Blood Struck (3 page)

Hoping to spot Kristos before he saw me, I scanned the dining room as we passed through the entry way and into the large dining room. I wanted to give myself some time to prepare mentally. The restaurant was full of couples and double dates. Everyone appeared to be matched with a partner. Aside from curious stares and speculative gawking, no one seemed to be looking for me specifically.

By then the security detail had sped up again, herding me through the restaurant like an errant lamb. I struggled not to trip as my dress twined around my legs and under my heels.
Stupid slit.

“There he is. Nine o’clock,” said one of the guards to the others.

I turned to look and saw him. He took my breath away. In a room full of noise and movement, he was motionless. His absolute stillness made him stand out in sharp relief, timeless as ancient statue. I studied his features, noting the hooked nose and square jaw. His shoulders were broad and his suit followed the trim muscle of his physique. As far as I knew it was the first time I’d ever seen a vampire up close and personal, and he was much better looking than I had anticipated.

For some unknown reason, I was instantly attracted to him, and the moment I had that insight he moved, turning his head to focus on me. For a long second, everything and everyone around me ceased to exist, it was just me and Kristos. My pulse quickened and my breathing came fast. I felt like I was falling into his gaze, as if his eyes were swallowing me whole and then....and then I was on the floor, my dress finally bringing me down.

With a loud
‘oof’
I slammed to the ground, trying to land on my side to avoid face planting. The momentum rolled me onto my back, whipping my legs apart, which displayed my lack of underwear for all to see.

There was a moment of silence before a sonic wave of gasps and titters crashed down on me, bringing my humiliation to the fore. The security guys just stood there, apparently just as shocked as everyone else that I had a real live vagina under my dress.

Burning with mortification, I quickly pulled the gown over my naked bits and tried to stand up, but the heels caught in the hem again.

Damn it.

The guards still hadn’t moved either. Not one of them lifted a finger to help me. Useless bastard Navy Seal poseurs.

So I crawled. Kristos’ table wasn’t that far away and it was a large round with a long table cloth. My goal was to get under there and hide until I was dead and mummified beyond recognition.

People murmured as I passed their tables, but I ignored it, focusing with tunnel vision on just getting to Kristos’ table without flashing anyone else.

Once I was there, I bolted into my hidey-hole, huddling with my knees pulled up to my chest and my skirt wrapped around me like a cocoon. Sniffing back tears, I squeezed my eyes closed and tried to pretend none of this was happening.

Oh, how far the fantasy supermodel version of me had fallen. Right into hell.

“Miss Danson?” Kristos ducked under the table to peer at me, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. Now that we were up close and personal I could see they were light aquamarine blue.

“Go away,” I sniffed.

“After that entrance, I can’t possibly leave you alone.” He slipped under the table with me, which just made me cry harder. “Are you all right? I mean, physically as your emotional distress is obvious.” He laid a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I nodded. “I’m f-i-i-ine. It’s just these damn shoes. They kept tripping me up and your guards wouldn’t slow down.” I kicked off the shoes in question. I never wanted to wear them again.

“Excuse me a moment,” Kristos said. “I’ll be right back.”

The tears welled up in my eyes again. He was probably calling Madame Rouge and telling her to fire me. My courtesan career would end before it even started. Without that money, cancer would kill my mom. I stifled a loud sob at the thought.

Beyond the table, I heard deep voices muttering. One of them sounded very upset, going deeper and louder than the others. 

Then Kristos was back, this time with a bottle of wine and a cheese plate. “Would you like something to drink or eat?” Concern for me shone in his eyes. I had mostly stopped crying by then, but his pity started me up again.

“I’m sorry,” I sniffed. “Wine sounds good.” Maybe if I got drunk things would improve.

He handed me a glass and I drained it, not even tasting the wine. When I held up my glass for more, he shook his head. “I don’t want you drinking recklessly. How about some cheese so the wine doesn’t go to your head?”

I frowned and snatched the bottle from his hand. “Listen, more people just saw my vagina than I’ve slept with in my whole life. I royally flubbed my first night at a new job. I think I’m entitled to a little reckless drinking thank-you-very-much.” With that, I chugged directly from the bottle, greedy for oblivion.

