There! I’d said it. Admittedly, I didn’t explain the why, and hopefully I wouldn’t need to.
“I expected that.” He shrugged. “Not many become a Courtesan as a career move, they usually need one of two things.”
“What?” I asked confused, thinking money must be the only reason anyone would give their body and blood to a freaking vampire.
“Money or thrills.” He held out his hand, pulling me up. “Money is self-explanatory, thrills are quite another matter. Some like to dance with death, so to speak, and those individuals clamor to be chosen by the more extreme vampires. I’ll put your mind at rest. I am not one of those.”
“Good to know,” I squeaked.
“You can call me Maxwell, or Mr. Steele, whichever you feel comfortable with.” He circled me slowly, his eyes never leaving me for a second.
“Mr. Steele, but I . . .”
He cut me off with a wave of his hand. “I gave up my family name a long time ago. It’s of no consequence and you’ve been given the two suitable names to use.”
“I see,” I said, although I definitely didn’t, not at all.
His nose sniffed around my head as I stood stiffly, trying not to move a muscle. When he stepped back he frowned. “You’re not entirely human. I can smell wolf on you.”
Shit! I hadn’t counted on him finding that snippet out this early on. I rolled my eyes. “My mum had a little liaison with a wolf and I was the outcome. I’ve never felt wolf, or been able to transform, or anything like that. It’s not a problem. Is it?”
I held my breath. This was it. The precise moment my future would be decided.
He seemed to take forever, the moment dragging on before he stopped behind me, leaning down and breathing into my ear. “No, not a problem.”
Jesus fucking H. Christ! I swear I almost fainted. My body reacting in ways I’d only ever read about in books. My thighs quivered, my mouth watered, and hells bells and buggery! That tiny slip of silk that was masquerading as panties, suddenly seemed very moist.
“Let me run through some details and if everything is acceptable, I’ll get a contract drawn up.”
“Okay,” I barely managed to mumble, too focused on staying upright.
“First, and most importantly . . .” He paused, his fingers trailing across my back just above the bandeau of the dress, causing my body to shiver in anticipation of more. “For the duration of my visit here, you are mine. Mine and mine alone. You move in now, right this minute, and you do not leave until I say you can. Second, I will be feeding from you, obviously, and when I feed I prefer to do it within the confines of my bedroom. That should tell you what else I expect from this contract, but in case of any doubt, I’ll put it plainly. Sex. I expect sex, and lots of it. I don’t like simpering girls, so if you’re a daddy’s girl, this is definitely not the job for you. I don’t take to any kind of manipulation well, so don’t try it, or you’ll be out on your ear quicker than you can blink.”
He stopped coming around to stand before me. “All right so far?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” I nodded, trying to inhale more oxygen to clear my head, because my thoughts had honed in on that word. Sex. I’d never had it, never really wanted it, but with him it seemed something entirely different to my daydreaming while reading romance stories. It sounded dangerous, dark, exciting, and erotic.
“I’ll provide you with everything you’ll require. Clothes, food, spending money while you’re my Courtesan, and I will pay you a minimum of twenty thousand pounds. That will be for the first week. If I remain here longer, I’ll pay you pro rata for each additional day.”
Twenty thousand pounds. Did I hear right? Fecking hell! That was more than enough for me to get the heck away from here, and the damn Pack. I could go to the airport, any airport, and just pick a flight. I could be on my way and nobody would know where the heck I’d gone. No father on my tail, and no Pack to make my life hell.
“That sounds acceptable,” I breathed out, barely containing my excitement and tamping down any fears I had. This was a no brainer. I needed the money so I’d do whatever it took. On the plus side, this man, vampire, was dashing and handsome and yes, he scared me, but he also did things to me that I’d never encountered before. I’d be damned if my apprehension would stop me from doing what I needed to do and I definitely needed to do this: become his Blood Courtesan or be damned to a living hell within a Pack.
“I can sense your reticence, and your excitement, Flora.” He stops in front of me. My head rising so our eyes could meet, his head cocked to the side.
