The Better to Eat You With: The Red Journals (22 page)

“Are you
saying you think I bewitched him?” I laughed in disbelief. I couldn’t believe
it. Seriously. Could not. Believe it! Des glared down at me from her lofty
height, her gaze narrowed down her nose, but she didn’t answer. “Do you have
any
idea how antique that sounds? What, are you stuck in the middle-ages or
something? A male couldn’t possibly find a red-head enticing simply for the
fact that she’s all woman and not partially
male
? No-o-o she’s a witch!”
I shot to my feet, blood pressure rising as I shoved my phone back into my
pocket.

“Not a
witch.” Des’s smile was pure malice. “A Vampire. No better than a blood whore. All
you have to do is flutter those sparkling eyes, and he’s all but a slave,” she
hissed, and I felt my temper spike from smoldering spite to fiery bitch in an
instant.

“Well, if
I did mesmerize him, it wasn’t hard. Not if all Were-females look like you!”

Her right
hand shot out of nowhere. Pain exploded in my cheek, and my head snapped around
to absorb the blow.

“Bitch!” she
jeered, as I tongued the bloody flesh inside my cheek.

I glared
at her. “Truth hurt? Or is it that you’re the more effeminate of the males in
your pack?”

Boom!
Her left hook caught me on the other
cheek, and I actually stumbled. I laughed. This was too ridiculous to
not
be
funny.

“Dude,
you punch like a girl,” I said, rubbing my cheek, glancing at the few people
watching us with surprised murmurs of concern.

“That’s
because I am a girl, bitch.” Her face was twisted in a leer that did not
improve her looks a bit. If anything, she looked like a caricature of masculine
femininity.

Now
there’s a poster child if ever I saw one.

“Really?”
I asked, eyes wide in surprise as a deep, angry red rode up her throat, cheeks
and forehead. “Wow. Jeepers. How embarrassing. I thought you were a dude.” I
snickered. “My bad.”

Des
launched herself at me with a howl of rage, and for the second time that week,
I felt like I’d been hit by a two-ton truck. We sprawled onto the marble foyer
floor, kicking, punching and screeching at each other like banshees. My right
hand was numb from the jarring impact of marble on my elbow when we’d landed,
but it didn’t stop me from popping her a good one in the nose to get her off
me.

As I
scrambled for my feet, her leg shot out, catching my ankle and taking me down. Only
it didn’t go as planned, as all I did was land on her, elbow-dropping her gut
and having the satisfaction of hearing her breath whoosh from her. While she
fought for breath, I hopped to my knees, bitch-slapped her onto her back, and
then elbow dropped her again.

Her punch
to my cheek sent me flying.
Jeezus, what she got? Boulders for fists?
While I was trying to shake off the stars, she crawled to her feet, stomped
over to me, and drew her leg back. The first kick to my ribs was agony. The
second basically made it impossible to breathe. By the third, I was bloody
livid.

I grabbed
Des’s foot as she swung it, absorbing the blow, and twisting away from her,
taking the foot with me, forcing her to kneel on me or break an ankle. She
yelped in surprise, but I kept rolling until I was on my back again, and she was
sprawled over me, clawing at my arms to let her go. I bucked as the scent of my
blood filled the air, kicking up my legs and hooking the back of my knee around
her throat, locking my ankle on my other leg. I yanked her back, keeping hold
of her leg, making her spine bow.

Her claws
raked me, and I locked one arm around her leg so I could pummel her side with
my free fist, screaming, “Attack me, you bitch? I’ll fucking beat your face
into your arse!”

While she
screamed back, “Bring it, you cross-breed whore!”

Suddenly
I was being jerked off the floor by my scruff, but I didn’t get a chance to see
who had grabbed me before Des darted up, spun and lunged. Automatically, I
rammed my hand forward, the heel of my palm intended for the middle of her
face.

Only it
never got there.

Vince
appeared from nowhere and took the hit to his larynx—dropping like a stone and
gasping for breath. Des and I gaped down at him.
He must have been the one
who grabbed me off the floor.
This was his fault. I won’t take the blame
for this. I won’t. Dammit, this was his fault!

