The Vampire Rules
Dark World: The Vampire Wish Prequel Novella
Michelle Madow
Dreamscape Publishing
ONE
“To the gold!” my teammate Ryan said, raising a shot of vodka in the air.
“To the gold!” I repeated.
We clinked our glasses together, tapped the bottoms on the table, and drank.
“We couldn’t have done it without you.” Zane looked at me, giving me a slight nod of appreciation.
“Hell yeah!” Ryan reached for his shot glass and started banging it rhythmically on the table. “Jacen. Jacen. Jacen,” he chanted, the other guys quickly joining along.
I smiled modestly, although I knew they were right. Without my four second win on the final relay of the event, we would have lost the gold that had secured us the all-around win.
This was a major step in what I’d been training for all my life—the Olympics.
“What’s up?” Ryan asked me once everyone had finished chanting. “You got all serious all of a sudden.”
“Just thinking about a year and a half from now.” I leaned back and smirked, not wanting to look too serious.
“Now’s not the time to think about the Olympics.” He raised his empty shot glass. “Now’s the time to celebrate the win we had today!”
“Why’s the ‘next Phelps’ worrying about the Olympics?” Zane asked. “Everyone knows you’re a shoe in.”
“No one’s a shoe in,” I said. “Who knows what could happen between now and then?”
“I’ll tell you what could happen between now and then.” Ryan belched, rested his elbows on the table, and looked toward the bar. “See that hottie all alone at the end of the bar?”
I looked in the general direction. With her long dark hair, porcelain skin, and doll-like features, the girl was impossible to miss.
Her eyes met mine, and I quickly turned away, not wanting to be caught staring.
“Hot, right?” Ryan asked.
“For sure,” I said, even though she was more than hot—she was gorgeous.
“She’s been checking you out all night.”
“Has she?” I raised an eyebrow—intrigued, but not surprised. As a group of champion swimmers, my teammates and I weren’t good at blending in. But while I enjoyed an occasional fling, I never allowed anything to get further than that. I didn’t need anyone—especially a girl—distracting me from my Olympic dream.
“Twenty bucks says you can get her up to your room in twenty minutes or less,” Zane said, slapping a twenty on the table.
“It’s gonna take longer than that.” Ryan put a twenty down as well. “She’s way too uppity. Not dressed like a typical groupie.”
I sneaked another glance at her—Ryan was right. I didn’t know much about women’s clothes, but hers looked expensive. Plus, she was barely showing any cleavage.
It was a scientific fact that the lower the cut of a woman’s top, the easier it was to get her into bed.
Well, maybe not completely scientific. But my teammates and I had put the theory to the test a few months ago, and it generally proved true.
She said something to the bartender and smiled. It was a knowing sort of smile—as if she was in on a secret that the rest of the world wasn’t a part of. She also only had water in front of her, which made me wonder if she was of legal drinking age.
If she weren’t, she would have been asked to leave the bar, right?
Usually that was the case. But from the mesmerized way the bartender stared at her, he looked like he would risk getting into trouble for the chance to talk to her all night.
“Yo, Olympian!” Zane snapped his fingers in front of my face.
He was looking at me like he was waiting for me to answer a question.
“Yeah?” I said.
“What do you say?” he asked. “You up for the challenge?”
I glanced over at the girl again—subtly, of course—and our eyes quickly met.
My teammates were right. She was definitely checking me out.
The guys and I had come down to the hotel bar to celebrate our win. We had an early flight home tomorrow morning, so I hadn’t intended on making this a big night out. After all, I’d be jumping back into training tomorrow.
But there was something about the girl that made me want to talk to her. Plus, the guys knew me well.
I never turned down a challenge.
So I stood up and headed toward the bar.
TWO
I made a ruse of surveying the open spaces at the bar, as if figuring out where there was room for me to go in to grab a drink. Eventually, I honed in on the empty barstool next to the girl.
Normally the seats next to the most beautiful women filled up the quickest. But hey, I wasn’t complaining.
I slid into the space next to her, although I didn’t sit down. I didn’t pay attention to her at all. Instead, I focused on the bartender.
Once I caught his eye, I flashed him my credit card—the universal symbol for “I’m ready to place my order.”
He nodded in acknowledgment as he whipped up complicated cocktails for two older women on the other side of the bar.
I put my credit card away—I wouldn’t need it, since I was staying at the hotel.
As I waited, I rested an elbow on the bar, glancing at the girl out of the corner of my eye. She was even more beautiful up close. Dare I say flawless. I was stunned for a second, but quickly got a hold of myself.
“Only a water?” I asked, glancing at her drink.
For a pick up line, it wasn’t much. But I rarely had to try hard. All that mattered was getting an in.
“For now.” She spoke with a lilting accent, giving me the same knowing smile she’d used on the bartender earlier.
“Where are you from?” I asked.
