The Circle (3 page)

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I woke to the pink light of dawn Friday morning, my thighs soaked with my own wetness. A tiny tremor of fear lingered in the pit of my stomach. What did he mean, “You’ll be mine”? Despite my unease, I considered going out with him. Maybe he could teach me something about passion that I could use to improve my writing before I dumped his controlling ass to the curb.

After showering, I headed into my bedroom to get dressed. In the middle of my white duvet sat a large black box with a white silk scarf tied into a bow at the top. My leg muscles cramped, and a scream brewed in my throat. My eyes darted around the room. Nothing else had been disturbed. The white area rug had no footprints other than the ones made earlier from my bare feet. My mahogany dresser still had a stack of books neatly arranged on the left edge, and the duvet on my king-sized bed had only one dent—beneath the black box.

I remembered locking the door, and I lived on the sixteenth floor, so the windows and terrace weren’t accessible.

Without looking at the card on top, I already knew who it would be from.

I inched toward the bed and craned my neck forward so I could see the card, but the puffy white bow obscured the writing. Knee propped on the edge of the mattress, I slid my fingers over the cardboard’s smooth surface expecting to feel vibrations or heat or something unsavory to leap out and scare the wits out of me. When nothing happened, I snatched the black envelope, jumped back, and scanned the room again.

Should I call the police? Probably. Did I want that bother on my peaceful Friday? Not really.

The same silver emblem from the business card appeared in the upper left corner of the glossy envelope. In white script, it said:
For my Katharine with a K.

My Katharine? My thighs tingled before I growled and shook myself. I had enough people trying to own me in my life. I didn’t need another. I concentrated on the pounding in my chest as adrenaline filled me from head to toe in a dizzying rush. I sat down on the edge of my bed and stared at the envelope.

After a deep breath, I broke the red wax seal, slid out the antique-looking heavy paper, and unfolded it.

To my dearest Katharine.

It pleases me to see you opening your mind to the truth.

I will be there to retrieve you this evening at eight o’clock, when I will find you wearing the dress with which I have gifted you. You will wear your hair up, all of it, and you will be free of jewelry and perfume.

Anger welled up in me. I crumpled the note and threw it on the floor. He was as bad as my mother, trying to force me to wear what he wanted, not giving me an option to stay or to go. Maybe I was wrong. To hell with him.

I stared down at the ball of paper, my curiosity urging my hand to reach for it. After a moment’s hesitation, I gave in and picked it up.

If you think you have found true pleasure through your own hands, then I shall change your thinking. Be ready when I arrive to claim you, and speak of me to no one.

My vision wavered. The red walls paled to gray as I considered how he could have known what I’d done in the bathroom that day. Had he been in the room with me? I swallowed at the path my thoughts took. Was he really in my head? Was he really a vampire?

Glance darting around, I imagined him looking at me at that moment, wrapped in a towel and completely vulnerable, and bolted from the room.

Chapter Three

After pulling on some panties from the dryer, I paced in my living room, clutching my towel to my chest and wringing my hands together. “I’m just tired.” I forced breaths through my nose so I wouldn’t hyperventilate. “Devin is not a fucking vampire. He’s just screwing with me.” Besides, vampires needed to be invited in. Didn’t they? It didn’t matter who or what he was. He’d still let himself into my apartment while I showered.

“Do not fear me, my Katharine. Embrace me.”

His voice flitted through my head in velvet tones, stroking me from the inside and siphoning away my unease. I closed my eyes. His fierce presence overwhelmed me and left me panting on the middle of the hardwood with my arms wrapped around myself. My thong dampened. I let down my resistance and relaxed my thoughts so he could penetrate me deeper.

With each step, the mere brush of my silk panties against my lower lips caused me to inhale. “
Who are you?”

“I am a door you must open if you want to be free. Be ready when I come for you.”

When my heart calmed, I returned to my bedroom and to his gift.

The ribbon fell away with a tug on the bow. I lifted the lid and folded back the red tissue. Though it should have, it didn’t surprise me when I withdrew the white dress from my dream. The one with the slits up the sides. I brought it to my nose, inhaled his scent, and shuddered under the sudden rush of endorphins.

He’d find me anywhere I tried to hide, through locked doors, around the world if I went. Somehow I knew it. I liked it, the uncertainty of it all. My life had been handed to me with a schedule attached, and I’d followed it like a blind sheep in Mother’s shadow. For the first time, I wanted to run wild, to do something exciting.

“I’ll be ready.”

Dark laughter. “
Yes, you will.”

As the morning wore on, my nerves failed. In need of a distraction, I donned my running gear and went down to the street. The sultry July sun warmed me as I ran. The scent of cut grass and wildflowers perfumed the air as my feet pounded the pavement along the trail through Central Park. From there, I continued on to the high school track and ran laps until I collapsed on the grass with quivering calf muscles and aching feet. After a few minutes to catch my breath, I headed home with a clenched stomach and whirling thoughts.

