Page 12 of Vow of Revenge
My heart skipped a beat, then bolted for freedom. Kaleb grabbed my wrist, pulling me along the gravel path towards the alcove porch. A hefty wooden door, with a large brass knocker, opened inwards. Striding into the welcoming reception hall, he released me, closed the door and proceeded to rummage in the brown bag, setting it on the round reception table.
A light parquet floor completed the square space with white balustrade cornicing, and a pretty ceiling rose surrounding an extravagant chandelier dangling like shards of icicles, splashing rainbows on the putty coloured walls.
Instead of taking me through the house, we walked along the side of the staircase, turning at the bottom step where another staircase waited, sinking to the basement below. Kaleb flicked a switch and each step lit up with strips of LED lights, drawing my gaze downward.
He confidently descended with the air of a man who had nothing to lose. Sucking in a gust of sexual bravado, I pranced behind him, embracing the surge of energy electrifying my muscles. I was still as high as a helium balloon.
The low-level room was a large open space with a dark wooden floor and bright white walls. There was no natural light given it had zero windows, but it oozed ambience with light fixtures and lamps scattered throughout. He strode to the long bar stretching the back wall, filled with copious bottles of spirits and various glasses in every size. A leather corner sofa sprawled along the opposite wall, facing a wide screen television.
“Alcohol or water?” His voice was gravelly and raw.
“My favourite shot is Sambucca, if you have it?” I quietly pleaded my heartbeat to steady.
“I do.”
I wandered over to him, peering over the high bar, watching as he scanned the undercounter fridges filled with champagne, bottles of beer and various mixers. My greedy gaze lingered on his broad shoulders and defined arms. Tightening my fists so the nails bit into my palms, I suppressed the growing impulse to rip off his shirt and lick him.
I’m in trouble.
I’m so turned on.
He poured the aniseed liquor into two glasses and slid one forward.
“Cheers.” His glass clinked mine before I had the chance to lift it.
Parting my lips, my throat welcomed the warming liquid. The flavour burst over my tongue, and I found myself wondering what it would taste like licked off his stomach. My libido was soaring, flying high, ready to detonate.
He poured another round. Leaving his untouched, he sauntered around the bar, casually unbuttoning his shirt and letting the tales hang loose. “I’ll put on some tunes.”
I watched him stroll across the room with confidence, like he owned the fucking world, and right now, he did. Selecting a playlist from his laptop, he clicked play. A chilled ambient melody drifted out of the surround sound speakers, reminding me of a holiday I had a few years back.
“That’s like the music they play in Café Mambo in Ibiza.” I sipped the Sambucca, letting it coat my lips.
“I was there a few years ago myself.” Thick lashes framed those intense eyes of his as they trailed over me, from my breasts to my boots.
“Syrah and I went for my twentieth birthday. Our father paid for a suite, arranged a driver and car to be on hand twenty-four hours a day.” I was talking randomly because I was nervous - so very anxious.
Kaleb popped open the last button on his shirt letting the material fall to his sides. The happy recollection of all-night parties and sun loungers drifted away. I gazed at the smooth chestnut skin, scattered with a few dark hairs at his naval. His bare torso was lean and toned. Not brickwork Abs but defined and dipped like a man who worked out regularly. Every indentation deserved my attention, from both my eyes and my tongue.
I gulped back my overwhelming need to offer myself to him. Kaleb was taking me from turned on to fucking nuclear with just his chest on show. This was crazy… unheard of… the drugs in my blood playing me for a fool. “You can take that off,” I spluttered.Oh fuck, I said that out loud. “I mean, if you’re too warm. It’s your place. You can do what you want.” The stupid words rambled out of my mouth, falling into the atmosphere and landing at his shoes.
His wide eyes were like pleasure and ice. A ghosted smirk on his blushed lips hinted enjoyment. The guy was fucking with me.Cocky son of a bitch. Something about him inspired a thrilling stimulation but cautioned extreme misery. I had the power to battle his trickery – well, I would’ve had the ability to resist him if I wasn’t so sexually deprived and the poison pumping in my veins wasn’t driving me wild with white hot lust. The chemicals were cheating my mind, taunting me with an arousal so stirred that I wanted him to devour me, like I suspected he was going to do regardless.
The shirt slipped off his shoulders. I gulped and flicked my gaze away, sinking another shot and quickly reaching for my third. In three slow strides, he was behind me. The sensation of his heated breath on the back of my neck forced me to suck in sharply. His lips breached my defences, hoovering at my cheek.
“Are you nervous, little mouse?” The gravely tone teased at the same time as his wicked fingers traced my biceps.
My scorching blood jumped through the ventricles of my heart with such a thunderous pulse that I swore he could hear it over the music. “Nervous? I’m only apprehensive about taking drugs,” I lied.
The heat of his closeness sucked me in, pulling me backwards into his arms as they circled my waist.
“How do you feel?” The light touch of his mouth rested on my earlobe. A tsunami of prickles skittered my scalp, spreading down and finishing between my legs with a thrilling pulse.
Holy fuck. This was it. This was the moment when he was going to tear me apart, emotion after emotion. This was new to me. I’d never taken drugs before, nor had I been with a man like him, until now.
I swallowed hard. “I’m still high. Everything is sensitised. It feels…”
“Fucking amazing,” he answered for me with a hot sigh.
