Catherine (Echoes of Ossiria #1) (9 page)

“Depends on the
girl. That bint that bit you, for instance—she had her certain charms, but I
couldn’t stand her bloody voice for more than two minutes. Plenty of the demons
are only attractive to their own species. And then, there was you—little slip
of a human with a fire in her eye. No whining or crying for Mum…spirit of a
fighter, despite being more than a bit bookish.”
 
He waggled his brows and smiled
rakishly.
 
“Then you turned out
gorgeous.”

She shook her
head.
 
“Can’t take the man out of the
demon,” she sighed.

“’Sum of all our
parts’. Isn’t that what you said?”

“Close enough.
What is your demon like?”

“’S not like that.
It’s not a voice in my head. Being a vampire heightens feelings, instincts…your
cravings change, but it’s still your head doing the thinkin’…only as a newbie,
not so much with the cerebral. You have to get past the hunger most of the
time. A vampire is just as unique and complicated as the human they were
before. It’s what makes turning so unpredictable. You get a pansy, or you get
Tallis
. Roll of the soddin’ dice.”

“Have you ever
turned someone?”

“Minions, you
know, easy labor…mostly just found ‘em, though, picked up the new ones. They’re
easily controlled, but dumb as blocks. Usually, I had to do practically
everything myself if I wanted it done right. There’s a lesson in that.”

“Self-reliance.
Got it,” she said, nodding.

“You’re completely
bored, aren’t you?”

“No! Well, not
with talking to you…”

“But the energy
left this dive half an hour ago. Come on, kitten.”
 

He grabbed her
hand and led her toward the exit.
 
The
doors shut, cutting off the music, and she found herself backed to a pole and
being kissed.
 

“Better?” he
asked, once he finally released her to breathe.

“Uh-huh.”
 
Holy mama…

He smiled
knowingly and took her hand again.
 
“Let’s get out of here.”

The trek back to
the entrance took considerably longer than it should have, with him stopping
every couple minutes to kiss her senseless again.
 
They stopped at the coatroom to get her
cloak.
 
She bundled up while he called
their driver.
 
The door was opened for
her once the limo pulled up, though he stopped to talk to the driver before
getting in next to her.

William
immediately slid her closer.
 
“Mmm, where
were we?” he murmured, zeroing in on her lips again.

She dodged the
kiss.
 
“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere more
private,” he said, kissing her neck instead.

“Not the house?”

“Not yet…”

“William…”

He sighed and pulled
back to look at her.

“The contract
says—”

“I don’t care
about the bleedin’ contract—”

“Well, they’re
my
consequences!”
 
Sure, she didn’t plan on
being here in the morning, but she still needed to know where his motives
fell.
 
If he planned to use her and lose
her, this wasn’t going any further than making out.

“Catherine, I
already said I don’t want to turn you over—”

“That isn’t the
same as ‘won’t’. He’ll figure it out, and then it’ll be worse on me because he
can’t take it out on you. Tell me I’m wrong.”

He glanced
away.
 
“You’re not.”

“Betray my trust,
and you’re the first one I’m coming after when I’m dead,” she promised.

“Bossy thing,
aren’t you?”

“I’m serious,
William! God, you can be such a jerk.”
 
She moved to the far side of interior.

He grabbed her by
the hips and yanked her back.
 
“Now, hold
on!”
 
He grabbed her wrists and held them
to her lap so she’d stop fighting him.
 
“If you’d let me finish… I don’t want to see you with
Tallis
, and I won’t force you to go. I like you.”

“You like me.”

“Like being
challenged by you, dancing with you,
snogging
…yeah, I
like you.”

“Well, that’s
something.”

He let go of her
wrist and cupped her cheek.
 
“It really
is…”

The kiss was its
own dance.
 
She had enough of an answer
to relax and meet him halfway.

What naturally
happened after this would come in its own time tonight.

[“Sway” is the English
version of “¿
Quién
será
?”,
a 1953
mambo
song by
Mexican
composer and bandleader
Pablo
Beltrán
Ruiz
.
 
In 1954 the
English
lyrics were written by
Norman
Gimbel
and
recorded by
Dean Martin
.]

Chapter Six

Halloween night
continued…

It was a surprise
when the limousine came to a stop.
 
Catherine broke away from the kiss and looked out the windows.
 
“Where are we?” she asked.

The chauffeur
opened the door.
 
“Sir?”

William sighed and
slid out.
 
A bellhop was already on his
way out to retrieve any luggage.
 
When she
didn’t immediately follow William out, he bent down to see what was delaying
her.
 
“It’s just going to come off
again,” he said, referring to the lipstick she was reapplying.

“It’ll last as
long as we’re in public.”
 
She dropped
the tube and her compact in her purse and extended a free hand to the
vampire.
 
“Geeze, your hand is already
freezing!”

“It is a touch
chilly out here,” he mused.
 
“Shall we?”

Wow.
 

It was a
magnificent hotel.
 
Her satchel and a
garment bag were loaded onto a trolley.
 
They hurried inside out of the cold.
 
