EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2017 Annie Harland Creek
ISBN: 978-1-77339-352-0
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Katelyn Uplinger
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Art of Seduction almost wrote itself. While writing Kiss of Death, my youngest daughter, Brooke, fell in love with the secondary character, David, and my eldest, Pamela, reminded me that he wasn’t the hero of the story so I shouldn’t focus on him. Despite my efforts, David refused to stay in the background of his brother’s story so I was forced to give him a book of his own. Fortunately, I had my daughters to bounce ideas off so it was relatively easy. Thank you my gorgeous girls. I couldn’t have done it without you.
My family means the world to me. They are my muses, my loves, my reason for getting up every morning and my last thoughts before sleeping. Dave, Grant, Brooke, Pamela, Travis, Lorelei and Angelica, I love you guys.
A big thank you to Kerry, my beautiful sister-in-law who beta reads my books and gives me great feedback. My gorgeous friends Efthalia and Chelsea, who are always there with advice and support. My gratitude to Stacey, Katelyn, and all the staff and authors at Evernight for their continuing faith in me. Kisses to Jay Aheer for the fantastic cover and, once again, a huge thank you to my readers. You’re the best!
THE ART OF SEDUCTION
Blood Brothers, 2
Annie Harland Creek
Copyright © 2017
Chapter One
Meaghan stared at the blank page on her sketch book and tried to concentrate on the task at hand rather than the erratic beating of her heart. A bead of sweat trickled from her brow, followed the contour of her cheek down her neck, and finally came to rest in her cleavage making her even more self-conscious. Over the course of her twenty-five years, she had learned to hide her insecurities but today she struggled with emotions she had never before experienced and she had no idea how to deal with them. Her training at the academy didn’t cover this type of scenario. Why would they? Focus on the task at hand. You can do this. Another look towards the center of the room and she came undone. A tremor shook her body and the charcoal pencil in her hand dropped to the vinyl floor with a clunk.
She stooped to the floor to retrieve the pencil, ignoring both the glances from fellow students and the compulsion to take another peek at the dais. The overhead fans—switched to high speed—offered little respite as her body temperature soared. Perspiration soaked through her clothes. She turned to the young woman sketching beside her and asked, “Hey, Lilith, is it hot in here or is it just me?”
Lilith answered without making eye contact. Her focus on the platform in the center of the art room. “Oh it’s hot in here all right. Smoking hot.”
“Shhh. He’ll hear you.”
“I don’t care if he does. The way he’s been staring in our direction for the last twenty minutes, he’s interested in one of us and I call first dibs.”
Meaghan had noticed. It was his attention causing her the anxiety. Since the moment he positioned himself on the platform, the model’s gaze had been focused on her, and to her horror, she realized that she couldn’t take her eyes off him either. The most perfect specimen of a man she had ever seen, reclining on pillows—naked except for the replica Spartan helmet covering his manhood—and he stared at her as if he could see through her cotton dress. She shook her head. “He’s just facing this way … he isn’t allowed to move until the teacher directs him.”
Lilith rolled her eyes and sighed. “I think I’ve drawn enough naked men to understand how it works. This dude is definitely watching us.” She took another long look at the model and whispered, “Pretty big helmet, do you think his actual equipment is big?”
Heat rushed to Meaghan’s cheeks. She stared down at her feet. It was hard enough concentrating on drawing the parts that she could see, without imagining the parts that were covered. She took a deep breath, and raised her eyes. Oh God, he’s smiling.
****
David Corel struggled to stop his lips from curling into a grin. Despite their whispers, he had heard the two women discussing him and found the reactions of the blonde amusing. She was a delicate little thing, he guessed around five feet five inches tall, and compared to his six feet two she seemed tiny. He tried not to laugh as he watched her sneak looks at him from around the oversized sketch pad on her easel. Other than noting that she had long blonde braids and dark rimmed glasses, her face and figure were relatively obscured by the easel. He deduced that she was reasonably athletic. Her calves were toned and her ankles trim. Pink toenails poked from the white sandals. He found the little daisies on the shoes cute.
For the last ten minutes he had remained perfectly still, waiting for the teacher to instruct him to change positions. Watching with amusement as the blonde stole quick looks at him from behind her drawing pad, without ever appearing to draw. But there was something more. He felt compelled to see her face. Perhaps she was the unsub? The murderer he had been assigned to destroy. There was a definite pull in her direction, something drawing … no, demanding his attention. Something connected to the case. He could feel it in his very core. So he watched and waited, knowing that by the end of the class, he would make a point of introducing himself and find out all he could about the little blonde.
****
“Time.”