Des’s
gaze swung up to me, and pure hatred burned in her gaze. I barely had time to
exclaim, “Shit!” before she lunged for me, lifting me off my feet with the
force of a battering ram  and slamming my spine down onto the marble floor. Something
cracked, and I screamed in fury even as the wound re-knit.

Grabbing
fistfuls of her hair, I repeatedly smacked Des’s face into the floor, marring
the pale marble with bright splatters of blood. I yelled at her with each punctuated
smack, “If you broke my fucking phone, bitch, I’ma break your man-face ‘til its
unrecog-fucking-nizable!”

“Red!”
Coffee, anise and ice wrapped around me, thick and enticing as big, white-hot
hands yanked me off the floor. I dragged Des a good five feet before Vince
managed to get my fingers out of her hair. I smiled evilly at the chunks of
chestnut strands in my palms.

“What the
hell is going on here?” Vince snapped at Des, roughly tilting her head up to
him so he could look at her mangled face.

My smile
grew, and I knew it didn’t look pretty because I could taste the blood on my
gums. She didn’t answer him though. Just gritted her teeth until her jaw bulged—also
not a pretty sight with all that blood.

“Red?”
Felix spun me to face him, and I stared belligerently up at him. “What
happened?” He asked, his thumb lightly brushing over a swollen cheekbone.

“Just a
difference of opinion,” I replied softly, the heat emanating off him enough to
make me want to snuggle right into him.

“She
should be dead, Vince,” Des snarled, and I almost laughed from how nasal she
sounded.

“Enough,
Des,” the Alpha replied, forcing her to hold the ridge of her broken nose.

“She’s an
abomination. She needs to die!”

Fuck
it.
I laughed.

“Enough!”
Vincent bellowed, the word echoing through the silent foyer. His face was
fierce, uncompromising, and utterly unforgiving. Des’s gaze dropped to the
floor, even if her chin didn’t, elevated for that broken nose. Power lashed my
senses, scented with sunshine and sea salt, burning across every wolf instinct
in me. For a moment, all I wanted to do was drop to my knees and meekly rub
against his leg. I grimaced.

Never
going to happen.

Suddenly,
the thumping beat of Nelly Fertado’s ”Maneater” rang through the air, and I
snickered as I dug my phone from my pocket, pleased to see it was undamaged. Jade
was calling me back.

I looked
up at Des, and scowled. “You’re so-o-o lucky.”

“You
won’t be when I get my claws—“

“Hold
please.” I held up a finger, already turning away and answering the phone. “Jade!”
I beamed, wandering away from the sounds of Des snapping and snarling behind
me.

“Hey, chic!
What’s up? You getting a cold?” Jade’s voice was lightly accented and husky
rich. A purr from the panther-Shifter she was.

“Ha! No.
But thanks for calling back.” I took a breath. “I have a favor to ask.”

A moment's
silence. “Oh really?” She rolled the R, elongating it. “After the debt you
still have to pay? Tut tut, Red.”

I
grinned. “That’s pleasure. This is work.”

“You’re
hunting? Where to?”

“Closer
than you think.”

Another
beat of silence, then a sucked in breath. “Chicago? Aw shit, chic! Why haven’t
you dropped by yet?”

I
laughed. “That’s exactly what I was planning to do.”

“I’ll put
your name on the list.” She continued, instantly.

“Plus one,”
I amended.

“Dry-hump
guy?”

“Um…” My
face flamed as I glanced at Felix and saw a dimple showing.

“I’m
going with you.” Vince’s deep gravelly voice shivered all the way down my spine,
causing Felix to give the Alpha a sharp look.

“Oooohhhh,
who
is
the sexy voice?” Jade piped with a sexy laugh, and Vincent
preened with a winning smile at me.
Damn wolf hearing.

I rolled
my eyes. “Make it plus two, and you’ll find out.”

“Deal.”

“Excellent.”

“Are they
up to par?” Jade asked, and I looked at the Vampire and the wolf.

Felix was
frowning at me as I took in his dark grey tee and torn-at-the-knee jeans, and
Vincent looked puzzled as my gaze swept his black muscle shirt and leather
pants.

Shit…

“Uh…I’ll
have them ready by tomorrow night.”

