by Anna Santos
Chapter Seventeen: A Taste of Possessiveness
It was two o’clock in the morning when Daniel arrived home. He was tired and all he wanted was to get rid of Emma, so he could spend some time with Jade. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her. He didn’t even try to conceal the boredom of having to endure Emma’s presence and small talk. It had been five excruciating hours together.
However, as soon as he entered his front door, he knew that something was going on. The music was loud, the laughter was louder, and there were strange people inside his living room and hallway, partying and sharing drinks.
Daniel’s bad mood increased exponentially when he saw Jade on the table dancing, clearly intoxicated, while Jenna, Seth, and Sakura were tapping their empty shot glasses against the table. They were encouraging her to take her dress off, and she was slipping down the sleeves slowly and teasingly. To makes matters worse, a recording crew was around her, filming the whole thing. Seth’s recording crew, no doubt.
Daniel cursed under his breath and did what any jealous boyfriend would do. He sped his way to the table, grabbed Jade, put her over his shoulder, and bolted to her bedroom. In leaving them behind, all the fun ended, and the others were left complaining.
Dropping Jade on her bed, he clenched his jaw at the sound of her laughter. Their eyes met and it was obvious to him that she wasn’t even recognizing him. Her eyes were blank and spacing out.
“What the hell was happening downstairs?” Daniel asked, unable to conceal how angry he was with the situation.
“We were partying!” She waved her arms around to show her excitement.
“And did you have to take your clothes off?”
“We were playing drink or dare,” she claimed.
He frowned. “First, it’s truth or dare. Second, why would you be willing to take off your clothes like that?”
“No, it was drink or dare. We had to spin the bottle and whoever the bottle pointed at had to dare someone to do something. If we didn’t want to do it, we had to drink a shot. I was dared to take my dress off,” she explained, covering her mouth and holding still with wide eyes. “The bed is spinning…”
“You should have drunk the shot instead of doing the dare,” Daniel snapped.
“I couldn’t pass the dare. We can’t refuse two times in a row… I’m not feeling so well.”
“Whose clever idea was that?” Daniel asked, clenching his jaw and narrowing his eyes.
“Sakura!” Jade answered, laughing and then covering her mouth again. “I think I had too much to drink.”
“Yes, it doesn’t take a genius to see that,” Daniel muttered, pacing around the bedroom. “Why would you do something like that?”
“What?” she questioned, following his movements as if she was watching a tennis match.
“Take off your dress.” He stopped in front of her with his hands folded behind his back.
“I told you why. The last dare had been to kiss Seth. I refused to do that,” she explained. Daniel squeezed his eyes as rage overtook him. “So, I had to take off my dress.”
“You shouldn’t have been playing in the first place!”
“Why not?” She frowned as she balled her hands into fists. “I’m allowed to have fun, too. And who are you to judge my actions? Weren’t you out on a date, having fun with your ex?”
“No, not really.” He tilted his head with curious eyes, trying to decipher the reasons behind her actions. “Were you jealous?”
“Of course not! I don’t care about what you do in your spare time.”
Daniel’s questions were upsetting her. Jade secured her hands to the mattress and focused on the wall, hoping that the bed stopped spinning.
“Nothing happened,” he assured.
Daniel sat down next to her and Jade concentrated on his good-looking features. He had tempting lips, perfect blue eyes, and smooth skin. She leaned closer to his face, hitting him with her alcohol-laced breath.
“God, how much did you drink?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed, captivated by his mouth. “A lot, probably.” She laughed, held her hands to his shoulders, and fell forward into his arms when she aimed at kissing him and missed.
Daniel secured her in his arms. She hid her face against the hollow of his neck and kept giggling. He caressed her hair and let her calm down. He didn’t want to be mad at her but seeing her taking off her clothes in front of other people and a camera crew wasn’t his idea of entertainment. She was too drunk to know what she was doing, anyway.
“Daniel, make it stop,” she pleaded.
“What baby?”
“The bedroom keeps spinning around!”
“I can’t do anything about that. You should try to sleep.”
“I don’t want to sleep,” she complained, her voice catching between sobs.
He cringed at the thought of having her crying because she was drunk. He was never good at babysitting drunken girls. But Jade wasn’t just any girl, and he had no intention of leaving her alone. He wanted to take care of her and be with her.
“Then what do you want to do?”
Jade mumbled in a childlike voice, “I want to talk.”
“About what?”
“About anything. I realized that I don’t know anything about you, and that sucks!”
“Is that what’s troubling you?” Daniel laid her head against his shoulder, bringing her into his lap. “Are you mad because you didn’t win the contest?”
Jade muttered, “It was an unfair contest. The questions were planned to make Emma win.”
He cuddled her hair. “True. But you did well.”
“I only got one right!”
“And it was an important question,” he praised her.
“I don’t want you going out on any romantic dates with Emma,” she grumbled, holding her hands to his shirt and sighing deeply. She groaned, tilting back her head to stare at his face with narrowed eyes. “Did you have fun?”
