by Moore, E. M.
Throwing myself down on the bed, I stared up at my bedroom ceiling. The club had been lame tonight. There was hardly anyone there. I asked my friends to join me, but they all begged off because they had to work in the morning. It must be so inconvenient to have to wake up early for a job. It was for me. I’d stayed and had a few drinks, but nothing caught my attention, so I decided to go home. Maybe take a bath or something.
I bit my lip as I thought about Simon. He had the most appealing gray eyes I’d ever seen, almost silvery in the moonlight. So dark and mysterious, too. Who met their new neighbors at night? Then again, I didn’t think he’d planned it that way. He was just out for a stroll and happened upon me.
I conjured up the image of Simon in my head, wondering what kind of guy he was. I always fell for the wrong ones. Easy to do when my grandfather led the life he did. I wasn’t supposed to even go for those guys, but who didn’t love a little forbidden romance?
A smile teased my lips as I thought about it. Going behind Gramp’s back with one of his guys was fun. Exhilarating, even. No matter how many times he threatened them not to go after me, it didn’t matter. One look from me was all it took.
Maybe this Simon guy would be the same. He seemed older though. Older could be good. More experience… That was always a plus. A lot of times when I snuck around with the guys around here, they were only good for just one night. They weren’t the type I’d stick around for. Unfortunately, that was Ronnie’s problem now. One night and he thought he owned me. Little did he know all I had to do was let it slip what we’d done, and Gramps would have him fired in a heartbeat.
I rolled to my side and pushed the pillow underneath me. Closing my eyes, all I saw was Simon on the other side. His perfect hair, that cocky smile. Fuck, he was gorgeous. Maybe it was time to broaden my horizons and look elsewhere for a little fun. A tryst with a neighbor sounded juicy. Especially with those bicep muscles I saw peeking out from his sleeves. And those chest muscles. God damn. A girl could dream.
I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down. Simon was definitely the kind of guy you thought about when you wanted to pleasure yourself. All dark and handsome. That hint of mysteriousness, and that cocky glare like he knew he was as good looking as he was.
Heat pooled between my legs. I fumbled for the vibrator in my drawer next to the bed, still picturing Simon. Though now, he had his shirt off and he was staring at me as if the only thing he wanted to do was eat me up. I gripped what I’d been searching for, took it out, and pulled my underwear down with my other hand.
Shit. I hadn’t been this turned on in a long time. I turned on the vibrator, felt it pulsing in my hand as I moved it between my legs. As soon as it hit my flesh, I cried out. “Fuck yes.”
Simon was between my legs now, his tongue darting out, caressing my clit. I worked the vibrator up higher. Holy shit.
With my other hand, I reached out and pulled my shirt up, taking my bra with it. I rubbed my nipple between my fingers. They were hard, waiting for Simon’s hand to worship them. They’d have to deal with mine though. At least, until I figured out a way to seduce him.
I rubbed harder and harder while the vibrator did its thing. Damn, this felt too fucking good. I heard Simon growl. In my head, I saw his eyes glow that silvery color. “Fuck yes, give it to me.”
Now, I pictured him thrusting inside me, holding onto my headboard for leverage as he gave me every thick inch he had. Fuck, I hoped the actual sex was this good. My body built and built, the vibrator teasing in the most glorious way. I tensed when I felt it coming. “Oh, Simon, yes,” I cried.
Another growl sounded.
So close. So, so close.
A hand clenched mine and ripped it away from my legs. My eyes flew open, and I stared into the gray eyes of the very person I’d been picturing. My body pulsed, my orgasm coming, but not as scream-worthy as it had been heading. It died as a scream worked its way up my throat. I didn’t care how hot he was, what the fuck was he doing in my bedroom? And watching me touch myself?
His hand came down on my mouth, stopping the scream. He pulled my other hand away from my breast and pinned it to the bed. “You’re thinking of me?” he growled.
