Chapter 1
I’d just got out of the cool shower with a towel wrapped around me, and my long hair was dripping down my back. It had been a warm, sticky spring day. I’d gone out shopping during the day on my own, and Xander had asked me to meet him at the hotel later on, as he’d stayed a few nights to take care of some stuff. I hadn’t minded, as I’d taken the time to buy myself some new clothes finally, and I’d wanted to surprise Xander with some of them, as some had been for his eyes only.
By the time I’d arrived at the hotel, he’d been in a meeting and had left a message for me to go wait for him in his room. The nice receptionist had also given me a card to the room, which had felt strange, as I’d never actually been up to the room without him.
When I’d got up to the room, I’d done what I always did and had gone straight to the glass window and stood looking out over the city, wondering if the city knew just what actually lived amongst them. It had still been hard to believe just what actually lived in the city that most people knew nothing about.
I’d begun to learn about the real secret world I’d been thrown into from Marie, who had suggested to Xander that since I was staying and living with him, I needed to know much more than I actually did, so that I would fit in and know the rules. And when I say I thought normal society rules were complex, the rules of the vampires made normal society rules look like a walk in the park.
Marie had made it her mission every time I’d been left alone to educate me in something new, so today I’d been more than happy to escape her lesson for the day, if it meant I’d be with Xander instead.
I threw myself on the bed with the towel still wrapped around me as I air-dried, hoping that Xander would walk in. But if I knew him, he wouldn’t, as when it came to business, he left nothing to chance.
I threw my arm over my eyes and closed them a little as I bit my lip. I really hadn’t been bothered by most of Marie’s lessons, but a more recent one had deeply bothered me. It had been about how, despite everyone knowing I was Xander’s mate, because I was human, I’d been seen as nothing more than a mistress and I was tolerated for his sake. I clenched my hand into a fist and hit the bed next to me, as I remembered the way Viktor had been cold and caused a scene over the exact same thing.
I sat myself bolt upright and refused to let myself be swallowed up again by some fucking stupid word that didn’t even reflect what was really between Xander and me. I also forced myself to remember just how old-fashioned vampires were with certain ideas, which made me laugh a little. Elegance is armor. Those simple words said it all my brain muttered quietly.
Not letting the words creep in and drag me down again, I got up and began to raid my bags, looking for something in particular.
“There you are!” I muttered to myself in excitement as I pulled out a white corset top. It was a corset that was laced up at the back, with clips to make it easier to put on at the front, and some over-shoulder straps that could be taken off to wear it as a normal corset. I’d spotted it and fallen in love with it in the shop. A woman there had helped me lace it up at the back correctly, so that the bow from the extra ribbon sat perfectly in my lower back.
I put it on, excited to show Xander. As my fingers worked at each clip, I could feel it getting tight around my body, but not in a bad way—in a comfortable way that almost felt like the piece of fabric was helping to hold me together, despite all the worries and fears that I housed inside of me. Once finished, I’d begun to fish again in a bag. I’d actually bought a white skirt to go with it, and also some white jeans. I found the skirt first and pulled it on after putting on my knickers that Xander had demanded I’d leave at the hotel with some spare clothes, in case on a whim we decided to stay, as this room was Xander’s and it never got rented out.
I dashed into the bathroom, picked up my hairbrush, and began to pin it up out of my way, when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. A lesson Marie had taught me echoed like a ghost in my mind again.
“In our life, elegance is like armor. If we feel beautiful, we can project that out to the world around us. That is how we survive, that is why we always look made up and always ready to spring into action. That could be as simple as attending a meeting or going out to hunt for our next meal.”
Xander’s call to me from the living room broke the spell of the haunting memory. I shook my head a little to clear it away, so I could deal with it another day. I began to hurry up a little, as he’d ended up coming back up to the room much sooner than I’d expected.
“Rosa? Sweetheart?”
“In here.” I knew he hadn’t needed an answer from me—he knew where I was, as he’d probably heard me moving around with his fantastic hearing, and he’d probably smelt me as well. That was the perk of dating a vampire and just being a human. He just seemed to know where I was.
I walked out of the bathroom and ran my hand over the skirt nervously, looking up at the door, waiting for him. I could hear him moving around a little louder than he normally would. I got the feeling it was more for my benefit, so that I wasn’t as nervous about him coming into the bedroom as I’d felt. Then the door opened, and he stood in the doorway.
