The breath caught in her throat. I could tell by the way her chest rose and her lips quivered. There was so much longing in her eyes. So much hunger. I wanted to taste it. She jerked her head away, turning back toward Max and the others. I was left to admire her long dark hair, its ends nearly reaching the top of her tight ass. Watching the curve of her hips sway back and forth to the music made my dick rock hard.
Just once would be okay. It would only be once. I could never fuck the same woman twice anyway. Aside from the fact that they didn’t respond well to being kicked out just minutes after I came all over them, I couldn’t let anyone get too close. More than a one-night stand would lead to expectations and questions and wanting more. Human women always wanted more. They were never satisfied. I was insatiable as well but I could find pleasure in a different one every time.
The problem of late was that they were all starting to feel the same. There was nothing new or exciting about these women. I was just going through the motions. Getting off and sending them out. Some nights I could make myself come better. But Raven…she piqued my interest. Something told me that she would taste different. As tightly wound as she was, she’d be anything but boring.
“Hello, Ozi. It’s been a long time.” The sound of her voice instantly killed my erection. I turned to see another blonde who had caused me more grief than anyone I’d ever met.
“Camille…What are you doing in my city?”
She ran a long, pointy fingernail down the collar of my shirt. “Your city? I had forgotten what an arrogant ass you are. I have business here that doesn’t concern you.”
“Then why do I feel concerned? Your idea of conducting business usually leads to a trail of dead bodies and empty bank accounts.” Now I was beginning to wonder if this was merely a coincidence that Camille had resurfaced just as our bank account was being hacked into.
She snatched my drink and helped herself to it. “And who’s fault is that? Don’t deny your part in my existence, my love. Perhaps you should have killed me instead…”
“Don’t talk like that. You know that was never an option for me. Tell me why you are really here, Camille.”
“I told you. I have a business opportunity that I couldn’t pass up. Surely there’s room for two vampires in your city. I promise to stay out of your way, lover.” She let that last word roll off her tongue like a cat purring.
“Oh, like you stayed out of my way in Paris? Can you blame me for being alarmed?” I didn’t trust her then and I don’t trust her now.
“Please, Ozi, that was a hundred years ago. You always were one to hold a grudge.”
“Look who’s talking. You’ve never forgiven me for….” I couldn’t even bring myself to say it out loud.
A hint of venom flashed in her eyes and dissipated as quickly as it appeared. “Nonsense. It’s all in the past. I’m ready to move forward. Besides, you have your immortality and all the money in the world. Can’t I just have this one thing? You owe me.”
And there it was. The thing she would hang over my head for eternity and never let me forget. She would always use my guilt to get what she wanted. “Fine. But if you meddle in any of my affairs, you will regret coming here. Debt or no debt, I’ve worked too hard to have you come in here and fuck it all up.”
She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
I looked away for a moment and she was gone. I scanned the bar but there was no sign of her. Camille always was a slippery one. Despite all my warnings to not show her speed in public, she defied me. It was more than just her messing with my money, it was about her potentially exposing all of us. She was unstable and reckless and she didn’t care about the humans. She would rather have her fun and then bury all the witnesses.
I searched the room for my date and spotted her making out with an equally attractive woman. She caught my eye and curled her finger at me, beckoning me to join them. Two were always more fun than one, but Raven was still at the bar, avoiding eye contact with me, and I was angry at myself for caring. This whole night was pissing me off. Fuck it. I’m just going to go over there and talk to her. I downed the rest of my drink and parted my way through the crowd.
As I got closer to the bar, Raven whipped out her phone and held it to her ear. Her face fell and her eyes welled up. A group of drunk women intercepted me, groping my ass, and grinding up against me. They blocked my way but I pushed past them without using my full strength. Didn’t want to risk knocking any of them over. I kept my eyes on Raven. She whispered something to Max before grabbing her coat and bolting out the front door.
Max waved at me as I approached. “Hey, boss. Can I buy you a drink?”
“I’ll buy you stock in this bar if you tell me why Raven ran off like that.” I didn’t care if my question sparked rumors. It had been a shitty night and the only woman I wanted to fuck was the only woman who seemed to want nothing to do with me.
Max looked around to make sure no one was listening and then leaned in close. “I don’t think anyone died or anything, but something bad happened. All she said to me was that she just got the worst news of her life.”
I nodded, pulled out my phone, and sent a quick text. I patted Max on the back. “Thank you. You now own ten shares in the Red Apothecary.”
The look on his face was priceless. I stormed out before he could respond, leaving my date and the chilling feeling of dread behind me.
This was the first night in a hundred years that I had no interest in meaningless sex. Camille showing up in the city had put me in a foul mood and the way Raven left the bar without me getting a chance to speak with her made me even more annoyed.
I pulled out my phone as the elevator doors opened to my floor and dialed Cassius.
“What’s up, Ozi?” His voice was strained and it sounded like he hadn’t been sleeping.
“Camille is in town. I need you to keep an eye on her.”
“Do you think she has anything to do with our account being hacked?”
“I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t put it past her. Just be on alert.”
