Pigalle Palace (2 page)

“I want you to have me.”

“I've already had you, Chantal.”

“Drink from me.” She put her wrist up to my nose.

Though she smelled so delicious, I gently lowered her arm and explained, “I've been a vampire for a very long time. This is my destiny, not yours. You should enjoy the fact that
you're still alive.”

She swallowed hard and thought about that for a moment, but then she was right back to trying to pressure me. “You sure you don't want to bite me?” She tossed her hair over her shoulder to reveal her neck. I spotted a luscious thick vein that I could have devoured if I'd truly wanted to.

“I'm sure.”

The urge to bite her surged through me the same way my adrenaline had my blood rushing, but I had self-control.

“Why not?” She began plastering kisses on the side of my face.

“Stop it,” I said in a demanding tone.

She backed away with a look of confusion, pushing her hair out of her face with one hand.

My family didn't have a choice. We were born with this curse.

My right eye pulsated as it fluttered. A painful migraine formed. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Chantal staring at me before sauntering over to the window to look down at the city of Montmartre.

“Oh my... This is a sight to see. I've never seen this side of Paris before...”

I had an excellent panoramic view of the city and it was breathtaking.

“We're on a hill, north of Paris, one hundred thirty metres high.”

“The city is so beautiful, Legend.”

I got up from the bed and wrapped my arms around her waist. The thought of slipping back inside of her came to mind. Without any distractions, I would be able to enjoy her for a little while longer before the sun would come up. She would then go on her merry little way and her fantasy of spending a complete night with a vampire would be fulfilled.

She twirled around to face me. Her eyes shifted down while sadness seemed to consume her. She was curious about becoming
something she didn't understand. Our world was dark and confusing to most, yet she was so ready.

“I've read plenty of vampires' tales and stories.”

“That's fiction. I'm real and trust me when I say that you're better off.”

“Maybe I should leave.”

I stopped her with my voice—smooth, gentle, and reassuring. “Chantal, I'm not done with you, yet. Unless, you're afraid of me now.”

“I'm not afraid… Do you always have your way?”

“Always,” I stated into the thickened air.

“You sure you don't want to sink your teeth into me? I think I might taste very good.”

Her hands moved over my muscles as if she were trying to memorize everything about me.

My hands then moved to her lower back. She closed her eyes as her breathing became heavier. I listened intently, pulling her back to rest up against me while my hands felt around her firm ass. Her breathing grew even heavier with a hint of arousal as my fingertips traveled between her legs to rub her clit. I turned her around, face to face, to inhale her sweet-smelling breath as I inched toward her. I grabbed her firmly, pulled her up against me, and kissed her.

I sucked her neck and then her collarbone, making a suction trail as I led her back to the bed. I pushed her onto her back. She didn't object as I went down to please her. My lips met her warm wetness. She moaned as I sucked her hungrily.

Her low moan began to rise each time I licked her juicy clit. I picked up my slow pace to a moderate rate, feeling her juices squirt and then ooze down between her thighs. I lapped every drop because she tasted that good. By then, she had both fists full
of my dreads.

I palmed her ass and squeezed her while her eyes closed tightly. Suddenly her moans stopped and she said, “Ahhhh… Ouch.”

As I tasted her blood, I realized I had pierced her inner lips.

“Shit.” I tried to get up, but she palmed the back of my head with both of her hands.

“Don't stop… Keep going… Do it.”

Without thinking about anything else, I returned my face between her thighs and sucked her blood. Biting her wasn't my intention, but she had aroused me in a way that had me feeling as if I had no control over myself.

Transforming her was something she wanted anyway, so I released my venom and wiped my bloody mouth.

As she had another orgasm, the transformation began. Once her body was done with twisting and writhing in a frantic manner, her sweaty body slid away from me. She didn't cuddle next to me or whisper sweet things as if she loved me for what she'd asked of me all along. Instead, she turned away from me.

I watched her back rise and fall gently as she breathed acutely. I ran my fingers over my dreads as regret washed over me.
What had I done?

Chantal asked, “How come you couldn't just bite my neck the way I've seen in movies?”

“I wasn't trying to bite you.”

“What happens now?”

“The sun will rise. If you decide to walk outside, the sun will touch your skin and you will burn.”

She glimpsed over at the window and panicked. “Are you going to close the curtains? I don't want to burn.”

“My windows are actually UV protected. You are safe in my home.”

A series of electrifying chills shot
straight up my spine, creating goose bumps all over my body. I shook the snake-like feeling, heaved a heavy sigh, and closed myself in the bathroom.

My family didn't care about how many women I let into my bed, but the rules were made out to be simple: one was that I could only change one and one only. That one would be my wife for eternity. Those were actually the rules of the covenant. My parents didn't make up those rules. The covenant was made up of laws set by the Préfet—the vampire government of Pigalle Palace.

