Blood Rites: (Royal Blood #3) (8 page)

Resisting the urge to run my
hands over his waist and feel the hard muscles in his back, I
pulled away, my cheeks feeling hot. He smiled like he knew my risky
thought pattern and placed his hand on the small of my back,
the exact place I
wanted to touch him
, and guided me to our destination.

The hostess instantly pounced
and greeted Vaughn by name as we stepped inside and I raised my
eyebrows. I was rich, but I’d never had this kind of special
treatment before. She led us personally to a semi-private table to
one side, and he pulled out my chair for me.

“Have you been here before?” I asked as I
sat.

He grinned, taking his place opposite. “Many
times.”

“
On
dates?”
Oh
shit, I didn’t mean for that to come out
.

He laughed, the sound sending a thrill down
my spine and into my lady bits. “Never.”

I frowned, glancing at my hands.

“I’m not well versed in ‘dinner and
movies’,” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, you’re doing okay so far,” I
retorted.

A waiter passed by us, leaving
us each a menu and Vaughn ordered some wine, red something, I was
too overwhelmed to take in any details. He’d never been on a date
before? I’d been on several terrible ones that my mother had fixed
me up on, but I’d never been out with anyone I’d wanted to. This
was kind of new for me, too.

The waiter returned and poured wine into
both our glasses with a flourish as Vaughn glanced through the
menu.

“What would you like?” he asked, looking at
me expectantly. “You can have anything you’d like.”

He didn’t seem to have a problem flashing
his money around and I wondered if he was really serious about last
night’s billionaire quip. “Um,” I replied, too flustered to pick up
the menu. “You can order for me.”

His eyebrow rose, but he didn’t press. He
turned to the waiter and ordered a steak for himself and the salmon
for me. He really did have an eye for detail and how he knew that’s
what I would’ve ordered, had I actually looked at the menu, was
beyond me.

The waiter moved off and Vaughn focused his
gaze back onto mine. I squirmed a little, suddenly wishing I’d worn
knickers, and made a play for the wine. I pressed the glass to my
lips and downed two mouthfuls, the ruby red liquid burning down my
throat and into my stomach.

“Have you always wanted to be a gallery
curator?” he asked, his gaze locked on mine.

“Not always,” I replied, thankful for some
normal conversation. “My mother expected me to do some bland degree
at University and end up a trophy wife, so she loves my job.” I
rolled my eyes. The bloody wine was going straight to my head.

“I don’t see the problem. You’re very good
at it.”

I glanced up at him, taken aback slightly.
He’d noticed?

“
Why do you
look so surprised?” he asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
His lips, oh
my
. “I saw
how you worked last night. I assume you were responsible for
acquiring the collection?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Money only gets you so far in life,” he
mused, picking up his wine glass and swirling the liquid around
gracefully. “Talent and passion is what makes people
successful.”

I gazed at the swirl of the
wine in his glass. “What about you?” I raised my chin and his blue
eyes met mine.

Something seemed to pass through them and he
shrugged. “I’m good at my job, but as you say…it’s very bland.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Do you want
to do something else?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut
off as the waiter reappeared with our meals.

We fell into silence as we ate,
the air crackling between us, and I wondered if I’d asked the wrong
question. Maybe he was in his life too deep, maybe he couldn’t do
anything else. Perhaps he had grand expectations from his family,
just like I had from mine.

“Vaughn!”

I glanced up at the sound of a female’s
voice and instantly felt like throwing up. A woman stood beside our
table, her sights firmly set on Vaughn and from the way she greeted
him with her hand on his shoulder and her finger resting against
the collar of his shirt, she seemed to be very familiar with him.
Familiar as in the ex-girlfriend kind of familiar.

My gaze ran over her and I felt like sliding
underneath the table before she could glance at me. She was tall,
blonde, beautiful and wore a tiny little black dress…and she had
bloody legs for days. Next to her, I felt dumpy and covered in
warts. I didn’t know what the hell Vaughn saw in me if that’s who
he used to date.

