by C. M. Steele
“Man, you have a very strong grip.”
“Too long without a woman,” Draco joked.
“That’s too hard to believe,” Mrs. Hill purred, pressing her hand on my arm. I moved it away to grab my drink. That’s when I saw her. Closed my eyes and opened them up again. There was no mistaking it. She was mine. I looked over to the guys, and they witnessed my expression. They nodded.
“Mr. and Mrs. Hill, Mr. Van Helsing has not made the acquaintance of your daughter.”
“Oh, yes, let me find her,” her father said, nearly tripping over himself, but I only had eyes for her.
“No need, sir. She’s walking this way,” Draco said, his voice laced with a chuckle.
I was completely focused on her. My head couldn’t have moved fast enough. Her scent hit me instantly, and our eyes met through our masks. I wanted this shit off and the night over. I could feel my fangs lower. Falcon’s hand touched my arm. I halted, realizing that I was ready to pounce.
“Yes, Mr. Van Helsing, she’s quite lovely,” Draco said as she met us at the tall table we were all standing around. She blushed, her blood pooling in her cheeks. My soul waged an internal war with keeping it together. The mating need dominating my brain wanted to steal her away in the night.
“Evelyn,” I said, lowering my head in a bow as I took her gloved hand. I kissed her like a gentleman, but that would be the only time a kiss from me was chaste. Once I had her alone to mate, I’d lose control and chaste would be the last thing on my mind. My cock stirred to life for the first time in the one hundred and four years of my existence. I was finally alive.
I lift my head, and our eyes met. Subconsciously, she knew that she belonged to me. I could see it in her perfectly green eyes. She was beautiful. I longed to run my hands through her thick red waves. To see it splayed over my pillow as I claimed her body for my own played like a movie in my head.
“I’m Dietrich,” I said. My cock roared to life, and I could hardly breathe. She was magnificent and a treasure all for me.
“Yes, well. Let us join the rest of the guests. Dinner is about to be served,” her father interrupted. I wanted to bite his head off for taking her attention away from me. I lost a moment of her attention, and I was hurting.
“Very well, Evelyn. You’ll sit with me. I wish to have the loveliest dinner partner in the world.” I could hear her heart dancing in rapid time with every word. I wrapped her arm around mine, placing her hand over my forearm, and I placed my other hand over it. She looked up at me, her lips slightly parted as she released the softest breath. I craved those plump, red beauties on mine.
“Evelyn,” the retched mother screeched, trying to separate us. I wasn’t going to let that happen and neither were Falcon and Draco, who took her parents to the opposite side of the table. I wanted her attention for me and me alone.
“Ignore her,” I told her.
“You don’t know her. She’s not going to stop until she’s got my attention.”
“Look, love.” I pointed to show her that Mr. and Mrs. Hill were already walking and talking to Falcon and Draco.
My friends did their thing to distract her parents, and we walked right past her father. Good—if any human tried to get in between us, they would meet their end when they least expected it. The other vampires in attendance gave me a subtle smile or raised their glass.
“Um, Dietrich,” her soft voice tiptoed over my name nervously, but I loved the sound.
“Yes, my love,” I answered, brushing my thumb over her pulse.
“I…I,” she stuttered.
“Say whatever you wish.”
She took a deep breath but kept her head down, then said, “I’m afraid to say it, but you’re a bit stiff. If you know what I mean. There are women looking at you,” she stated, her voice tightening angrily at the end. I spun her around so that her front was to mine with less than an inch between us.
“This is solely for you. You can tuck in those claws of yours. I can hear the venom in your voice. Tonight you will leave with me. And I will show you how much I mean every word I say to you.”
“I’m not just going to go to bed with you. We don’t know each other,” she argued, but her words faltered as I leaned in a little closer.
I brushed the back of my hand against her soft, heated cheek. “We have eternity for it.”
