by Primo, Jaz
She parted from our kiss and stared into my eyes. “I’m suddenly very happy you’re here.”
“Me, too,” I agreed. “And did I mention you look smokin’ hot in that outfit?”
“Once or twice as a matter of fact,” she said. “I like what this outfit evokes in you.”
“Of course, you’ll look even hotter once you’re out of it,” I said.
“Play your cards right, and you might get to find out,” she said.
“You wouldn’t be playing hard to get, would you?” I asked.
She chuckled and unwound her arms from around me. I took her by the hand and turned to depart the elevator.
That’s when I noticed two suit-clad vampires, a man and a woman, standing in the hallway observing us with wide-eyed expressions.
I felt the heat immediately rise in my cheeks as I realized the spectacle they must’ve just seen, or worse yet, heard.
“Welcome back, General,” the fellow said. “Everything’s clear here.”
At first, the woman stared at me with intrigue. Then a look of subtle amusement formed on her lips.
“General,” she said.
Kat released my hand and wrapped her arm around my shoulders possessively, once more in command of her surroundings…and of me.
“Mr. Schaffer, Ms. Devereux, this is my mate, Caleb Taylor,” she said.
Both nodded and greeted me in unison. “Mr. Taylor.”
“Hi,” I said with a slight wave of my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Good evening to you both,” Kat said.
She swept me in a tight semi-circle, nearly causing me to stagger, and guided me toward the suite at the end of the hallway.
“My mate looks particularly cute when he blushes,” she whispered.
Behind us, I heard Devereux stifle a laugh.
Oh, brother. Kat’s really pulling out the stops tonight.
“Kat,” I whispered, to which she affectionately squeezed my shoulder.
* * *
Kat shrugged out of her trench coat and took my jacket to hang them both up in the small coat closet near the door.
“Welcome home,” she said.
I gazed around the suite’s spacious and rich-looking interior. It appeared very much like the one we’d stayed in at the other end of the hallway in the spring, except with an opposing view of the city.
I noticed the place failed to look particularly well-lived in.
Her arms wrapped around me from behind, trapping my arms to my sides, and she kissed me on the cheek.
“Something the matter?” she asked.
“I’d hardly know you were staying here,” I said. “It looks like we just arrived.”
She sighed. “Well, I don’t spend a lot of time here,” she said. “Frankly, it’s not as enjoyable without you.”
I turned around in her arms to face her, or rather, looked directly into her sternum.
Man, she’s even taller in those boots.
I craned my neck to look up at her, and she gazed down with an amused expression.
“You’ve lost weight and height, my love,” she teased.
“Oh, so funny,” I said.
She kissed me on the tip of my nose and then pressed her lips against mine in a deep, long kiss that nearly drew the breath from my lungs.
My heart soared with passion and love for the woman holding me in her arms. She was, by far, the most wonderful, amazing lover I could’ve been blessed with.
On top of that, she was ravishing.
“You’re absolutely gorgeous,” I said. “No, you’re stunning.”
And I love you.
The endearing look she bestowed upon me was award-winning; it reflected heartfelt, raw emotion.
She pressed her lips against mine, and we shared another long, passionate kiss.
My pulse raced as my body hungered for hers.
Before I knew it, we were undressing each other. Clothing fell around us as we kissed our way back to the bedroom.
Then we fell onto the bed, laughing.
The passion we shared felt magical, and time seemed suspended.
* * *
When I awoke, it was morning, and I was alone in bed.
She’s gone already?
I suspected that Kat must’ve been called to some important duty. After last night, I sensed that her command role was central to everything that seemed to be going on in Alton’s world.
Reaching up, I felt at my neck where she’d partaken in my blood after sharing the most wonderful sex in recent memory.
I felt no welts, so I was confident there’d be no visible marks; her saliva typically healed everything nicely.
All that remained was a slight telltale sensitive spot just beneath the skin. But even that would probably abate by later that day.
It was strange, but I actually relished sharing my blood with her; it was something decidedly unique and intimate I could offer of myself.
The bedroom curtains were open and I noticed it was cloudy and bleary-looking outside, though the UV-protective coating on the window made it look much darker outside than it actually was.
Ahh, London and its clouds.
Still, I felt very happy to be here. It was far better to be in the same city with Kat rather than half the world and an ocean away.
I could spend every waking minute with her.
She was like an addiction to me. Maybe I was obsessed, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was to have her in my daily life; everything else seemed negotiable.
I stretched and glimpsed a note on the nightstand, held in place by my prototype flashlight that was standing upright like a candle. The note was in Kat’s handwriting.
My Love,
I adored watching you sleep last night, and I hope you slept well.
When you’re up and around, Alton would like to meet with you in his office. Please use the underground passageway. And please bring your new toy with you.
Love,
Dom-Kat
I smiled as I lay the note aside.
My loving Dom-Kat.
If that made me her Sub, then I couldn’t imagine being happier as anything else.
At least until Paige razzed my ass about it endlessly.