“Flora, that’s a beautiful name.” Maxwell stares intently at me, his eyes raking from head to toe then back again, making my feet shuffle and my heart rate explode in my chest. “I think you’ll do nicely for my time here. Remember, Flora, you are mine for the duration of my visit. All mine. After I leave, you will get paid and can go on with your life however you see fit.”
I nod, fear and excitement battling within me. “Thank you,” I whisper softly.
“Don’t thank me just yet.” Maxwell smirks coldly. “I am a demanding vampire, little Flora, and you may just regret your decision.”
“I won’t,” I firmly reply. How could I? This vampire was my ticket to freedom and I would never regret that. Not ever.
Would I?
~ Chapter 4 ~
“I’m sorry?” I asked quietly, butterflies stampeding like a herd of wild horses through my stomach.
Standing in the middle of an enormous bedroom, dominated by the biggest bed I’d ever laid eyes on, my toes curling into an inch-thick carpet, I tried to calm myself. Maxwell crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, as he stared hard at me.
“I said. . .” He pushed away and stalked toward me. “Are you a virgin? I’m usually good at knowing these sorts of details, and I could easily just pop inside that gorgeous head of yours to find out, but I’d like you to answer me.”
I felt a blush start to crawl its way up my chest, neck, and onto my face. Great! I must look like a demented beetroot.
“Yes,” I choked out, battling to get my breathing under control.
His intense eyes drew me in and I couldn’t tear mine away. His lip tugged up at the side which added another herd of horses to my butterflies. Damn! He was hot.
“I thought as much.” He lowered to sit on the arm of a huge armchair, tapping his chin. “Now, Flora, I want the truth. What’s going on with you and just whose horse did you ride in on?”
“What?” I stalled, hoping this moment would come later: much later.
“You’re obviously here for the money and that means that you couldn’t afford a beast like that.” He quirked an eyebrow. “So, I’ll ask again, what’s going on with you?”
I opened my mouth, not quite sure what I was going to say, when he held up a hand. “Wait, I don’t want any bullshit. I do not like to be lied to. The truth, bonny Flora, and nothing but the truth.”
I giggled. I couldn’t help it as a vision of Maxwell in a Judge’s gown flashed into my head. “I’m sorry.” My hand flew to my mouth. “That last bit made me think of a courtroom.”
“Answer me,” he replied curtly, causing my insides to quiver. Whether fear or not, I wasn’t quite sure.
“I’m here to earn the means to escape my father,” I exhaled, relief flowing through me at the revelation. “I’d never met him until my mum died, then he swooped in and took me to his Pack. Well, all I’ll say about that is that it’s feckin’ awful! They treat me like dirt and they’re a bunch of bullies. I have no freedom whatsoever, and I work in his stables seven days a week and I don’t get a penny. He says my board, food, and the clothes on my back are all that I’m owed. So, I took Mallen, that’s the gelding, so I could get here. I really need to take him back, though. If I don’t, he’ll come searching for him, even though nobody else can ride him and my dad hates that I can. Ferfucksake! He’ll sell him or put him down now, I just know he will. Jeez, I haven�
�t thought this through, Have I? I mean, how do I then get back here? And . . .”
My heart stuttered in my chest, knowing I’d probably just blown everything with my rambling, but my fear, for myself and the strong, loyal Mallen, had me gushing out everything in one fell swoop. I felt my eyes fill with tears, but refused to allow them to fall. I hadn’t cried since my mum’s funeral, and I wasn’t starting now.
Maxwell cocked his head to the side, his icy blue eyes inscrutable as he stopped me. “Hold on. I’m afraid it’s been a while since I heard a good Scots brogue, and yours is getting broader by the second. Flora, calm down and we can possibly sort things out.”
My mouth fell open. “Sort things out? Why? You don’t know me and I’m just supposed to be here to . . . to . . . well, to service you.”