Chapter 4
Evelyn
He owned me, and we both knew it. Something inside me understood that. Whatever this pull was, I didn’t want it to end. I was uncharacteristically violent when I caught my cousins eyeing his thick cock that made a very visible protrusion against his zipper. His promise sounded legit, and I believed him even though I shouldn’t.
He took my hand in his as the servers set down the first course. Our faces partially hidden from the masks only added to the intensity of his eyes. They were the brightest blue that I’d ever seen. They were so blue they didn’t look human.
Wondering if he wore contacts to add to the Halloween illusion of mystery, I asked, “Dietrich, are those colored contacts for the supernatural effect?”
“These are my eyes. I have the vision of a hawk. For instance, I can see the way your pulse is racing out of control on your neck. I want to bite you and send it to unbelievable places.” He brushed the back of his hand down the side of my neck to my shoulder. I shivered with the panty-melting sensation.
Grabbing ahold of my hormones, I leaned away from his touch and said, “Do you charm all the women so easily, or is it because I’m naïve?”
“Charm? I wouldn’t know where to start with that. There is no one else but you. We will discuss that later after you give yourself to me.”
“Wow, you don’t take no for an answer, do you?” I said, my bravado growing as I got used to his touch.
“No, and you really don’t want to tell me no, do you?” His hand moved up and down my arm, brushing my skin, turning me into mush.
“I don’t, but I should.” I looked around at the other guests around us.
“You shouldn’t. Anyone else and then I’d say it was wrong, but I am not the one to refuse.”
“I won’t be controlled by a man. I don’t need to be told what to do. I already have that with my parents.”
“That’s fine, my sweet. I am not going to keep you in a gilded cage. What do you desire?”
“I want to go to the movies. I want to spend a night out under the stars. I want friends.”
“All those things I can give you and more. A world more,” he whispered in my ear, sending a delightful shiver down my spine. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it again. I wanted him to kiss my lips, but I felt that it would not end there. I could see in his eyes the hunger I felt in my soul. It was completely new and foreign to me, but hell if I didn’t want to embrace it with open arms.
“Ms. Hill, I have met many of the women in this town, but I have never seen you before,” Dr. Lennox said. That was because I wasn’t allowed to meet most men in the town unless they had a reason to be here. I didn’t meet him because he didn’t have anything to offer my parents.
“Dr. Lennox, my parents fear I will be taken for ransom or something and have sheltered me inside. I just graduated this past spring from high school.”
“Any plans for college?” he asked, sharing a knowing look with Dietrich who tensed at my side.
“Not yet,” I answered, wondering if he was going to refuse. Not that he had that kind of power over me, but something about him made me believe that he thought he did. I was my own woman. Well, I would be if I could get away from my parents.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Dietrich said to me.
“Excuse me. I need to use the ladies’ room,” I lied, pulling my hand from his. Dietrich stood just as I did. “Without company,” I told him. I felt the attraction too, but he was acting like something was going to happen to me. I walked away from the table, politely and calmly as possible. Going down the hall, I ran around to the back stairway and up to my bedroom. S
tepping inside, I closed the door and slammed by back against it. “What’s going on?” I muttered to myself, letting out a harsh breath. A sudden jolt of pain struck my hip when I felt my door open.
“What are you doing in your room?” my mother exclaimed, pushing harder on the door until I stumbled and hit my head on the edge of my bed frame. She was down by my feet immediately, staring at me coldly as I turned onto my back. “You ruin this, and I will find someone nowhere near as handsome and double the wealth of Van Helsing to marry you.”
“What? You can’t do that,” I exclaimed, my head pounding.
“I can do whatever I please. Your father wants this deal, and running out of the room like a scared little virgin is no way to make the family feel welcome. I told you how important it was. The guy shows interest, and you run. You only have to make it through the night. It’s not like we’d let him have you.”
Chapter 5
Dietrich
“…It’s not like we’d let him have you,” her vile mother gently said. Well, at least not unless it was the right deal. God, two properties for the price of one, and her. The venomous wench wasn’t going to get shit, and I was taking her daughter. Tonight. I rushed through the door she had closed only to see my sweet mate on the ground with a large gash on her head.
