Starved For Love (6 page)

Chapter Eight

I stood in front of my full-length mirror and stared at the minx in the reflection. My short curls were pinned into a semblance of a French twist with a few left artfully free. Adele had done my make-up and the dark, smoky eye shadow brought out the blue in my eyes. It made me seem older and more serious. The black silk dress Rose chose oozed around my curves, outlining every inch of my body. The spaghetti straps didn’t offer any support and both my sisters threatened to burn all my bras if I wore one tonight. The loving bitches had transformed me into a sex goddess.

They sat on my bed, a pile of discarded outfits on the mattress behind them. Someone sniffed.

“Rose, you promised no crying. If you start, then I will, and then Adele will have to redo my make-up.” I pulled on the straps to hide some cleavage.

“It’s not me.” She came from behind and tugged on the short hem of the dress, exposing the flesh again.

I glimpsed Adele wiping her eyes, a small sob escaping her. “Del?” I twisted around.

Tears had smeared her mascara. She held me at arm’s length. “Our baby sister is going on her first real date.” She squeezed my shoulders. “Maybe you shouldn’t give it up tonight. Make him wait a little.”

“Are you crazy?” Rose pushed Adele away. “You take him to bed and make him beg for mercy.”

My dread returned. I wanted to make my family proud but would this courtship cost me my happiness? I could end up trapped in a loveless marriage if I wasn’t careful. “This isn’t helping.” I tried to storm from my room but the black strappy stilettos made it hard. I wobbled to the door instead. This was why I wore wedges. “Can’t I wear a different pair of shoes?”

As one they turned. “No.”

I descended the two flights of stairs, taking each step with care and repeating Sin’s last piece of advice—
tact and grace, tact and grace
.

Hoel, escorted by my dad, came from the study. Neither appeared thrilled at my arrival.

I pressed a kiss to my father’s cheek and looked around the empty foyer. My sisters and mothers hadn’t followed. The cowards.

My dad leaned by my ear and whispered. “You can change your mind any time.”

A breath hitched in my chest. He was the one who understood me the most. After Pierre had dumped me, my birth mother had told me that my father had once fallen in love with a mortal woman, long before he met any of them. Of all of my parents, he knew how much heartbreak hurt. Unlike him, I hadn’t had the strength to survive it. I nodded and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. Offering him a crooked smile, I nodded, then followed Hoel out to his car. The night had warmed from this afternoon, a hint of Indian summer in the air.

He held open one of the rear doors, his gaze traveling along my curves. “Good thing you weren’t wearing that yesterday when I fed you or I’d be looking for a new job.”

“Thanks, I think.” What did that mean? I was still the same person inside no matter the dress and shoes I wore. It seemed men wanted me to be more like Rose and Adele, not like Pia.

I sat in the car and watched the city pass by through the window. What did Val want? He had rejected my sisters. Maybe letting them dress me wasn’t such a hot idea. I pulled at the straps of my dress and tucked some my cleavage back inside.

We pulled up to the front of Val’s building and Hoel helped me out—literally. He held my arms until I could find my balance on the stilts my sisters forced me to wear. His gaze kept wandering to my breasts.

I wished I’d brought a sweater. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to place you in such an awkward position. I need to find more suitors. It’s irresponsible of me to think three males should be enough.”

“Oh.” He scratched his chest and stared at his shoes. “No problem.” Then he chuckled. “It was a little awkward with your father afterward.”

I laughed. “It was his idea, so don’t worry about him. It’s our way. He’s just looking out for me. You did well.”

“I wanted to crawl in a hole.” He glanced up, a lock of golden hair hanging across his hooded eyes. “He made it very clear you’re his baby girl, but from where I stand you’re very much a woman.” He gave me a small bow and left me gaping on the sidewalk.

I shook my head and went inside, riding the elevator to Val’s hotel room.

The door was open when I arrived and I stood at the entrance. “Hello?” A clatter of pots responded to my greeting.

Val sauntered around the corner, a dish towel over his shoulder, the sleeves of his black shirt rolled to his elbows. His steps faltered as he saw me in the doorway. The crooked grin on his face froze as his gaze traveled from my face, tracing over my curves. My nipples hardened as if he’d caressed them and they pressed through the thin silk.

