Charmed (6 page)

“Tell me!” he demanded, spearing her pussy with his tongue. “Do you still think I’m a monster?”

“No, Tristan!” Chloe moaned. She looked down at her hands, which gripped the door handle tightly. She noted the whiteness around her knuckles. “I don’t think you’re a monster.”

Somewhere in the back of her befuddled mind, she heard his satisfied grunt. But then all normal brain function ceased to exist when he dove into her with such intensity that her hips bashed against the door. An unexplainable pressure built up within her body and her head swam. “Oh God, Tristan,” she panted. “I’m going to come. I’m going to come.”

“Do it, love. I want you to cream all over my face.” His words acting as a catalyst pushed Chloe over the final precipice. She clawed frantically at the door as wave after wave of the most intense pleasure pulsated through her body. Flinging back her head, she unashamedly filled the quiet conference room with her screams.

Chloe stumbled away from the door. She needed to distance herself from not only him but the spectacle she’d just made of herself. Tristan only needed to lay his hands on her and she was spreading her legs for him.

Angry more at herself than at him, she yanked down her skirt and straightened her blazer over her breasts. When she turned around to look at him, she noticed that although he didn’t look worse for wear, his mouth still glistened from her juices.

“Aren’t you at least going to wipe off the evidence?”

Chloe’s heart tripped over in excitement as a seductive smile spread across his features, producing an impish dimple in both of his cheeks. He was hands-down the most handsome man she’d ever met.

“No, I plan on wearing you home as a souvenir. To remind me of the sweet time we’ve had here tonight.”

Chloe couldn’t help the smile that came to her lips as well.

“You know you look utterly ridiculous in your thousand-dollar designer suit and my cum smeared all over your face.” She walked over to him and took the silk handkerchief out of his breast pocket then proceeded to dab at his face. “You’re so incorrigible. What am I going to do with you?”

“I can think of a thousand things you can do with me, to me and on top of me.” Tristan wiggled his eyebrows at her. “But seriously, how about accompanying me to the party tomorrow evening? It will be what you would call a learning experience.”

“You mean the one you invited Dina to earlier?” Chloe bit out.

She shoved his silk handkerchief back in his pocket. When she stepped back from him, he grabbed her arm.

“Come on, love, let’s let bygones be bygones. Don’t we all do foolish things that we regret? I know I’ve done plenty in the past year alone.”

Chloe’s spine stiffened in anger.
If he was going to tell her that he regretted marrying her after all she’d been through these past few weeks, she was going to sock him one. When she tried pulling her arm from his grip, he tightened his hold and pulled her close.

“It’s not what you think, love. I never regretted meeting you. My biggest regret is not coming after you sooner. I hate to admit it but I allowed my foolish pride to come between us too many times. And I’m here to rectify that. But I can’t do that if you’re not willing to give us a chance.”

Although he was the cause of her world being turned upside down, she couldn’t deny the insatiable attraction between them. Chloe looked into his green eyes, which reminded her of angry thunderclouds, but the emotions she read in them were anything else but anger. More like an openness and a touch of weariness that only a soul who had walked this earth hundreds of years could convey. Would she be like that someday?

Would she have to spend eternity walking this earth with no one to share her life with? The possibility of that filled Chloe with dread. It was bad enough living the past twenty years being the one on the outside looking in. Always seeing the skinny chick being rescued by the knight in shining armor.

Her knight might not ride a white stallion or even be human, but at least he desired her and made her feel wanted. So why not take that leap of faith and test the waters? Especially since she now had what she’d been yearning for years staring her right in the face and, stupid stubborn fool that she was, she was fighting her perhaps one and only chance at happiness.

“Okay,” Chloe sighed, finally tired of fighting not only him but herself as well. “I’ll accompany you, but only under one condition. Absolutely no funny business.”

“Even if it’s mind-blowing out-of-this-world sex?” At Chloe’s sharp look, Tristan threw up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll promise to behave. I’ll pick you up at nine. The dress is after five, we British love to do things proper.”

