The Touch Series: Initiation (4 page)

BOOK: The Touch Series: Initiation
4.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

              “Quinn! What are you doing here?”

              “I needed to use the restroom and I got lost. The door was open and I couldn't help but check it out. Sorry.”

              He closed his eyes and shook his head as he grabbed my arms and pulled me out of the room and into the hall. But before he pulled me around the corner, I enthusiastically waved to Josef which made the group of men laugh. It was either very brave of me or super cheesy. Oh well.

              Artie pushed me back into the room with the girls and whispered, “Please, stay in here or Gwen will have your head!” I actually believed him. She stormed my way with blazing eyes. And Artie quickly left me to fend for myself. Pussy!

              She was suddenly right in front of me. “Where were you?!”

              “I got lost trying to find the restroom.” I gave her my best innocent voice and look as I looked down with a pout. “Sorry.”

              She looked up to the ceiling and took in a deep breathe and let it out. “What you do effects him which effects me. Please don't wander and get into trouble. Now, get back in your seat!”

              I slightly curtsied at her, letting her know that I truly did not intend to step over her again. I took my seat as did the rest of the girls when Gwen told them to.

              “You will each see Mr. Constane soon. Remember to not embarrass me.” Her eyes pierced me to my seat as she emphasised that last bit.  “And welcome to The Club.”

 

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                  ***

 

             

              The Club?
I assumed that's the
official
name. Very creative and doesn't give anything away. I tried to stop myself from laughing out loud which must have looked ridiculous as I noticed a few of the other girls looking at me with disapproving looks.

              Gwen came up to me out of nowhere and looked down below to me with a smirk plastered on her pore-free face. “Mr. Constane will see you first. I'm sure it's because he needs to reprimand you for what you did.” She pointed to a door on the other side of the room. As I got up from my seat, she was still looking at me. “Try not to get lost this time.” That awarded her a few giggles from the rest of the girls.
So, they do have a sense of humor!

              I made my way towards the door and opened it slowly. The room was completely different from the rooms I've seen so far. It was dark with very little lighting, mostly coming from a massive fireplace. There was a large window at one end of the room with a desk right in front of it. I stepped in further into the room to find Josef pouring himself a drink on the opposite side of the room. He was wearing black pants with a white button up top. White certainly looked good on him.

              That familiar feeling of warmth in my face suddenly came. He looked up and gestured me to sit on one of the arm chairs in the middle of the room. “Would you like a drink?”

              “No, thank you. I had some champagne earlier.” My voice couldn't sound more breathier.
Control yourself!

             
I looked around the room in hopes that by distracting myself I could resort back to a proper breathing pattern. But he quickly sat down opposite me after he poured himself a drink. He crossed his right leg over his left and took a slow sip from his glass as he looked at me. “How did you like my art collection?”

              A lot. But I think I like you more. “I'm very sorry about that. I know that we weren't supposed to wander around. I really did get lost trying to find the bathroom.” I looked down at my hands as I nodded my head. “But I liked it very much.”

              “Why do you look down? I want to see your face.” I heard a hint of amusement and curiosity in his voice. I slowly looked up to look at the ceiling and then slowly back at him. It was difficult. He was very intense. And I didn't like blushing around him. It made me feel childish.

              My eyes slowly began to look down his arm. “If you look down again you'll make me angry.” He was serious. His eyes were hard and his jaw was tense.

              “I'm sorry. It's a habit.”

              His face and eyes softened a bit. He must have noticed my unease and redness of the face. “Do you have any questions or concerns for me regarding the contract?”

              “Yes, I do actually.” I had to remember to always look at him but this topic was going to be extremely uncomfortable. “There is a part that was somewhat alarming to me.”

              “Alarming?” He cocked his head to the side with an eyebrow raised.

              Come to think of it,
alarming
is probably not even the right word for it. “Yes, the bit where it mentions the possibility of sex.” I couldn't have been more blunt if I tried.

              “What of it?” He looked indifferent and kept his cool composure as if he hadn't thought of it being inappropriate in any way; like it was the most normal thing in the world.

              I guessed my time in the Club was going to be over before it even had a chance to begin. “See, I was under the assumption that this was not that type of a group.”

              He raised his hand to silence me. “You're not a prostitute. Relax. I don't expect sex from any one of you. But in case something like that were to occur, I needed for a regulation of some sort to be stated in the contract. But I will never force it. It would have to be completely consensual between us.” He looked at me and then to my mouth. “Does that make you feel better, Miss Turner?”

              I nodded casually. “Yes, it does.” Not that I wouldn't want to with you. Though I've never been with a vampire before and I'm sure it's a different experience... “And it's Quinn.”

              He nodded slowly as he smiled. “Okay, Quinn.” His smile was sin-worthy. His mouth was perfectly shaped and he had a hint of dimples which made it better. “Anything else?”

              At that moment, I realized that I had been grinning like an idiot. I pursed my mouth slightly to stop. “What type of punishments exactly do you plan to use if we break a rule?”

              He was no longer smiling but his eyes were still warm. “Well, give me an example. Pick a rule that could be broken.”

              I was going to take the risk and tease him. “Okay, what if I touch you?”

              “Do you want to touch me?”

              “Ummm... I don't know... maybe?” How do I respond to such a question and not be honest?