Kristos pulled the bottle from my hands with a ‘tsk’ of disapproval. “I realize the night has not gone as planned, but I would prefer not to let one minor incident ruin the whole evening. Why don’t we sit at the table and start over?”

With all those people out there that had seen my
va-jay-jay?
Humiliation burned through me again. I couldn’t face it. “I thought I would stay here for a while, until—”

Kristos interrupted and said, “Everyone was gone?” He smiled and I stopped breathing because, even through my haze of mortification, I could appreciate that he was beautiful. “They are already gone. I had them escorted out.”

I gaped at him. So that was what money and power was good for. Clearing out restaurants just on your say so. “They let you do that?”

He shrugged. “Of course. I own the restaurant.”

I poked my head out from under the table and indeed the restaurant was empty, except for the security detail, which congregated in the small foyer at the front of the restaurant. They weren’t even looking my way. Most of them were preoccupied with their smart phones while two of them watched the front door, their backs to me.

Well, then. This I can handle.

We sat at the table and I placed my napkin in my lap, grateful for the impromptu loin cloth. Next time I picked out a swanky dress I would have underwear or select one that wouldn’t cause me to flash everyone the room. Live and learn, right?

“Let’s start over, shall we?” Kristos offered me his hand. “I’m Kristos.”

I took his hand with a shy smile. Oh, what he must think of me. Horrible things I was sure. He was just being nice given that I was new. Most people cut someone slack if it was their first day on the job. “Hi, I’m Myra and I’m not wearing any panties.”

He laughed at that. “I saw. It was a nice view.”

I blushed.

He watched, transfixed as it flamed over my cheeks and down my neck. I peeked down to see that, yep, my chest was overly pink too.

“Lovely,” he breathed, reaching out to trace my collar bone with his finger. There was a hunger in his eyes that warned me to be still and not make any sudden movements.

A waiter cleared his throat as he set plates of food in front of me. “Your order, miss.”

Kristos leaned back in his chair, the intensity between us dissipating as he did so.

“This is a lot of food,” I said, wondering how I would eat it all. There was a plate of pasta with marinara and a surf n’ turf platter with one of the largest lobster tails I’d ever seen. In addition, the waiter set down three different appetizers and a salad of mixed greens.

“I asked the kitchen to make up a few different plates using what they already had in process. You don’t mind?”

I shook my head. “No, not as long as you don’t expect me to eat it all. I mean, it looks delicious, but my stomach is only so big, you know?”

He nodded. “Pick what pleases you most.”

I pulled the lobster toward me, moving the other plates out of the way. My stomach growled reminding me I hadn’t eaten in a very long time.

“Has Madame Rouge been starving you?” he asked as my stomach broadcasted its status.

Embarrassment burned my cheeks. “It’s just been a very busy day.”

His eyes were riveted on my skin, watching the progression of my blush. “I understand she hired you just today.”

I nodded, my mouth too full of succulent lobster to talk.

“What makes this work attractive to you?”

“Why do you ask?” I asked once I had swallowed.

“I like to understand people’s motivations,” he said.

“I need the money. No baser motivation than that,” I said, deciding I may as well be honest. After all he wasn’t buying me dinner pretending we were going to get married someday.

“For what? School? A car? Clothes?” His eyes caught mine and pinned me down, shining with open curiosity.

I shook my head and looked down at my plate as sadness threatened to overwhelm me. “My mom has cancer.” Why had I told him that? The last thing I wanted was pity.

He reached over, tilting my chin up to meet his gaze again. “That’s a very noble motivation, Myra.”

I bit my lip. His eyes were disconcerting, his gaze palpable. “I guess.”

Kristos  put his thumb on my bottom lip and gently pulled it out from under my teeth.“You don’t want to talk about it?”

“I don’t want you to feel sorry for me. It makes it all worse somehow,” I said, my eyes hot with more tears.
Would I ever stop crying in front of this guy?

Seeing how close to the surface my emotions ran on that topic, he changed the subject. “You said my guards were too fast?”