Tristan opened the door to leave then, as if thinking better about it, he turned back to her and yanked her into his arms. He bent down and planted a toe-curling kiss on her lips. He didn’t release her until she began to beat on his chest. “Sorry about that, love, I forgot you still needed oxygen to breathe. You know, I could rectify that.”

When Chloe lifted her hand threateningly, he made a quick exit for the door.

“Sweet dreams!” he called over his shoulder. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”

Chapter Five

Chloe slid the last bobby pin into place, neatly securing her hair into a loose updo. Satisfied, she hurried into the bedroom. With a quick glance at the clock, she snatched up the dove gray cocktail dress she’d laid out earlier.

Giving a quick prayer to the please-let-it-still-fit fairy, she stepped into the dress and shimmied it up her body. Made of ballet-slipper satin, the strapless gown had been custom-fitted for her fifteenth class reunion last year so that it hugged all of her curves.

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief as the zipper closed without protest.

Smoothing the satin over her hips, she then bent down and picked up the leather stilettos and matching clutch bag she’d chosen to wear that evening.

As she entered the living room, the intercom buzzed in the kitchen.

She hurried over to answer it.

“Are you ready, pigeon?” Tristan’s silky voice asked on the other end.

“I’ll be right down,” she yelled.

She checked herself over one more time in the hall mirror, before grabbing her things and leaving.

When she stepped off the elevator, she was glad that Tristan’s back was to her for it gave her the opportunity to secretly admire him. Now clad in a black suit offset by a crisp white shirt, he cut a debonair picture. The suit’s jacket nipped snugly in at the waist, emphasizing his broad shoulders and narrow waist. When he turned around, her eyes were drawn to the open collar of his shirt. His olive complexion provided a beautiful contrast to the whiteness of his shirt.

“Bloody hell, woman! That dress is simply fabulous. Did I actually promise I would be on my best behavior this evening?”

Chloe chuckled at the look of utter anguish on his face. She also noticed that his eyes hadn’t strayed from her bosom since the moment he turned around. Deciding to play up her charms, Chloe over-pronounced the sway of her hips as she walked across the lobby. Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed.

“Yes, sir. You did promise,” she announced cheerily. She stopped just to his right, her arm grazing his. She reached out her hand and fingered one of the buttons on his shirt—secretly smiling to herself as she noted the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

“And, Mr. Smythe, I’m going to hold you to it. Shall we go?” Chloe didn’t wait for him to answer. She stepped away from him, allowing her hand to trail down his hard chest.

“I am a bloody fool,” Tristan mumbled, yanking the door open for her.

* * * * *

“Are you nervous?” Tristan asked, taking her hand in his as he walked them to the front door of a Tudor-style mansion nestled in the heart of Buckhead.

Although Tristan’s simple gesture was quite innocent, Chloe couldn’t help the warm tingling sensation that now pooled in the pit of her stomach and the increased staccato of her heart. But before she could reflect any further on her raging emotions, the mansion’s double doors suddenly swung open, spilling light onto the front stoop.

“Tristan! Oh, it’s good to see you, my man.” A middle-aged man of medium height and slightly balding pate pulled them into the front foyer. He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a shawl collar. His ruddy face, warm and welcoming, was a total contradiction to the Count Dracula look-alike Chloe had been half expecting. In fact he chortled and chuckled so much he reminded her of a doting uncle, the kind that sneaked you sweets before dinner.

“We thought you might have become lost. Your brother Simon arrived almost an hour—” But before he could continue, his attention was suddenly drawn to Chloe. He looked her up and down then his gaze rudely settled on her bustline and a mischievous grin split his features.

“Who is this lovely bird you’ve brought with you, Tristan?” the man purred, not hiding his apparent lust. “You know I’m always well stocked but as usual your taste in familiars is impeccable. Will you be sharing later?”

Initially, Chloe was flattered by the man’s compliment. But then she realized his compliment was not rooted in lust but in hunger. Tristan also sensed their host’s carnal thoughts and stepped forward.

“Raleigh, I think you must be mistaken. This is my
wife
, Chloe, and, no, I will not be sharing her anytime soon. Chloe, this lecherous lout is Sir Raleigh Lawson, an old family friend.”