He raised an eyebrow, his eyes turning cold, which caused my heart to leap up into my throat, almost choking the life from me. He took several moments before responding. “Service me. That’s not how I’d describe our arrangement. I am paying for you to be available to me for sustenance, and yes, there will be other things involved, but I do, and always have, treated my Courtesans with respect. I’d prefer if you gave me the same consideration.”
My face flamed with embarrassment, my eyes dropping to the floor in shame. “Sorry,” I mumbled, chagrined.
“Apology accepted.” Maxwell strode over, a finger under my chin to force me to look into his eyes. “Now, shall we start again? I have to confess I require this to be sorted in a timely manner as I am well overdue for a feed. One thing you need to be aware of, Flora, is that I don’t do well when I’m hungry. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that hunger is a condition that doesn’t bode well for anyone around me.”
“Okay.” I shuddered at the reference to my part in easing his hunger: my blood and whatever was involved. Feck it! I wished I wasn’t a bloody virgin! I have no clue whatsoever in how to satisfy that need in him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw me out on my ear in just a jiffy.
“First, I assume your father has no idea you’re here. Correct?” he asked first.
“Aye.” I tried to look away but his eyes glinted and I kept mine locked on his.
“Second, the horse that’s still in my courtyard, that doesn’t belong to you. Correct?”
I squirmed and barely managed to stop from looking away. “Aye.”
“As a Courtesan has to be at least eighteen years of age, I assume you are over that age?”
This one had me nodding vigorously. “I’m nineteen but I’ll be twenty in a few weeks. If I could’ve escaped him sooner I would have, but it’s only recently he’s not had his wolves patrolling around the stable area to make sure I don’t run. I think he’s of the opinion that he’s broke me, but he hasn’t, I’ve just been good at letting him think that.”
“Flora, pray tell, if he has the authority to have ‘his’ wolves keeping guard over you, what position in the Pack does he hold?” Maxwell’s gaze pinned me in place and I swallowed hard.
Now I had to admit my twat of a father was Alpha. Shit!
I couldn’t say it. I tried. I did. But my throat closed shut so damn tight I thought I was going to suffocate. My hand flew to my throat as fear raced headlong through me. Strong fingers cupped my chin, holding me in place and the most astonishing thing in the universe happened.
Soft, lush, cold lips covered mine in a kiss so intense and beautiful that my knees actually gave out. Maxwell’s arm snaking around my back to keep me from falling. I felt as if someone had set a fireworks factory alight as lights flashed behind my eyelids. I hadn’t even realized I’d closed my eyes.
I felt as if my body melted into his as his tongue made its way inside my mouth, toying with mine. I swear I felt as if I’d died and gone to heaven. It was that good.
Sensations I’d only ever read about were suddenly happening to me and it was magical. When his lips broke contact with mine, I was mortified that I moaned aloud at the loss.
“Now you can breathe again.” He smirked down at me.
I nodded, words failing me for the moment, then I remembered his question and fear lapped my insides once more. “Alpha,” I gasped, waiting on the axe to fall at my revelation.
“I thought as much.” He stepped back, crossing his arms and glaring down at me. “When were you going to give me that snippet of information?”
I shrugged and decided to go with the truth. “I wasn’t. I was hoping to get the job, do it, get the money and run like hell.”
“Naïve in the extreme,” Maxwell replied curtly, turning away sharply, and pacing back and forth.
“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t move. Terror overcame my entire being as I saw my only chance at escape slipping away.
“Sorry won’t cut it when Alistair Brodie and his wolves come knocking on the door.” Maxwell spun around as I gasped.
“You know his name?”
“Of course I do,” he said pointedly. “Vampires and wolves don’t exactly get on. Therefore, if I’m going to a new area I make sure to find out all I can about any nearby. The information I’ve received about his Pack is less than stellar. My reports state he’s something of a tyrant and rules by the old ways. Not a good combination and now he’ll be on his way here to retrieve his daughter and his horse. Both of which, in his eyes, are his property to do with as he wishes.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I confess, nibbling my bottom lip so much I tasted blood.
