by Sam Crescent
“Yes. I’ll be your wife. I love you so much.”
She lifted up to wrap her arms around his neck. Hope felt so emotional and attached to him in that instant. She never wanted to let him go.
“I love you, Hope. I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world.” He kissed her neck, holding her tightly.
“You don’t need to do that, Simon. I’m already the happiest woman in the world.”
She kissed his lips as he began to slowly make love to her on the dining room floor. His proposal had been everything she wanted in the whole world. His admission of his feelings and him saying those important three words would stay with her forever.
* * * *
Later that evening, Simon stared down at his sleeping fiancée. He’d made love to her for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. The moment she’d uttered that one wonderful word, he’d been a goner. He stroked her hair down her back and squeezed her full bottom before moving away to stare out of the window.
There was a lot for them to do. He intended to keep Hope busy for the next fifty years. She was his everything. His words today hadn’t been fake or practiced. They were the words that had come from his heart. She’d been part of his life for an entire year. Within that year he’d seen the men at work flirting with her and touching her body. He’d sat in his office seething with hatred for the men who were free to touch her whenever they liked. When he was alone at functions and other women tried to gain his attention, he had to fight them off.
He didn’t want to live his life wanting Hope and forever having to remain apart from her in the public eye. The moment he could get it arranged she would be his wife.
She muttered something in her sleep and searched for his warmth. Simon went back to the bed and climbed in behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and breathed in the delicious scent of her body.
Hope sighed and settled back against him. He’d worked her over good that day and she needed her rest.
Simon glanced at the clock over the bedside table. It was now in the early hours of Sunday morning. Before the weekend was up he’d promised himself he would have his ring on her finger and he had kept that promise.
Smiling to himself, he pressed a kiss to her neck and let sleep claim him.
Epilogue
Six months later
Simon stood at the altar waiting for his bride. His wedding day had finally arrived and with it, Hope would become his wife for the rest of their lives.
The moment he had announced their engagement the world had gone nuts with their love story. Everyone wanted to know about the couple who’d met and fallen in love at work. Their love was just a cliché to the outside world whereas to him, he knew the truth. When the public looked at them together, they saw a boss and an employee and there was nothing special about that. People fell in love with those they worked closely with all the time.
But they were so much more than two people who’d fallen in love with each other at work.
Simon had fallen in love with Hope the moment she’d spilt the coffee over her pristine white shirt. That love had developed when he’d seen her in the BDSM club he frequented, sitting alone at the bar waiting for someone. Then he’d fallen deeper in love with her when he’d proposed and she’d denied him.
Their love was different and would forever remain so.
His weekend of seduction had been his last trick to get what he wanted. He’d known how he felt about her, but seeing her hesitation and understanding it had given him the key to unlock her heart.
The music began to play and he turned to look at the front of the church. He waited for her. The church was filled with the press and his closest friends. There were also several members of the club present.
And then she was there, a true vision of pure beauty in a white dress. She looked every part the radiant woman, and the glow beaming out of her meant something new to him.
That very morning, Hope had told him the good news.
She was pregnant with his baby.
He watched as she walked down the aisle towards him. Her gaze rested on him. Simon stared at her and waited. He wanted to go to her and carry her up to the altar to be with him. His gaze moved down her body. She wasn’t showing yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time.
Minutes passed and he waited for her. Her father lifted her veil, kissed her cheek then offered her to him. Simon thanked her father, taking his daughter from him.
“I love you,” he said, whispering against her ear.
“I love you too.”
He walked her to the priest.
Simon spoke the words requested of him then placed his band of commitment on her finger. Hope Allen was now his wife.
Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:
The Valentines: Robert
Sam Crescent
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Sir? Sophie Ford is here.”
Robert Valentine glanced up from his paperwork. “Well, send her in.”
“Um… Sir, she’s not here to see you.”
Robert could feel the first stirring of his animalistic temperament.
For three years, his mate had been plaguing him.
“Who is she here to see?”
Never before had he met a woman who’d literally run out on him and not returned any of his phone calls. Who’d wanted nothing more to do with him than to ensure protection for the ones she loved.
For the first time in his existence, Robert had begun to feel jealous of humans. He had never considered himself conceited, but he knew he was a good choice for a woman. Sophie wasn’t like other women. The one human female he’d been interested in and she’d all but walked out and left him stranded. Whenever he thought about her, his cock stiffened and he had to relieve himself or stay hard until her memory dissipated. Even now, hearing her name was like a direct signal to the thing in his pants.
“Well, show me her,” Robert snapped, his voice harder than he had intended.
The human minion fumbled for the remote control that worked the plasma screen on the wall facing his desk. He used it to keep a vigil over everyone in the club. His minion pressed a few buttons and Sophie came onto the screen. The pen in his hand snapped from the pressure of his fist.