His eyes swam with evil. Shadows overcame his face as he stared down at my body. I screamed, kicking out at him. For a brief second, his hand came off mine and I made a startled cry before he was on top of me again.
“But isn’t this what you wanted?” Simon asked, his eyes warning danger. Between us, his cock grew, pitching a tent in his jeans. I looked around the room. There was nothing to defend myself with and no one here besides us. How the hell had this happened? This was supposed to be the safest place for me.
My heart beating like mad in my chest, I stared up at him. “Let go of me.”
It was muffled, but he understood it. “Not a chance,” he said, his eyes glowing.
“Please,” I said, tears threatening now. Half in shame, half in terror. How had he gotten up here? Was Gramps okay? What about Ronnie? This should never have happened. What happened to everyone?
“Oh,” he said, a mischievous glint to his eyes. “You’re the begging type.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head at his insinuation. I was Delilah Greene. I did not beg.
His stare worked its way down my body. It responded to him, almost vibrating as he took me in, though I wish it hadn’t. Of course, it did though. I’d just been picturing his thick cock driving into me over and over again until I was about to scream his name.
“How…?”
Simon grinned as he sat back on the bed, his hand still over my mouth. He was so strong, no wonder I’d gotten a glimpse of his muscles escaping his shirt. “This really isn’t your fault, Delilah,” he sing-songed. His voice wasn’t the deep tone that melted my knees from earlier, it was predatory, making my stomach turn over.
I eyed the door, but Simon only laughed.
“They won’t be coming up here.”
“What did you do?” I tried to scream, but it came out no louder than his own words. I tried to push him away again, but his strength was overpowering. I couldn’t even move him.
“Oh, they’re fine,” he said. “They just don’t even know I’m up here. I’m sneaky like that.” He took another long look at my body and then stretched himself out beside me.
Bile rose in my throat as my chest heaved. I could feel every inch of him holding me down. I’d gone from ready to explode in pleasure to the worst fear I’d ever felt. “Please leave me alone,” I said, his fingers muffling my words. “My grandfather. He’ll give you whatever you want. Just please, don’t hurt me.”
Trying to negotiate with him did the opposite of what I wanted. Instead of making Simon think, his smile pulled back wider. “I know. I’m counting on it, Delilah. Except, I think we’ll disagree on what I’ll ask for.”
I shook my head. “Whatever you want. I promise. He’ll do it.”
Simon’s lips tipped up in a smile that if it wasn’t at my expense, would’ve been a turn on.
The doorknob to the room rattled.
Simon sat back, and my eyes rounded.
“Delilah,” a man’s voice whispered.
At the same time I realized it was Ronnie, so did Simon. Except, he looked back at me with a glare. “Aww, I see. Fucking the help behind your grandfather’s back? What would poor Ronnie think about you pleasuring yourself with me in mind? Hmm?” With a hand still over my mouth, he moved his head lower and lower down my body, his heated breath caressing my skin. It simultaneously turned my stomach and made me wet. I glared at him as he poised himself between my legs, his hot breath caressing my center.
I wiggled on the bed.
A knock came on the door. “Lilah?” the voice said, a little louder this time.
“Maybe scream my name again?” Simon asked, winking. “That ought to give him an idea of what’s going on in here.”
His tongue darted out, expertly rolling over my clit. Fuck. Fuck. That felt amazing, but so wrong at
the same time.
“Stay away from me!” I screamed. The sound came out muffled, but it must have been enough to alert Ronnie because he came bursting in the door.
Simon immediately rolled off me. I scurried away from him, my back hitting the headboard as Ronnie took in the situation. “Now, you’ve done it,” Simon said casually, sighing.
Ronnie went for the walkie talkie on his shoulder, but Simon darted forward. Before I even saw what happened, Ronnie fell to the floor in a heap. A scream worked its way up my throat, but before it could even get past my lips, Simon’s hand was on my mouth again.