Jade
laughed again, all husky and rich. “You can come as you always do.”

“That’s
because I always look fabulous.” I grinned.

“Hell
yeah, you do!”

What
are best friends for?

“Tell
Fletch I got something for him to play with.” The suggestion in the tone of the
comment had Felix’s brows dipping even lower.
About time he started working
for it. I’ve been far too easy up until now.

“Oh,
he’ll love hearing that,” Jade replied wryly. “He can’t resist playing with the
things you give him.”

“Been
that way since his voice dropped,” I remarked.

“I think
you’ll find it was a fair bit before that, chic.”

I
laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Bring
your dancing shoes!” She laughed, and I hung up without answering that.

Like
hell is she going to get me to fulfill that damn bet with Felix and Vince with
me.
No bloody way.
I turned to the guys, instantly noting Des was gone, and beamed, bloody teeth
and all.

“Boys. I’m
going shopping!”

My
fingertips brushed the grain, traced a leaf, and trailed down a vine, smoothing
to the edges. My hands, oddly pale, the nails dark now, making me pause and
look at them…but I couldn’t hold the thought of why this would be strange to
me. I was pale anyway, though not this pale. Freckles decorated my skin
usually, a chaotic pattern of blemishes many considered cute. Now they were
gone, replaced by this milky white flawlessness.

I
looked back at the trunk, slid my fingers over the warm, familiar carvings, and
then gripped the edges to lift it open…

The
lid was heavier than I remembered, and I threw as much of my ethereal weight
against it as I could manage, but the lid didn’t budge. I went to my knees to
give myself leverage, and braced to push again.

“You
aren’t ready to see what’s inside.” The voice was male, deep, familiar. It made
my heart warm in my chest and wish for home. But not the home I had now. It
made me long for a cabin in the woods, with its stone hearth and threadbare
curtains.

I
stilled before the chest, letting my hands fall into my lap, feeling the
presence of the voice at my back, acutely aware of the warmth of it lapping
against my back.

“Who
are you?” I asked, but my voice was distant. Pure. Not my voice.

“You
aren’t ready to know that either,” the voice replied, wrapping me up in a big
blanket that smelled like pine needles.

I
looked at the chest, at the familiar iron and wood, and tried to remember what
I had put in it. But I couldn’t remember. All I knew was that something
important was inside, and in order to understand why I was here, I had to know
what that something was.

I
reached out my hands for the corners again, determined to open it.

The soft sound of my alarm
playing "Children" by Robert Miles woke me, and my body was sluggish
in responding to the mental command to turn it off. It wasn’t a bruised and
battered body that kept me from moving. No. Felix had seen to that when he
refused to leave until I drank his blood. After what happened last time, I
demanded he put it in a glass and downed it just to get him to leave. Then
followed it with a few bottles of vodka from the hotel room fridge.

That’s why I was feeling
sluggish.

I may have a fast
metabolism, thanks to being Immortal, but that didn’t mean the dehydration
didn’t leave me feeling like a twelve-hundred year old prune.

Dragging my ass from bed,
I headed back to the fridge, inanely surprised by the lack of pain that had
nearly taken me down last night when the adrenaline finally faded.
Fuck you,
very much, Des.
My back had hunched due to the crack in it, my elbow was
the size of a melon, my face just…well…not even
I
had
recognized
my face when I finally saw it. And as I couldn’t go see Jade looking like a
zombie-reject, I had capitulated and taken the magical healing brew that was
Felix’s life force.

Blah.

Grabbing a bottle of water
and popping the top, I downed the contents, and instantly felt myself plumping
back up again. After the third bottle of water, I headed for the shower. Rinsing
away any last remaining trace of my scrap with Des was exactly what I needed,
especially after a late night staying up to shop on line for our outfits because
the shops hadn’t been open. Not that it was a hardship. Both men had left their
credit cards with me, refusing to let me pay for anything, and the unlimited
cash flow allowed me to have the outfits delivered within the next eighteen
hours. So I’d stayed up late drinking hazelnut coffee to counter the vodka, and
eating tiramisu simply because it’s yummy.