Sophie was in his BDSM club, dancing and humping on his dance floor in nothing more than a miniskirt and bikini top. Men crowded round her as she swayed her luscious hips. Those hips were his and his alone. He ran a hand over his face, trying to gather his thoughts, already feeling exhilaration rushing over him—a strange combination of anger and happiness.
It had been three years since he’d last seen her. The only times he’d even heard from her had been the occasional, distant phone calls she’d made. Never once had she set foot in any building he owned. Robert didn’t even think she knew he owned clubs like this.
Her thoughts and feelings were pushing inside him. Having her this close was making it difficult for him to shut her out. It felt like Sophie was projecting at him, screaming for him to look up and take notice. Closing off his mind would be the only solution.
He wasn’t a human adolescent male who couldn’t control his urges and he wouldn’t allow his mate to think he was.
She was calling for him to come and get her.
His body wanted so badly to answer that call.
“How old is she now?” he asked.
“Twenty-four, sir.”
Sophie wanted his attention…and now she had it. For the last three years, he had watched and waited for her. He had known that sooner or later his blood would start to call to her. Visions of him would start to invade her every waking thought. Her dreams would be consumed by images of him. The final weakness and the test of the blood bond. Three years was a long time to wait, which proved Sophie was a strong mate. For three years, she’d rejected any chance of being with him.
Sophie had no idea of the power he held over her. The bond was only the beginning. He would own her completely w
hen he finally took that one, precious part of her body. Her virginity was the final element of his ownership. She wouldn’t be able to lie to him, then. She would be entirely at his mercy.
But Robert hated that part of the bond. The obsessive nature it created. The craziness and lust. He wanted Sophie to come to him of her own free will, not be forced by some nasty trick of nature. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair.
Still, a part of him was pleased to see her again.
“Any news from my family?” Robert got up from his chair, moving around his desk towards the door. Trying not to let his mind stray to the beautiful vision on the screen.
“Your father wants to know how it is going with Miss Ford.” His minion looked down at the floor.
For three years, his father had pestered him to go and claim his mate by force. He wasn’t into force and he would never take a woman in such a manner. But it would seem that his father would get what he wanted—in a manner of speaking. The mouse had finally come to him.
“Get William on the phone.” Robert watched his bond mate strutting her stuff on the stage. A man held her hips in place as he thrust against her backside.
It should be his hands, should be him thrusting against her…
His brother’s voice came over the speaker phone. “What’s the matter, Rob?”
“Any news on Katie?” Ever since he had seen her best friend’s face pass through her mind—the love and care she felt for her clear—Robert had made sure she was watched twenty-four hours a day.
Only William dared to call him Rob. He wondered if his younger brother wished for death, given the way he tried to rouse his temper. William wasn’t known for keeping the peace. If anything he was usually the one to seek a fight.
Through the bond, he had no choice but to protect Katie. What his mate loved, he loved. It was plain and simple.
“Look. I have no idea why this woman is so damned special to you. Nothing. Zip. She gets up and goes to work. She’s a frigging librarian, Rob. She doesn’t go out during the day. She leaves in the evening, works through the night, then goes home. Her cat has more bloody fun than she does,” William moaned.
“I’ve told you. The reason for this protection detail has something to do with Sophie’s friend.” Robert was sure, down to his unbeating heart, that Katie White held the answers he was seeking.
“You wouldn’t think that to watch her life.” William yawned. “She has to live the most boring life known to mankind.”
“Keep watching her.”
Robert hung up, staring at the image of his mate—willing her with all his might to spill her secrets and tell him everything he wanted to know.
Going back to his desk, he dismissed his minion and gathered up the file he’d managed to obtain on Sophie Ford. The only interesting thing about her—besides her spunk and the attitude that had been apparent at the Council three years earlier—was her bond and connection with the mysterious Katie White.
As he sat back, his mind filled with activity—a barrage of unanswered questions.
Come and get me.
Robert shot up out of his seat, looking all around himself.
I’m yours for the taking.
Rob looked at the screen. Her eyes stared right back at him. The bluest blue beckoning him to come and get her.
There was no way that she could know he could hear her thoughts.
But in truth, Robert did not care. Sophie Ford—his mate—was here, inside his club. His for the taking. And that was exactly what he was going to do.
He wasn’t a fool.
He wanted his bond mate and he was going to go and take her.
Sophie could sense how close he was. Energy sizzled along her skin, making it prickle with nervous excitement. She pushed her ass along the extended shaft of the man dancing behind her, doing everything within her power to call to Robert. She didn’t much care for the man she was dancing with—it wasn’t his attention she was trying to get.
Her body no longer felt like her own. Most days she felt possessed, itchy and irritable in her skin. Her mind was filled with nothing but the man she was bound to. She wrapped her arms around the neck of her dance partner, her mind seemingly attuned to him—but in actual fact, her eyes sought out the vampire closing in on her. Sophie had no choices left—she needed to be able to think past this wave of lust that constantly consumed her every waking thought.