“Not really. I couldn’t wait to get back home to see you,” he whispered, brushing her cheek with his fingers. He smiled at her, pleased by the deep and sensible stare she was offering him. If only he could be so lucky as to have her falling for him already. “Did you miss me?”
“Of course not,” she replied, pushing him away. He wrapped his arms around her waist, preventing her from leaving his embrace. “I was busy partying. I didn’t even think about you.”
“Oh really? Then can I go back downstairs and finish my date with Emma?”
“Do whatever the fuck you want,” she snapped at him, getting up rather fast for her drunk state. She staggered from left to right while attempting to reach the bathroom.
His beloved was a feisty thing, and he was stupid to provoke her.
“Jade…” He went after her.
Daniel grabbed her inside the bathroom. Holding her by the waist, he turned her around to face him. He wanted to say something meaningful to ease her aggressive personality.
“Are you okay?” he asked instead since she looked rather pale and sick.
“Not really,” she whispered, putting her hand in front of her mouth.
He immediately let her go, and she turned around to vomit in the bathroom sink.
“I think I’m going to die,” she complained, after a moment of running water in the sink and splashing it against her face and mouth.
Daniel was next to her, holding on to her hair and drawing circles on her back to make her feel better.
“You’ll feel better after you stop vomiting. I’ll make you some strong coffee, okay?” he said sweetly.
She just nodded and vomited again.
“I’ll be right back.”
Daniel sped his way out of her bedroom and walked down the stairs to go to the kitchen. The party was still on. Seth was drinking shots, and Emma had joined in on the drinking game. She was giggling and throwing shots down her throat. There were couples making out on his leather couch and others playing his video games. His place was a mess—c
ans and bottles everywhere. The fridge had been raided and there were a lot of empty beer bottles on the counter.
He tried to act cool about having a rave party in his house. He just wanted to make coffee for Jade and then spend the rest of his night with her. He’d be happy to watch her sleep if that was all he was getting that night.
“Are you okay?” Seth asked, appearing behind him.
Daniel turned around to face him. His brother had a shot in his hand and a goofy look on his face.
“No. What are you doing here?”
“Mother invited me,” he declared, pointing at Sakura, who was laughing and talking with Jenna.
Meanwhile, Emma was licking salt from her hand and slamming another shot down her throat. She wanted to get drunk, and he was almost appreciating the idea and thinking he might do the same. But he had Jade waiting for him. She was feeling sick and most likely still mad at him for going out with Emma. He had to play nice.
“Next time you dare my girlfriend to take off her dress, be prepared for the consequences,” Daniel warned, grabbing the mug of coffee and glaring at his younger brother.
“We were having fun! Since when are you such a buzz kill?”
“You can go have fun with one of your groupie friends, with your choice of the week, but not with Jade,” he said.
His cold eyes made Seth step back.
“Well, it wasn’t me who dared her to take off her dress. It was Mom after she refused to kiss me,” Seth explained as he smiled wickedly at Daniel. “You know, while you were out having fun with Emma.”
Daniel wondered if he should punch him or ignore the obvious provocation. He’d had enough of fighting with his brother. Besides, he had hit Seth the other night and it wasn’t even his fault, so he was going to let it slide tonight. Jade wouldn’t like it, and she was all alone upstairs, feeling sick. He wanted to get back there and cuddle her to sleep.
“I wasn’t having fun with Emma. I had to obey the stupid contract that Dominic forced me to sign,” Daniel clarified.
“It’s good publicity for your company and for our community.”
“I don’t see how it can be good publicity,” Daniel retorted. “The only thing they want is a scandal and promoting Emma’s acting career by using our former relationship.”
“Stop complaining. You’ve found your beloved! Lucky bastard! You just need to endure this for a week. I have to endure it for six more months.” He turned around to join the remaining party-goers.
Seth’s words fell hard on Daniel. His brother was right. Their vampire father had been harsher on Seth. However, in Daniel’s defense, he had a rather mundane and simple existence with the human community. He had played by the book, using his companies for the good of humans and vampires. He wasn’t expecting to find his beloved the week he had to play the playboy role. But thinking about it, having Jade move into his house because of a signed contract was probably the best way to seduce the girl and make her his. She wouldn’t give him the time of day in the nightclub. He wouldn’t be in the nightclub if he hadn’t had to go there and pick a random girl to have around the other two and pretend to fall in love with one of them. He was happy that he didn’t need to pretend anymore.
Daniel walked calmly to Jade’s bedroom, so he wouldn’t spill the coffee. When he got in and closed the door behind him, she was sitting on the bed, out of her dress, wearing a T-shirt and shorts. She was staring at the wall with empty eyes and wild hair.
He smirked, finding her too damn sexy. She had amazing eyes, amazing lips, and attractive legs. It didn’t help that he was thinking about their playful afternoon in that same bed.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, sitting next to her and showing her the mug.
Jade made a weird sound of complaint and shook her head. She probably had an upset stomach. Vodka could do that to a person.
“Drink up.” He handed her the mug.
She obeyed, cringing, and Daniel watched her. He could smell the toothpaste and the soap she had used to clean herself. It was a nice upgrade from the alcohol breath.
