Daphne’s nerves had her jumping at the sound of the door closing. The grey haze dissipated as soon as Alexander left. She wasn’t sure what had compelled her to walk upstairs with him. Perhaps she’d had a little too much to drink. Reaching back into her memories, she recalled vehemently refusing to continue this charade her friends had concocted, and then things had gone fuzzy. She’d suddenly found herself here, in this strange room.
Vampires, though out in the public eye, were secretive about their abilities. Daphne had a sneaking suspicion that the rumors of mind control were true.
She couldn’t believe she’d willingly walked into this gaudy room that reeked with the deep musk of sex. Daphne brushed away stray strands of hair from her face, shuddering as a strange feeling came over her. She sensed the creepy weight of unseen eyes on her. Gooseflesh danced across her skin.
She nibbled at her thumbnail as she took in the blood-red room. For all the liquid courage she drank tonight, Daphne didn’t feel very brave. In fact, she felt a bit queasy. Her stomach churned with anticipation of the unknown.
Just get up. Just get up and leave. No one will stop you. She wanted to leave, but she wasn’t sure where she would go.
“I have been expecting you.” A deep, husky, masculine voice crept from a shadowy corner of the room.
Daphne jumped, startled by the voice.
“Tell me what you desire from me. You only have to say the word and I will fulfill all of your fantasies.”
Daphne’s mood lightened. The queasy feeling momentarily subsided, replaced with laughter. Those words sound so cheesy. Like something from a porno.
She remembered some of the movies Ken had forced her to watch. She’d always found the dialogue to be silly and wondered why the characters bothered talking at all.
“Do you find me amusing?” the voice called out to her from the shadows.
She turned left and right, her gaze darting all over the room searching for the owner of the mysterious voice. She noted the darkened corner of the dimly-lit room and tried to focus—to see the man hiding in the shadows. “I’m so sorry.” Heat rose to her face. She hadn’t considered that she might have insulted the speaker. “I didn’t mean to poke fun.”
Eerie silence only served to heighten her sense of embarrassment. Wringing her hands in her lap, she continued to search the room for the owner of the voice.
Daphne’s eyes widened as a large figure stalked out of the corner. Her jaw dropped. He was a sight to behold. Unlike the other vampires, he did not stick to the traditional long flowing hair. His was neatly cropped and slightly spiked on top of his head.
Daphne couldn’t help herself; nerves or not, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She sat dumbfounded, mouth agape and wide-eyed like a cartoon character, as she took in his gorgeous frame.
He wore only a loose-fitting pair of jeans and an odd, thick, metallic collar. Unlike the Fabio look-alikes in the bar, he wasn’t bulging with overly large muscles. His body was toned and athletic with a small dusting of hair across his exposed chest.
Looking up and down his gorgeous body, she paused curiously on the strange metal collar locked tight around the insanely beautiful man’s neck. She wondered if she had somehow been taken into some S&M fantasy room. And that sent another wave of unease down to the churning pit of her stomach. Before she could think of anything to say to break this awkward silence, he smiled at her and took a step closer. His brilliant white fangs appeared prominently, highlighted against the darkness of his wide, open-mouth smile.
Daphne frowned and looked down at the ground; the sight of his fangs unnerved her. A shiver danced down her spine, sending another wave of gooseflesh pimpling her skin. She had never been this close to a vampire. Passing one in the street was one thing; however, being locked in a room with one was a completely different story. “I’m sorry, I just …”
“Tis all right, little one.”
Images of cheesy vampires in long velvet capes flashed through her mind. She giggled again, the tension slowly lessening. His words seemed rehearsed, like he had been handed a script prior to her arrival. She waited for the classic, “I want to suck your blood,” to spill from his mouth next.
“Any more of this laughing and I shall have to punish you.” His voice took on a menacing tone, but a smile gave away his amusement.
Daphne fell backwards onto the bed in a fit of laughter. “Sorry, I’m not normally like this. It must be the alcohol. I just … you sound so cheesy.”
The vampire chuckled softly, walked to the bed, and sat on the edge.
Daphne jumped up just as his tight butt touched down on the mattress.
“Most women find it sexy,” he said, dropping the Old World flair and rehearsed speech, speaking in a normal, casual tone. “I’m guessing this doesn’t work for you.”
Laughter and the amused smile fell from her face. She tried to gulp back a knot forming in her throat. “Well … um … look, I’m not really into this sort of thing. My friends dragged me here and … uh …” She bit her quivering lip. “Look, can we just say we had sex, charge my friend’s credit card for whatever and I’ll go back downstairs?”
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked. His shockingly blue eyes sparkled at her. She found it hard to resist looking into them.
Daphne’s heart sped, pounding against the wall of her chest. She hugged her stomach with trembling hands, praying he would let her leave.
A look of pure amusement crossed the vampire’s face. He curled his finger, beckoning her closer.
“Um, look,” Daphne stuttered. “I’ll tell that Alexander guy that you were the best I’ve ever had. Whatever you want me to say. I just can’t do this.”
“How about this?” he said, patting the spot next to him on the bed. “We will just sit here and chat. Nothing will happen … if you don’t want it to.”
Daphne exhaled loudly. “I don’t know.” Her hands dropped from the death grip she’d been holding on her fluttering stomach. She wrung them, nervously. “Look, I don’t even want to be here.” Her eyes darted all over the room, trying to look anywhere except where the sexy vampire sat. The magnetic pull of his eyes was so tempting, but nerves screamed at her to run.
“No one will believe we’ve had sex in the five minutes you’ve been in here.” He leaned back, propping himself on his elbows. “I do have a reputation to maintain.” He winked at her. “If you want you r… story to be legitimate, we will have to spend some time here, together.”
Daphne’s breath hitched in her chest. She stood still, trying to assess the situation and come up with some kind of rebuttal. He was right; she couldn’t just walk out of the room so quickly. No one would believe she had sex with this man and she knew her friends would keep her here until she did something. Would there be any harm in sitting and talking with him? She wondered.
He sat up and held a hand out. “We will just talk.” A sincere-looking smile crossed his face. Daphne wanted to believe him. He was right, though she didn’t want to verbally admit it. There was really no other way out of this and chatting couldn’t hurt.
“Ok, but no funny business,” she said. Bypassing his outstretched hand, Daphne walked around to the other side of the bed, and sat down.
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