The art director’s announcement shocked Meaghan back to attention. In the last few minutes she had been feverishly drawing in an attempt to have at least something on her page before the model left. She had been given a wonderful opportunity. A chance to do something she loved while getting paid to work undercover. Finally, her big break. A chance to show Terry that she had what it took to make a great detective. Don’t blow it over one naked man.
None of the previous life drawing classes had been a problem for her as the models were normally average looking, leaning towards the plump side. Handsome males tended to be self-conscious and less inclined to volunteer but not this man. This man looked as though he spent half his life in the nude and—Meaghan guessed—probably not alone. She examined her work, cringing with disappointment. The sketch looked rushed and rough, lacking in detail. A complete waste of a perfectly formed male specimen. You can do this, Meaghan. Concentrate on the drawing, not the model. She firmly decided that the next sketch would be better, especially because this time he would be facing away and she would not be bothered with the distraction of his eyes or his smile. Oh, but what eyes … she knew there was no color in her inexpensive box of paints intense enough to do them justice. Bluer than the deepest oceans, brighter than sapphires and clearer than glass. Oh to swim in those liquid pools. And his smile … Meaghan shook her head and flipped to a new page on the drawing pad, ready to begin, but the moment she looked back at the model, she was lost.
****
The pain hit David the minute he changed his position on the dais. Not so much a physical pain, more like a spiritual feeling of loss. He felt a tugging at his soul and wanted … no, needed to turn back so he could watch the blonde. But he couldn’t allow himself the luxury of indulging his own desires. He was there—at the University—on a mission and as co-leader of his coven, he was obliged to put the needs of the o
thers first. There to observe and only to interact with the humans in order to gather information that would help the case. Although he couldn’t rule out a vampire attack, strangulation seemed more like human behavior. Despite only grabbing quick glimpses at the little blonde, she hardly looked strong enough to choke life out of a chicken, let alone another student.
Still, there was a pull in her direction. A gut feeling he couldn’t explain. Perhaps she would prove pertinent to the case but he would need to bide his time. He held his pose and concentrated on remaining still for the last forty-five minutes of the class.
****
A rush of adrenaline hit her, soon followed by blind panic. It didn’t make sense. The model had turned his back to her, now reclining on one elbow, his hand supporting the weight of his head and his other hand resting on his bent knee. His supporting leg was slightly bent under him revealing a hint of red fabric from the Spartan cape that had replaced the helmet. His broad shoulders looked even larger from behind and tapered down to his waist forming a vee shape that seemed to point to his tight buttocks. Meaghan tried to concentrate on drawing but she could barely breathe. Her hands itching to trace the contours of his body and the thought of touching him sent another wave of heat through her body. When the sudden and completely foreign impulse to squeeze his butt cheeks hit her, she knew it was time to leave. Hastily, she gathered her art supplies, tucked her oversized sketchpad under her arm, and dashed from the room without offering the teacher an apology or daring to looking back.
****
David watched the blonde rush past him and it took all his will power not to call out for her to stop. She held the sketchpad under her arm, angled high enough to cover her face from view as she left the room, leaving him with his plans foiled and an emptiness that he could not comprehend. Somehow, she had taken a part of him with her, leaving him confused, agitated, and somewhat frustrated. He had been conscious of her eyes on him, aware of her arousal and although he had—on more than one occasion—sensed the desire of young artists, he had never physically reacted to their attraction. This little blonde affected him physically, viscerally. He imagined her delicate hands tracing the contours of his body and his body reacted as though she were physically stroking him. Thankfully, the red cloth of the Spartan cape hid his erection.
How was she doing that? His gut twisted in protest to her departure, and the blood in his veins boiled, begging for her to return. Holding his position on the dais became painfully difficult. Nevertheless, he was obliged to both the class and his coven to see the lesson through to the end so he remained still, disappointed in the knowledge that by the time he dressed and left the room, the mysterious blonde would be long gone.
Chapter Two
As if the shame and humiliation of her panic attack hadn’t been enough, the final straw came when Lilith rang on the pretext of checking up on her. Theirs was a friendship of convenience. Lilith needed someone to gossip with and Meaghan needed to learn all she could about the other students without drawing attention to herself. Without revealing her true purpose for attending the classes. Previous attempts by the police to question the students had proved fruitless so, posing as one of their own seemed like the best way to gain information. Unfortunately, she had little in common with Lilith besides their love of art.
“We so have to get you laid,” Lilith teased. “Maybe we should give Leonidas a call and organize a threesome. I have a feeling he would be up for it.”
“If you’re referring to tonight’s model, I’m sure he gets offers like that all the time. Besides, I’m not interested in a twosome let alone a threesome.” Meaghan had often wondered about Lilith’s sexuality. It wasn’t the first time she had mentioned threesomes and Meaghan was pretty sure that Lilith wasn’t even her real name. She recalled Lilith as being Adam’s first wife and the mother of vampires or something similar. It was probably chosen to represent her fascination with the macabre. They had met in night classes and after hearing about Lilith’s interest in the recent murders, Meaghan had encouraged a friendship, of sorts. She had never seen Lilith around in the daytime, but to be fair, she herself was rarely there during the day as her work schedule only permitted her to attend night classes. So far, Lilith hadn’t done anything too out of the ordinary.