“You could have put sugar in it,” she complained, putting down the mug and sighing deeply. She placed a hand over her forehead and slid her body down on the headboard, putting her chin on her knees. “I don’t feel good.”
“You shouldn’t have had so much to drink,” he said, touching her cheek.
She closed her eyes with the contact of his hand.
“I was bored.” She sighed deeply and leaned forward to get closer to him.
He lifted her arms and grabbed her by the waist, so he could bring her into his embrace.
“I’m here now. No need to be bored,” he whispered sweetly, kissing her closed eyes.
“Did you enjoy the carriage ride?”
“No, because you weren’t there with me. It was tedious and I—I missed you.”
“You’re just saying that to please me,” she muttered.
He smiled. Her crankiness was adorable. “Don’t you like it that I want to please you? Doesn’t that mean that I like you a lot?”
“We’ve just met.”
“Meaning?”
Jade pouted before she answered. “We barely know each other. I can’t have strong feelings for you.”
His breath feathered her mouth. “Why not?”
“You are annoying, and I don’t trust you.”
“Yet, you were jealous of Emma.”
Jade hid her face against his neck and sighed. “I’m stupid.”
Daniel kissed the top of her head. “You are as mine as I am yours. Nothing will change that. And I’m home now. We can talk about anything you’d like.” When he noticed, she was staring at him as her nail played with a button of his shirt. “Why the gloomy eyes?”
“Everybody wants you to get back with her.”
He cupped her cheek. “All I want is you. If you are willing to make love to me, then you should be willing to open up your heart to me.”
Jade pulled his hand away. “It’s not the same thing. Sex isn’t the same thing as making love. Don’t try to trick me. Just because I’m sexually attracted to you doesn’t mean that I’m going to fall for you.”
“But this between us isn’t just about sex,” he tried to explain. “You are my beloved.”
“It’s always about sex with you.”
“What do you mean? Vampires? Guys?”
“Vampire guys,” she stated. Daniel sighed with hurt. “And don’t pretend like you don’t know,” she accused him with a shattered, sad voice.
“What do you think I know?” he asked, feeling vulnerable to her sadness.
“About what happened to me.”
“I don’t know. I’m waiting for you to tell me.”
“The director knows. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No. I want you to tell me when you’re ready for that.”
“You said you didn’t care about my sappy sad story,” she complained. He witnessed her tears falling down her cheeks, wetting his shirt.
He didn’t want to be precipitate. She was drunk; the last thing she needed was to talk about the depressing events of her life. That night was about her knowing more about him.
“I was lying,” he whispered, cleaning her tears with the palm of his hand and kissing the top of her head. “Let’s talk about something else. I don’t want you being upset tonight. You can tell me when you feel ready. Why don’t you ask me what you want to know about my life? Anything you want to know,” he said, and she opened her eyes to face him. “Ask me anything.”
“Really? Anything? Even about…about your life before being a vampire?”
“Yes. Anything, darling,” he confirmed, smiling as he kissed the tip of her nose.
Chapter Eighteen: Hangover
Jade woke up with a lot of noise clouding her mind. Memories of her dream were still obscuring her view and making her head hurt. She had been dreaming about Daniel and about them talking and kissing. But she wasn’t completely sure of what they were tell
ing each other. The pain clenching at her skull wasn’t helping her remember.
She moved on the bed and felt a warm body next to her. She tried to focus her eyes, searching for memories of the events of what happened before she fell asleep. A lot of shots, loud music, laughing, there was joking around with Seth, Jenna, and Sakura. The alcohol left her loose and irrational. She danced, screamed, and applauded the wildness that took over the house. She drank too much. The effects were pressing against her temples, making her sick to her stomach and dizzy. On the top of that, she was feeling aroused. Her nipples were hard and her body was needy.
Staring at Daniel’s body next to her, she moaned. He was dressed in his shirt and tuxedo pants. He was innocently asleep and all she wanted was to attack him, kiss him, and wake him up. He looked so edible that it was hard for her to breathe. Even with the hangover, she wanted to get closer to him and get his arms around her.
Jade leaned closer to his body and stroked his face, staring at his lips. She felt guilty for touching him while he was asleep. Not like she was doing anything wrong. She just wanted to stare at him, touch him, and feel his presence. She could get used to having him around.
The night before, Daniel had shared a lot of his private life with her. She remembered, even though she was drunk. They had also laughed and kissed. There were always fireworks inside her mouth when their lips locked, going down her throat and bursting in her stomach with lust and untamed pleasure. He was so gorgeous that it hurt her chest.
She was startled when his arm fell around her, and he brought her closer to his chest. He was warm, and she felt a wave of peace washing over her.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Daniel whispered, hugging her tight.
“Good morning,” she whispered back.
Daniel opened his eyes and smiled. “How do you feel?”
“Bad,” she confessed.
Daniel touched her cheek with the tip of his nose. “Two aspirins and some food will make you feel better.”
“I’ll never drink that much again,” she declared as he kissed her forehead and tangled his legs with hers. “What time do you think it is?”