Then something about her note triggered in my mind.
Wait a minute. Toy?
I rolled out of bed and stretched. A glance at my watch revealed I’d slept away most of the morning already.
I didn’t want to keep anyone waiting on me, so I immediately went to shave and get dressed.
Chapter 29
Caleb
Twenty minutes later, I grabbed my leather jacket and walked out the door to find two sets of suit-wearing vampires staring at me.
One of them, a dark-haired and youthful-looking male, said, “Good morning, Mr. Rawlings.”
Rawlings? Really?
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I stared at him.
“Good morning, Mister—?”
“Kempf, sir,” he replied.
“Kempf,” I said, and continued my walk to the elevator.
The other male vampire gave me a courteous nod and then glared over at his partner. “Good morning, Mr. Taylor,” he said with emphasis on my last name. “I’m Adamo.”
I looked at him with approval. “Good morning, Mr. Adamo. You, I like.”
He grinned. “Kempf’s relatively new to our group, as well as rather aloof.”
I glanced back over my shoulder at Kempf, whose crestfallen face may have paled even further than his vampire features normally dictated. “I see.”
“My apologies, Mr. Taylor,” he said. “It was a slip of the tongue, I assure you.”
“Yeah, be sure and tell that to the General, Kempf,” Adamo muttered with a chuckle and a wink at me.
Yeah, I definitely liked Adamo.
“No harm, Kempf,” I said, heading toward the elevator.
Adamo fell into step behind me and I turned to frown at him.
“I’m to accompany
you, sir,” he said. “General’s orders, you understand.”
Oh, Kat. So protective…
I nodded and the two of us took the elevator to the lobby.
“Not planning on going outdoors, I hope,” he prompted.
“Nope, the tunnel leading next door to Alton’s—Mr. Rutherford’s—office,” I replied.
“Very good, sir,” he said.
Alton had ordered the construction of the underground passageway prior to our visit in the spring. It connected the hotel to his office building, of which he owned both.
Minutes later, we arrived at Alton’s upper-floor offices. Just as I recalled from our last visit, the offices were staffed almost entirely by vampires.
“I’ll just wait here for you, sir,” Adamo said, taking a seat in a chair in the small waiting area near the elevator.
I nodded to him and proceeded down the carpeted hallway, past offices that hummed with the sounds of a typical office setting: typing, phone calls, and shuffling of paperwork.
“Caleb!” Marla Kendrick exclaimed with a bright smile. “It’s so good to see you again.”
Alton’s assistant looked ever the consummate professional in her crisp gray suit. I hadn’t seen her since my surgical recovery during the summer.
“Hi, Marla,” I said warmly. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, too.”
She hugged me in a warm embrace with one arm while holding a stack of files in the other. Marla was definitely one of my favorites.
“Mr. Rutherford mentioned that you arrived last night. Would you believe he didn’t even tell me you were coming?”
That was surprising; Marla was usually in on everything Alton was up to.
“It gave me such a fright when I heard about the attack you were involved in last night,” she said.
Various individuals peered out from their offices to stare at us with curious expressions.
“Yeah, pretty scary. But I’m fine, really,” I said.
“You look healthy enough, but it looks like you’ve lost some more weight since I last saw you,” she observed with a frown as she gently squeezed my bicep through my jacket. “No, this simply will not do.”
Was there a conspiracy around here regarding my weight or something?
“Oh, not you, too,” I said.
Between her Dutch accent and the manner in which she arched an eyebrow at me in an all-too-familiar fashion, she pulled off quite a stern headmistress impersonation; or, given her green eyes, perhaps just a blonde-haired Kat.
“Come,” she said, ushering me toward a set of large oak-finished double doors. “I’ll announce you. Ms. Rawlings is in with Mr. Rutherford, and they’ll want to see you straight away.”
She knocked at Alton’s office door and entered.
“Mr. Rutherford, please forgive me, but we have an impromptu celebrity visitor and he’d like to meet with you,” she said in a serious tone.
“Celebrity?” Alton asked incredulously.
Marla motioned to me and I slipped past her to enter the palatial office. Kat and Alton’s curious expressions were priceless until they realized it was only me.
“Oh, Marla, honestly,” Alton said with near-exasperation.
She winked and closed the door behind me.
Despite the regal-looking office décor and a breathtaking view of London’s business district, my eyes were immediately drawn to Kat.
She looked absolutely beautiful with her hair down and wearing a leather skirt and sweater.
“Good morning, young man,” Alton said, dressed impeccably in his Armani suit. “Nearly good afternoon, in fact.”
I embraced Kat and we exchanged a quick kiss.
“Good morning, Dom-Kat,” I teased.
“I thought you’d like that. Did you sleep well, my love?” she asked, staring down into my eyes.
“Yep, though a bit longer than I’d planned,” I said. “I didn’t come all this way to see you, only to sleep the time away.”
She frowned. “Stop that. You had an exhausting flight, followed by a nearly fatal evening. You needed the sleep.”