She tried not to gawk, and glanced around while William signed something
at the front desk and got the key.

“You have the
Royal Suite, Mr. Holbrook. Enjoy your stay.”

Holbrook?
 
“Is that your real name?” she whispered.

He wiggled his
brows.
 
“Could be. Come on. The lift is
this way.”

“You’ve been here
before?”

“Several times. My
maker and I had supper here quite often during the early ‘20s. Still looks
good.”

“By ‘supper’, you
mean…?”

“We ate here,
love. Interpret that as you will.”

The elevator
finally reached their floor.
 
She got
another surprise.

He smiled
smugly.
 
“The very best. We’re lucky it
was empty.”

The attendant
unlocked the room and opened the door for them.
 
He carried the bags somewhere inside.
 

William strolled
in like he owned the place.
 
She was
stunned.
 
The entrance hall had elegant
columns and antique furniture.
 
That was
only the beginning, of course.
 
There was
an enormous drawing room, with cream walls, sofas the color of holly berries,
and a grand piano.
 
The rug and other
upholstery had hints of gold to complement the red and rich wood tones.
 
Big windows with red velvet drapes looked out
onto the city.
 
A crystal chandelier hung
from the center of the ceiling.
 
There
were
houses
smaller than this, and
this was just a sitting room!
 
It even
had a fireplace.

He tipped the
young man and closed the door, then watched her explore.

“Good Lord, there’s
even a dining room. William, this is too much! I can’t even fathom how much
this place costs for one night.”

“It’s not the most
expensive room in the world. Just enjoy it. There’s even butler service. Come,
you haven’t seen the rest, yet.”
 
He took
her hand and led her into the bedroom.

A king-size canopy
bed had a red coverlet to continue the theme.
 
It was another large room, with sumptuously plush carpeting and more
elegant wood furniture.
 
The bathroom had
two sinks, a huge tub, and separate shower.
 
The fixtures were all in gold.
 
The rest was marble.

“I’m afraid to
touch anything,” she muttered.
 

He came up behind
her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
 
“Bath big enough for two. Bet they even included bubbles,” he murmured,
his breath tickling her ear.

She broke free and
strode back to the drawing room, stopping at one of the windows.
 
London
glittered below, the lights like jewels.

“Are you hungry?
We can order room service, put our feet up…get cozy…”

“You didn’t need
to do all…this.”

He sighed and
walked over to her.
 
“If it makes you
feel better, I cashed in a favor. We’re not breaking the bank.”
 
He reached around from behind and unclasped
her cloak, his fingertips trailing along her skin as he drew it away.
 
“There’s a beautiful room with a beautiful
view and excellent company waiting right here to be enjoyed, love. Relax.”
 
He dropped the cloak on the floor.
 
His hands slowly trailed up her arms.
 
“Live in the moment.”

She relaxed into
his chest as he lips trailed kisses down the side of her neck, her eyes
fluttering shut when his arms wrapped around her waist.
 
He could bite and drain her right now and
she’d be helpless to stop him.
 
She
almost wished he would, instead of whispering complements against her skin in
that hypnotic voice of his.

“Trying to seduce
me?” she whispered.

“Is it
working?”
 

She could hear the
grin in his voice, and smiled, still facing the window.
 
“Little bit.”

His teeth grazed
the tendon on the side of her neck.
 
“Hmm…what else can I do to convince you?”

She turned in his
arms and kissed him.
 
He hummed in
pleasure and pressed her against the window.
 
The corset was making it hard to take deep breaths, adding to the
dizzying effect of making out with someone who didn’t need air.
 
She took in great gulps of oxygen as he kissed
her neck again.
 
His hands were roaming
up and down her sides and back, mapping her curves.
 
Each time they slid back up, his thumbs
skimmed the underside of her breasts.

Her hands roamed
under his tuxedo jacket and loosened the tie around his neck.
 
She knew what he looked like, of course, from
walking in on him that day fresh from the shower, but her fingers itched to
feel his skin.
 
Learn if he was soft or
coarse.
 
She grabbed his face and brought
his mouth back to hers for an intense kiss, then broke away to take his
hand.
 
His brow furrowed in confusion
until he figured out she was leading him to the bedroom.

“Whatever are you
going to do with me, Miss Mitchell?” he asked playfully.

She winked.
 
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
 

She stopped by the
side of the bed and slipped her hands under his jacket, sliding it off his
shoulders.
 
It was tossed toward a
chair.
 
Her hands went to his belt buckle
next as she leaned forward to kiss him.
 
He tried to pull her closer but she slapped his hands away.
 
He moaned at suddenly feeling her warm hand
on his erection, then whimpered when she let go.
 

She grinned as she
pushed him backward.
 
“Sit,” she
commanded.

He arched a
brow.
 
“Now, what? Oh
god…
You
devious…little…minx!”
 

She chuckled
around him.

Feeling his
prominent erection against her belly in the other room, she’d suddenly
remembered her dream, the one about sucking him off.
 
And just as suddenly as she remembered, she
realized she really wanted to make that dream reality.
 
