What Lies Inside (A Blood Bound Novel, Book 1) (21 page)

I realized then that I hadn’t been bothered by Marika’s tactless, over-the-top flirting since her whispers across the table. Usually it was all I could do to keep my eyes off her disgusting flaunted sexuality. Except right now she sat quiet and poised. What’s she up to?

Marika twitched, seeming to feel my sneering eyes. She flashed me a wicked smile before turning her parted, full-red lips to Ty. “You’re staying tonight,” she whined in a sugary-sweet voice. “Aren’t you, Ty?”

“Staying where?” Ty asked twisting his head from the stage to meet Marika’s batting brown eyes.

“Didn’t Amelia invite you?” she questioned, flashing me a mock frown while clicking her tongue against her teeth.

I bit my lip. It had completely slipped my mind to invite Ty to tonight’s sleep over. After Caius’s surprise arrival, it was the last thing I wanted to deal with. A night enduring Marika and her ability to make me want to hurl would be bad enough. To top it off, I still had to decipher Kendrick’s mood. And just to make it fun, there would be Vanessa, making her little comments and butting in. Even worse than all of that was the possibility of being left alone with Ty, of losing control and biting him, again. No, tonight would not be fun. But as Ty looked to me, eyebrows raised, I couldn’t explain all of that to him. I couldn’t say no. Pursing my lips, I nodded.

“Well then,” Ty spoke quietly, rising to his feet. He dug into his pocket to retrieve his mobile. “I have to make a quick call. Let my father know I won’t be home tonight.”

“Use my room,” I said catching his free hand, “left at the top of the stairs, last door.”

More and more auction items passed. Each piece was nice and unique in its own way; hand carved this and hundred year old that. Though none caught my eye until the sixth item was moved with its pedestal beside the podium and auctioneer. It was the delicate jewelry box that had drawn me in with a magnetized pull. Even from the other side of the marquee, the undeniable draw was evident.

“This gold-plated, antique jewelry box is from the seventeen hundreds. It’s encrusted with polished, amethyst…” the auctioneer was rattling on.

But I wasn’t listening. My free hand was clutched around the twisted cane of my chair. It was all I could do to keep my body from vacating my seat, from moving closer to the item that beckoned me to its raw beauty.

“… needs re-hinging,” I managed to hear the auctioneer say as he replaced the floral-footed item on its pedestal.

Instantly bids began to fly, paddles shooting up in an erratic wave. Most of the bidders, with their pale complexions and silvery-blue eyes, were attending vampires. They rapidly spiked the price to fifty thousand dollars.

“One hundred thousand!” a man’s distinct voice bellowed up front.

I raked over the jaw-dropped crowd to find my uncle with his paddle raised. “What would he want with a jewelry box?” I mumbled to myself.

“One fifty,” shouted a female vampire across the room. She appeared to be in her thirties, with skin so pale it was almost translucent beneath a veil of crimson-red hair.

I barely had time to wonder who this elegant vampire was, or why she seemed so intent on winning, when another bid rang through the air.

“Two hundred,” Caius returned, shooting the bidding vampire a warning scowl.

The bids continued to fly, batting back and forth between Caius and the female vampire. Finally the price slowed at six hundred thousand.

The female vampire raised her nose indignantly and lifted her paddle again. “Six hundred and twenty.”

The whole room sat in hushed suspense. Everyone was perched on the edge of their seats in wait for another bid. Caius leaned back in his seat. His arms were crossed over his chest and his face set with frown lines.

“Well,” the auctioneer’s voice emerged shaky, rattled. He was clutching to the wooden podium like it was greatly assisting his ability to stand upright. “I have six hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Will anyone give me six forty?” He glanced from Caius to the crowd, scanning for the next bid. “I have six hundred and twenty, going once…twice…”

“Seven hundred!” Caius bellowed.

A succession of gasps erupted. The boom of Caius’s voice and jump in the bid had caught not only me but also everyone within the marquee by total surprise. With eyes of wide Os, the auctioneer belted the hammer down then directed it at Caius. “SOLD…for seven hundred thousand dollars!”

Much like everyone else in the room, I sat in quiet shock, my face mirroring everyone’s astonished expressions. I couldn’t believe it. What could Caius possibly want with a jewelry box? It just didn’t make any sense. I swiveled to ask Kendrick’s opinion and realized that Ty’s seat was still empty. He still hadn’t returned from his call.

