Page 67 of Skin Trade

Sighing, she pulled the door closed again and got into the shower.

A good twenty minutes later and a whole lot cleaner, Payton emerged from the shower feeling better than when she’d entered. She wrapped the towel around herself and automatically stopped when she was close to Seth’s door. She could just peek one more time. See if he was in there yet. But part of her knew he wasn’t. He probably wouldn’t be back until it was time for him to give into the sun, and even then, it was possible he’d go elsewhere just to be away from her. She would.

In her room, she dried herself, including her hair and dressed in easy clothes—jogging pants and a loose t-shirt. She wasn't going anywhere. There was no reason to go back down to the club. At most, she’d land herself in more bother than it was worth, or worse, she’d come across Tasha and more words of wisdom that were sharpened to a precise point and aimed right at her.

Feeling exhausted, Payton climbed onto her big bed and settled herself against the pillows. Her body ached, her limbs were tired, and she had a need to do nothing that was so bone-deep, it was about to render her paralysed. The only real thing she had to do was to close her eyes and listen to the music and chatter that wafted in through the open balcony doors.

Funny really, this place being inside, there was a breeze like fresh air, the same kind of breeze one would expect through the open doors of a balcony on a seafront hotel. The smells of food and alcohol drifted to her, mingled in with that freshness of the outside. People chatted. It was impossible to discern what each person was talking about. Between them, the chatter created a single rhythmic hum that soothed Payton as she lay there.

It didn’t take much time for her to fall into a deep long and much needed sleep.

When she awoke, the sounds below her had all ceased. The doors were still open, but instead of the decorative lights she normally saw from this angle, everything was turned off. Somehow, she had managed to sleep the entire night away and it was now past nine in the morning. Her body was heavy. She could have easily closed her eyes, rolled over and gone back to sleep for another few hours.

She didn’t. It wasn’t like her to sleep this long. Even when she was at Creven’s and her body was beyond the point of used, she never slept too much. Not that she dared to. Just as when it was the summer and the day lasted longer, so vampires slept more, she never dared to allow herself a proper sleep for any amount of time. Sleeping with one eye open. It was a knack every blood slave learnt. Anything else would be foolish on their part. Letting their guards down and leaving themselves vulnerable. It was one of the first rules she’d learnt, the hard way.

But now, as Payton pushed herself up into a sitting position and pulled the blanket around herself, she couldn’t have felt safer. It was a kind of safe that was more than just a feeling, it was something else, something in her that knew on a fundamental level nothing would hurt her here. Not physically at least.

She pulled the blanket to her chin and paused. She’d not had a blanket when she went to sleep. She’d crashed out on the bed as she was, not even getting in it. Her door to the bathroom was open. She was sure she’d closed that too.

In her mind, when she tried to reconcile that it was Seth who’d done this, a part of her didn’t want to agree, the part of her that was still mad at him, mad at Tasha’s words, but the more she glanced around her room, the more she noticed little things. Not only had he put a blanket over her, but he’d angled the balcony doors, so she got a little light in from the outside and wasn’t in total darkness. He’d turned out the main lights in her room. She couldn’t fathom him.

Tempted to pull the blanket around her, Payton forced herself to push it off and slide out of the bed. It was gone nine. She had a full day before the sun went down and all the undead would be back walking the earth—she had a few hours to get herself to the city and her father. The thought of that made her stomach clench both in anticipation, but something else, something much deeper than that. But this wasn’t final. She was free and being free meant she could come and go.

The folded sheets of paper on her dressing table had moved and were now unfolded in a way that looked like someone had put their hand flat on them to make them stay. She traced her fingers along the one with the address and at the same time tried not to look at the door which led to Seth.

If he had seen this and not woken her, he was saying it was okay. Her choice. She nodded to herself.

Thirty minutes later and Payton had got herself dressed, done her hair, brushed her teeth and attended to anything else she needed to make herself feel like one of the living. At least the stench of the creatures had finally gone from her skin. She was sure when she’d slept last night that she’d still stink of it. Like it could have seeped into her pours and would come out and coat her. It was a godsend she hadn’t dreamt that night, or at least didn’t remember. She was sure they’d be filled with the images of naked creatures and half skinned dead animals.

Talking of creatures, the last place she paused was the door in her bathroom that opened into his. To Seth. If she didn’t open it and check he was in there, she’d drive herself nuts, but on the other hand, what if it woke him like it had before?

Gently, she pulled the door open. It wasn’t closed either. He had left it the same as he had left hers, leaving it so there was always this connection between them. They weren’t shut up and alone in their rooms. Seth slept. He lay on his front, his arms pushed up under his pillows, dark hair flopping a little onto his forehead. She wanted to go over and push it back, to touch hm, to just feel that closeness once more before she left.

Watching him and the way the gentle light from outside touched the naked skin of his back created something deep in her. He had taken her in that bed, taken her in a way no one else had before, with care. He’d still had that control all vampires had, still showed her she was his and he could do what he wanted, but he’d not. Every touch, every lick, every bite had been with just enough force to send her mind to other places.

Her breasts ached at the memories, the innermost core of her heated and she had to get out of there before she backed out of what she was doing and stayed. “Goodbye, Seth,” she said. She paused for a few more seconds, letting her mind ingrain him to her memory. She had to leave. Because despite the fact this man made her feel things she’d never felt before, he was still vampire, still one of those who would eventually hurt her. Tasha had been a small glimpse of that.

No matter what fantasies she had in her head about Seth. This was something that could never be. Head hanging, she backed out of the room and closed the door quietly on him.

It was time to leave.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The foyer was a stark difference to what it had been a few hours ago. Gone were all the people who’d crowded the area in expensive shoes and clothes. Gone were the guards and the massive queues of people waiting to get in. Two guards stood at the door this morning. But rather than standing outside like they all had done the night before, these two stood inside.

They were human. It had to be why. Even the best armed humans would lose strength against those creatures. But they were a good warning system.

A different woman sat at the reception desk, and it was strange not to see Sky there with her array of hair colours. This woman was plain, a dark bob resting on her shoulders, a cardigan covering the white blouse she wore.

“May I help you?” the woman asked.

Payton smiled. “Can’t sleep,” she said. “Thought I’d take a wander around the place. It looks so different when it’s empty like this.”

The woman glanced past Payton. “It does. There’s a self-service food bar in the west dining room if you’re hungry. Sir said to tell you, you have free access to it.”

Payton frowned. “Sir?”

“Yes. Seth. He told us that you--”

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