Before I could gather my thoughts, my phone rang from the countertop of the bathroom. I forgot that I had left it there when I showered. It was my sister, Azura, calling.

My whole family had the gift of premonition. Azura's was the strongest. I knew why she was calling.

“Hello,” I answered.

“What are you up to?” Azura asked.

“Nothing much,” I tried to elude her.

“Are you planning on leaving home anytime soon?”

“No. The sun will be coming up in a few hours, so I'm in for the night.”

“Mother and Father want to see you.”

I closed my eyes as I knew exactly why they wanted to see me. “When?”

“Right now.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, Legend, right now! Onyx and Rain are already here.”

My brothers were already there, so they were aware of what I had done. I was going to have to face them, but I didn't think it would be this soon.

“I'll be there in a moment.”

“Hurry,” she answered quickly.
“Oh, and bring
her
with you.”

O
ur father studied me for a moment as if he couldn't think of anything to say once we arrived at my parents' home. He shifted slightly in the chair in front of the fireplace. I was nervous about what he was going to say. The last thing I wanted to hear was that I was going to have to kill Chantal because I'd broken a rule. Nevertheless, I stood there calmly while Chantal was sprawled out on the couch, completely incoherent to what was going on. The transition of going through the change had that effect.

The whole room was silent. Usually, our father was relaxed and cozy in front of the crackling fire, but his body language as he was sitting up straight, staring me in the eyes without blinking, made me nervous.

That night, the relaxing ability of the open fire wasn't going to soothe the wild beast within him. Since the beginning of our time, we had gathered around the open fire for a sense of safety and deep conversation. We had yet to have one of these meetings as everyone always followed the rules of the covenant.

Father continued to stare through me,rubbing his thick goatee. “You felt the need to do this…”

“I didn't feel the need to do this. It sort of happened.”

Regardless of the incident, he was going to pronounce Chantal
as my wife, and that was something I really wasn't ready for, but what other choice did I have? I was the idiot who was caught up in the heat of the moment. I was going to have to spend eternity with a woman that I didn't want.

“This
sort of
happened?” Father asked as he observed Chantal.

“Yes.”

He cocked his head to the side as if he were trying to figure me out. “You have broken the rules of the covenant and yet, you are so calm about it. You know what this means, don't you?”

“Yes, Father.”

“She is now your wife. Is that what you want?”

I was going to have to live with being married to her. Being married now meant that I could never be with another woman again. My days of romping around with plenty of women were over. I was stuck with her. I looked around the room at Azura, Onyx, Rain, and our mother, whom all looked very disappointed in me.

“Yes, Father.”

“I should rip her heart out right now.”

“No,” I replied quickly. “This is my fault, so let me deal with this.”

Father leaned his large frame against the living room chair. “Well, I'll tell you what… You take your wife home and make sure she gets the
proper
feeding. We wouldn't want her roaming the district as a newborn. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Father.”

He stood up and walked out of the living room.

I sighed under my breath and looked over at Mother.

Mother made a “tsk” sound with her tongue. “
Je pars.
” She said she was leaving in French before following behind him.

Our parents' frustration with me was something I never wanted to cause or see ever again.

“So, are my siblings pissed off with me, too?” I asked them.

Azura stated quickly, “I'm not pissed off; I'm very disappointed. We don't know what kind of wife Chantal will make.”

“You mean if she'll become a blood-sucking murderer?”

“Exactly. I guess we'll have to watch and see how she turns out. Let's hope she fights the urges.”

Onyx and Rain didn't utter a single word. They didn't have to. I knew my brothers well enough to realize that they had nothing good to say, but their silence left me feeling unsettled. I wanted my siblings to know that everything was going to be fine. Well, that's what I hoped anyway.

I swept up my unconscious bride over my shoulder and left our parents' house without saying anything else to any of them. They would get over it soon, so I decided not to think about it. What was done was done and this mistake would smooth over.

It was about a half an hour too close to the sun rising. I was going to have to hurry home. A few taxis headed my direction. I put my hand out and waved. One taxi finally slowed and pulled up to the curb. I slid Chantal across the new soft leather and a faint smell of strange, unidentifiable funk greeted me. Some cabs carried inimitable odors from either previous riders or the driver. I rolled down the window to get some fresh air to help eliminate some of the stench.

“Où allez-vous?”
the cab driver asked.

“Le 18ème arrondissement.”

He pulled away from the curb smoothly. I lifted my head and stared out of the window as we passed through Montmartre. The sky was still dark, much like the way I was feeling. I had to shake the darkness that was trying to creep over me.

Silently, I sat, but my mind was thinking too loudly. I was such an idiot. My days of conquests were over. Chantal was my wife.

T
he brand-new female bartender we hired was so damned fine that I couldn't stop staring at her. Where had she come from? Azura showed her around our spacious club, spanning more than 45,000 square feet and sprawled across two stories.