So, she’d unzipped his pants, pushed him onto
the bed, dropped to her knees, and taken him into her mouth as far as he’d
go.
 

He was panting and
moaning almost instantly.
 
“
God
,
pet…just like…you…fuck! Where did you learn that?”

She massaged the
spot behind his testicles, earning a growl and the thrust of his hips.
 
“Magazine,” she said, then dropped her head
again.
 
By the way his hands were
gripping and twisting the bedding, it wouldn’t be long.

“Kitten…gonna…don’t
have to…”
 
He shouted unintelligibly as
he came, briefly choking her.

She stayed in
place, swallowing down all he had to give.
 
It coated her throat, and she was really going to need a glass of water
after this.
 
Giving his dick a parting
kiss, she sat back and daintily wiped at the corners of her mouth.
 
He was breathing heavily; half slumped on the
bed, staring at her with a look of…awe?
 

She blushed.
 
“What?” she asked self-consciously.

“I never…
get up here
.”
 
He grabbed her shoulders and hauled her up
for a kiss, plunging his tongue in her mouth.
 
“You’re amazing.”

“I dreamed about
it once,” she confessed, blushing further.

“
Did
you
now? On who?”
 
The way she ducked her
head told him the answer.
 
“And when was
this, naughty girl?”

“Umm…last week?”

He chuckled and
brushed his nose against hers.
 
“Before,
or after you got a peek at my bits?”

“I didn’t peek!”

“You noticed the
towel was gone.”

“I didn’t have to
look
there
to see that,” she argued.

“Ah, so it was
before…and does reality measure
up
?”
 
He punctuated the last word with a thrust of his hips into her belly,
showing off he was hard again.

“I wasn’t taking
notes.”
 
She flicked his ear with her
tongue.
 
“It was more about making you
scream my name,” she added huskily.
 
In a
blink, she found herself on her back, their positions reversed.

“Oh, I think it’s
you who’ll be
screamin
’ before the night’s over,
love.”

“I’m not a
screamer. Didn’t make a peep when you scared me at the theater.”

“No one to mind
your decorum for, here, baby. We’re the only ones on this floor. And I’m a man
of many talents.”

“I’m sure you are,
but what makes you think I’ll be taking advantage of them?”

He grinned
wolfishly.
 
“Because, Catherine, I know
exactly
how hot I make you. I can practically taste you on the air right now. Gonna
lick your sweetness. All. Up.”

Okay, vampires
senses?
 
Eww.
 
William promising to make her come?
 
Guh!
 
He was right, of course.
 
She
was
all worked up.
 
But getting naked and
groin-y was a point of no return.
 
Even
now, she wasn’t sure she was ready for the main event.

Something of what
she was thinking must have shown upon her face, for his expression softened
into kindness and understanding.
 
“I
won’t make you do anything you don’t want to, Catherine. You have my word.”

She nodded,
unconsciously relaxing.
 
“Yeah…breathing’s becoming an issue.”

“Oh!”
 
He rolled up onto his feet.
 
“Sorry. Forgot.”

“It’s okay.”
 
She squirmed uncomfortably.
 
“Corsets are kinda evil.”

“I’m surely not
going to stop you if you want out of that dress.”
 

His tie and cuff
links were left on the dresser, his shoes and socks coming off next.
 
She watched him undress with a combination of
trepidation and hunger.
 
She chewed on
her lip while weighing the decision.
 
Finally, she asked, “Could you help me?”

He paused and
looked at her, his shirt unbuttoned.
 
“Tell me what to do.”

She stood and
turned around.
 
“Just, um, loosen the
laces in the back, here.”

He crossed the few
feet between them and scrutinized the lacing.
 
The bow had been double-knotted so it would stay tied.
 
His nimble fingers gently worked the bow
loose and slackened the ribbon through the eyes.
 
She sighed and slouched slightly now that the
dress was loose enough to take a full deep breath.

“Better?” he
softly asked.

“Much. Thank
you.”
 

She held the dress
up with her hand, turned her head to smile at him, then walked into the bathroom
to retrieve a complimentary robe.

A couple minutes
later, she came out in a white fluffy robe, the dress draped over her arm, went
over to the closet and carefully hung it up, caressing the beautiful beading a
final time before shutting the door.
 
Her
hair was still pinned up and she hadn’t removed her shoes, yet.
 

He coughed.
 
“Hungry?”
 

“Oh…yes,” she
said, relieved for a safe topic.
 
“I hope
there’s something normal on the menu.”

He shook his
head.
 
“Bloody Yanks,” he teased.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re
all cretins… I’d kill for a burger or pizza, just sayin’.”

“I think we can
let the diet slip, just this once.”

He started playing
with the entertainment center remote while she perused the menu, then called
room service.

“You want
anything?” she asked.
 
He shook his
head.
 
“Hi, I’d like to place an
order…the sirloin burger…cooked medium, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, no
pickle…fries, definitely…a diet Coke, and…a piece of the triple chocolate cake.
Uh-huh…twenty minutes? Thank you!”
 
She
checked the clock.
 
“I’m gonna really
enjoy this.”