Blood Rites: (Royal Blood #3) (6 page)

I rose to my feet, smoothing down my jacket.
“Then listen to me Sykes,” I snarled. “You think it’s wise coming
into my home to threaten me? I have killed men for far less bravado
than you have shown this evening.”

“I know exactly who you are, Vaughn,” he
replied, his smile fading. “And so will all those people out there
soon enough.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Come into my home again
and I will have you forcibly removed in a body bag. If you want
this deal and your precious introduction to Lafayette, then you
will not threaten me like one of your small-time biker rivals.
Those tactics are null and void. Know that I will take everything
that is yours and you won’t be able to do a thing about it. Are we
clear?”

Sykes stood, his gaze sizing me up, gauging
my sincerity.

I nodded toward Hawkes, my cold
gaze never leaving Sykes. “Mr. Hawkes, if you would be so kind as
to escort our guests out.”

Sykes scowled, thoroughly
pissed off.
Fucking good
. Gesturing to his men, they strode from the room, leaving
the stench of expensive liquor in their wake. Those bottles had
cost me two thousand pounds. Small change, but change I didn’t want
to spend on the likes of him and his hangers-on.

I didn’t turn to acknowledge his leaving,
but I felt his gaze burning a target into my back. I had better be
willing to follow through on my threat or risk losing everything I
had built. If he stepped out of line one more time, it was the
end.

The door closed quietly, and I was
alone.

I let out the breath I didn’t
know I’d been holding, my shoulders aching from the tension they
held. A lot of things had gotten me going this evening and one was
definitely not like the other.

I didn’t leave the study for the rest of the
night. I’d made my threats, now I had to lie with them.

If anyone saw me with Lorelei…then she would
be unwittingly dragged into a shitstorm of chaos. They would use
her to get to me. I’d made it bloody obvious enough that I wanted
her, hadn’t I? The party, dancing in close quarters, the way I
fucking stared as she walked in…the way I held her in my arms. Any
future meetings with Lorelei would be in private, behind a
smokescreen where no one but her and I would exist.

That’s if she agreed to see me again.

Sykes was a motherfucking problem in itself,
but Lorelei…

She couldn’t have come along at a worse
time.

Eight

Lorelei

I didn’t see Vaughn again that night.

To say I was disappointed was
an understatement. I felt it in my heart and that worried me more
than anything. Getting attached to the wrong kind of man with no
encouragement, other than a little kiss on a balcony was bad
news.

A knicker soaking, knee
weakening, skin tingling, thigh clenching kiss.
Bloody hell
.

He said that the party was for me. Was it
just a ruse to get me swooning at his feet, then he’d take me
upstairs, have his way with me then dump me out on my backside the
next morning? Seemed like a waste of money if you asked me.

Saturday had become Sunday,
then it was suddenly Thursday and…nothing. I’d come to accept that
it had all been a ruse and business had interrupted him and he’d
lost interest. Maybe the universe had intervened and I’d dodged a
bullet. Yeah, that was it.

I sat at the desk in the gallery, my elbows
on the tabletop, my thumbs circling my temples. The opening for my
grand exhibition was tomorrow night and Bex and I were swamped with
work. Booking catering, RSVP’ing guests, getting booklets printed,
liaising with the media… This was a big deal and totally full
on.

“Hey, you okay?”

I glanced up at Bex, who unceremoniously
dumped a box onto the desk with a crash. “Fine, I’m just wound up
tight.” A grin pulled at her lips and she went to open her mouth,
but I held up my hand. “Mind out of the gutter.”

“
Aw, you’re no fun,” she said
with a pout. “Booklets are here.” She grabbed the Stanley knife
from the drawer and began cutting the box.

Opening it up, she handed me a
copy from the top of the pile and I began to flip through it. They
looked pretty bloody fantastic. All glossy and minimal, and the
prints of the paintings were spectacular.

“Still haven’t heard from him?” Bex asked. I
wondered how long it would be before she asked again. It seemed
like I was her little project, that or she wanted to live
vicariously through my nonexistent interlude.

“Of course not,” I said, trying to keep the
annoyance out of my voice. “I was a conquest, nothing more. You
warned me about him, after all.”

“
Maybe you were the one who
could’ve tamed him.”

I snorted. “Everyone thinks they’re the one
when they get into bed with a bad boy. They never are.” I rolled my
eyes. “Least of all me.”

The electronic bell chimed out
in the gallery and Bex let out a loud sigh. “Saved by the
bell…
again
. Lucky bitch.”

I glanced up at her and smiled. “I’m going
to live for another day.”

She stuck her tongue out and disappeared
into the gallery.

Setting down the booklet, I
glanced at my phone. Nothing. I cursed under my breath, he didn’t
have my number, so why was I checking every five minutes? He didn’t
give a crap anymore. I knew I said I’d accepted that it was over
before it began, but I swore I’d felt something when I saw him on
the stairs. Was Vaughn really
that
manipulative?

“
Lorrie
!”

I jerked upright as Bex’s shriek echoed
through the entire building. A moment later, she came bounding into
the office, a huge bouquet of red roses in some kind of vase in her
arms.

My mouth fell open. “What the hell is that?”
I asked, my heart speeding up

She set the vase on the edge of the desk.
“Flowers, duh.”

I rolled my eyes. “I can see that.”

“They’re for you.”

My expression fell and my skin
began to tingle. Nobody had ever sent me flowers before, let alone
what looked like four dozen, long stemmed, red roses.
Vaughn
. I didn’t dare…

“There’s a note,” Bex said, plucking a
little white envelope from the flowers.

