guys resumed talking.

“Anyway,” Oliver continued, “Felix has been helping Ambrose with her class.”

“I imagine that’s interesting to watch.” Levi grinned as he gazed into the bottom of his glass.

Our food arrived moments later. Levi requested a refill, and as the waitress stood very close to him, he slid the backs of his fingers along her stockings on the outside of her thigh. He smiled at her
with a smile I was sure he often used to get what he wanted. I was also sure it worked every time. “And keep them coming, love.”

I thought the waitress might faint. Levi was bold, and very charming. And that damn accent…when he said certain things… Swoon-worthy, that’s all I can say. I imagined many women, and probably even a number of men,
had a hard time resisting him.

Oliver chuckled, and my attention turned to him. I raised my eyebrow
, showing him my disbelief at Levi. He chuckled again and I couldn’t help my quiet laughter that followed.

When the waitress left—just about stumbling away—we began eating. It wasn’t long before she was back, though. And she had this dreamy look about her as she gazed at Levi and set his glass on the table, making sure she bent over close enough
so he got a good glimpse of her exposed cleavage. Oh, he saw it alright, as did Oliver and I.

Levi thanked her once again and flashed a super sexy hint of a smile. She sort of floated away. Poor girl.

Dinner was delicious, and when we finished, Levi ordered dessert for the three of us. I noticed the open buttons on the waitress’s blouse were getting lower each time she came back to the table. I imagined her goal was to entice Levi with her ample bosom. Sadly for her, not only was he not appearing interested, he was spoken for. When she walked away with our dessert order, and without Levi’s eyes on her, she was looking slightly dejected. I had to give her credit, she had tried. Hard.

As we conversed about unimportant topics, a man wearing a tall white chef’s hat brought out an elaborate chocolate concoction. He placed it in the center of the table after moving the flickering candle and its glass holder out of his way. He then set three forks beside the dessert plate.
He walked away, and another man, who did not wear a hat and appeared rather nervous, followed him. The man without the hat left an extravagant plate of fruit on the corner of the table before trailing after the other man.

We talked and laughed while we enjoyed dessert. Oliver ate only the fruit, of course, but Levi and I devoured the chocolate on chocolate
goodness.

While we shared dessert, Levi asked me simple questions which made me more comfortable with him. I found him easier to talk to after this. And easier to look at. However,
I was still amazed by the sexual energy that man exuded, but it was nothing compared to what Oliver did to me.

Once
I had my fill of chocolate paradise, I rested an elbow on the table and gazed at my vampire boyfriend while he and Levi chatted. I loved him so much. It actually caused an ache in my chest when I thought about how much he meant to me.

He must have felt my emotions, because mid-sentence, he stopped and his attention turned to me.

I pulled my elbow from the table and straightened. Just the hint of a crooked smile touched the corner of his mouth. He reached over and took my hand from my lap and gently pulled me closer. He kissed me, just a quick peck on the lips, but it was the meaning behind the kiss that made my body react to him.

When he released me, I had to take a deep breath to settle myself as I sat back in my chair. It took Oliver a moment to pick up where he had left off in his sentence.

Levi had a faint smile in place as he paid the check, leaving a few large bills on the table. Oliver and I both thanked him for dinner, and he nodded in response. He seemed pleased to have this time with us, and I was also glad we had done so.

As we stood, I noticed a
small slip of paper sitting on the table, and I caught a glimpse of the name and phone number of our waitress written on it. I looked to Oliver. He shook his head in disbelief when he saw what I’d seen, and then a faint smile appeared as he placed his hand on my lower back and guided me away from the table.

The number was left behind, and I imagined a very disappointed waitress would soon find it still sitting there. This made me wonder how many women had done just that same thing to Levi in the past, and I especially wondered how many had done the same thing to Oliver. I also wondered if Levi
would’ve taken the number before he had been bonded. I imagined that he would have.

I followed Levi out of the restaurant and into the lobby while Oliver kept a gentle hand on
my back.

“Shall we?” Levi asked as he gestured to a room off the lobby. Elegant instrumental music poured out through the open doors. I could see people mingling about inside the room.

I glanced over to Oliver. He nodded for me to continue, and I followed Levi through the doorway and into some sort of lounge.

Levi led us to a corner of the room where he found a large, empty, spindly
-footed sofa. The fabric of the sofa was a deep shade of red, like most of the furniture in the hotel. It also matched the polish on my toes.

Levi took a seat on one end
of the sofa and rested an arm across the back. He causally rested his right ankle across his left knee. Oliver took a seat on the opposite side of the sofa and rested his arm across the back as I took a seat beside him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders once I was seated.