Looking down at the list he’d written out for her, she read over the words and felt a twinge of jealousy. Flower shop, confectioner, dressmaker’s...her heart sank as she realized she was collecting gifts meant for a woman.
As she walked toward her first stop, she reminded herself that he hadn’t even bothered to notice her the night before. And then there was the difference in their stations. Brandon Ridley was obviously wealthy, whereas, until just a few days ago, she had been homeless. And she was his maid. No matter what kind of romantic notions her young mind entertained, wealthy men didn’t marry their household help.
It seemed strange to her that she should be jealous at all. True, Brandon was a very good looking man with a powerfully built body, but she hadn’t thought of him as that until she'd read down the errand list. Or at least she didn’t think she had.
The past few days had been confusing for her, and she hadn’t been herself. Sure she wasn’t sleeping as well as she should, she’d even considered asking the bitter old housekeeper for a sleeping draught in the hopes that maybe that would help. And now today, she felt sluggish again and lightheaded.
Arden continued on her way, enjoying the beautiful day as she made her way to the flower shop. As she picked up his order of lilies, she remembered her father bringing home flowers for her mother. How she loved his surprises!
Leaving the store, Arden reminded herself that her silly ideas of romance she was beginning to form for her employer would have to be banished from her mind if she intended to keep her position in his home. And for at least a short time, she needed her job.
After stops at each of her assigned errands, she found herself with arms full of flowers, handmade chocolates, and a beautiful red dress. By the time she’d returned to the house, she’d constructed a perfectly improper fantasy involving herself in the red dress and Brandon seducing her with the flowers and chocolates. He would pronounce his everlasting love for her and they would make love like she knew married couples did. It was all perfectly wonderful and all perfectly silly. He had only given her a job because he felt sorry for her, and now he didn't even care enough to look at her when she served him his food.
Chastising herself for such ridiculous ideas, she wondered what had come over her to affect her like this and pledged to expel such thoughts from her mind. She was Brandon Ridley's maid. No more.
As he had the day before, Brandon appeared at dinnertime in his study. The cook had been instructed to prepare steak, and Arden served him expecting the same treatment as yesterday. She placed the tray on the table next to him and waited, as usual.
Brandon looked up at her and smiled broadly. “Miss Stephens, did you enjoy your time out today? Your cheeks look positively sun-kissed.”
A stab of jealousy hit her as she remembered her day collecting gifts for him to give to another woman. “It was quite nice, Mr. Ridley. Thank you.”
She cringed as she thanked him, as if she were showing her appreciation for him slighting her. She knew what she was thinking was silly but couldn’t help how she felt. He seemed to have this effect on her that she couldn't place. And when he looked up at her with those deep soulful brown eyes, she felt like she could melt right there in his study.
He cut the piece of meat Mrs. Jandry had prepared into equal halves and ordered Arden to pull up the chair from the corner to the table and sit down. She did as instructed, confused and wondering what had caused this drastic change in him.
Motioning toward the plate, he said, “Please, enjoy, Miss Stephens.”
He pushed one half of the steak toward her and handed her his knife and fork. Arden knew as a mere maid she couldn’t let him sit there with no way to eat and moved to get up to get him another fork and knife.
Stopping her with his hand on hers, he smiled and said, “Please sit and eat. Mrs. Benson can get me what I need.”
Arden wanted to protest, knowing she shouldn’t eat with him, especially if Mrs. Benson would now be forced to do her job in her stead, but she liked the attention he gave her, so she sat back down and waited as he called for the housekeeper to bring him a knife and fork. The feel of his strong hand on hers excited her more than she understood, but she prayed he wouldn't move it.
In mere moments, Mrs. Benson arrived with what he requested. Arden stared down at her food knowing the housekeeper’s look of reproach faced her if she turned to look at her. How would she explain why his hand was on hers and why she was sitting with him to eat?