While the auctioneer continued with the next item, I silently rose to my feet. Only Kendrick and Vanessa still occupied our table. My eyes shot back to Uncle Caius. Dorian was still crouched beside him, talking in congratulatory animation. Marika and Ty were no-where to be seen. “Where’s Marika?” I whispered.

“Probably getting another drink,” Vanessa said shrugging.

But I wasn’t convinced. My gut, now clenching like a vice, told me she was up to something, something bad. “I’m gonna go see what’s keeping Ty,” I said to no one in particular.

Kendrick’s hand caught my wrist as I began to move away. “Want help finding him?”

“No,” I replied bluntly while thinking
now you’re talking to me.
I yanked my wrist free. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

The kitchen was a mess of discarded platters and champagne flutes. Waiters rushed around preparing more food and drinks for the distinguished guests. Ty, and more disturbingly Marika, were nowhere to be seen. Ty must still be up in my room, I tried to reassure myself. Still clearing tonight with his father… But no amount of reassurance could shut down the clenching of my gut. The nagging sensation of something not being right just wouldn’t budge.

I vaulted past the occupied wait staff, through to the marble-clad foyer and up the stairs. Once on the landing, I continued in the direction my room and its closed door. A quiet noise, a sort of shuffling, caught my attention. I froze briefly before walking on. As I closed in on my bedroom door, muffled voices reached my ears. There were people inside my room. The clenching of my gut squeezed tighter as I reached out, pushing down the door handle. A hushed giggle erupted, ringing through my ears. The sound was so eerily familiar that it shot a pang of unexplainable fear through my body. My hand shot back lightning fast, and I peered through the crack of the door. The beat of my heart drummed wildly beneath my ribs, sending throbbing jolts down my frozen body.

Inside, the chandelier was extinguished and the purple drapes were pulled shut. All the darkness revealed were the dark outlines of shadows. After a few seconds my vision focused. Two figures were moving together within the darkness. Ty must have found my room occupied—
yuck
—and gone elsewhere to make the call to his father. So who the hell were these people? Wait staff or auction attendees?

Squinting into the darkness, I could see the silhouette of a couple. They were in an intimate position on my bed, the guy’s hair blending in against the darkness of my room. It stood in complete contrast against the woman’s long blond tresses. Their firm, caressing hands moved erratically. Over and over their lips connected with ragged breath. The guy’s shirt had been discarded, revealing a tight, muscular physique. A light-colored tie hung loose around his neck. His pants had also been abandoned, leaving scarcely a pair of boxer briefs concealing his manhood. The girl beneath him was only wearing lace panties and a bra. The black stood out against her oddly pale complexion. She gripped his tie and pulled him closer. Their breathing emerged louder and faster as the intensity increased. The guy trailed frenzied kisses from her pale lips down to her neck.

Sudden rage welled within me. The shock of finding two strangers in my bed subsided. I drove the door wide open, flicking on the chandelier. “What the hell are you two doing in here?”

In the lit room I could see
everything
. Crumpled clothes and discarded shoes littered the mink-white carpet. A strangely familiar blond woman was lying sheltered by the lilac sheets on my bed. Embracing her was…

All the blood leeched from my face. My breath caught in my throat. It felt like someone’s hands were clutched around my neck, squeezing with intent, strangling to kill. Tears muddied up my sight, turning the room and
him
to a distorted smudge.

Ty had torn his lips hold from the girl in his arms. Now he was blinking at me with a look of bewilderment, as if trying to clear the sudden light from his eyes. His face dropped suddenly. An expression of shock-horror contorted his features. “Amelia, how can you be—?” His voice caught and he physically gagged. His face drained of all color.

Disgusted, I tore my stinging eyes from his almost naked body. I glared at the girl who had buried her face beneath my sheets. Seething rage gripped me, flushing my cheeks with torrid blood.
“How dare you!”
I screamed. Sharp pain struck my chest. It felt like a knife was literally piercing my pounding heart. I choked back the tears. “You fucking asshole!”

Ty jumped from the bed as if to cross the room to me. My hands shot out in negation with blurred movement, bringing him to an abrupt halt. I hissed through gritted teeth. “Don’t you dare come anywhere near me.” Nausea rolled my stomach. I was going to be sick. “Not ever again!”

