Page 66 of House of Crimson Hearts
Her fingers make their way to the back of my head, and she tugs, pulling me closer as if she can’t quite get enough of me, as if she wants to drown in me, and fuck, I want to let her.
I kiss her back, our lips moving slow and sensual, so different to the crazed fucking earlier. I don’t quite know which I prefer. The way her fingers wrap through my long hair is so tender and gentle I lean in. I want more. Need more.
The door cracks and someone walks in behind us.
“Fuck,” Red says and springs away from me.
I glance up at Xavier, who is wearing the smuggest, most entitled shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen.
“Favourite,” he says.
“Xavier,” I reply. He leans down giving me a hand to help pull me up without saying a word. But his eyes glance at the two puncture marks in the wall, the blood-covered stakes and the dried blood on my palms.
“I’ll explain later,” I say.
“See that you do,” he says.
“This is…” I start.
“Red,” he says and holds out a hand to shake. She hesitates, her hunter instincts telling her he’s a predator not a friend.
“He’s my brother and the only decent one between the lot of us,” I say.
She nods and steps forward.
“A pleasure,” he says, the faintest hint of compulsion under his words, a rumbling vibration that makes a human want to close their eyes and drift into an unconscious obedience.
“Xavier,” I growl.
“Sorry, it’s habit,” he says to me, then turns to her. “A pleasure, as I say. I’ve heard lots about you. But I’m afraid I must break up whatever this was. Mother is ready for us to begin the partnering ceremony.”
He exits, leaving the door ajar.
“We should talk. In fact, you should talk to your sister too,” I say.
“Yeah,” she says, but her eyes wrinkle in a way that makes my chest ache.
It’s clear that all of my blood has drained out of her system and the walls have gone back up. This time, though, the resentment I’m used to has dissipated a little. She’s not quite as cold, not quite as distant.
I hate it, but the first bloom of hope swells in my belly and I wonder if this time… this time I’ll be able to keep her.
“Yeah,” she says again. “This is a mess.”
“Well, I fear it’s about to get a lot messier.” I hold the door open for her and do up the final button on my shirt wondering what chaos Mother is about to throw us into.
By the time we enter the ballroom it feels more like the auditorium of a sports tournament. The tiered seats are alive with shouted conversations, team vampire on one side and team hunter on the other.
Xavier whistles, “This is more vampires and hunters together in the same room than I’ve ever seen before.”
“And I thought there were a lot the other night in the Whisper Club,” Red replies.
Cordelia steps up to the microphone of a lectern at the edge of the stage. “Welcome, vampires, hunters, nobles, and honoured guests,” she says, clearing her throat.
There’s a tussle in the central seats where a vampire is hissing at a hunter who’s drawn a stake. Two bodyguards—one vampire, one hunter—step into the stands and restrain the pair of aggressors. They’re hauled out of their seats, cuffed at the bottom of the stairs, and dragged to either side of the room.
Behind Cordelia on the stage, the Chief’s ocean-blue eyes are hard, her posture tense. Like the rest of us, this is the last thing she wants to happen. I can hear her heart beating from here, the heavy thud echoing against her ribs.
“This is dangerous, there’s too many humans in here for the number of vampires. It’s only going to take one of them who didn’t drink breakfast to snap and we’re all fucked,” I whisper.