“Annalise,” he said with a smile, rising
from the table.

She held out her hand with her
perfectly manicured red fingernails and he grasped it lightly,
pressing his lips to the back of it. I felt a stab of jealousy in
my heart. Why would he do that while I was sitting right here? Was
he trying to get a reaction out of me? Was that it? I hoped it was
worth it, because it bloody stung.

“
Vaughn,” she purred, her gaze
coming to rest on me. I could see her appraise me coolly and when
she found me wanting, disregarded me with a flick of her
hair.

Inadequate, that’s how I felt.

Vaughn glanced at me and I stared
impassively back.

“We missed you in Morocco last week,” she
purred, placing her hand on his arm. “The weather was divine.”

“I had business to attend to.”

“I heard you threw one of your fabulous
parties,” she said with a laugh that tinkled like bloody crystal.
“You know how much I enjoy them.” The last sentence came out a
little husky and I rolled my eyes. So, his ‘party’ was all about
getting women into bed.

“Yes,” he said glancing at me. “If you will
excuse me, Annalise.”

She looked down on me once more, distaste in
her eyes. “Of course. Call me,” she said with a sickly smile. “We
need to have dinner.”

No guesses what ‘dinner’ entailed.

She floated across the
restaurant in her six inch heels, her perfect figure drawing
attention from just about every man in the room. I found myself
hating her even though I didn’t know a thing about the
woman.

When she was out of sight, I scowled at
Vaughn.

“Did you fuck her?” I asked sullenly, a
little shocked at my forthrightness. Fuck wasn’t a word I used very
often or at all.

His eyebrows rose slightly, his
lips quirking. “Are you jealous?”

I rolled my eyes.
“
Please
.” I was extremely jealous and from the stupid smirk on his
face, he knew it too.

“I fucked her once,” he said blandly. “It
meant nothing. Is that what you wanted to hear, Lorelei?”

“She seems to think otherwise.”

He snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. “What
you see on the outside of Annalise doesn’t venture deeper than the
first layer of skin, Lorelei. I’m not interested in that.”

I sat up straight. “Then what are you
interested in?”

“This is more than about fucking,” he said,
his fingers tightening around his linen serviette. “Much more,
though I wouldn’t mind it.”

Before I could collect myself, I flushed and
my skin began to bristle. “Obviously, your fabulous ‘parties’ have
more to do with seducing women into your bed than being
charitable.”

He shook his head. “I was trying to impress
you.”

“
Into your
bed
?”

“Yes, in the past that’s what they were for,
but—”

“How far in the past?” I raised my eyebrows.
“A week?”

“Lorelei…” He trailed off, his expression
falling. So, I was right. He was still the billionaire playboy.
When the fuck was he going to grow up?

“Am I a game to you?”

“I—” He pursed his lips and I knew he wasn’t
telling me everything. So, a game it was.

I rose, thoroughly distraught
that I’d let him play me. He’d wormed his way underneath my skin,
playing my attraction and manipulating it for his pleasure. Well, I
was not going to be another notch, no matter how he made me
feel.

Vaughn pushed his chair back,
rising to his feet. “
Lorelei
.”

I felt tears begin to well. “Take me
home.”

I strode across the restaurant
as he lingered behind to pay the bill. Pushing the door open, I
stood on the footpath, my arms circled around my waist, grasping my
clutch tightly in my right hand. If all else failed, I could smack
him with it.

I was stunned. I felt like I’d
been pushed one way, then bitch-slapped right back the
other.

Vaughn appeared beside me as
the limousine pulled up and I couldn’t take the stupid attraction I
felt toward his presence anymore. It was humiliating. I stalked
forward, wrenched the door open and let myself into the
car.

He slid into the limo next to me, fastening
his seatbelt. Hawkes had appeared, closing the door and I focused
on his footsteps as he rounded the car and got into the front. A
moment later, the engine purred and we pulled away from the
footpath.

