by Anna Santos
“Are you going to tell me that you’ve never sucked someone’s blood and killed them in the process?”
“No, I’m not going to lie. However, things have changed. We don’t need to kill people for blood. And even if I’m a vampire, that doesn’t automatically make me a monster.”
“Just an arrogant jerk who won’t take no for an answer and keeps me here against my will.”
He gave her a lopsided grin and touched her face with the tips of his fingers. She looked gorgeous. Too bad she seemed more upset than the night before.
His beloved pushed his hand away, denying the physical contact between them.
“Let’s cut to the chase. Why am I dressed up and why all the cameras?”
“Jade…you have issues.”
“I have issues?” Her high-pitched voice couldn’t conceal her outrage. “I’m a person, and you aren’t treating me as one. You keep saying that I’m your beloved, but you locked me in this bedroom and sent your servants with gifts without even showing your face to answer my question from last night.”
“I was busy trying to make you happy.”
Jade crossed her arms as her cheeks flushed with anger. “I’m not happy. Do you see me smiling? How can I be happy if you think that money and new clothes can fix my problems?”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the bed. “I came to check on you in the afternoon. You were sleeping.”
“The blinds were shut and there are no clocks in here. I have no idea when I fell asleep.”
“The meeting with the director took longer than I thought. I spent the rest of the day trying to make your stay here a lot more pleasurable.”
Jade frowned. “What did you do?”
He smiled. “I think I might deserve a kiss when I show you.”
“I think you should just tell me what’s going on and what’s with the noise downstairs and all the cameras.” Her face was showing that she wasn’t sharing his happiness.
“The cameras will sometimes follow us. It’s a contest’s requirement. And the dress is because I wanted you to look nice for the other people waiting for us downstairs.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Are we going to a party?”
“It’s a private party. We need to go downstairs to meet the competition.”
“Competition?”
“The other girls.”
“What other girls?”
“The girls that are going to compete with you for my heart.”
Jade felt the floor swirling under her new red ankle strap heels. “I’m sorry, what?”
She got up and paced in front of him. Then, she halted and glared at him.
He recoiled under her eyes. “I had to accept two more girls. It was part of the contract that I’d signed with the TV station. I wasn’t expecting to find you there. Now I have to stick with the terms, and I had to accept two other girls to spend the week with us. There is nothing I can do until the end of this week. After, I’ll send them away. I promise.”
She stepped back, processing everything. He was explaining himself to her. She didn’t know how to feel about it. Touched, appeased, ticked off? Maybe it was just a trick. He could be lying.
She stood before him. “You’re saying that I will have to participate in some stupid reality show with two other girls to win your heart?”
“Yes.”
She put her hands on her hips. “It’s easy then. I forfeit. I choose to lose. Can I go home now?”
His expression became serious as darkness flickered inside his eyes. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“Why not?” she asked, folding her arms and pursing her lips while fuming on the inside. Despite the anger, she couldn’t deny the pain that was clenching her heart because of her intention of leaving. It was insane, but her body was experiencing physical pain with the thought of leaving him. Mind control. That’s the only reason she could think of to explain that feeling. But, she was stronger than him.
“Because you are my beloved, I won’t let you forfeit.”
Jade noticed his sad expression; it was soothing her anger. He made her feel vulnerable and she didn’t like that.
Swallowing hard, she mustered all of her free will to speak. “I don’t want to compete with anyone for anything you have to offer and, especially, not for your heart. Give me a break! The last thing I would want is to be some douchebag vampire’s beloved! Thanks, but I’ll pass!” Raising her chin, she turned away from him to make her point.
The vampire put his hands on her shoulders. His touch sent a wave of heat down her arms and spine and made her stomach flip. “You are just upset. I know you don’t mean it.”
“Oh, but I do!”
Jade escaped his touch and walked to the closet where she had her old clothes. It was pointless to wear a fancy dress if she wasn’t going to leave the room.
The vampire sighed loudly but didn’t stopped her. “So, I guess I can send your brother home and go downstairs to receive the rest of the guests while you stay locked up in this bedroom for the rest of the week.”
She stopped and spun around with wide eyes. “What?”
The vampire explained in a solemn voice. “You don’t want to play the game. Fine. Then the punishment is to be locked up in this bedroom while the cameras are outside recording or go away and pay the sanction.”
“You sick, twisted—”
In a flash, he was in front of her face, holding her wrists and breathing closer to her mouth. The sweetness was gone from his voice. “You might be my beloved, but that doesn’t mean that I will let you insult me! I’m being nice. I’m explaining to you what is happening. There is nothing I can do about this. I’m just trying to work with what I’ve got. I’m also hoping that you’re smart enough to realize that the other girls don’t mean anything to me now that I’ve found you. It’s time for you to decide. You come downstairs and play along or you stay here and…you lose me.”