Vincent still didn’t like
the idea of being dressed, grumbling and growling that any club that had a
dress code wasn’t his kind of club. I’d told him to pull on his big girl pants
and get over it. One night out of his comfort zone wouldn’t kill him. Felix had
laughed, and hadn’t batted an eyelid about my dressing him. In fact, the
prospect seemed to both please and amuse him in equal measure. My lips curved
as I stepped into the hot spray, recalling the seductive little glint in his
eyes when he had offered himself to me.

Shivers ran through me. Hot,
decadent waves of want.

I sighed.
Definitely
still aching, but not the dehydration kind.

Between that delicious
hulk of blonde surfer Alpha and the lean sensual enticement of the dark-haired Vampire,
my body was in sensation overload, and ready to put out regardless of what my
brain or heart might think. It wanted and it wanted bad.

I could feel it in the tension-ache
in my thighs, in the irritation running through my mind, the slight tremble in
my hands. That orgasm on the plane with Felix and that naughty foot massage
from Vince had only amped up my hormones and shot to hell the brakes I’d put on
my sex drive the last few centuries. I couldn’t go out with them to Jade’s club—a
club that offered only the finest pleasures for its select clientele.

Damn. This could cause
an issue in the field.

Time to take care of my
own business. Even if only to take the edge off. I had an hour before I was to
meet them in the foyer. I could get my head back on straight and my body back
under control by then…right?

Think my inner voice
just snorted.

Leaning back into the
corner of the stall, I propped a foot up on the ledge and closed my eyes. Instantly,
the image of Vince kneeling between my thighs came to mind, his smile wicked,
his blue eyes gleaming hot, his hair curling damp around his glistening neck
and shoulders.

My eyes flew open.
Blimey
,
I thought breathlessly,
that was vivid.

Bracing myself, I closed
my eyes again, sliding a hand down my belly. The images were still vivid —shockingly
accurate in detail. From the hot slide of Felix’s hands on my breasts, the
rough rasp of Vince’s stubble on my inner thighs, the smoldering chest pressed
to my spine, to the strong swipe of a tongue through my most sensitive parts.

Sweet Jesus on a
pogo-stick, the real thing might just kill me
.

Even as my fingers rolled
through my folds and circled my clit, it was the tantalizing rub of Vince’s
tongue I felt, working me over and delving deep, spreading me open for greater
access and making me moan loud and long as he suckled right where I needed him.
Felix’s white-hot touch slid over my ribs and up to my breast, cupping the
weight and plucking the nipple, rolling it until my hips undulated to mimic the
movement. His chest was a molten brand on my spine, my imagination leaving no
room for chilled tiles. Even the echo of his lips brushing the curve of my
shoulder added to the swamping wave of sensation I was fantasizing about. I
rubbed harder, delved deeper, heightened the feel of sun-kissed stubble and the
golden hue of Alpha skin, amplifying the heat of roughened hands and hot breath
and soft lips.

“Ohhhnnnnn….
Jeepers
….”

Glorious sensation,
however imagined, was enough to bring me to the edge and throw me over. The
climax was swift and heady, and only mildly satisfying, but it did take the
edge off. I was prepped for another day of resisting sexy Immortals, though a
part of me knew neither of them was going to make it easy. Sighing again,
tasting the thick aroma of my own arousal amidst the hot, damp air of the
bathroom, I turned off the shower and stepped out. Wrapping myself in the big
terry-cloth robe again, I swiped a hand over the mirror and considered what to
do with myself.

I toweled my hair, dried
it sleek and smooth, and styled it back into a high ponytail, letting it fall
straight and glossy between my shoulder blades. Considering my small supply of
make-up, I went with a simple classic, giving myself a smoky cat’s eye effect
all around. The soft teal of my eyes became sharper and more vibrant against
the black and a splash of turquoise I used, tipping it off with a slight
dusting of silver at the tear ducts. My cheeks took a light sweeping of blush,
and my lips a nude gloss. The effect was quite striking, and satisfied, I
headed into the main room to change into my outfit.

Simple black satin panties
and matching push-up bra were the starting points. A low cut plain white blouse
that flowed with my curves was then tucked into a simple grey pleated skirt
that barely covered my backside. Thigh-high white stocking socks with a silver
bows at the top came next, followed by a single-button, fitted black blazer
with a little silver kerchief in the pocket. It was naughty, sexy and very,
very
me.