“I just couldn’t keep up with this dress and those shoes,” I said, relieved to not be focusing on my mom. “I asked them to slow down, but they just went faster.”

A muscle in his cheek throbbed as he clenched his jaw. “I want you to know that is unacceptable.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, flustered. “I won’t ask them to slow down again.”

“No, Myra, I’m talking about them. They should have taken more care with you.” He laid a hand on my arm, thumb caressing my skin, the contact sending shivers down my spine. From a distance he was handsome, but up close he smoldered hot enough to steal the oxygen from the air. “I don’t want you to think their treatment of you represents me.”

“You’ve been nothing but kind,” I stammered. “I thought you would have sent me back already.”

“Not after you made such an interesting entrance.” He withdrew his hand and I found myself missing the contact. “You’re blushing again. You really are quite sensitive, Madame Rouge did not overstate on that point.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s beautiful. You’re very lovely, Myra.” He lifted my free hand to his lips, pressing them against my palm in a moist kiss. “I can’t wait to see how far below your dress that blush goes.”

Not knowing what to say to that, I shoved more lobster in my mouth. In my chest, my heart began pounding, fast and furious.

Kristos scooted his chair closer to mine and leaned in to plant a soft kiss on my neck. I froze and then my heart began to pound triple time. “Would you mind if I had a quick taste?” he asked, whispering in my ear.

His closeness pulled at something deep inside me and goose bumps danced across my skin, tightening my nipples.
Oh my God, I’m turned on
, I realized with some surprise. Maybe losing my virginity to a vampire would be more fun than I had thought. Maybe all my Type-A anxiety was for nothing.

Closing my eyes and swallowing hard, I said, “Please help yourself.”
Gah.
So not classy. It sounded like I was welcoming him to the all-you-can-suck blood buffet.

“Thank you. I would have been sad if you said no.” He kissed my neck again and made his way down to my collarbone, pulling my skin into his mouth with gentle suction. One hand kneaded my back while his other inched its way toward the juncture of my thighs.

Fear mingling with desire, I slipped my hands underneath my legs to keep from moving to stop him. I would get used to this, I promised myself. It was just first-time nerves. It helped that he was not only gorgeous, but also experienced. The better it felt, the easier this would be.

When the bite came, I gasped and threw my head back. It hurt, but it was more than pain, there was an unexpected pleasure to its sting too. Between my legs, his fingers found me wet and the longer he sucked at the bite, the more I squirmed, wanting something more.

He pulled away from my neck and removed his hand from under my skirt. His eyes were dark with desire while mine were wide with shock. “Madame Rouge was right, you are good with Bordeaux,” he said. “And there’s something else there, something I can’t quite place. What is your lineage?”

“My what?” I moved to rearrange the napkin over my lap, still uncomfortable with how much skin the dress exposed. The simple movement caused him to abandon his question.

Frowning, Kristos reached over and tugged the napkin away from me. “I’d rather you not. I like the view.” He leaned in close once more. This time my mouth was the target. Hungry lips crushed mine in a scorching kiss that made my toes curl. His fingers returned to the bud at my core and I shivered as pleasure pressed against my inner walls, just moments away from a climax.

In the back of my mind I worried about the security guards. Public sex had never been one of my fantasies, but there I was being felt up and kissed with such finesse it sounded like a grand idea. I didn’t want him to stop. Maybe it was the bite or maybe it was because he was a vampire. Either way my flesh ached for him. I needed him to touch me. Any fear I’d felt gave way to a hot desire.

Kristos deepened our kiss, slipping his tongue between my lips as his free hand went to cradle the back of my head. His other hand began to move faster and I sighed as my body quickened with him. I gave a soft cry into his mouth when I came. Pleasure rushed the nexus of my legs, leaving me warm and tingling.

Kristos smiled against my lips and then broke contact as he returned to his seat.

A little frazzled by what had just transpired, I grabbed my wine glass and gulped the fruity liquid down. As I moved to set it on the table after draining it dry, it exploded in my hand with a sharp crack.

I never heard the bullet. Or maybe I did, but failed to understand the significance of the sound. All I knew was my glass shattered, spraying wine and shrapnel into my palm and at my face.