I clicked “end call” before he could start asking me about my feelings. Cassius was a sensitive brute and I was not in the mood to be probed about the very old and very over relationship with my ex-girlfriend.
I contemplated calling Raven to see if she was all right but stopped myself. Why did I care? Nothing good ever came from caring for humans. They didn’t have the mental or emotional capacity to love the way us immortals did. That was why we never showed them what we really were. They scared too easily and did not understand anything that was different from them. They’d judge us and then want to study us like lab rats.
Why would Raven be any different than Camille? I’d trusted her once. Gave her my heart and shared with her my secrets…and she rejected me. She wouldn’t ever forgive me for turning her and I wouldn’t ever forgive myself for dropping my guard. For letting her glimpse the darkest parts of me only for her to cast me aside. The pleasures of the flesh were all I’d allow myself to feel now. But not tonight. Tonight I just wanted to wallow in my self-pity.
I was going to be sick. Not because the taxi driver was zipping in and out of traffic like we were in the middle of a car chase, which didn’t help, but because of the voicemail. I should have waited till I got home to listen to it. But as soon as I saw the caller ID, I couldn’t stop myself.
They were getting married.
Alex and Meadow. It was bad enough that he had cheated on me with her, but now they were getting married, and he would be in my family forever. What disgusted me even more was I had to hear it from him. Meadow—my own sister—didn’t even bother to tell me that she was marrying the boyfriend she stole from me. How could my parents be okay with this? How could anyone? But she was always their favorite so it was no surprise when they sided with her and blamed me for not being a good enough partner to him.
But marriage?
It was amazing how one phone call could change everythin
g. Spin the world upside down till nothing could ever be the same again, even when the room stopped spinning. I knew in my bones that I would never be going back to Maplewood. It was no longer my home. I bit my lip hard to stop the tears from falling. I refused to lose it in the back of a New York City cab.
There was nothing left to do but cry myself to sleep. I turned the key into an empty apartment and poured myself a glass of wine. The city lights reflecting on the windows did nothing to ease my pain, as beautiful and ethereal as they were. The love of my life had officially moved on and I was in a strange city, nowhere closer to my dreams than I was the day I left.
I finished my wine and crawled into bed, thankful that I had tomorrow off so I could sleep in. In fact, I wasn’t sure I was even going to get out of bed at all.
The loud banging on my door jarred me awake. Was Piper back early? Did she forget her key? There was no one else I could think of that would come over unannounced. I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on my fluffy white robe.
“Coming,” I yelled. My head was pounding from crying and too much wine. I glanced through the peephole and everything about last night came flooding back. “Shit,” I cursed under my breath.
I opened the door and there was Max, bright eyed and holding two cups of steaming hot coffee. “You forgot, didn’t you?”
After three fruity cocktails at Red Apothecary last night, I had agreed to hang out with Max all day and have him show me around the city. “I did. I’m so sorry. It was a rough night.”
Max shoved one of the coffees in my hand and let himself in. “No worries. I’ll wait while you get ready.”
“Uh, Max, I’m not feeling up to it today. I’m still processing some news I got last night.” What was it going to take to get rid of him?
Max waltzed over to the window and looked out. “This view is on point. Look, Raven, whatever it is that’s got you so upset, you can’t just sit here all day by yourself and wallow in it. You gotta get out and get some fresh air. And if you want to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”
I was starting to get the feeling that he was being a little too pushy. “Max…you’re sweet and I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m not interested in starting something new with anyone right now.”
Max spit coffee out through his nose. He doubled over, bracing himself on the couch while erupting in laughter. I didn’t know if I should have been relieved or insulted.
“What’s so funny?” I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks.
“Raven…I’m gay.” He was now hunched on the floor holding his side from laughing so hard.
I was mortified. “Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I’m such an idiot.” I wrapped my arms around myself and wished I could disappear.
Max plopped down on the couch. “It’s okay. I haven’t laughed that hard in years. You country girls are so refreshing. Now, you’re going to get dressed and accompany me out so you can make it up to me.” He had a smug grin on his face.
“Ah, I see what you’re doing. Fine. I owe you after that embarrassment. Give me twenty minutes.”
He gave me a wink. “Another reason why I like you. A city girl would keep me waiting here for hours.”
Exactly twenty-five minutes later, I had showered, changed into a faded pair of jeans, yellow cashmere sweater, and black wedged boots. I threw my dark hair up into a ballerina style bun and applied a light coat of mascara and clear lip gloss.
Max let out a low whistle. “Damn, girl, you clean up nice.”
“So what’s the plan for today?” Now that I was ready to go, I was actually looking forward to getting out and distracting myself.
“We are going to have a true New York City adventure. First things first, no more cabs. Today you are going to experience the subway.”
We started out with brunch and mimosas at Cafeteria, followed by a walk through Central Park where I fawned over the bronzed Alice in Wonderland statues for a little too long. That was always my favorite book as a child. I used to dream I was Alice and prayed that when I went to sleep, I’d be in Wonderland when I woke up.