I spent an hour in a bubble-filled tub, shaving everything below the neck that could be shaved, while my mind spun fantasies of what my date might do to me. Would it be too slutty of me to sleep with Devin on our first date? Did I care? My negative answer startled me. If the opportunity presented itself, I’d probably jump on it.

My heart thumped as I wound hot rollers into my hair and searched online for anything I could find about Devin of Cornet. A half hour of research revealed nothing, not even confirmation that the address on the business card existed—if that was even where he intended to take me.

By seven o’clock, my dark mahogany hair sat atop my head in a mass of curls. A few spirals dangled along my temples and down my neck. Unable to eat or sit still, I busied myself tidying my already immaculate kitchen, arranging the flowers in the window and the pictures along the mantel, and digging through my shoes to find ones that would match the revealing dress.

At seven-thirty, I rolled on my stockings and fastened them to my white lace garters, chose my favorite white thong from my top drawer, and slipped it over top. I didn’t need a bra with the corset style of the dress, not that I had a white strapless one anyway.

Fully dressed, I stood in front of the mirror, cringing at the amount of boob pillowing over the top of the bodice. A search through my closet led me to a black wrap I applied around my shoulders.

My black strappy heels tapped against the hardwood as I strutted into the living room to wait for Devin, my hips sashaying with the motion. Each step revealed the lacy top of my stockings through the slits. I’d never worn anything that dipped so far into the realm of slut, but, by the warmth building between my legs, I thought maybe I liked that, too.

I checked my purse fifteen times to make sure I’d put my lip gloss, toothbrush and wallet inside, along with a spare pair of panties—just in case the night went better than I expected.

“I knew I chose well with that dress.”

I screamed. My black beaded handbag flew out of my hand and clacked to the floor by the wall.

Devin leaned his shoulder against the main entrance door, his legs crossed at the ankle, hands shoved into his pockets as if he’d been standing there for a while. The black suit he wore hugged him to perfection, and the deep red shirt and matching silk tie brought out a crimson hue in his eyes.

“You scared the hell out of me.” I fanned myself with my hand and backed away. “I thought—shouldn’t I have to invite you in?” I hoped with all my might he’d laugh at my idiocy.

A grin worked his lips.

My heart sank.

He pushed away from the door and took slow deliberate steps toward me as his fingers straightened the cuffs of his jacket. “But, you did invite me, Katharine.”

I shook my head and continued to back up, maneuvering around the furniture as I reached each obstacle. “I think I would have remembered that.”

“What we do in dreams is binding. Last night, when I asked if you were ready to open yourself to me, you said yes. You welcomed me into your life, your home and—” His hungry gaze scanned me from toes to face. “—your body.”

In a blink, he stood before me, one hand pressed into the small of my back, the other at the nape of my neck. He sniffed at my throat, moaning as he pushed the wrap from my shoulders and dropped it to the floor.

I pressed my hands against his hard chest as a shiver raced through me. It took a moment for me to gather enough air to speak. “Oh, God, it’s true. You’re a vampire.”

His eyes turned hard and cold, piercing me through to my core. “Do not insult me. Vampires are vile creatures, bloodthirsty, unrefined.” He stroked my shoulder, his gaze following the path of his touch. “I am a true immortal—kill me and I shall be reborn. True, we crave blood like our more primitive cousins, but we’ve evolved to crave other…delicacies.” The last of his words sank into my body and traveled down to the hot spring between my thighs.

I sighed, molded my body to his, and pressed my cheek against his smoothly shaven one. “Can you take sunlight? Is that how you got the package into my apartment during the day?”

He jerked me against him, drawing a yelp from me and erasing the question from my thoughts. “Remove your necklace.”

“Why?” The word came out as a breathy whisper.

“Because I said so. What is it made from?”

“Wh-white gold. Why does it matter?” Was he worried about silver?

Gaze locked on mine, his fingers slipped along the sides of my throat in a delicate caress, leaving trails of heat in their wake. My necklace fell slack, and he caught it before it dropped into my cleavage, his knuckles brushing my breast.

My nipples hardened and pushed against the fabric. “Where are you taking me tonight?”

He placed a finger over my glossed lips, parting them a little as it slid along the slippery surface. “Hush. You’ll find out in due time.” His hands dropped and played along the slits in my dress while I trembled with need. “You must leave the panties behind.”

I swallowed. “I’m not going out without under—”

“Take them off.” A growl purred in his throat. “Or I’ll take them off for you. You must trust that I know what I’m doing. Now question me no further.” His lips glided across my shoulder and returned to my ear. “Do you wish to taste the sweetness of forbidden fruit, or do you not?”

My brow furrowed. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Yet you want to, don’t you, Katharine with a K?”

I hated it, but I did. Through a sigh, I said, “Turn around.”

Devin stepped back and leaned against the arm of the sofa, but his gaze never left me. “If you delay much longer, the gates will be locked, and I’ll be forced to return you to your life as you are, ignorant of your own body.”