“I’ll consider myself properly admonished,” I said.
“Not until I say so, you won’t,” she said with a smoldering look as her fingertips caressed the side of my face.
The arousal that flooded through me at that moment was palpable, and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.
Turning quickly to Alton, I shook his hand as he regarded me with an amused expression.
“Katrina mentioned you have something to show me,” he said.
“Oh, yes,” I said, withdrawing the device from my jacket pocket and handing it to him.
He examined the plain-looking metal tube, turning it over in his hand. “So, this is what your grand experiment netted. Quite a small result for over half a million pound investment, wouldn’t you say?”
My mouth dropped open and I heard a small gasp from Kat.
Half a million pounds? No way!
“Ohmygosh, that’s a helluva’ lot more than I thought it would end up being,” I said.
Kat regarded me with a disapproving look. “You came up with this idea?” she asked. “And why, exactly, didn’t you come to me about this instead of him?”
Her rebuke almost stung, and I suppressed a wince.
Aw, crap.
“Well, I—I,” was all I managed to say.
“Now, now, Katrina,” Alton interrupted, placing the flashlight on his desk. “The young man wanted to fund it himself, in fact, because he was hesitant to ask you for the capital. He only called upon me because only I have direct access to the investment trust account that we set aside for him.”
That is, my former, and now completely dissolved, trust fund.
Kat’s expression softened a bit, but she still looked injured over the matter. I carefully reached out to hold her right hand in both of mine, gently massaging it between my fingers.
She silently stared back at me. “I see,” she finally said. “Though it hurts you didn’t have enough faith that I’d support your venture.”
“You’ve already done too much for me as it is,” I said.
Her eyes glistened at that.
Oh, please don’t cry.
“Listen, I’m sorry,” I said. “I really wasn’t trying to hurt you, much less insult you.”
I brought her hand to my lips and reverently kissed it.
“The boy meant well,” Alton said. “And I was overseeing his efforts.”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “Alton, a moment with my mate, if you please,” she said coolly.
The two of them shared a silent exchange.
“Very well. I’ll be right outside,” he said.
He calmly exited the office to the hallway beyond, pulling the door closed behind him.
She stepped closer to tower before me, gazing down at me with a neutral expression.
Her green eyes were nearly piercing as I stared up into them, and I sensed a strong, commanding influence that felt simultaneously intimidating and slightly arousing.
“Harboring secrets from me is not within your purview as my mate,” she said.
“But I---”
Her eyes narrowed. “I will not have it,” she emphasized.
My heartbeat pounded.
“No more secrets. Understood?” she asked.
I nodded and swallowed hard, momentarily speechless over the aura she projected.
Then her expression softened. It felt like a roiling storm had passed as she lightly stroked my cheek with her fingertips.
Okay, this is a lot better. Yet…
“Love and trust go hand in hand,” she said. “I’ll give you every bit of both that I’m capable of, but I will not spare calling you out, when necessary.”
Who is this woman towering before me?
“Now, kiss me,” she said.
My eyes never left hers as I stepped up to her and craned my neck to offer my lips, which she met with a long, passionate kiss.
&nb
sp; “Now, do again…only better,” she insisted.
I smiled, and initiated a passion-filled kiss of my own. Her arms encircled me and pulled my body against hers, garnering a powerful surge of arousal within me as my pulse raced.
When our lips parted, the edges of her mouth upturned slightly. “That’ll do.”
I was gobsmacked.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I’m who you want…and who you need,” she said simply.
I stared back at her blankly.
“Surely you understand yourself, my love? After our chat in the club, I know I finally do,” she said. “As I promised, I’ll do my utmost to fulfill the key role you need and desire. In fact, I relish it.”
I blinked.
Our conversation that night in the Goth club quickly resurfaced in my mind.
She reached up, using both hands to lightly run her fingertips down the sides of my face and all the way down my neck in a manner that elicited a shiver through my body.
“Remember to be true to yourself and embrace it, just as I embrace you,” she said. “And to hell with what anyone else thinks.”
She kissed me softly, affectionately.
“I’m your mate,” she said. “I’m not trying to rule you, or smother you, or demean you, or take away your independence. I’m only trying to protect you and fulfill you…”
She looked down into my eyes with affection, and I nearly dropped to my knees.
I will do absolutely anything for you.
I felt virtually rooted to the floor in awe as her words slowly sank into the depths of my mind.
“You’re so endearing-looking right now,” she said. “Which is in stark contrast to how I’m feeling about you.”
She gave me a smoldering look. “I want to do some really wicked things to you right now.”
My breath caught in my throat and the muscles in my body tensed with anticipation.
Oh, I want that, too.
“Nothing that’d hurt,” I said.
“Only if you want it to,” she said in a husky-sounding voice.
Her eyes drilled into mine with a predatory, hungry look that made my blood burn for her. She reached out to slowly scratch the tips of her fingernails down the back of my neck.