The housekeeper left in a huff, and once they were alone again, Arden waited for him to begin eating and then took a small bite for herself. As she enjoyed her food, he reached over to cut her steak. “You need more than that tiny piece.” Stabbing the larger piece he’d cut for her, he held it to her mouth. “Here. Eat,” he ordered with a tiny smile.
Her eyes wide with surprise, she looked up to see him ready to feed her. She reached for the fork, but he shook his head. “No. Let me take care of you like you do for me.”
Taking the food in her mouth, she stared into his eyes, unsure of what was happening. Quietly, she said, “Mr. Ridley, sir, I don’t seem to do much of anything to take care of you. And I obviously disappointed you in some way yesterday.”
Brandon looked across the table at her. “I’m sorry for how I acted yesterday. You’ve done nothing to displease me, I assure you. You’ve been perfect, Arden.”
His use of her name made her blush, and she looked away embarrassed, sure he clearly saw his effect on her. When he gently ordered her to eat, she smiled, making sure to keep her focus on the food in front of her.
After a few minutes of silence, he asked about the errands she'd run that day. “What did you think of the dress I had you pick up for me?”
Afraid that if she told him how much she admired the dress he’d know her feelings and how jealous she’d been, she joked, “I’m not sure red is your color.”
A small smile crept onto his face, and Arden swore she saw the look she’d seen on the faces of the men in love at the theatre years ago when her father had taken her. Common sense told her she must be wrong. Brandon Ridley was not in love with her. Of this, she was sure.
“I like your sense of humor, Arden.”
Unable to keep herself from smiling, she beamed when he added, “And your smile.”
When she’d finished eating, she rose to clear his plate. “Thank you very much for dinner, sir.”
“Arden?”
Almost afraid to hear his next words, she met his gaze. “Yes, sir?”
“You may call me Brandon. It would make me very happy if you would.”
Arden’s legs felt like they had turned boneless and would give out they were so weak. Was he teasing her because he’d noticed how she’d grown to feel about him?
Barely able to speak, she managed to say, “Okay. Goodnight, Brandon.”
By the time she went to bed, her cheeks were sore from smiling. As she climbed into bed and settled in under the covers, she knew one thing for sure about her time at Brandon’s house. She was falling in love.
***
Brandon spent the hours after dinner alone in his study replaying the time he’d spent with Arden. His heart clenched hopefully at the thought that she’d been jealous over the red dress. Was their time together each night beginning to take effect?
He cringed at his intentional cruelty the day before, remembering the sad look on her beautiful face when she’d thought she’d disappointed him. Angry at himself for the slight, he vowed not to use her like that again.
She’d looked suspicious when he’d asked her to call him by his first name. She wasn’t quite where he needed her to be to turn her. A new vampire needed to trust her sire, and he hadn’t earned that yet. But he would, and tonight would be another step toward that.
The memory of how willingly she’d given herself to him each night touched his heart. When he decided the night he saved her to make her his forever, he never imagined she would make him so happy. He’d sired other vampires,
having been led by his cock with those, never truly feeling anything more than desire for them. Each one had left, and he'd felt nothing for their absence when the lust had died out. But Arden was different. She brought out more than the need to fuck in him. She made him care.
He remembered with pleasure how innocent she’d looked when he’d fed her, her pouty lips taking what he offered. Tonight he’d show her better things to do with her mouth.
Too eager to wait, Brandon climbed the stairs to her room before midnight, desperate to see the woman he quickly was falling in love with. Just as before, she lay sleeping and he slowly pulled back the covers to reveal her in her nightgown. Whispering his chant in her ear, he willed her awake. As her lovely eyes opened, she smiled, as if she’d been waiting for him to arrive, her Prince Charming to wake his Sleeping Beauty. Softly, he kissed her and began their nightly rite.
“How is my Arden tonight?” he whispered near her lips.
“Happy to see my Brandon.”
He loved to hear her say his name, as if an angel from heaven was speaking to him. Stroking her face, he slid his thumb along the seam of her lips and his cock jumped when she took his finger into her mouth and gently began sucking. Her tongue licked the tip, and his eyes closed in ecstasy of what was to come.