The air around her was thick and her nipples responded to the heat, budding out, pressing against her bikini bra. She had dressed to get attention and she had finally got what she wanted.
It felt like magic—her entire body was on fire. She had known at once when he entered the dance section of the club. It was like a magnetic pulse around him.
He was there on the edge of the dance floor.
Watching.
He caught her gaze and held it.
He wanted to kill the man she was dancing with. Sophie could sense his need for violence.
She didn’t care. Her dance partner was a means to an end. She had wanted Robert Valentine’s attention…and now she had it.
A sense of satisfaction washed over her.
She blinked and, as she opened her eyes, he was there, barely a breath away. It had been three years since the last time she’d seen him, but now he stood in front of her.
“Let her go.” His gaze remained on her, but his voice held the promise of pain for her new friend.
“Buzz off, man. This girl is taken.”
Sophie tensed. Of all the stupid things to say…
A second later, Robert had the butt-head pressed up against the bar, his body at a ninety-degree angle. It looked painful and Sophie winced.
“I said ‘let her go,’ and when I speak, you do what I say. Don’t come into my club again.”
Silence fell inside the club, the heavy music stopping as everyone took in the scene of vampire against human—the owner against the customer.
There were rules and this man had just broken the most important of them. Never go up against a vampire. Especially not the boss.
The man scrambled against the bar and tripped all the way to the door. Her would-be rescuer buttoned up his suit jacket, rearranged his sleeves, then looked around the room. Considering he’d just lashed out at a human in front of more than a hundred witnesses, he appeared remarkably calm and collected. Sophie couldn’t help but admire him.
He gestured for the other people to continue and music filled the silence. Dancers began shaking on the dance floor and the barman continued to serve drinks, the drama of moments ago forgotten. Robert took her by the arm, forcing her along the dimly lit corridor away from people—away from witnesses. Sophie could feel the pulse in her throat.
He was angry. She could sense it.
Everyone they passed moved out of their way.
Eyes followed them. She could feel them boring into her back.
Robert Valentine dominated the entire club.
Moments later, he thrust her inside an empty room. At least, she hoped it was empty. The room was dark, with the only light coming from candles. It was small but cosy. A large bed and a cabinet filled the tiny space. The walls were painted black and the silk sheets were a deep shade of red—the colour of blood.
Swallowing past her fear, Sophie looked up at him.
His eyes were black, his body shaking with rage.
Instinctively, she took a step back.
He came forward, mirroring her every move.
“What are you doing here?” Each word was controlled as he spoke.
Sophie would have preferred the anger, the lash of his loud words. This side of him scared her more than anything had scared her in her life.
She looked away from his eyes, down at the black-carpeted floor. This entire club was so clichéd—darkness, danger and bloodshed.
This was the first time Sophie had entered his club but, now, time was of the essence. Whoever was following Katie needed to be stopped.
“I came to dance.”
She spoke the words to the carpet. Her heart rate increased as he trapped her against the wall. The bed was less than three feet away.
“You allowed those men to touch you.” He spat the words. “Human men.”
“I’m a human, Robert.”
His fist connected with the wall by her head, making her jump and scream at the same time.
He wouldn’t hurt her. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her. She couldn’t explain how, but it was like a natural instinct.
“You’re my human. Mine.” He growled the words, moments before he slammed his mouth down on hers, taking a kiss from her lips.
The move was unexpected. Sophie stood there, his lips hard against hers. His teeth had extended with his anger and they were biting into her. Yet she responded to his kiss, hands moving to hold him close to her.
She cried out as she tasted her blood on her lips, but Robert was too fast. Moments later her head was pushed to the side, exposing her neck. Sophie screamed as he bit into the delicate column of her neck. Blood rushed from her. She couldn’t believe he was biting her, feeding from her. Three years, and he was taking from her without asking. She couldn’t help a wave of euphoria, misplaced though it was. She knew she was supposed to be feeling angry.
He pushed his lower body against her as he drank her down. She could feel the hot press of him. Sophie suddenly felt so tired. The blood was draining from her. She couldn’t move—she couldn’t do anything but submit to him.
Her last thoughts were of Katie.
No matter what happened, she had to keep Katie safe.
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About the Author
Sam Crescent has always had a love of fiction; through her teen years she would find friendship between the pages rather than in an actual person. By the time she turned sixteen she discovered Mills and Boon and never looked back. She loved the quick happily-ever-after read. A guarantee that, no matter what happened, the heroes and heroines would always find their soulmate. After college and starting a degree, one lonely, bored night she searched the internet looking for a new author to read. On that night, and in the years to come, she discovered romantica and erotic writing.