His looks always seemed to catch me off guard every single time I saw him. His skin was pale—that was expected with him being a vampire. I mean, I can’t remember the last time I saw a vampire that had sun-kissed skin that they’d not been alive with. His features were all delicate, and his hair looked a little messier and more disheveled than normal for him, as usually his hair, just like every inch of him, was perfect and elegant. He was tall and slender, but boy was he strong. I loved it when he wore a suit, as it just brought out the elegance about him. I mean, when I saw him in his wind-down clothes, he certainly was handsome still to me, but this wasn't a regular occurance, it was a now and again thing.
I bit my lip as his jade green eyes looked me over and took in every detail about me. He'd only just fed a few days ago before having to come and deal with business, which surprised me that they still shined brightly.
“Mmm, I like that look.” He walked into the bedroom, wrapped his arms around me, and leaned down and kissed me softly at first on the lips. “Where did you get that outfit?” He asked after pulling away.
“Mmm, I can’t remember,” I told him quietly as I looked up into his eyes. He seemed to have this effect on me at times—he often made me forget things when we were close together. That was the pull of being soul mates. Yeah, sounds crazy—a human and a vampire. It had its difficult moments, but we both agreed we wanted this more than anything else in our lives, and if that meant we had to break rules to get what we wanted, then that’s what we were going to do.
“The only thing I don’t like about your corset top is...” he began, pulling my thoughts back to the moment.
No, no, no, no. You can’t not love it. I love it and I wanted you to love it too.
I looked up at him, waiting for him to finish his answer, as he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine again, sending a shiver through my body as his hands seemed to mess around behind my back.
“It’s not laced correctly,” he finally finished as he pulled away with a grin, and I felt the top now going loose on me. He’d undone the lace at the back of the top.
“Oh, and you’d know...”
“Mmm, I would know. I’ve seen my fair share of corsets and how they are laced and tied,” he teased with a smug smile on his face. “There was another issue with your top too. It was tied up, and I can’t take it off you without untying it.”
I bit my lip as a small smile danced across my lips. This was what I loved about Xander the most—he would be honest and would say what was on his mind to me. It took some time for us both to get this comfortable, to be so open with each other, but it had been worth it to see this Xander around me.
“And why do you want my top untied when you could have undone the clasps at the front?” My hand went up to his jacket and began to undo the buttons. My fingers were a lot less elegant undoing his buttons than his fingers.
“Mmm, I could have done,” he muttered as he slipped the shoulders of the top over my shoulders and let the corset top drop. My breasts were bare, as I’d not bothered to put a bra on, considering that it was supposed to act as a fancy bra. “Mmm, I am in love with this outfit more and more if it means you’re naked completely under it.”
“So that’s the only reason you love my top then?” I asked, looking up at him with a grin on my face.
“No, I love the top because you love it, and it really does suit you.” He lifted me up under my arse cheeks carefully and carried me over to the bed and laid me down, as he leaned down, kissing me deeply. “Although that’s just an added bonus.” He slid a hand up my leg and under my skirt with a wicked grin, at times he was like a demon enjoying torturing me. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.” I leaned up to him, pressing my bare chest to his dressed chest, as my nipples started getting hard as my body knew where this was going.
“I’ve missed you too,” I whispered as I looked into his sage green eyes. It had only been a couple of days that he’d been away, but when he’d become my addiction, a couple of hours was way too long for me.
His hand was between my legs, rubbing me through my knickers. I knew I was wet—I’d turned into a wet mess the moment he’d first kissed me, as he held that power over me. It had been strange to think someone could know and understand me and see me for who I was, faults included, and I wasn’t going to lie, at times it scared the shit out of me, but it was refreshing that I didn’t have to hide either.
“I can tell you’ve missed me,” his voice purred from next to my ear as he kissed my neck. “Although, I do feel that I’m a bit overdressed.”
“I don’t care right now,” I whispered back. My voice was thick with anticipation. I wanted him and needed him.
A small laugh escaped his lips as his hand moved my knickers to the side and then slid two fingers into me, making me gasp a little. I didn’t want his foreplay tonight—I wanted him and all of him.
His lips brushed over mine as his lips turned up into a curl. He said something to me, but I hadn’t caught his words.
“Rosa!” The words had come urgently, but it hadn’t been Xander’s voice. What the fuck was going on? No one else was in the hotel room with us.
“Move your arse now or I’m going to throw this fucking pillow at you.”
Slowly, Xander was slipping away as all my senses began to wake up. Whoever it was who had woken me up from my dream, I had every intention of killing them.