“I don’t give a damn about you,” she stated with erratic breathing while tears stung her eyes.
Pinning her against the wall, she gasped as the blood drained from her face. Then, she realized that he didn’t exercise too much strength and didn’t hurt her.
She swallowed hard when he leaned his forehead against hers. “Stop being so stubborn. Just admit that you like me.”
“Never,” she muttered as her heart raced and her chest burned.
He laughed.
“It’s not funny.”
“I know. But, I can’t help being happy because I’ve found you, even if you’re always mad at me.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re demented.”
“Maybe, but… Honey, you need to understand that I can’t send them away, and I want you with me downstairs.”
Jade pouted at the plea in his voice. Having him calling her ‘honey’ made everything seem a lot more intimate than it should be between them.
“You locked me in here,” she accused him. “Now you expect me to act like nothing happened? Like I’m happy and carefree?”
“I did it for your own safety. You need to believe me.”
“You have done nothing but bully and force yourself on me. Why should I believe you?”
“I never lied to you. I didn’t hurt you, and I’m not going to hurt you.”
“You hurt me by keeping me here against my will,” she retorted, vulnerability flowing into her voice.
The vampire paused and looked into her eyes as if he wanted to read her mind.
She tried to release her wrists from his grasp.
Moments later, he let her go and stepped back. He raised his hands, so she would see that he was telling her the truth.
Jade relaxed against the wall and nibbled on her lower lip. His rich scent was still lingering around her nose, making heat spiral down her midriff.
His voice came out hoarse and sad. “I don’t want you to leave me…” They stared at each other until he added, “I brought your brother to stay with
us. You’ll be able to take care of him.”
Jade remained stubbornly silent.
“It’s only for a week. You’ll earn money that you can use to help your brother. Then, if you want to leave me…you can.”
“Can I really?”
“Of course.”
She tilted her head to eye him suspiciously.
“I give you my word, Jade.”
Jade tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, caught inside his eyes and words. She had mixed feelings about the vampire. However, he had a point. She could use the money to help her brother. “Is my brother really here?”
“Yes.”
She held her hands against her heart. “Is he scared?”
“No, he’s excited. Sakura is with him. He adores her.”
“Sakura?”
“My maker.”
“The little girl,” she deduced.
He nodded. “She’s also eager to see you again. She finds you to be the most beautiful thing.”
“Why?”
“Why what?” he asked.
“Why is she excited to see me?”
“Because you’re my beloved. She’s happy for us. You are now part of our family,” he explained.
“Family… She looks extremely young.”
“She was sixteen when she was turned, but she’s older than me. She’s quite friendly, and you’ll like her a lot if you give her a chance.”
“Okay.”
“Are you still mad at me?”
Jade shrugged.
“Don’t be. I’ll do anything to make you happy,” he said, leaning closer. She recoiled, and he halted. “I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to stay away from you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You smell better than anything in the world to me. I want to…touch you all the time.”
She pursed her lips when her eyes landed on his lips. A new wave of heat spread throughout her body, and she fought back the attraction. She needed to stay away from him.
She was fully absorbed in her own thoughts when his next words shattered the turmoil inside her mind. “Let me come closer.”
“No.”
“Jade…”
She wanted to say his name back, but she suddenly realized that she had no idea what his name was. Calling him vampire dude wasn’t wise or logical for that matter.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“What’s your name?”
He frowned. “Don’t you already know me from the magazines and the internet?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t.”
He leaned forward, speaking near her mouth. “My name is Daniel. Start practicing it, so you’ll know what to moan when we are in my bedroom this dawn.”
Jade shoved him back. He was insufferable, and she needed to make things clear between them. “I may be stuck here, but I’m not sleeping with you.”
With a mischievous smirk, he teased, “You will. There’s no way in hell that I’ll spend another day away from you. We don’t want you to get bored, do we?”
Anger clouded her mind with the need to slap him and then kiss him.
Instead of being upset, she smirked. “I won’t. I’ll spend the rest of my days thinking about what I’ll do once I leave this place.”
He lost his smile. “If you don’t come to my bed, I’ll have to choose someone else. Do you want me to do that?”
“I don’t own you. You can do whatever you please but don’t expect me to want to touch you again, jerk!” She pushed him away and, this time, he stepped back and grinned with a proud expression.
Jade watched how he looked at her sideways. He was gorgeous and wicked. It was a deadly combination for sure, but she hated his guts because of his childish threat.
“The viewership ratings have to go up, so I need to take someone into my bedroom at the break of dawn,” he said. “If you aren’t willing to come with me, I’ll have to find someone else who will.”
She folded her arms and stared away. “Do whatever you please!”
“Then, I’ll grab you and take you against your will.” His dark words sent a shiver down her spine.
