“Well, that was quite interesting,” Cian smirked.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” I accused.
“I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re referring to.” He sipped on his wine, and I wanted to shove the glass down his throat.
“Fuck you. You know damn well. You knew they were naked in the spa. You knew I was following you. What? Did you get a kick out of witnessing my lust for the witch? Did you get a charge out of watching my discomfort?
“Actually, yes. And you didn’t seem very uncomfortable. You looked more lustful than anything. Lane, just admit it. You’re smitten.”
“Okay. I’ll admit it. She’s beautiful. I want her. Fuck. I want her more than I want to breathe right now. But I can’t have her. Don’t you fucking understand? Every time I get close to her, my cock begs to be inside of her, yet every fucking time I try, I lose it. I just can’t do it. And I end up making things worse because I push her away.”
“Maybe you should try talking to her instead of trying to fuck her.”
“You think I need a witch’s spell to kill the fucking monsters in my head?”
“Maybe. But maybe not the spell, just the witch.” Cian apparently hadn’t talked to Vanessa in the past hour. I was sure that she probably hated me right now.
“Think about it, Lane. The witch will be here for the next three months…” he reminded me.
Chapter Fourteen
Vanessa
I almost slid all the way under the water when I saw Lane and Cian standing by the edge of the pool watching us. But if I had, I probably would have drowned because my mouth was gaping at the surprise visit. I’d been relaxing, leaning back, actually not caring if part of my breasts were showing when I opened my eyes and saw Lane and Cian standing there watching us. Lane watching me. I wanted to die right there. Mags swore she hadn’t told Cian to come to the sunroom, that she had only told him where we were so he wouldn’t come looking for us.
The minute the two men left, I’d jumped out of the tub and grabbed a towel.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he would come in here.” Mags followed me out of the water and took a towel herself, drying her legs and body.
I finished patting dry and pulled on my clothes. It had been bad enough earlier when Lane had practically ravaged me in the wine cellar. But now, for him to walk in here and see me naked… Well, the upper half anyway. It was just…just...the man made me hot. Uncontrollably hot.
Mags and I entered the dining room, and she took a seat next to Cian. I glanced around to see only one spot left between Gage and Josh, and it was directly across from Lane. Crap. Really? Could this day get any worse? That meant that I would be staring right at him for most of the meal, and he’d be staring right back at me. There’d be no escaping his beautiful but perplexing eyes. Maybe I’d get lucky and he’d choke on an olive or something. Oh, right, vampires didn’t need air to survive. Damnit. But it would make him uncomfortable enough that he might need to leave the room. I sat down in the heavy, high-back, wooden chair and scooted in closer to the table. Glancing around, I didn’t see any olives. Too bad. But the pink, juicy roast sitting inside the puffed pastry in the middle of the table looked delicious, and my mouth watered just thinking about it. I hadn’t eaten much all day. I’d been too nervous about moving into the mansion. Temporarily. I had to keep remembering that. The sooner I left this place, the better off my self-esteem would be, as well as the constant ache between my thighs every time I looked at Lane. I’d been fine up until that night at the club, the first time he’d ravished my body as if he hadn’t had his hands on a woman in a hundred years or so.
I managed to sit down without looking across the table. I placed my napkin in my lap as Gage placed a generous slice of the roast beef surrounded by all that yummy pastry on my plate. Then I scooped up some mashed potatoes and peas to go with it. I reached for the gravy boat, and damn if my eyes didn’t catch Lane’s. I tried to avert my gaze, but it was difficult. My hand shook as I spooned some brown sauce into the ladle. The corner of his lips rose on one side in a sexy grin, and that simple little act caught me by surprise. I spilled gravy on the table right beside my plate, making a mess. “Oh. Sorry.” I grabbed my napkin off my lap to sop up the spill when a hand of one of the servants reached in beside me, wiping up the spill before I had a chance. “Thanks,” I said, clearing the boulder out of my throat. I picked up the glass of wine sitting directly in front of my plate and tasted. It was smooth and peppery. As I placed it down, I caught Lane staring at me, the expression on his face rather ominous to say the least. His brows were furrowed, and his forehead wrinkled as if he were angry. I was the one who should be mad. He continued to stare at me, and some of the wine spilled out of the glass as I set it down. “Fuck!”