“Love, you are everything I have long dreamed of.”
She pulled him to her and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I need you. Please, Brandon.”
The sound of need in her voice touched him, and he slid his finger inside her as she spread her legs. She was so wet and ready for him. Another finger joined the first and he pressed the pad of his thumb against her excited nub.
“Oh, yes! Please don’t stop,” she begged.
“Never, my love.”
Slowly, he rubbed her in tiny circles as he fucked her with his fingers. In little time, he watched her bite down on her lip, ready to climax as she pushed down on his fingers as far as she could.
“Come for me, Arden,” he softly commanded in her ear.
Her body did as he ordered, and she clamped down on his fingers as she shuddered through her orgasm, softly crying into his mouth as he kissed her. He stroked her to completion and bent down to kiss the little pink pearl in her dark triangle, feeling it still pulsate under his lips.
He returned to her mouth and kissed her softly. “Arden, come with me.”
She sat up and followed him off the bed. He gently pushed down on her shoulders, and she knelt before him, her eyes looking up into his. Undoing his pants, he released his already stiff cock and watched her lick her lips.
“Do you know what I want, love?”
When she nodded, he asked, “Have you done this?”
She shook her head and explained, “I saw the women on the street do this for men at night.”
For a moment, he thought about all the things she must have seen living on the street and anger rose up in him. No one this wonderful should have to spend her nights around prostitutes. The thought that some filthy drunk may have tried to accost her made him sick to his stomach.
Looking down into her sweet face, he loved the idea that she’d never done with anyone else what she was about to do to him.
He was pulled from his thoughts by her sliding her hand down his shaft. With a sweet glance up at him, she kissed the swollen tip of his cock, and an electric jolt traveled straight to his balls. Tenderly, she tongued the slit and his eyes rolled back in pleasure. He felt her wrap her lips around him and looked down to see her take the mushroom shaped crown of his cock into her mouth.
Inch by inch he watched his cock slip into her mouth, sure he’d never seen anything as erotic as the scene he now watched between his legs. With each retreat of her mouth, her hand pumped him and he drew closer and closer to the moment of release. The tightness of her throat pressed close against the tip as she took all of him into her mouth and began to gag. Tenderly, he caressed her jaw as he pulled out of her. “You don’t have to take all of me.”
She looked up at him as if to tell him she wanted to make him happy, and he said softly, “I don’t need all of that to be happy, Arden.”
He watched as she began in earnest to satisfy him. She looked so gorgeous with his cock in her mouth, sucking him to completion. Each time her tongue slid over the spot just below the head, he jerked closer to release.
While she tenderly took care of him, he stroked her hair from her face. As he began to come, he heard her moan as he sent hot torrents down her throat. When he’d finished, she placed a small kiss on the tip of his cock and stood up to look at him.
“Arden, do you know what I want?”
She said nothing as she moved her hair to expose her neck and tilted her face away. Brandon pulled her face back toward his. “I want you to come to me on your own. Not in a dream. Will you come to me?”
He saw something inside her told her to be frightened of him, but what? Did she not believe he loved her? He took her face in his hands and cradled it as he kissed her. “Do not fear me. I’m yours and you’re mine, remember?”
As she timidly nodded, he took her in his arms and his mouth touched her neck. Her skin still retained the warmth of the sunshine from her day out, and closing his eyes, he inhaled deeply, taking in the sweet scent of daytime that lingered on her. His teeth pressed gently against her throat, seeking the precious essence he craved. In a moment, he found a pleasure as exquisite as the sexual one he’d just experienced. Each drop, each pull on her vein made him love her even more.
Arden cooed softly as he took her gift, clutching his neck to hold him close to her. Her tenderness made the moment even sweeter, and when he was finished, he kissed her softly on the lips. For this night, he would have to leave her alone in her bed.