Icy tears streamed down my face and I spun on my heels, launching my body at the stairs. It felt like I couldn’t breathe, like noxious fumes suddenly tainted the air. I needed to get the hell outta here. But as I began my hasty decent, my body collided with a force that hit me like a brick wall. My eyes blinked rapidly, clearing my vision as a strong hand caught my arm.

“Amelia, what’s wrong?” It was Dorian, his voice panicked and eyes darting past me. “What happened?”

Kendrick loomed right behind him, stance as still as a lion preparing to attack a gazelle. “What’d he do?”

Fighting back the tears, I threw a backward glance at my room. I half-expected to find Ty coming after me. But no one was there. “Why don’t you ask Ty and the girl he was about to screw in my bed!”

I broke Dorian’s firm hold on my arm and vaulted down the stairs. Ty’s surprised voice stuttered,
“w-wait, let me explain.”
Then a sharp crack sounded as I made my escape through the front door. An uninvited pang of fear for Ty’s safety tugged at my aching heart. Still I didn’t turn back. I couldn’t. All I could do was run. So that’s exactly what I did.

~

When I finally returned home well after midnight, the house was dark and dead quiet. Only a dim glow emanated from my bedroom window.

Kendrick was sitting on the front steps in a band of porch light. “Damn you’re fast,” he said. “I couldn’t catch up to you.”

Letting the anger I still felt for Ty cloud my mood, I threw my arms over my chest. “Since when have you been a sexist pig?”

Unaffected by my insulting outburst, Kendrick laughed. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. I just…” He paused, brow creasing. “You’re a turned vamp, different yes, but still turned. Royals—and I say this without any malice—are faster and stronger. We hold greater abilities in comparison to turned vampires. Or at least we’re supposed to.”

Allowing the subject to distract me, I pursed my lips. Except my brain felt like it was packed with disgusting, green sludge, making comprehensive thought impossible. My legs began to tremble from the thrashing run I’d forced them to take through Mount Major. “What do you think it means?” I asked finally.

“I don’t know. It could be nothing.” Kendrick shrugged. “Or it could be a belated side-effect from what Caius did to prolong the transformation.”

“I guess so,” I breathed, mounting the front steps and taking his outstretched hand to pull him up.

“What he did was really shitty,” Kendrick said, his tone filled with unrestrained revulsion.

I tensed and my stomach turned, desperate to avoid any discussion on Ty and what I had seen.

Kendrick squeezed my hand. “Sorry, I won’t mention him again. But I want you to know.” He turned to meet my hazy, and I’m sure puffy, red eyes. “I will always be here for you.” His wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to my forehead. “You mean everything to me.”

I pushed the front door open and was about to trudge up the stairs when Kendrick swooped me up into his arms.

“What are you doing?” I squeaked, trying to keep my voice from waking Mom and Dorian.

“You look wrecked,” he said mounting the arching stairs.

“I’m fine, really,” I replied. “So you can put me down now.”

Kendrick looked at me, doubtful, still climbing the stairs. “We’re almost there.” He jumped the last few steps, carrying me down the dark hallway to my bedroom. A single crack of light shone from underneath the closed door.

After Kendrick lowered me to the ground, I felt awkward, unsure of what to say. “Um, thanks I guess. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure you want to be alone?”

Alone was the last thing I wanted. In the past Kendrick had spent many nights sleeping over in my bed after all-night movie marathons. Now the thought of having him in my bed just increased that awkward feeling. “I-I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. But if you change your mind…” He clutched my hand, drawing it up and pressing it to his heart. “…promise you’ll come to me.”

I nodded, already regretting making him leave as he turned away to disappear into the blackness of the hall. A sigh escaped my lips and I slumped back against my bedroom door. Entering my room and seeing the crumpled sheets of my bed, the bed
it
had happened in, would be torture. Sleeping in that same bed would be even worse. But I had to. I couldn’t hide from this. Avoidance, no matter how hard I wished, wouldn’t extinguish the pain that tugged at my heart. With closed eyes I began to turn, my fingers curling around the brass door handle. As I went to push down, a firm hand connected with my shoulder. The shock of unexpected touch caused my body to jerk. I spun on the spot. Paranoia had me expecting to find Ty, believing he’d forced his way inside just to inflict more emotional torture. But it wasn’t him.