“Get the fuck out of the way,” I roared, pushing the woman and reaching for my lovely Eve. I pressed my lips to her wound, gliding my tongue over the small cut. It pissed me off to the point of murder, so much so that I didn’t even allow myself the pleasure of tasting her blood for the first time. The little cut stopped bleeding.
“I didn’t do anything to her. She fell,” she exclaimed, straightening her gown.
“Bullshit. Get the fuck out of here now,” I warned her for the last time. My eyes flashed the rage I felt. She backed away, knocking into a lamp before pressing her back to the wall and leaving the room. I turned to my queen and pulled the mask from her eyes.
“Dietrich,” she whispered, her lips parting softly. I crushed her lips to mine, claiming her mouth in the kiss I had ached to give her all night long. Our tongues met, and the taste sent the devil in me ready to the surface. I pulled my mouth from hers, sliding my lips down her neck and feeling her pulse. I couldn’t do what I wanted to at the moment. The door wasn’t locked, and the thought of another man seeing her would force me to gut him.
Her hands intertwined in my hair as she tossed her head back, revealing that throbbing vein. She moaned my name over and over as I traced her collarbone.
“Please don’t stop, Dietrich,” she pleaded. Like a cold ice bath, I woke up from my lustful feast, slowly pulling my hands from her slender waist.
I pressed my forehead to hers. I wished that I could teleport straight to my home, but that wasn’t a gift I had. “We can’t here. Tonight, you will be mine, but it must wait. I don’t want any interruptions. Besides, I wish to twirl you around the floor before taking you away from here…forever.”
“Forever?”
“Yes, you will not be coming back here again.”
“I love that idea,” she answered, still a bit dazed. I wondered if her injury was greater than it seemed. Then she raised her slender hand with her black painted nails and caressed the side of my face. “I want to be wherever you are as long as you kiss me like that again.”
“Whoa. Is she all right?” my mother asked, running into the room. I lifted Evelyn in my arms, sitting on her large bed with her.
“Mother? What are you doing here?”
“I told you something didn’t feel right. Your father and I weren’t going to let you go alone when we didn’t feel it was safe. Is she okay?”
“Yes, Mother, but I refuse to leave her with them.”
“Absolutely. We are ready to leave when you are,” she said to Evelyn. She had to grab some of her things, but just a few of her favorites because I planned to redo her wardrobe. She sat sideways on my lap with her arms around my neck and mine around her waist.
My parents seemed to be on cloud nine staring at us. As the youngest of the three, it was surprising that I found my mate first. “Let’s get it over with, so you can…” my father said with a wink. I shook my head at him. I needed to calm her down. The reason she ran was clear to me. She feared the way her heart and body called to me and how my body stiffened in her presence.
“Not until I dance with her, and she packs at least one suitcase.”
“Yes, please. I really would love for you to turn me around the dance floor, my masked, dark prince.” She reached out, running her hand down my jaw.
“Son, go with your father. We will be down in a moment. I want to help her straighten up.” I hesitated; leaving her scared me. The thought of something happening to her because I left her side got to me.
“Dietrich, please. We can have the band ready for you both before we leave for the evening.” My father tapped my shoulder.
“I will be down shortly.”
“Nothing is going to happen to her, Dietrich. You know I wouldn’t let that happen.” My mother gave me an annoyed look. Yes, she could take out every human in this place, and no vampire was stupid enough to cross us in this region. She was safe in my mother’s hands. I leaned in and stole a chaste kiss from my beloved before handing her back the mask and exiting the room with my father. Now to deal with the Hills.
Chapter 6
Evelyn
His mother was stunning and everything that was elegant. When she gave me that large smile, it transformed her face into a loving and sweet woman. “Dearest Evelyn, you are the picture of utter beauty. My son is one lucky man. Please let us get you ready to face the masses again.”