“Your wife? Tristan, why, you sly fox.” Raleigh chuckled softly as he eyed Chloe once again as if reevaluating his earlier assumption. “Thank goodness, I’m not in London, the heads must be rolling as we speak. How did you ever escape Yasmine’s clutches, dear boy?”

Tristan glanced uncomfortably at Chloe before addressing Raleigh.

“Yasmine doesn’t know that I’m married yet. Matter of fact, she doesn’t need to know because that’s been dead over a century ago.”

“True, true. But does time really matter to vampires when it comes to affairs of the heart?” Raleigh then turned from them and addressed those milling in the foyer and standing on the stairs.

“Come along, everyone,” he announced. “Let’s rejoin to the upstairs where our entertainment awaits in the conservatory.”

Raleigh steered them toward the staircase, which wound dramatically up to the second level.

While Raleigh and Tristan caught up with the goings-on across the pond, Chloe noted her surroundings. She counted about fifteen to twenty other elegantly clad people in attendance. Again she was surprised at how non-threatening they all appeared. If one were to meet them on the street, one would never know they were bloodsucking vampires.

Once they reached the second floor, Tristan took a hold of her hand and pulled her off to the side.

“I need to warn you about tonight’s entertainment.”

Chloe stiffened. “Why? I’m not about to enter a bloodbath, am I?”

Tristan chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You’ve been watching too many horror movies.”

Chloe sighed into him. Tristan could have been warning her about not spending too much during the annual Black Friday sale for all she cared, because he’d lost her the minute he put his hands on her body. Like a thirsty plant needing water, her body came alive at his touch.

“Are you charming her again?” Chloe turned her head and looked at Tristan’s younger brother Simon who was leaning up against the entrance to the conservatory. She’d forgotten that the party was held to welcome him as well. Unfazed by being caught sharing a moment with her husband, Chloe continued to lean into Tristan. Therefore she couldn’t help but notice how his body stiffened.

“Mind your business,
brother
,” Tristan warned. Chloe looked back and forth between the two and noticed some unspoken challenge was passing between them.

For several drawn-out seconds, they just stood staring at each other then Simon shrugged his shoulders, letting whatever happened between them pass. He turned on his heel and entered the conservatory.

Seeming satisfied with the outcome, Tristan turned to look down at her, a smile playing on his full lips. He stepped back with his arm extended in true gentlemanly fashion. “Come, let’s enjoy our host’s hospitality.”

Slightly disturbed by what had just happened, Chloe hesitated briefly before taking his arm.

* * * * *

The conservatory was a large room resembling a ballroom with parquet floors, ornate mirrors and an impressive dome glass ceiling. At the far corner of the room, a quartet of women was seated on the floor, playing Chinese string instruments. While they were clad in traditional Chinese robes of red and white, their serene faces were painted ghostly white with tiny red bow mouths.

At the center of the room, Raleigh had erected a raised dais. Directly above it hung several theater lights. Slightly dimmed, they cast a rosy glow onto the low stage and provided an intimate atmosphere to the seating area below, which was simply a sea of multicolored pillows made of the finest Chinese silk.

Many of Raleigh’s guests had already found their places on the pillows scattered around the dais, while others were finding their seats. As the guest of honor, Tristan was seated next to Raleigh and his companion, a beautiful Asian woman named Ming.

The excited whisperings of the other guests heightened Chloe’s anxiety. As if sensing it, Raleigh leaned over to whisper in her ear, “I hope you like what we have in store. Tonight’s entertainment is all Ming’s doing. It’s an ancient Chinese folktale about our kind. She’s been preparing this for Tristan’s arrival for several weeks.”

Chloe looked at Raleigh sharply. “Weeks? You knew Tristan was coming to Atlanta weeks ago?”

“Of course! He called last month and said that he had urgent business to take care of. But things kept him away until recently. In our last conversation, he even mentioned something about setting down roots here. Could you imagine that? Another Brit in Atlanta. Elton John has definitely started a trend, with us expats crossing the pond and settling into new digs in America’s South.”

Chloe’s eyes swung to Tristan who was chatting with an older gentleman to his right. She didn’t know why she was happy that he’d been considering a permanent stay in Atlanta but she was.