I didn’t know what to say. I felt cheap.
Bought. I wanted more than a few desperate moments before being
thrown out. I wanted to fall in love and the attraction I felt
toward Vaughn was overwhelming. Knowing that it could’ve been a
game… It stung. Bex had told me to go out and have some fun, but
the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if I wasn’t that
kind of woman at all. Was following this thing, whatever it was,
worth the damage it’d do to my heart when it crashed and
burned?

“Lorelei,” Vaughn said with a sigh.

I glanced away from the window and allowed
myself to take him in, head to toe and everywhere in between. When
it became too much, I turned away.

“What can I say?” he said, his voice
sounding thin. “I can tell you all the things I’m feeling right now
but will you believe me? This feels different. I want you more than
I’ve ever wanted anyone, but I don’t know what that is. I don’t
know if it means I want more.”

I sucked in a deep breath, his words
mirroring the things I felt inside of me.

“Lorelei. I don’t know what I want after
this, but I want to try, I want to see. It’s all I have to
offer.”

I turned to gaze at him and saw the
desperation in his eyes. I could also see confusion. He was
vulnerable and he’d been so calm and collected up until now. What
was I meant to take from that? He was telling the truth, that’s
what.

His palm flattened against the curve of my
neck and I gasped, his thumb tracing my jawline before running
lightly across my lips. My breathing sharpened and my thighs
tensed. Suddenly, I wanted to kiss him and show him that I was more
than a match for those women he used to mess around with. I wanted
to blow them right out of the water.

Before I could make a move, his thumb pulled
at my bottom lip and he struck, his mouth meeting mine, his tongue
sliding greedily against my own. He took without my consent, even
though he already had it.

His touch ignited my senses, blazing a trail
to all my most private parts and I began to ache. His movements
became more desperate as he tried to hang onto me, his hand
slipping to my waist.

“Can’t you feel that?” he murmured
desperately against my lips.

I couldn’t deny it. I couldn’t stop it.

“I can feel it,” I replied without
hesitation. Unclipping my seatbelt, I slid a leg across his lap, my
dress riding up.

“
Lorelei,” he murmured, his gaze
lingering on my exposed thigh. His hand slid along my bare skin,
hooked around my knee and tugged, forcing me to straddle
him.

I fit myself into his lap, my
center resting against his crotch. Maybe now was the perfect time
to tell him that I’d decided to leave my knickers at
home.

His hands moved up my thighs and when he
reached the hem of my dress, he pushed it up. When his hands cupped
my naked ass, his eyes widened.

“You’re trying to make a dishonest man out
of me, Lorelei,” he rasped.

“Dishonest?” I moaned pressing my nakedness
into his groin. “How is it dishonest when we are clear about what
we want?”

His eyes were dark with desire, his cock
hard in his trousers. “And what do you want, Miss Lansford?”

I fixed my gaze on his baby blue eyes. Time
to woman up. “I want you to fuck me.”

Vaughn thumped his hand on the intercom
button. “Keep driving until I say stop.”

A thrill rushed through my body and I
whimpered, rubbing against him. His mouth found mine and he kissed
me in a blaze of heat, his tongue swirling greedily with mine. I’d
been so controlled up until now, holding back, keeping my emotions
in check, but the moment his hands cupped my breasts through my
dress, I let it all go.

I fisted my hands into his hair
and pushed into his hands, desperate for his touch. Our kiss
deepened, my lips feeling swollen already, his taste permeating all
of my senses until I was overwhelmed.

“I can’t bear it,” I moaned against his
lips.

Vaughn sighed, his hips thrusting upward
against my naked core. “I want you so much, Lorelei.”

My lips sought his mouth. “Then take
me.”

Coaxing me to rise up onto my
knees, he undid his seatbelt and fumbled with the button on his
slacks. Lifting up, he pushed them over his ass and they slid down
around his ankles. I watched, enraptured, as his boxers followed
and I saw
all
of him. He was fully erect, primed, beautiful and suddenly,
I realized the effect I had on Vaughn. He wasn’t lying, he wasn’t
trying to play games…he wanted
me
.