I struggled against him, trying to see what had happened to Ronnie, but instead, I felt a prick. Almost immediately, my limbs felt like heavy bricks. I tried to talk and scream, but I couldn’t force anything to my lips. My eyelids started to droop.
He’d given me something. He pulled his hand away from my mouth and turned my head toward Ronnie. “That was your fault, Delilah.”
Through a foggy haze I saw the deep, red blood pooling around Ronnie’s head.
“Well, yours and his own. If he hadn’t been trying to be a knight in shining armor, this could’ve gone off without a hitch.”
“Y-you killed him?” I mumbled.
“Gladly,” Simon said. “He was a nuisance from the beginning.”
My eyes blurred. Instead of one bleeding Ronnie, there were now four. “You’re terrible…”
Simon laughed, the sound so jarring to the scene around us. People shouldn’t laugh at death. That was horrible.
I felt my body lift from the bed and droop over Simon’s shoulder. Then, it was as if we were flying. I was almost weightless. My hair blew by my head in dark swirls, and then I passed out.
There was nothing but pitch black, and the memories of what had just happened.
I really sucked at picking guys.
Chapter Three
Simon
The footman didn’t even blink when I carried Delilah through the lobby of the hotel. I’d just smiled and told him she’d had too much to drink. That was after I wrapped her in a blanket I’d found at the foot of her bed. Otherwise, she would’ve been naked from the waist down still. I’d already had to pull her shirt back down over her bare breasts.
My cock stood at attention again just thinking about what I walked in on when I came in through the window. The way her body twisted on the bed, her eyes tightly closed. It was mesmerizing watching her before I realized she was even picturing me. Then, it became too much. She’d sucked in a breath, saying my name on a gasp. I had to stop her. I already ached in all the right ways and fucking the woman who was going to help me take down her grandfather was not part of the plan—yet.
The concoction I shot her up with was still having its effect on her as she snoozed on the couch. Her wild, dark hair was around her in a halo. Her thin stomach raised and lowered, and her lower half was as naked as when I first stepped foot into her bedroom. Her ass was perfectly toned and round. With no commitments like work or school, she could probably make it to the gym as often as she wanted. Not that it mattered. I may take Delilah Greene when this was over, but it wouldn’t be for my own sexual pleasure. For revenge, yes. I would take her to make her pay, and to make her grandfather pay. Sexual gratification would have nothing to do with it.
I hadn’t intended on killing anyone when I took Delilah, but the fact that Ronnie had bust the door down changed the plan quickly. When I thought about it though, it sent a nice message. It proved I meant business. An extra cautionary tale about what could happen to his beloved granddaughter if he didn’t do exactly what I said.
Smiling, I stared up at the ceiling wondering what Greenie was doing right now. Freaking out? Gathering his guys? Crying? I hoped so. I hoped the loss of his precious Delilah had him broken and grasping at straws just as I felt all those years ago.
I crossed my hands across my stomach and stared over at Delilah. I’d have to tie her up and gag her soon. The crap I knocked her out with would be wearing off and I couldn’t have her trying to fight me off like she’d done in her bedroom. Not that it did her any good. She didn’t know who she was up against. Plus, a few pictures to send the grandfather half naked and tied up couldn’t hurt. It might even spur him to hurry the fuck up, so I could have my revenge and be done with it.
My cell rang. My heart surged as I pulled it from my pocket. Maybe Greenie was calling to negotiate. I no doubt believed he’d hate my terms, so that’s why I’d left my number. Instead, Galen’s name rolled across the screen. I debated not answering it, but like the dutiful servant I was, I answered on the second ring. “Yes, Master Galen?”
He cleared his throat, breaking away from a laugh. He must’ve suspected I wouldn’t have answered so quickly.
The mirth in his voice made my stomach twist when he greeted me. We used to find enjoyment in many of the same things, but now those things weren’t the same for him.
“Is Kayleigh with you?” I asked, my voice dripping in sarcasm. “Do tell her I say hi.”
“Fuck off.”
I smiled into the phone. There were some moments when Galen and I returned to normal, usually when I said shit about his mate.