She glared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“But I would.”
“You said you weren’t going to harm me!”
His eyes turned black, and he lost his smile. “Damn it, Jade, why will you always think the worst of me?”
“You’re a vampire.”
“So what? Are the words ‘sexual molester’ written on my forehead?”
“No.” She pouted when answering.
Fisting his hands, he added, “I may be impulsive when it comes to you, but I won’t hurt you. I give you my word.”
“Yet you are forcing me to stay here.” Her lips trembled and she hugged herself as she tried to hold on to the rest of her sanity.
“Having you here is the only way I got to convince you that we are meant to be.”
“I could never…”
He put his hands in his pockets. “Love a monster like me?”
She pursed her lips and shrugged.
“That’s why you need to stay here, so you stop thinking of me as a monster and see me as a being—a rational and emotional being that happens to have to drink blood to survive.”
She gazed at him, unsure if he was teasing her or being sarcastic. It seemed that he wasn’t being either. He had a straight face as he waited for her reaction, blue piercing eyes and perfect skin. He smelled like heaven and tasted wonderful. Their lips together were perfection.
Why the crazy attraction? Why is it that one moment I want to kiss him and the next I want to rip his head off?
Walking to the bed, she sat and gazed at her shoes with mixed feelings. “Why does my opinion bother you so much?”
“Because you are my beloved. You need to understand that I’m not lying or trying to trick you.” He stepped closer with squinted eyes. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
She crossed her legs. “I don’t believe in that bullshit. Vampires invented that to trick humans to beg and run to your nightclubs to be taken as willing prey. It’s a scheme, nothing more, nothing less.”
Daniel sat beside her and folded his hands above his lap. “Hmm, you really think the worst of us. If you have to know, it’s extremely rare for a vampire to find his beloved, but it’s not a lie.”
“I’m not a vampire, so I don’t know if you are telling me the truth or not.”
“Fair enough, then let’s go to plan B.”
“What plan B?”
“The plan where I do everything to make you beg me to make you mine.” He drew a smile, a teasing and annoying grin that made Jade wish to slap it off his face.
Getting up, she assured him, “That’s not going to happen.”
“You are stubborn, but I’m persistent. You will eventually realize that you can’t live without me.”
“Right…”
“See, you are already agreeing with me.”
Jade growled and furrowed her eyebrows at him, wishing she had some pillow to smack him with.
“You are obnoxious and irritating. I just hate you,” she hissed.
“No, you don’t,” he disagreed with a happy smile despite her insults.
“This is pointless.” She folded her arms. “I want to see my brother. Take me to him.”
“Will you behave downstairs and be nice to me?” He got up and fixed his tie.
Arching an eyebrow, she questioned, “Do I have any other choice?”
“No.”
“Then, stop smiling like the Grinch and lead the way.”
“I love it when you give me orders.”
“You are insane.”
“Maybe, but it’s quite refreshing,” he added, sighing and staring at her from top to bottom.
She glared. “Stop doing that.”
“What?”
“Whatever you are doing.”
“I was just congratulating myself on the choice of the perfect dress. It looks stunn
ing on you. You look all grown-up.” He sank his hands into his pockets with a proud expression while she looked down at her figure. “You’ll just need to put more lipstick on.”
Jade frowned. “Why?”
Daniel smirked. In a blink of an eye, he was in front of her face, whispering against her lips. “Because we are going to kiss.” His lips stopped inches from hers, waiting for her permission.
“Keep dreaming about it. You’ll need to deserve it. You don’t.” She stepped back and looked at the door. Smoothing the material of her dress down, she asked, “Are we going to attend the party or not?”
Daniel cleared his throat and offered his arm for her to hold. “Are you ready for your surprise?”
Chapter Six: The Competition
As Jade descended the stairs and noticed all the cameras and the crew members around them, the huge house started to look small and claustrophobic. Her face was being broadcasted everywhere, and she had never wished for that kind of attention.
“Are they broadcasting live?” Jade mumbled next to Daniel’s ear. Despite him being a jerk, and definitely arrogant about what he thought he could obtain from her, having him by her side reassured her.
“No, it is just for the footage. We will have a special appearance at the show tomorrow night, but the original program records live the other vampires’ lives. We are a special edition. They will assemble the best moments of our week and broadcast it during the weekend.”
“You don’t look like you need the money. Why are you doing this?”
“I owe a favor to one of the elder vampires, so I had to help him out with this. But when it’s done, they will get out of my home, and we will be left alone.”
Reaching the landing in the foyer, with a fake smile, she asked, “I have no plans to be left alone with you. I want all of this to end, so I can go back home.”
“That is discrimination, Jade.” He helped her descend another set of stairs.
“What?” She stared at him. He was such a tease and his annoying good looks made it hard to stay mad at him for long.