Maxwell inhaled sharply, his eyes zeroing in on my lips. In a blur of movement, he stood before me, a finger rising to gather some of my blood then tasting it. He made a soft noise as he licked his finger, his eyes rising to gaze into mine.
“Your blood is exquisite.” He leaned down, running his tongue along my lips. “I’ve never tasted anything quite so . . . pure.”
“Please,” I begged. “I need to escape. My soul is dying being his prisoner. Please don’t send me away.”
I could hear the desperation in my words and held my breath, waiting to see if he’d sentence me to return to the Pack, and a life of hell.
“And I need to feed,” he stated matter of factly. “I can’t make a decision while my entire being is craving blood. More precisely, your blood.”
“My blood is yours,” I whisper with only a hint of fear. I’d do anything to free myself from the Pack and feeding a vampire was my only way out. This was it. The final point of no return. Was I going to do this? Allow a vampire to drink from me, take my blood for sustenance? Yes, absolutely, if it meant I could escape the Pack. And, of course, there was the other stuff involved of which I had no experience of at all.
Would he find me lacking and regret his decision to have me as his Courtesan? Hell, I hoped not because this was my one, my only, way out.
“You are very tempting.” Maxwell’s words blowing cold breaths against my neck as he leaned in.
His arms encircling me, one around my waist, and one hand holding the back of my head, my body pulled aggressively against his. I felt a sharp scrape against my skin as his fangs ran over my throat. I felt vulnerable and powerless in his embrace as he licked my neck.
“I can smell you,” he murmured. “Sweet and delicious.”
I felt like a deer caught in headlights as he darted back, his eyes piercing my soul. “Flora, are you certain you wish to do this? I refuse to stop once I start feeding so this is your one chance to leave intact. If you stay, you are bound with our contract and you will be mine. Every last inch of you. All mine until I say otherwise.”
I felt overwhelmed with inadequacy as Maxwell’s burning desire became evident, his hardness pushing against me. “I want to stay but I’m scared . . .”
His lips plunged down on mine, devouring me entirely. I could no longer think cohesively. Not when his lips intoxicated me the way they were doing. I was afire with feelings I didn’t even have names for. Feelings I wasn’t aware existed. My senses seemed to be on overload, my skin tingling, heart t
hudding madly as I surrendered myself to his touch.
Maxwell’s hands roamed over my body, setting it aflame with desire, his lips moving from mine and licking down my jaw, my throat, and landing on my neck. One of his hands cupped my breast, teasing the nipple to a hard nub and then he struck.
His fangs pierced my skin quickly. I barely felt the pain as his masterful hands did things to my body that turned my brain to mush with barely a thought to anything other than how I felt. As he lapped at my blood, I groaned when his hand left my breast, snaking down to tug my dress upward so he gained access to my panties.
I scarcely registered the sound of ripping material as he rid me of the satin thong, his fingers dipping between my folds to explore my body. He delved between my legs, opening my lips and dipping a finger inside the dampness that drenched my core.
“Oh dear fucking hell.” I gasped again and again as his fingers deftly brought me to a precipice I had no knowledge of.
I could feel myself nearing the edge, but the edge to what? I honestly had no idea and that terrified me so much I think I forgot to breathe. What other reason was there for me gasping like a fish out of water?
Maxwell’s fingers were electrifying. They seemed to have a will of their own, working me into such ecstasy that I thought I’d pass out. When he manipulated the heel of his hand so it massaged that so sensitive spot, hells bells, I knew he was gonna kill me. My heart was beating so fast that I could hear my blood rushing through my veins, my mouth dried up, my legs grew weak, and then, then, I plummeted over that elusive edge into a place I didn’t want to leave.
My body shook with the power of the orgasm that ravaged me. The feelings so intense I fell into Maxwell’s arms, whimpering like a child. Waves of pleasure washed over me, again and again, as he held me tightly, whispering to me softly.
“My bonny lass, you’re so responsive, I can’t wait to take you to bed.” His lips nuzzled my throat. “You taste so delicious I’ll have to be careful and not drink too much.”
Escape: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance Page 3