“I’m just calling to see how you’re doing.”
“I’m just fine,” I answered, watching Delilah’s sleeping body. My nerves twisted. The anticipation of seeing what Greenie would do was almost too much to keep quiet.
“Where are you?” Galen asked.
I bit down on my lip, debating on whether to tell him the truth or not. He would disapprove of what I was doing. Not for wanting to take Greenie out but doing it in this way. Kidnapping a high-profile person with plans to show evidence of exactly what I was doing to her wouldn’t sit well with him at all. Then again, he was Galen Dumont and seemed to find this shit out whether I wanted him to or not. Better just to tell him the truth. “Philly.”
Silence met me on the other side of the line. Then, slowly, he asked, “Philly? Why?”
Suspicion laced his voice. It was time to play the situation down. “Just looking up my old haunts. That kind of thing.”
“Just torturing yourself, you mean?” he snapped.
His concern touched me. He’d been the only being alive to see me at my most vulnerable. I’d sworn a long time ago nothing like that would ever happen to me again. It hadn’t and wouldn’t. “You say tomay-to. I say tomah-to.”
Footsteps sounded from his end of the line, echoing off the large estate walls at the castle he’d moved the clan to. Finally, a door shut. “Simon, I’m serious. Are you okay?”
His voice was strained. I looked over at Delilah who still lay asleep on the luxury sofa in the suite I’d rented. To a normal person, this may not have seemed like I was okay, but in actuality, I was feeling alive. More alive than I’d felt in a long time. What could I tell Galen though? That I’d be okay as soon as I finished this thing I felt compelled to do? As soon as I got my revenge on the person who’d ruined my life? He’d told me to take some time, and this was what I was doing with that time. He wouldn’t have stopped me from doing this, but he would’ve wanted me to be smart about it, and sometimes, I just didn’t want to be smart, I wanted to be ruthless. “Yes, I’m fine,” I told him, trying to sound bored. He loved it when I did that.
“Do you need me?”
A surprised laugh tore through me. That was something I hadn’t heard from him since I brought Kayleigh into our lives. “Need you? Aren’t you busy?”
I could hear Galen walking around the room he was in, the floorboards creaking underneath his feet. “Simon, you know I’ll always be there for you. Why Philly? Why now?”
I dribbled my fingers over the armrest. “I’m just looking around. Taking a walk down memory lane as they say.”
“Then I’m going to ask you one more time, do you need me?”
I clamped my mouth shut. Part of me wanted to say I did need him, ask him to come help me do this. It was fitting since he’d saved me from that life that h
e could also help me get retribution from it, but I also wondered if he really would or if his newly found happiness with Kayleigh had changed him.
“You know you can come back any time,” Galen said. He’d told me that many times already, but I’d been too busy planning and now executing this wonderful plan. “It’s not Kayleigh or you, it’s both of you. You’ll understand one day when you find someone.”
If I had a heart that worked, it would’ve just stopped beating. What the actual fuck? We were vampires. We didn’t just find someone. Since when had Galen Dumont turned into a fucking Hallmark card. I liked the way it was before when we lived for food and sex. That was the life. “We both know that’s not going to happen, Galen. I’m afraid I’m far beyond caring about any of that nonsense.”
He was silent for a few beats, then said, “That’s a shame, Simon, because I think you need it the most.”
My temper flared, and a ripping noise tore through the suite. I looked down to find my nails had gone straight through the arm of the chair. Well, fuck. I was going to have to replace this now. “Spare me the humanity advice, Galen. Yes, you found love. Yes, now you have a partner for life. Have you ever thought that maybe some people don’t want that? I was perfectly happy with the way things were before.”
“I thought I was too.”
My stomach flipped. “Fuck you.”
The line went dead. It was dead so long I thought Galen had hung up. I still pressed the phone to my ear in hope. Finally, Galen breathed out. “You can still have that life here. There are still feeders here, Simon.”