“I’m so nervous, Mrs. Van Helsing.”
“Please, call me Gretchen, and you have nothing to fear.”
“Gretchen, you are too kind, but what if my family tries to intervene?” For a mere second a saw an evil expression cross her face, and her honey eye color flashed a brighter shade. I squinted then shook my head slightly, and it was like it never happened.
“They won’t do a thing. Let’s get you fixed up before Dietrich makes his way back up here.” I nodded and walked to my dresser, grabbing my lipstick and freshened up my face in my dresser mirror.
Once I felt like I was ready, I walked to my large mirror in the far corner, tilting it slightly to put my mask on. “I could have easily put it on in the other mirror, but I love this one so much.”
I caught her reflection through the mirror, and she seemed slightly stunned. I turned to ask her, but she walked up and brushed her hand over the frame. “Do you know there were only two of these ever made?”
“Really? I mean, this is beautiful. There should be hundreds made during their time.”
“Oh, there were, but this is a specific one. You see this? It’s the initials.” She pointed to the part of the ornate design. There were the initials C.M. “This belonged to Count Medici’s wife, Clara. This is the female one. He had one made for himself as a wedding present for them both. It was a symbol of the beauty he saw in her every day. See, Clara was not beautiful to herself because she was born with a limp, but he never saw any of it. He wanted matching mirrors so that she would know that when he was looking at his, he was thinking of her and vice versa. Their love lasted until their death sixty years later.”
“Wow, that’s a wonderful story behind the mirror. I thought I loved it before, but now it’s so much more powerful.” I smiled at my reflection, feeling relief and happiness. We left the room arm in arm as she led me back down to Dietrich and the crowd that gathered in the ballroom.
Chapter 7
Dietrich
I informed her parents that if they wanted any deals with me that it would have to be up to their daughter. They had shown that she was not respected, and to me that was unacceptable. Their tunes had changed immediately to one of platitudes and compliments about Evelyn, but they were not aware that I could hear their thoughts. They were filled with trying to remember all the little thi
ngs that made my Evelyn special. Having never let her flourish, they had very little that they could tell me, but it didn’t stop them from trying. I held back my ire because I had been moments away from butchering her parents in a room full of people.
My father jabbed me in the side, then smiled with a tilt of his head toward the stairs. I turned my head and couldn’t catch my breath. Down came my mate with my mother. She looked like the devil’s favorite sin. I wanted her with every step. Throwing patience out the window, I was moving others out of my way and taking her hand as she reached the bottom.
“You look ravishing, my Evelyn. Would you do me the honor of dancing the waltz with me?”
“It would be my pleasure. Although, I don’t really know how,” she confessed with the deepest blush. Her auburn waves swayed with the slight shake of her head. I placed my thumb on her chin and lifted her gaze to mine. The sparkle in those emerald eyes demanded I take control. I would always take the wheel, but never suffocate her.
“I will show you, my other half,” I whispered so others wouldn’t hear.
The crowd watched as I guided her to the center of the floor with my hand on the small of her back. Taking her hand in mine, I spun her around and back to me, her chest hitting mine and sending a jolt of longing through me. And from the telltale look in her eyes, the longing struck her just as hard. I gave her a grin and the band started. Immediately it was as if we were the only two in the room. She glided along with me as if she danced this every day. We moved effortlessly around the large dance floor. Halfway through the number, my parents joined in followed by others, but I was focused on her.
When the song came to an end, I led her away from the middle and to the side. I was just about to escort her to get her things when a drunk man grabbed her wrist. “Wow, sexy Evie, I didn’t know you could move like that,” he exclaimed. “You know I have much more to offer you than him. I’ll pay you for a horizontal tango.” My eyes and nostrils flared, my dark side steadying itself for the attack when one of my friends grabbed the man’s shoulder and pulled him roughly away. Since we were vampires, he understood that the man had committed a death sentence in my eyes. He insulted and degraded my mate, basically calling her a paid whore, and wanted to do things to her that were only for me.