“What’s going on with you?” Gage asked, laughing.
“I don’t know. I’m just clumsy today, I guess.” I shook my head. You’d have thought it was my first time eating dinner at the mansion the way I acted. I snuck another peek at Lane, wishing I could just crawl under the table and hide. I cut into the meat. It was tender and practically melted in my mouth as I chewed. As good as the meal tasted, I didn’t think I could eat much of it. My stomach was in knots and doing all sorts of gymnastic rolls and tumbles.
I grabbed the wine again and took a gulp, emptying the glass. I glanced around the table for the bottle, and Josh must have noticed my search. “I think that bottle is empty.”
“That’s too bad, too,” Ari piped up. “It was a two-thousand-dollar bottle, and there would have been more if Lane and Cian hadn’t snuck away before dinner and sampled a few glasses beforehand.”
“Why, Ari, do I detect a touch of bitterness coming from you?” Lane asked. I knew it had been too much to hope that I’d get through the meal without hearing his sexy English lilt. It made me tingle every time I heard him speak. Even when he was being nasty to me.
“You betcha. If you’re going to open an expensive bottle to go with a special dish, a dish that I had the cook prepare for Vanessa’s first night, the least you could do is share it equally among the diners.”
“I thought you said you had it prepared for me?” Lane pouted.
“No. I only said I was making your favorite. The special night is Vanessa’s.”
“Hey, children. Don’t fight,” Cian said, chuckling.
I smiled too at the thought that Ari had set this up just for me. It did make me feel special.
“Jace,” Cian said to the male servant standing by the door, “would you go to the wine cellar and fetch another bottle of this? I believe we have two or three more. Better bring up two.” He handed the empty to the man, and the man nodded, leaving the room without another word.
“Cian, that wine is expensive,” Ari said.
He shrugged. “What’s money got to do with it? It’s an excellent wine. It goes very well with the beef, and there are nine...wait”—he quickly glanced around the table—“eight of us here. I think I should have told Jace to bring up all three bottles. Now he’ll probably have to go back down again. Wine is to be enjoyed. And what better time to enjoy a great bottle than when everyone, minus Elvis, is here? And it is Vanessa’s first night staying with us.”
Heat rose up my cheeks as Lane glanced my way, and I looked down at my hands in my lap as they fiddled with the edge of the napkin. His eyes glowed with that vibrant silverish-blue tint they’d had right before he’d kissed me. Both times.
“That’s cause for celebration. By the way, where is Elvis?”
“He’s on a date,” Gage said.
“A date?” Cian’s eyebrows rose. “Well, all right, then.” He smiled and grabbed Maggie’s hand. Then took one of the bottles that Jace had brought up and whispered something to the servant. Jace nodded and left the room again—I assumed to go fetch the third bottle of wine. “What are you and Vanessa going to do while we play poker tonight?” Cian said to Maggie.
“I don’t know. Why can’t we pl
ay, too?”
“No women allowed,” Lane barked as he poured more of that expensive wine into his glass before reaching across the table to carefully fill mine.
Josh held his glass up for Lane to fill, but Lane just handed him the bottle instead.
“Why can’t women play?” Chelle asked. “Are you afraid to lose to a woman, Lane?”
She’d taken the words right out of my mouth. I’d just been too slow. Ever since the two kissing encounters, I’d had a difficult time talking to Lane, interacting with quick-witted dialogue was impossible. I needed to nip that in the bud right now, or I’d never last three months in this house. “I’d love to play poker.”
“I don’t see why the women can’t play,” Gage said, rubbing his shoulder up against mine like he and I were best buds. Lane’s eyes narrowed at Gage, and I wasn’t sure if it was because Gage had said we could play, or because his shoulder rubbed mine. It didn’t matter. No matter how many ways and times Lane told me he wanted me, his actions proved otherwise. He was nothing more than a big tease, and I was beginning to hate myself for all the hours I’d spent pining over him.