“Give it here,” I said, trying to pinch it
from her, but I was too late. Bex opened the envelope, pulling out
the card with a flourish.

“
Lorelei,
Please accept my apology for disappearing Saturday evening. May I
make it up to you by taking you out to dinner?
” Bex’s mouth dropped open. “He
left his number, too.”

I snatched the card from her and read
Vaughn’s note.

“You said nothing happened,” she complained.
“Sounds like something did.”

“
I thought…” I trailed off. I’d
thought he’d dumped me. That was a little much, but it’s what I’d
felt.

“You have to call him. Don’t think I haven’t
noticed you moping around here all week.”

“I can’t possibly.” I shook my head, still
feeling like something was off. “The opening is tomorrow night.
There’s too much to do.”

“Guys like that don’t hang around for long,
Lorrie,” Bex said. “There’s plenty of gold diggers out there
waiting to snatch rich, handsome men off the market. Sebastian
Vaughn is at the top of that list.”

“I don’t want to marry him,” I
exclaimed.

She grinned, giving me a wink. “Then go have
some fun.”

I set the card down on the desk and glanced
sidelong at the roses like they’d jump up and bite me. “I’ll think
about it.”

“Don’t think about it too long,” Bex
admonished.

“I’ll think about it for at least a week.” I
pouted, turning back to the computer and the mountain of emails I
had to reply to.

I heard Bex’s heels clacking
over the concrete floors and disappear out into the gallery. Once
she was gone, I picked up Vaughn’s card and read through the note
again. Instantly, my thoughts went to the balcony and I could feel
the ghost of his hands on my waist, his lips against mine, his
tongue…his
taste
.

All I could think about was him
doing wicked things to me…wicked things whilst naked.

Squeezing my thighs together, I
flushed and dropped the card.

Who the hell was Sebastian Vaughn and what
had he done to me?

Nine

Vaughn

I stared at my open laptop, scowling at the
confirmation of delivery email from the florist.

She’d received the flowers, but hadn’t
called. Four dozen red roses. I glanced at my phone for the
twentieth time since the email appeared in my inbox, the new one
I’d picked up soon after our first meeting, and scowled. Fuck, I
was turning into a woman.

I swiped my fingers across the track pad on
my laptop and the screen changed to the Internet browser with the
advertisement for the opening at Space Gallery. It was for an
abstract artist, some new guy who was the ‘it’ thing of the moment.
A huge score for the little gallery space and I wondered if Lorelei
had anything to do with acquiring the show.

The event was scheduled for tomorrow
evening… It would be drinks, canapés and flaunting one’s wealth
around. I was free, I could attend if I wished. It was an open
invitation and many people would be there.

I stared at the advertisement, tempted to
drop everything. It was a risk. A pretty fucking huge one. People
knew who I was, the media would want to take my photograph, word
would get back to ears I didn’t want. Could I keep it low key?

“Vaughn.”

I glanced up at Hawkes, who was standing
over me, frowning at the laptop. “What?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” He nodded
at the computer.

“What are you trying to say, Hawkes?” I
snapped.

“You’re fixating too much on her, Sir. If
something were to happen…”

I held up my hand. “I know
exactly what will happen.”
I’d be ruined
.

“It’s not a good time with Sykes sniffing
around. He’s already seen you with her once.”

That was it, wasn’t it? If
Sykes saw that I was going after Lorelei, he’d do something to take
her from me and that something would destroy her. This was no
longer a game, something else had festered underneath my skin.
Love, attraction, matters of the goddamn fucking heart. Lorelei
Lansford had bewitched me with a single fucking kiss.

I had no fucking idea what I
was doing and for someone who was always in control, the notion
scared me a little, but one thing was clear; I was willing to risk
my identity to protect her and I hardly fucking knew the
woman.

I was no longer capable of taking no for an
answer, let alone staying away from her.

I thought about Sykes. I had a good
operation going in the UK. I’d forged a name for myself, I made a
lot of money and the pile grew on a daily basis, so was going
international right now worth the hassle?

I waved a hand at Hawkes. “I know what I’m
doing. Lorelei is of no concern to our dealings and I will keep her
away from them. I will pursue her if I wish.” I did wish.

“Sir.” I could hear the disapproval in his
voice and it annoyed the fuck out of me. I paid him to assist and
protect, and in a way he was just doing his job, but if he kept
cock blocking me I’d have a few choice words lined up for him.

Hawkes knew what was good for him and
crossed the room, out of my line of fire. As the door closed behind
him, I turned back to the computer, a lazy grin pulling at my
lips.

Maybe it was about time I began investing in
some art.

The darkening London streets flashed past my
window as Hawkes drove me to Kensington.

Smoothing down my navy suit and checking my
matching tie, I fidgeted as we came ever closer to the gallery and
Lorelei. Hawkes was right and I hated the fucker for it. I was
fixating on her too much. Falling for the idea of her, rather than
what was right in front of me. I’d forgotten all about Sykes and
his empty threats and all I could see was her. Me in her, her on
me, Lorelei fucking Lansford.

Hawkes pulled the car up out the front of
Space Gallery and eyes instantly turned to the car to see who was
getting out. I saw a few men with cameras and scowled.

“
Are you sure, Vaughn?” He
glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

“Stay with the car, Hawkes,” I snapped.
“I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave.”

Opening the door before he could complain
yet again, I slid gracefully out of the car and onto the footpath.
A few eyes turned my way as I smoothed down my jacket, and there
were a few flashes as the cameras went off, but I ignored their
inquisitive glances and didn’t even pause for the paparazzi to get
their clear shots.