              He put his glass down on a table next to him and used one of his hands to stroke his mouth and chin. I loved when he did that.

              “It's not that you can't touch me. It's that I will need to permit it.” All of a sudden a sinful grin spread across his mouth. “Now, Artie tells me that you are a good, respectable and innocent girl. How would you like to touch me, Quinn?”

              Good, he's teasing back. It makes up for the extreme heat I was feeling. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Well, I'm just saying that I might touch you accidentally or something –  Or you take advantage of my innocence and I just happen to comply.” I gave him a slight pout at that moment. “It's a genuine concern, Mr. Constane.”

              The grin stayed but his eyes showed me that he was surprised. I smiled again, this time for myself. “Okay, Quinn. We will have to just wait and see what happens. But in the mean time, you will not touch me. If you do, punishment can run from either you being restricted from attending a party or event to being put in solitary confinement for a day, away from any fun we have planned.” His voice was colder but I could still hear the amusement lingering.

              I shrugged my shoulders. “Oh, okay. I thought it would be something more drastic. Like a spanking or something.”

              He groaned as he closed his eyes for a few seconds. “I'm sure you would like that. But no, that's not my style.”

              “Oh. That's very gentlemanly of you, Mr. Constane.”

              He smiled as he took a sip from his glass.  He placed it down again, turned to me and sighed. “Anything else?”

              I shook my head. Unfortunately, I ran out of sassy remarks.

              “Before you leave we need to talk about the financial arrangement.” He picked up a check book and a pen that was on the table next to him. Was he going to pay me now? “I always pay half of what you want in advance and the rest will be given to you in weekly installments. What is the number?”

              I wanted to look down again. I hated talking about money and this made me feel like charity.

              He noticed my unease which prompted him to speak again, “You don't have to be embarrassed. I have more money than I need. I would rather help you than buy another car.” He was being kind but it was still difficult.

              “I need $7,000. I know it's a lot.” Yep, that's how much the new therapist would cost for Nicholas plus his other speech therapy courses.

              He shook his head as I spoke.“That's all that you want? There's nothing else? A designer bag? Vacation spot?”

              “No.”

              “Can I ask you what this is for?” He looked curious.

              “It's to pay for a trauma and speech therapist for my little brother. My parents are already dealing with a stack of bills from the psychiatrists he has been seeing for the past year. But there's this therapist across town who is widely acclaimed but he is very pricey. Plus, his current speech therapy program is expensive. I...I just want the best for him. The best help he can get.”

              He looked like he wanted to know more but he didn't press the issue. He looked down at his checkbook. “How about we include what your family already owes?”

              “I can't do that, Sir.”

              He suddenly looked exasperated. “Why?”

              “I just can't. And I would have a tough time explaining to them how I got thousands of dollars to pay off all those bills – out of nowhere!”

              He looked down and started writing on a check. “If you manage to stay long enough, I will write out more to you than what you currently want. And that's not a request. We could always compel your parents to not ask where you received the money from. Simple.”

              I didn't have anything to say. Sure, it would help my family but that would be too much. And frankly, this wasn't the right way to do it.

              He handed me a check for $3,500. It was difficult for me to even  hold. I had never received so much money at once like that before. I couldn't believe how easy it was.

              I looked up to see him watching me again with deep intensity. I wondered what he was thinking? I had forgotten that he was a vampire. Could he smell my blood?

              “Can I ask you something else, something personal?”

              A surprised look crossed his face, “Our talk about sex and kinky punishments wasn't personal?”

              I laughed before becoming serious again, “Us being human, does that bother you in any way?”

              He fell serious again, clearly thinking about his reply to my question. “Most of the time...no. Sometimes though, when someone has a strong scent it may. But I can reassure you that I have very good self-control. Better than most other vampires you'll ever meet.” He gave me a slight reassuring smile at the end. “Any other questions?”

              “Was Dracula an actual vampire?” I leaned in further and did my best to look absolutely clueless.

              He frowned and rubbed his eyes. “Really?”

              I laughed. “No, I'm joking.”

              I gave myself a moment to stop laughing and really think of a good question.

              “Do you always live in fear as a vampire?” I wasn't entirely sure why I asked and why I even thought of it in the first place but I guess a part of me always wanted to know what it was like. Artie always danced around such questions. Maybe Josef would be honest with me.

              He looked at me thoughtfully. “I don't fear my life as a vampire. There are worst things to fear.”

              “What do you fear the most than?”

              “These questions don't really have anything to do with the club or contract.”

              “You don't have to answer.”

              “But you want me to.”

              “I've always wondered what it would be like to live as a vampire. I'm sure it's not entirely an easy ride.”

              “I don't age, I don't get sick, I have money and I can travel whenever and wherever. How is that not an easy ride?” I wasn't sure why but I got the feeling that he wasn't being completely honest with me; his eyes showed me that he was hiding something; maybe something sad or painful.

              “You never get attached to humans?”

BOOK: The Touch Series: Initiation
4.54Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Glimmering by Elizabeth Hand
Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice
The Bullet Trick by Louise Welsh
Death Is in the Air by Kate Kingsbury
Humor by Stanley Donwood
The Metamorphosis of Plants by J. W. v. Goethe
After by Kristin Harmel
Thin White Line by Templeton, J.A., Templeton, Julia