“That makes eight poker players.” Ari shrugged. “It’s doable.
“Seven. Count me out,” Lane huffed, stood, grabbed his glass of wine, and left the room.
I closed my eyes, wishing I were anywhere but here. I knew he wasn’t playing because of me. “Maybe I shouldn’t play.” The words tumbled out of my mouth without thinking. I’d never wanted to give in to Lane’s childish ways before, but now, I just had.
“What? No. You have to play now,” Gage said. “Don’t mind sourpuss. He’s been nothing short of a pain in the ass for the last week. Must be that time of the month.” He laughed, and everyone joined in.
I managed to clean up in the card game. I won over two hundred dollars in less than two hours. Gage left the table early, griping that he was sorry he’d sided with the women because now he was going to have to borrow money from Elvis. I laughed, knowing he had plenty of money, but I told him I’d try to make it up to him somehow. That made his eyebrows wiggle up and down, and I worried that I might have led him on.
I hugged Mags and said goodnight. I was beat. Vampires could stay up all night, but man, I needed some serious ZZZs if I was going to be worth anything at work tomorrow.
I sat on the edge of my bed, looking around at my new temporary room. I hadn’t really had a chance to check it out much earlier. I walked into the bathroom and noticed the large, jetted tub, and my pores salivated at the thought of soaking in it for a while. Except I’d just gone in the hot tub with Mags earlier, and I didn’t want my skin to get too dried out, so I put that thought on hold for another time and yanked off my top, which left me in just my pink bra and lime-green shorts. My four suitcases were nestled on the floor next to the dresser, along with the boxes Cian had helped me bring. I headed to them and started putting stuff into the drawers. Now that I’d started, I felt compelled to get settled in and unpack more. I opened the box of potions and crystals. Carefully unwrapping the bottles one at a time, I placed them on top of the dresser. They were pretty, pastel-colored bottles that looked like perfume. I reached into the box and pulled out another fragile item and smiled as I unwrapped the rhodonite crystal. It was my favorite crystal out of all the ones I possessed, and the one I used most because it was the most powerful for my line. It was one of three, but the other two had been lost somewhere down the line of generations. And as my mother claimed, and her mother before her, two of the stones had been hidden, and no one knew where they were because of the three factor. Legend said, one large stone had been split into three to lessen the strength of the all-powerful one. Each was given to one of three sisters to keep separated throughout all time. I had to respect the story because I knew firsthand how powerful the one I had was. I placed the crystal in the middle of the dresser. It was useless to anyone but a witch of my line unless I or another witch of my lineage gave it over to someone, the way I’d given it to Chelle to help her remember how her parents had died.
The song I’d heard earlier in the car came back into my head, and I began to sing. I knew the lyrics like the back of my hand, and when I got to the part about the flame and someone being bound to be burned, I belted it out. And man, it felt good. I loved to sing but never thought I was any good. Well, I knew I sucked, but still, every chance I got when I was alone, I sang.
Chapter Fifteen
Lane
I was beyond pissed off. Never before had Maggie or Chelle asked to join in on one of our poker games. It had always been just the guys. That was the one place I thought I’d be safe from Vanessa. Maggie had seemed to be playing some sort of game, throwing Vanessa and me together, and I didn’t like it. Well, damnit, I could avoid the witch. Even if I had to hide in my room for the next fucking three months.
Who needed poker anyway? I’d spent the last two hours outside on my private balcony, watching the spectacular lights of the bridge and sipping some excellent scotch while listening to some smooth classic rock.
As I sat listening to Eric Clapton, I got lost in the precision of his guitar work; it was always so amazing. But the words of his songs made me realize I’d been a fool. Cian’s words echoed in my head. Maybe you should try talking to her instead of trying to fuck her.
He was right. I hadn’t ever tried to simply talk to the woman. We’d always just quibbled over meaningless, pointless things, and put each other down. Or found each other in the dark. Wanting. Until I’d screwed it up. Tomorrow I would attempt to do things Cian’s way and try talking to her. I just hoped I didn’t fuck it all up again.