We hit the shops on Fifth Avenue—window shopping only as the price tags were way beyond my budget. Then Times Square so he could make fun of all the tourists with their fanny packs and Statue of Liberty tee shirts. Next I coerced him into Dylan’s Candy Bar so I could load up on sweets. He laughed and feigned embarrassment as I proceeded to try every gummi candy before purchasing.
The weather was starting to turn with a light rainfall, so we decided it would be the perfect time to check out the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not only did they have one of the world’s largest collections of art, but they also had a bookstore and a restaurant.
“I’m really glad you dragged me out. I’m feeling so much better,” I said as we climbed up the main steps.
“There is nothing this city can’t cure. Thanks for being my date for the day.”
I wanted to cringe. “Sorry again about that. I shouldn’t have assumed you were into me.”
Max chuckled. “It happens. No big deal. I found it hilarious actually and flattering, of course.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted to do was to offend the only friend I had in New York. “So do you have a boyfriend?”
“I’m seeing someone. He hasn’t called in a few days but I’m trying to give myself another twenty four hours before I go into full panic mode.”
I shoved him playfully in the arm. “Ah, so it’s you that needs the distraction. And here I thought you were trying to help me out,” I teased.
He handed money to the ticket salesman for both of us. “Okay maybe I had an ulterior motive. But it’s a win-win for both of us.”
The museum was enormous. It was like its own city. We spent hours walking from room to room, looking at everything from Picasso paintings to Medieval artifacts, to an actual replica of an Egyptian tomb. It made me long for that summer I spent at Ozi’s vineyard in Italy. I wished I could afford to see more of the world.
We parked ourselves on a bench in front of a John Singer Sargent painting—Madame X, it was called. I loved this painting. It was such a mysterious piece, the way the subject is looking away yet her body language faces forward. Like her body was present but her mind was somewhere else. I often felt like that. I wondered what her secrets were. What was she holding back? And that black dress…one of the most gorgeous dresses I’d ever seen and could only dream of wearing.
“So, you want to talk about the phone call you got last night? The one that literally made you run out on a perfectly delicious appletini,” Max probed.
I stared at the painting for a minute before answering. I knew that this was going to come up and I couldn’t dodge it all day, but I still felt like I was teetering on the edge of crumbling at the mere thought of it. “It was from my ex…he’s getting married.”
Max puckered his lips into a sad face.
“To my sister.” There, I said it out loud.
His shoulders perked up and his face twisted into one of shock and horror. “Ohhh…what the…”
“Yeah, I know, it’s fucking weird. That’s the kind of shit that happens when you grow up in a small town, I guess.”
Max shook his head in disgust. “Girl, that is some sick Freudian bullshit if you ask me. What do your parents think?”
I shrugged and took a sip of the coffee I was still nursing, wincing as it hit my tongue. It was ice cold now. “Nothing really. My sister always got what she wanted. When we were kids, if she liked a doll I got for Christmas better than hers, she would just take it. My parents would never tell her no. I think it was the guilt. She almost died when she was a baby. They coddled her ever since. So when she decided it was my boyfriend she wanted, they didn’t object.”
Max’s eyes were so wide, I thought they might pop out of their sockets. “That’s the craziest shit I’ve ever heard, and I’m from New Jersey. Damn girl, no wonder you left. How long ago did this happen?”
“It’s
been a year. Now that they are getting married, I’m not going back there ever. That’s it. I’m done. It just hurts too much. He was the first boy…the only boy I’ve ever loved. I didn’t just lose him; I lost my family too. I am really alone now.” I could feel the tears threatening to well up again. I took another sip of the cold coffee in an attempt to shock my system out of wanting to cry.
Max threw an arm over my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Raven, but you’re not alone anymore. I’m glad we met. I’m here for you whenever you need.”
“Thank you.” I leaned into his shoulder and it felt good. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been shown any affection. Even the platonic kind.
“Now, let’s go get a drink. My mimosa buzz is wearing off.” Max pulled me to my feet and dragged me in the direction of the Met Café.
The place was packed and there was only one space at the bar. As I glanced around the brightly lit café, looking for an empty table, my gaze locked with a familiar face and my stomach did a little somersault. Ozi.
“Ozi, are you listening to me?” Cassius asked. I wasn’t. Raven and Max had just walked into the Met Café. What were the odds?
I waved toward them. “Yeah—crypto, coding, lots of numbers, all that stuff.” I was not a numbers guy.
Cassius snorted. “Sorry that I’m boring you. Who are you waving at?”
“Some of my staff from Dolce Sale. I’m inviting them over. Our business is done here, no?”
“Apparently.” He stood and stuffed his laptop into a leather bag. “So far, Camille hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary. I’ll let you know if I find anything else out.”
I nodded, keeping my gaze fixated on Raven. “Yeah, yeah. But none of the boring stuff. Just get to the point next time.”
Cassius towered over me and scowled. Not only was he large for a man, he was also large for his kind. Cassius was a werewolf, but luckily for me he was a patient one with a long fuse. God knows I’ve done everything to test him over the years. “Yes, princess, I’ll try to make it more palatable for you next time.”
After I Fall (Immortal Billionaires Book 1) Page 5