“Anyway, gotta go. Meeting some people tonight who are gonna hook me up with some good shit.”
When Lilith hung up the phone, Meaghan shook her head and reminded herself that she had to ignore the drug reference. She wasn’t there to arrest drug dealers or users and she had to be careful in case she ran into any undercover narcotic agents. They might blow each other’s cover. She had worked too hard to get this particular job and knew that she wouldn’t have been given the chance if it wasn’t for her youthful looks and mediocre artistic talent. Torn between her love of art and her desire to succeed in the police force, she jumped when this opportunity presented itself.
She picked up her large sketch pad and flopped into her only chair, a big overstuffed armchair that she had found at a second-hand store in town. Flipping through the pad, she stopped at her most recent sketch and sighed. For the first time this semester, she actually had a model worth drawing and all she could manage was a mediocre sketch that would hardly get her any recognition as an artist. Not nearly good enough for her portfolio, especially if she hoped to get a High Distinction. What a waste of time. As she considered her behavior in class, she suddenly became aware of the fact that—for the second time today—she had been absentmindedly tracing the drawing with her index finger, running her hand over his body and face with the intimacy of a lover. A ripple of electricity ran down her spine, the hair on her neck prickled. She tossed the pad across the room as she yelled, “Who the hell are you anyway?”
****
“David.”
The name was repeated, this time louder. “David! Earth to David.”
“What?” David answered. He had hardly noticed when his sister-in-law walked into the room. He was forced to quickly step behind the kitchen counter to hide his erection. His body felt sensitized, as though soft hands gently stroked his skin. He had experienced the same sensations during the art class when the little blonde seemed distracted by his backside, unaware that he was facing a mirror and could see her actions. He was grateful that Anna had made her presence known before the daydream went any further. “Oh, sorry, Anna. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“You did seem deep in thought,” she agreed. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine.” He sighed, disappointed that his fantasy was cut short. “Was there something you wanted?”
“I was wondering if you had discovered anything at the University yet.”
“The students are talking plenty, but everything is hearsay, no eye witnesses that I have found.”
Anna sighed. “Maybe I was wrong. It’s been a week since I had the premonition.”
David touched her shoulder. “You were right about the first murder, it happened where and how you said it would. I have no doubt that your second premonition will be just as accurate.”
“I wish that these visions would at least give me a time and day. Something like that would be rather helpful. I feel so useless.”
“You’re still developing your powers, Anna. The last couple of months have been a nightmare. I don’t know how you coped with everything that life threw at you.”
“Fortunately, I had you and Derrick to guide me through.”
She rewarded him with a smile, but he knew she had been to hell and back. It would take time to process and heal, but he had every confidence in his new sister.
“Give it some time.”
“But what about those poor women in the visions? Their time has run out.”
“David will be at the University again tonight, watching and waiting for the killer to show up. Isn’t that right?”
David turned to see his brother enter the room. Derrick picked up his bride and kissed her. As the kiss heated and Derrick’s hands began t
o wander over Anna’s body, David objected.
“Will you two get a room?”
Anna blushed as Derrick put her down. He reminded David.
“We have a room. A very nice room in fact.” He pulled Anna towards the stairs and called over his shoulder, “If you need us, we will be in that very nice room,” then after a moment’s consideration he added, “try not to need us.”
****
David poured himself a drink and looked out the window. Years of experience had already warned him the sun was close to coming up, but he knew he had time to relax for a while before retiring to his darkened room. Besides, he had a feeling that sleep would elude him or at the very least, his dreams would be filled with visions of braids and daisies and, if he was lucky, more sensations of being touched.
Chapter Three
Meaghan covered her yawn with the back of her hand as she sat in one of the front seats of the 6.30 p.m. bus to Uni. She had spent the day sorting through mug shots and researching some of the teachers in case there were any suspects at the campus. A pointless, waste of her time but part of the job. To top it off, she had lost sleep to the wailing of some strange animal outside her bedroom window. She considered feral cats in the area but if this was a cat, it must be huge.
Lilith boarded the bus and joined the other Goths in the back row rather than take the empty seat beside Meaghan. Not that it bothered her. Typically, Lilith ignored her when the other Goths were around and only spoke to her if they were alone. She assumed that being seen with her would ruin Lilith’s image. When the bus stopped and Meaghan alighted, Lilith followed.
“Hi,” she called, acting as though she hadn’t walked straight past her on the bus.
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