The piece de resistance was,
of course, the shoes, and what beautiful shoes they were. Ostensibly, they were
just Jimmy Choo Mary Janes, but really they were
sex
styled to look like
patent black pumps with a twist. The heel was four and half inches high, but
with a platform of one and half, it was really just like walking in three inch
heels. The heel was also a thick spike to make balance easier, and made my
diminutive height less noticeable. In fact, as I slipped them on and swaggered
over to the mirror, paired with the white stockings and short skirt, they made
my legs look like they’d go on forever.

Not a bad way to spend
fifteen hundred dollars. Hehehehe.

I leaned
back on the elevator railing as the door slid shut, and stared at my
reflection, my hands sitting lightly in my blazer pockets. My black feather and
silver chain earrings brushed the sides of my neck, and my silver bracelets
gleamed in the overhead light. A fine black ribbon choker adorned my neck, both
simple and provocative to any Vampire whose eye I might catch. But as my
thoughts wandered to my earlier shower, I knew there was only one Vampire I
wanted.

Removing
my hand from my pocket, I flared my fingers and inspected my nails. Only the
tips were painted the dark purple color I’d chosen, the rest were merely done
in a shiny clear coat. The tips were long and oval, imitating claws, which I
knew from experience, wolves were attracted to, making them think of being
raked in the heat of the moment. Vince flashed across my mind, his back muscles
rippling as my own claws dragged red lines across his golden skin.

I
shivered. God
damn
.
So much for taking the edge off.
If anything,
taking care of business and using those two as material had been a monumental
disaster. Things were
worse
and it had only been forty-five minutes.
What
will it be like by this time tomorrow?
I cringed.
I so-o-o don’t want to
know.

The
elevator doors swished open, and I strode onto the marble foyer, my Jimmy
Choo’s authoritatively clicking as I walked. As my gaze swept the small
clusters of people, it took me a moment to recognize Felix and Vincent, despite
the fact that I had picked out their clothes for the evening. When I did
finally did spot them, my brows rose and my lips curved in appreciation.
Hot
damn!

For Felix
I’d chosen a charcoal colored three-piece suit with a fine silver pinstripe
running through it all. Paired with a crisp white shirt and brilliant red tie
that contrasted beautifully with his eyes and leather loafers set it all off.
I’d also acquired a plain black fedora on instinct, and damn didn’t he look
good in it all. He’d taken my fabulous taste and put his own twist to it;
rolling the sleeves up to the elbow to showcase his delicious forearms,
slinging the jacket over one shoulder. The fedora sat back on his head until
the front brim was pointing up along with his swept back hair, giving him an
Artful Dodger style that just smacked of playful wickedness.

Vincent,
by comparison, looked positively decadent; the very essence of
old-money-never-worked-a-day-in-my-life. I’d gone for something that would
enhance that astonishing height and amazing breadth of his shoulders, and
woo
didn’t it make me a little hot under the collar. His blond locks were swept
back and curling at the nape of his open-collared white shirt, the little v
showcasing sun-kissed skin and a dusting of blond chest hair. Over that he wore
a pale grey, two piece suit that shimmered ever so slightly when he moved,
giving the effect of fine silk threads interwoven with the cotton. The jacket
was long, flowing to his knees and drawing attention to the sharp line of his
slacks and patent effect loafers.

As both
men’s eyes lifted and found me, I felt the flush of heat from their gazes
raking me from head to toe and back again. The delicious scent of anise and
ice, sunshine and sea salt, prickled the air and intensified as I drew near,
enveloping me until it felt like I’d never had a shower at all. Naughty but
luscious images of them and me flashed like wildfire through my mind, a
kaleidoscope of sensation, longing and need. I saw Vince’s nostrils flare
first, and then Felix’s in quick succession. They could scent my desire, and
hell if it didn’t make me blush all the more. Not from embarrassment, but from
want. I wanted. Still wanted. Bad!

I halted
before them with a saucy smile. “Hot damn, gentlemen.” I fanned my flushed
cheeks. “You two make up enough eye candy to excite a sadistic dentist!”