After he’d made sure she was asleep, he returned downstairs to continue his night. There were plans to make for when she finally came to him. To sire a vampire wasn't something he did in haste, and everything must be perfect for the moment when she'd be his forever.
Chapter Five
By the sixth day in Brandon’s house, Arden worried she was losing her mind. She hadn’t had a restful night’s sleep since her first night there, she continued to feel dizzy and lightheaded, and for the past few nights she’d been having incredibly erotic dreams about him. As she practically sleepwalked through her day, she found her mind repeatedly turning to him. The color of his eyes. The way his hair curled up at his collar. How perfect his teeth looked when he smiled. How sensual he was when he chose to be.
Standing at the kitchen sink, Arden listened as Mrs. Jandry and Mrs. Benson stood toe-to-toe at the door to the pantry arguing over the cook’s menu choices. Suddenly, everything seemed to swim before Arden’s eyes, and she swayed, almost falling to the floor.
“Miss! Mrs. Benson! She’s about to collapse!”
Both women hurried to catch her and helped her to a chair.
“She’s as pale as a ghost,” the housekeeper said as she examined her skin.
“I know. We need to get her to her bed right now.”
Mrs. Jandry attempted to help her out of the chair, but Arden resisted. “No, no. I’m fine,” she said in a weak voice. “All I need is a few minutes in this chair.”
“Upstairs right now,” Mrs. Benson ordered in a tone that was less demanding than concerned. "I won't be having you collapse in Mr. Ridley's kitchen. To bed with you immediately."
Arden didn’t bother protesting again. As everything around her became a blur, she held on to them as they helped her out of the chair. As much as her nature was to fight this, she happily allowed the two older women to help her up the stairs to her room.
As she laid her head on the pillow, she heard Mrs. Benson say, "Get her a cold compress and I'll attend to finding the doctor." Before she could listen to any more of their conversation, her eyelids drooped and she felt herself slipping away. In no time at all, she fell into a deep sleep.
“Miss Stephens? Wake up, miss. The doctor is here to see you.”
&
nbsp; Arden woke as Brandon’s cook shook her gently by the shoulder. Slowly, she focused her eyes to see a strange man standing in her room. Old, with round eyes and ruddy cheeks, he looked at her with concern.
“Miss, I’m the doctor. Are you feeling any better after your nap?”
“I don’t know. I just always feel weak lately.” Arden didn’t feel the need to tell the doctor that an even bigger problem was what she was thinking about her employer.
The man stood by the edge of her bed. “Well, let’s see what we can find out.”
A thorough checkup revealed no obvious reason for any of her physical symptoms. The doctor suggested she go back to sleep, and Arden couldn't disagree. Her nap had made her feel slightly better.
"Mrs. Jandry, I need to speak to Mr. Ridley about this. Make sure she doesn't get out of bed, but await my orders before serving her any food. You are to boil water for her and when it cools, she can have small sips."
Turning back toward Arden, he softened his tone and smiled so his chubby cheeks puffed out. "You rest and I'll make sure Mr. Ridley knows all about this."
Arden wondered if remaining in bed would mean more erotic dreams. It wasn’t that they frightened her. In fact, quite the opposite was true. The dreams were everything she wished would happen with Brandon but never could when she was awake. How much she wished she could be the woman he desired as he did in her dreams—sensual, seductive, and loved by him!
And how different he was in her dreams. Not the proper Englishman who answered business letters and rescued young women from a life on the streets, but a man who possessed her body like she'd never dreamed possible.
Mrs. Jandry knocked at the door a short while later. As with others of her kind, she cooked when worried, preparing a tray she hoped would make Arden feel better.
"Time to eat, miss."
Arden looked down at the tray of food and then looked up at the cook, confused at what sat on her plate. “Mrs. Jandry, not that I don’t appreciate it, but why have you brought me steak and wine?” she asked as she scooted herself into an upright position to eat.
Vampire Dreams Revamped (A Sons of Navarus Prequel) Page 4