“Guess.” She tilted her head, her hair falling gently down her shoulders and alongside her breasts. I wasn’t sure if she’d done it on purpose or not, but it definitely got me looking.
“I’ll need to hear you say more than that if you expect me to guess,” I said.
“Like what?” She leaned forward, looking intrigued.
“How about you tell me your name,” I started. “And your drink of choice, so I can buy one for you. You are legal drinking age, right?”
“You have no idea.” She laughed, her eyes lighting up in amusement.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” she said, serious again. “I’m nineteen, so yes, that’s legal drinking age here in Toronto. And my favorite drink is red wine. Amarone, to be precise.”
“Interesting.” Most of the girls I picked up at bars chose fruity drinks, with a beer thrown in here and there. “And your name?” I asked.
“Laila,” she answered. “I take it you’re Jacen?”
“How did you know?” I assumed Ryan was wrong and she was a swimming groupie, but she looked classier than that. Those girls also normally traveled in packs.
“Your friends over there were chanting it earlier.” She glanced at the table full of my teammates.
They looked away the moment she turned to them, doing a terrible job of pretending that they weren’t watching us like we were their entertainment for tonight.
“Right,” I said sheepishly, remembering how they’d chanted like a bunch of frat boys. “We won the gold today in a major competition.”
“I heard there was some big event nearby,” she said. “What sport do you play?”
I smiled, relieved that she wasn’t a groupie who’d come to our hotel to pick one of us up for the night. “Swimming,” I said.
“Nice.” She ran her eyes down my body, checking me out.
From the way the small smile rema
ined on her lips, I assumed she liked what she saw.
“You said your team won,” she continued. “But from the way your friends were chanting, it sounded like you won the gold.”
“I won a few individual races.” I smirked and leaned closer to her. She smelled delicious—like a sweet, intoxicating flower.
Her gaze locked on mine, her eyes a stunning shade of blue that reminded me of the Pacific Ocean. Despite her proper demeanor, she leaned closer and licked her lips, as if daring me to kiss her.
“So.” The bartender smacked his hands down on the surface in front of us, pulling me out of the moment. “What’ll it be?”
I got ahold of myself, remembering that I’d come over here under the guise of grabbing a drink. “The best IPA you have on tap for me,” I said. “And an Amarone for the lady.”
“Got it.” He didn’t ID Laila, so I assumed he must have covered that when she’d sat down.
I told him my room number so he could put it on my bill.
“Want to keep the tab open?” he asked.
I glanced at Laila.
She simply raised an eyebrow, as if curious about my answer herself.
“Sure.” I slid into the seat next to her, like I was only now deciding to join her. “Let’s keep it open.”
He walked away to get our drinks, and I returned my focus to Laila, glad she looked pleased by my decision to stay.
“So.” She crossed one leg over the other, her foot nearly brushing mine. “Have you figured out where I’m from?”
She’d entranced me so much that I hadn’t given my original question another thought. But now that she mentioned it, I wracked my mind for a possible answer. Her accent sounded like she came from a place where English was the official language, but I couldn’t pinpoint the country.
“South Africa?” I guessed, since that was an English speaking country where I was less familiar with the accent.
“Nope.”
“Australia?”
“Wrong again.”
“England?”
“Finally.” She smiled. “I thought you’d never get it.”
“Your accent sounds different from other British ones I’ve heard,” I told her. “It threw me off my game.”
“I’m one of the few remaining people on Earth who still speaks this dialect.” She had that mysterious look in her eyes again, like she was sharing a coveted secret.
I was about to ask her more, but the bartender returned and placed our drinks in front of us before I had the chance.
I picked up my glass and raised it in a toast. “To new friends,” I said, holding my gaze with hers.
“And to unexpected evenings,” she added. “In the absolute best of ways.”
She clinked her glass with mine, and we drank.
THREE
“So, what are you doing here in Toronto?” I asked, settling into my place next to her at the bar.
“Family trip,” she said simply.
“You’re here with your family, yet at a hotel bar by yourself?”
“My family goes to sleep early,” she explained. “But I’ve always been more of the nocturnal type.”
“A night owl?” I asked.
“A vampire.” She chuckled and sipped her wine, eyeing up my reaction.
It was a bit of a strange comment, but someone as stunning as Laila could get away with saying anything. “You’re into all that fantasy stuff?” I guessed.
“You could say that.” She smiled—she looked so mysterious when she smiled. “I do enjoy reading.”
“So do I,” I said. “I don’t get to do much of it anymore, since I’m always training, but I read a lot when I was younger.”
We continued chatting from there—Laila proved to be an excellent conversationalist. It wasn’t long before both of our drinks were empty. I’d met my fair share of girls on the road, but never ones as intelligent, sophisticated, and as beautiful as Laila. I could talk to her all night.
“Your friends keep looking over at us.” She glanced over my shoulder at where my teammates were sitting.