“Wow.” He cleared his throat and stared some more.

“Can I come in?” Like any warm-blooded woman, I loved it when a man made me feel beautiful, but Val looked starved and I was the only meal on the menu. I twirled a loose curl around my finger, not sure what to do with my hands since the dress lacked pockets.

“Please.” He gestured for me to follow and led me into the kitchen. “It’s taken me a little longer to cook than I’d thought. I hope you don’t mind the wait.” He stirred a cream sauce in a pan. “I promise it will taste superb.”

He cooked?

I leaned against the counter and tried to glimpse what was for dinner. None of my suitors had ever made me food. Hell, we’d never even shared a meal. Post-sex snacking didn’t count. “Can I help?”

“I’ve got it.” He tossed shrimp in the pan, then hurried to drain the pasta.

“I didn’t expect a meal.” I’d stuffed myself with cookies after the party since I’d been unable to eat under the weight of all the stares from our guests. To be honest, I’d been treating tonight as if I were visiting a suitor, not as a date, even though everyone kept using that word. I’d thought I be naked in his bed by now. What was I supposed to do?

“Don’t get used to it.” He laughed. “I only know how to make five things but I make them very well. I’m sure you’ll tire of eating them over and over again.”

I doubted it. Not if he cared enough to make it for me. I tried to smile but I ached inside. A broken heart was hard to mend. I’d placed a lot of bandages on mine but the wound still bled when poked the wrong way. “Do you cook for your wives?”

His grin turned sad for a moment, so fast I wasn’t sure I’d seen it. “When they had time for me.” He placed the food on a large plate and carried it to a table on the patio. Candles flickered in the soft breeze and he’d set a single rose at my seat.

I stared at it, my heart flip-flopping like a school girl’s. I had to get a grip. It was just a flower. Val wanted an alliance with my father. He wanted access to the city and the easiest way was through me. Or was it? He could easily have married one of my sisters. My head spun.

He pulled out my chair and helped me sit, then poured us some red wine before settling next to me, not across the table like most people would have.

I stared at the single plate he placed between us. Guess he wanted to share. “It smells wonderful.” My stomach decided to roar its agreement at that moment. I laughed and pressed my hand against it. “Um, I don’t have a fork.”

Grinning, he held one up in his hand then pulled it away as I reached for it.

“Tease.”

He twirled the fork in the pasta, blew on it and then offered it to me. “I want to feed you.”

“What?” I leaned away from the food and reconsidered the incubus next to me. The candlelight played over his black hair and brought out blue highlights. They complemented his eyes, which regarded me with amusement.

“I’m old-fashioned. When I was a younger male, an incubus had to prove to the succubus he wanted to mate that he’d take care of her.” He brought the fork closer. “Let me take care of you.”

It was so corny, I loved it. The gesture was simple yet I could understand how a succubus would fall for it. We were taken for granted by most males—a quick fuck, a one-night stand. Valerio Hunan was a dangerous predator and tonight, I wore prey’s shoes.

I opened my mouth and let him place the forkful inside. The taste of buttery heaven coated my tongue. I closed my eyes. He really could cook this dish well. “What else can you make?”

He chuckled. “You’ll find out.” And he offered me another bite. “I want to apologize for feeding from you.”

With a mouthful, I shook my head, unable to express myself. I didn’t appreciate him sucking my energy from my body but his touch had been well received.

“An incubus can live off vials but it’s always best right from the source. You can’t expect a hungry male not to nibble from the buffet table.” Using his thumb to wipe under my bottom lip, his sultry gaze centered on my mouth, he then sucked the sauce from his skin.

I watched, transfixed. I remembered how soft and skilled those lips were, envying his thumb. “I can understand being hungry.” My voice was so low I barely heard my own words. Shaking my head as if waking from a dream, I took another bite. Then what he’d said truly sank in. I never claimed intelligence, only good-naturedness and honesty. “You feed from vials?”

My sisters and I helped to feed my father by vials but Val had five wives, two more than my father.

He nodded and presented another forkful. “We’re a busy family. My wives have businesses around the world. Sometimes it’s the only option I have.”

“They don’t live with you?” I twisted in my chair and examined the hotel suite through the windows. Sterile. Clean. No personality or warmth. It wasn’t a home, just a place to stay.