I pulled my glass to my lips to sip the scotch, but it was empty so I reached for the bottle to pour more. As I tipped it over, nothing came out. Fuck. I wanted more. I got up and headed out of my room to go down and get another bottle. As I walked down the hall, I heard a female voice singing. I didn’t know who it was; I’d never heard Maggie or Chelle sing. I stopped by the door that I guessed was Vanessa’s room. It had been left open a crack, and I paused to listen. With my hand on the edge of the door, I slowly inched it open to see Vanessa bending over her suitcase, lifting pieces of clothing out and putting them into the drawers of the dresser. I stood there in the doorway, unable to move, I was mesmerized. I needed to leave, I needed to disappear. But I couldn’t bring myself to desert the presence of the beautiful sound coming from her. I’d had no idea she could sing. And like an angel, too. The song, very recognizable. Try, by P!nk. Was she as good as P!nk? Maybe not. But pretty damn close, and with a little coaching, she could be better.
She pivoted toward me mid-chorus and stopped abruptly when she saw me. One of her hands flew to her mouth, covering it, while the other held a piece of clothing in front of her to shield her breasts. She pressed the material just below her throat. The throat that I wanted to kiss—and bite—so badly.
“Lane! You…startled me. Do you make a habit of sneaking up on half-naked women?”
“You can sing.”
“What? No. I…” She let out what sounded like a nervous laugh. I was sure I was the cause of her anxiety, and I hated that. But she was half naked, so I supposed that might have something to do with her jittery response, too. I’d always hated the rift between us that appeared to surface at every fucking opportunity. It seemed like a contest to see which one of us could be the rudest to the other. There had to be a way to break that habit.
Why wait until tomorrow when we had right now? She looked lovely standing there half naked, and I took a step inside the room. “Sing another song.”
“What?”
“Are you having trouble hearing me?”
“No. You need to leave.” She shook her head as I took another step closer, her cheeks becoming more flushed with each of my steps.
“Do you know any other songs?” I asked, ignoring her order.
“What?”
Annoyance crept up my spine that she kept making me repeat myself. “I said, are there any other
songs you know?”
“Yes. But I can’t sing. I was just fooling around. Please, leave.”
“Don’t kid yourself. You have something. A unique sound. I think with practice and some coaching, you could be amazing.”
“What?”
“Why do you keep saying, ‘what?’ My English is very clear,” I said, taking another step closer.
“I…” She turned away from me and pulled the purple-and-white-striped top she’d been shielding herself with over her head. I couldn’t help but smile at the color combination as the top drastically clashed with the flowery, lime-green shorts she wore.
“I heard a special sound coming from someone who I’d always thought of as more of a pain in the ass witch, and now I want to hear more.” Her brows furrowed with contempt. Damnit. That wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Best to soften my approach. “I could coach you, help you develop it.”
“What?”
“Please stop with the ‘whats.’ I am trying to have a conversation with you.”
“Lane, you are certifiably crazy.”
“Yes.” She drove me crazy.
“First, you try to seduce me. Twice. The first time you accuse me of casting a spell on you, and the second time, you tell me you want me but that you can’t. Whatever the hell that means. Now, you want to give me singing lessons?”
“I apologized for the accusation. I even sent you flowers.”
“And I didn’t accept your apology.”
I smirked, knowing that was a moot point. “I also apologized the second time.”
“And again, I never accepted.”
“However, you did let me kiss you.” And touch you in places I’ve only dreamed about touching. Places I still dreamed about. My mind reeled with lust for this woman.
“That…that was a mistake!”
I nodded because she was right. No matter how much I lusted for her, it seemed an impossible undertaking. At least, until I somehow killed the demons controlling my mind and my dick. But if we were going to survive in this house for eighty-nine more days, or however the fuck long she would be here, I had to do something to squash all thoughts of ravishing her. Concentrating on her beautiful, yet raw voice just might be the key. When she sang, it was unique in ways I’d never heard before. Her voice was like that of an angel, and I suddenly had something more than just sex to think about when I was near her.
Rocked by a Vampire: Billionaire, Rock Stars, Vampires (Immortal Hearts of San Francisco Book 3) Page 7