A quick glance at my watch showed me that Laila and I had been chatting for longer than twenty minutes. Ryan would be thrilled that he won the bet. But I didn’t look back at the guys. They’d likely had a few more drinks by now, and the last thing I needed was for them to do something to embarrass me.
“Want to check out another place?” I asked. “There are some other bars on this street where we can continue this conversation without having my drunk teammates as an audience.”
She set her empty wine glass down and tilted her head, once more looking like she was up to something.
Who was this girl, and how had I fallen under her spell so easily?
“You should invite me to your room.” Her voice sounded like music, and my entire body relaxed—that IPA must have been stronger than I’d realized. “There are a few desserts on the room service menu that I’ve had my eye on since checking in. And we certainly won’t have to worry about an audience there.”
I smiled lazily, since I could gladly grant her request.
“Would you like to come up to my room?” I stood and held an arm out to her, not bothering to glance in my teammates’ direction. All that mattered right now was Laila. “You can order anything off the room service menu that you want.”
“That sounds divine.” She stood and looped her arm in mine, gazing up at me with those hypnotizing blue eyes. “Please, lead the way.”
And so, I did.
FOUR
I opened the bottle of wine that the hotel had left in my room when I’d checked in, and then called down to room service.
“I’d like one of each of your desserts,” I ordered.
Laila had just opened the menu, but she closed it after I’d spoken. Her lips curved up, and she tossed her hair over her shoulder, apparently impressed.
Once my order was confirmed, I placed the phone back down and poured us each a glass of wine. She walked up to join me and took her glass.
“That was very thoughtful of you,” she said, lifting her glass in a toast. “You’re quite the gentleman. I have less work cut out for me than I’d anticipated.”
“What do you mean?” I immediately jumped to where most girls tended to go—that she saw this escalating into a relationship. And while she was entrancing, I refused to let anything distract me from my training. “My plane leaves in the morning, and with you living in England and me in the States, I don’t want to give you the wrong idea…”
“I understand.” She lifted her chin and raised her glass higher. “To tonight?”
“To tonight.” I clinked her glass, since that was certainly a toast I could get behind.
I took a sip of the wine—a full red that had a slight sweetness to it. It was perfect for dessert.
She smiled after tasting hers, and I was glad that the hotel had chosen well. The moonlight shined through the windows, making her porcelain skin look like it was glowing, and I wanted so badly to kiss her.
But I didn’t want to rush this. After all, room service would be coming soon.
I wanted to save the best part of the night for after dessert.
“What?” She smiled up at me, laughing nervously.
I was surprised. Up until now, I didn’t think a girl as confident and sophisticated as Laila was capable of being nervous. Hell, I normally didn’t get nervous, but being around her made me dizzier than ever. Everything about her entranced me—her voice, her eyes, her scent, her smile. It was like she was putting a spell on me.
“You’re beautiful,” I said honestly. “I’m glad we met tonight.”
“I’m glad we met, too,” she said. “Despite your teammates having to put you up to it.”
“You heard that?” I stilled, embarrassed.
“Oh, Jacen.” She sighed, as if I were a clueless child. “I know far more than you could ever imagine.”
Another cryptic statement.
I was about to ask what she meant
, but there was a knock on the door.
“Room service,” the person called from the other side.
I opened the door, and the server rolled in a cart topped with every dessert on the menu. I gave him a nice tip, and after setting up our table, he was on his way.
“What’ll it be?” I asked Laila, motioning to the display before us.
“I don’t know.” She smiled coyly and twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “What do you want?”
“Ladies first,” I said, since two could play this game. “I insist.”
She chose the molten lava cake. I wasn’t surprised, since girls usually went for chocolate. But I rarely ate dessert—I had to stay in shape for training—so I went for the fruit bowl.
“You’re not going to indulge?” Laila raised an eyebrow. “You’re missing out.” She savored a bite of her cake, looking extraordinarily sexual while doing so.
With her gazing at me like that, how could I refuse?
I replaced my fruit bowl with the apple pie a la mode and took a bite. She was right—the dessert was delicious.
“That’s more like it,” she said, taking another bite of her cake.
We tried everything on the platter until we were so full that we might burst. Once finished, there was still a decent amount left over. But given the amount we’d started with, we did a pretty good job.
“What was your favorite?” I asked, finally laying my spoon down in defeat.
“I haven’t tasted my favorite yet.” She slithered over to me and sat on my lap, draping an arm around my neck.
“Oh yeah?” I was surprised by her boldness, but hey, I wasn’t complaining. “What’s your favorite?”
“You.” She brought her lips to mine and quickly deepened the kiss, as if she’d been waiting for this moment all night.
I brushed my tongue against hers, enjoying the foreplay. She tasted as delicious as she smelled. Then I scooped her up and brought her to the bed, laying her down and hovering above her. She gazed up at me with those big blue eyes, and I smiled at the knowledge that this beautiful creature was mine for the night.
The Vampire Rules Page 1