I glared and turned my back to him, talking myself out of throwing something at his smug face. Cursing under my breath, I reached under the front of my skirt and slipped the panties down my legs, stepped out of them, and balled them into my hand.

His arms came from behind, and his hand wrapped around mine. He pulled the cloth from my fingers. “Already wet.” His lips brushed the downy hairs at the back of my neck.

I shuddered, and my knees weakened under my weight. His arms slipped around my waist and held me upright, a bewildering power passing through his body into mine. “That’s my girl. Now, come, I have much to teach you.”

Devin wove my arm through his and led me out the door. I stumbled along beside him, drunk on the overwhelming energy radiating from him. What was I doing? I was letting an immortal take me to God knows where. Was I insane?

I slowed, but his hand clamped over mine and tugged me along. “Please, tell me where we’re going.”

The elevator stood open as if it waited for us to arrive. We stepped inside the mirrored car, and it descended without either of us pushing a button. Devin swung me and, with his fingers intertwined with mine, shoved me against the back wall so hard little white fairies danced in my vision. “I’ll take you wherever I please, and you’ll come. Won’t you, Katharine?”

My name rolling from his tongue made my breath catch. His lips hovered teasingly close to mine, and his eyes flickered as if they’d burst into flame at any moment. I blinked. “Wh-what did you say?”

A heart-stopping smile spread across his face, and he released his hold on me. “You want me, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Then does it truly matter where I take you?”

“No. Not really.” The words whispered from my lips.

I fisted my hands in his collar and tugged to bring him closer, but he resisted and moved away. The farther he went, the greater the ache in my abdomen grew, as if he’d formed a link directly to my pussy and teased me from afar. I rubbed my stomach and begged him with my eyes. “Why won’t you kiss me?”

He leaned against the wall and devoured me with his stare. “Because you want me to.”

The doors opened. Devin held his hand out, and I took it without hesitation. We walked into the damp summer night and climbed into a shining black limousine. A small voice shouted at me from the recesses of my mind, but I didn’t want to hear the warning. My desire had grown to explosive levels, and I couldn’t bear to let anything stand in my way of getting what I needed. I wondered if that was how addiction felt before the thought slipped my mind again.

Instead of sitting beside me, Devin sat in the opposite seat, facing me.

I held my knees together and pondered his rejection. Did the dress not look as he’d expected? I considered sniffing my underarms to see if my deodorant had failed, but he didn’t look away for a moment to give me the chance.

“Don’t look so forlorn, my Katharine. I sit here because there are things you must know and I don’t want to distract you right now.”

Relief removed the claws from my chest so I could breathe.

He shifted forward in his seat with a grin. “We don’t have long before we’ll arrive at The Circle.”

“The Circle?” My eyes flew wide, and my fingers dug into the leather upholstery beside me. “Are you saying you’re taking me to meet more…immortals? More like you?”

He nodded, leaned back, and spread his arms along the top of the seat on either side of him.

I rewet my dry lips and tried to swallow past the Sahara Desert my throat had become. “Are you Raymond from my book?”

His head tipped back, and a laugh rumbled out. “I think, rather, he is me.”

I stared out the window in a daze, watched the lights of the city blur past. “But that would mean I met you before I wrote the books.” I shook my head and looked at him again. “I would have remembered.”

“Unless I didn’t want you to.” He took a deep breath and clasped his fingers behind his head then settled down in the seat. “We met ten years ago in Grimm’s Bookstore on a Sunday afternoon. We both reached for a copy of
The Long Walk
at the same time. When our fingers touched, I knew you were the one I’d been searching for, but you weren’t yet ready for me.”

I rubbed my temples, my brain on the verge of implosion. “So… you stole my memory? And what do you mean about searching for me?”

“I blocked your memory, yes.” He sat forward, adjusting his tie at his throat. “For each immortal, only a few mortal souls are compatible mates, from which both mortal and immortal can achieve a higher state of being. When we’re eventually bonded, we’ll share unimaginable experiences and pleasure, mind, body and soul.”

“Bonded? What do you mean?” Although a tinge of terror lit up in my head, the thought of being tied to such a powerful man intrigued me.

“Would you like a small taste of what we can be together?”

I swallowed and nodded, finding no air to speak.

The world tilted and spun. I landed on my back on the seat with Devin on top of me. His lips crushed down on mine. Nothing else existed. His cool mouth. His lips, soft and insistent. His tongue wet as it darted out to find mine. He turned my body into a live wire, and he was the energy source.

“You feel the pull as I do, my Katharine. I see it in your eyes.” His fierce gaze locked onto mine, a tiny smile on his lips. The certainty in his voice startled me. “Do not fear me. After tonight, I hope you will understand better what I offer you.”

With his hands on my waist to steady me, I sat up with a smile stretching my lips wide, lost in a white fog of ecstasy.

“Listen closely to me now.” Devin gripped my chin in his fingers and angled my face toward his. “It will be obvious which of the guests are immortals and which are not. You are my submissive and must act as such. Do not raise your eyes to anyone.”