“Not every family is like yours, Pia.”

Wow, no shit. And my sisters wanted me to marry into this one? I thought they loved me. I knew most families in my culture were cold but I hadn’t realized how sterile they could be as well. My moms cared for my dad and vice versa. Growing up with such a loving relationship as a role model ruined me. I wouldn’t accept anything less. This courtship was doomed before it started.

Sipping my wine, I peered at Val over the rim. He hid behind his confidence. My sister Adele did that. No wonder they didn’t click. Val liked me or I wouldn’t be sitting on his patio, especially after taking on my dad in public this afternoon. For this to succeed so my family could have the alliance they needed, I had to figure out if I could fit in his world.

Setting my glass down, I took the fork from his hand. “I think it’s time you stepped in the twenty-first century. A relationship has to flow both ways for it to work. I want you to take care of me.” I brought the fork to his mouth and smiled at his narrow-eyed expression. He didn’t like me taking control. “But I want to take care of you as well. Let me feed you.”

He laughed and rocked back in his chair. It was the first genuine glimpse I’d had of Val. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear and took a bite, never releasing his gaze from mine.

Facing him, I scooted closer until our knees touched. Electricity traveled over my skin. I liked the way he licked his lips after each bite and how his eyes traveled slowly over my face as if memorizing every detail. It sent nervous shivers down my spine.

“Speaking of my wives, they will be all in the city soon. They’d like to have lunch with you.”

My gut clenched and I struggled to keep my dinner down. What a way to kill the moment. “They want to meet me. So soon?” Being the youngest, I’d never experienced my father courting a prospective wife but I’d heard the stories. My non-birth mothers were pretty brutal to my birth mother at first. They’d wanted to make sure she’d fight for the position as third wife. I’d be number six for Val. That kind of sucked. “Um…can’t it wait? We’ve just met.”

“Scared?” He took the fork from my hand and gave me the last shrimp.

“Terrified.”

He grinned and cleared the table, leaving the wine glasses and the bottle.

I refilled the glasses, suppressing the urge to chug mine down. “I thought we’d have a few dates and see if we’re compatible before moving onto meeting the wives.” I gulped a mouthful of wine, hoping to settle the butterflies in my stomach.

Returning to his chair, he placed my knees between his and leaned forward. “Close your eyes and open your mouth.”

The scent of his mild aftershave filled my senses. Kissably close, I felt his words against my lips as he spoke. What had we been discussing?

I did as asked. Placing precious trust in a male I didn’t know.

A delicious morsel of mint chocolate was placed on my tongue. I let it melt, a perfect end to a perfect meal. Sighing, I leaned my forehead against his. “You’re very good at this.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad you think so. I feared I’d be rusty or too old.”

“You’re speaking to the succubus who keeps suitors. Old-fashioned
is
my middle name.” I caressed the cheek I’d slapped. A small dime-sized bruise had formed under his eye. “Why would you want to cook me dinner after I’d done this?” I pressed a soft kiss to the spot.

He leaned into my touch. “Why wouldn’t I? You have a good arm and I deserved it. It’s been a while since a female put me in my place.” Rubbing his nose against mine, he pulled me onto his lap. A little voice in the back of my head cheered for a repeat performance of yesterday. “It wasn’t until after the shock waves of your visit diminished that I realized you hadn’t intended to feed me. Until your father told me, I didn’t know you were untouched.”

He made me sound so innocent. I wasn’t. Sin had pictures to prove it.

“Yeah, that took me by surprise. I wish you hadn’t taken everything. You left me in a bit of a jam. With my lack of suitors in town, poor Hoel had to be creative.”

He stiffened in my arms. “You control the flow, Pia. Not me.
You
gave me everything.” Leaning away, a small frown formed on his lips. “I should have known you didn’t intend to give me such a gift.” His warm aura turned cold.

I bit my lip so it wouldn’t tremble. He thought I’d wanted to give all my hard-earned energy, was flattered by it. This was why he wanted to court me? What an idiot I’ve been. A little home-cooked meal, a piece of chocolate and I was ready to meet the wives. I slipped off his lap. “The slap should have given you a hint. I guess this was all a big misunderstanding.”