Page 2 of Vampire Sins
He smiled. “Oh, darling, you’re in Venice. We all ‘do’ wine.”
He inched closer and my rune burned at his proximity. He was definitely one of my four, but the raw arrogance in his gaze pissed me off. Just because destiny had bound him to me didn’t mean that I was going to just bend over.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I snapped.
He grinned and his eyes swept over me, taking in the curves poorly hidden by my tight Miami-suitable clothes. “We don’t get many succubi in Venice, especially not any that could handle me.” His grin grew. “You can handle me, can’t you?”
My nails bit crescents into my palms. If I said yes, that would just egg him on. If I said no, I was admitting I’d never slept with a vampire and I had no idea what to expect.
When I hesitated, he slowly licked his lower lip, riding his tongue up his fang.
Getting tired of this prick, I teetered on the edge of the roof, preparing myself to break my legs trying to jump off rather than spend one more second with the likes of this vampire.
He brushed my shoulder with a light touch and pointed to the stairwell. “If I may.”
Sighing, I opted for the stairs.
It turnedout that Iwasa wine kind of girl, I’d just never had the right wine before, apparently.
“What’s in this?” I marveled, turning the glass to catch the light of Xavier’s chandelier as the low golden glow splattered rainbows and sequins off my glass.
He didn’t answer, and instead refilled my drink.
I sighed and took another sip, fluttering my eyes closed in bliss. When I opened them again, I wondered how I’d found myself from Miami’s beaches to this place, the best Venice had to offer. His “humble abode,” as he’d called it, was apparently a vampire hideout of the luxurious sort.
“So, a muse runs this city?” I asked, slipping into the comfort of an expensive leather couch. I shouldn’t have been indulging in the poorly hidden attempts of my fourth trying to woo me, but couldn’t help it. I was exhausted. I could be wooed and refuel my energy stores at the same time, right?
Luke ignored his glass and instead peered out of the two-story window gazing at the stillness of the canals below. “It’s nothing like New York, or Shanghai,” he said. “It’s too… peaceful.”
Xavier poured himself a glass of wine—which was definitelynotwine—and settled himself across from me. It didn’t matter that he was out of arm’s reach. The way his gaze raked over me made me feel invaded. I hated that I liked it.
“We work hard to keep things that way,” Xavier said, his tone edged with accusation as he glared at Luke. “Hades runs things differently than Apollo, Ares, or Derek,” Xavier continued. “He’s only half a muse, after all. He’s capable of some common sense.”
Raising an eyebrow, I set my glass down. “Half-muse?”
He nodded. “My master is half-vampire, half-muse. He sleeps for decades at a time and awards the vampire community the magic of compulsion. It keeps the humans blind to our ongoings, keeps the vampires happy, and until recently, has kept Apollo and Ares out of vampire business.”
“So, what’s changed?” Luke asked, leaning against the window and crossing his arms.
Xavier frowned, not hiding his distaste for Luke. “Your arrival comes as part of provenance of a new world foreseen by my witches.” I shivered as he said that with such confidence…hiswitches. “They’ve predicted chaos to engulf this city and the resulting flames will devour the world.” His gaze fell on me, coating me with a wave of his desire mixed with aggravation, as if he wasn’t sure if he wanted to rip out my jugular or plunge himself into me. My rune pulsed low on my stomach in response and I clenched my thighs, cursing low under my breath. Xavier grinned at my discomfort. “My witches have also seen the few key players who can derail fate. You, my dear, are one of them.” He shifted closer, making my spine go rigid as his grin widened, revealing lengthening fangs. “If I take you as my mate, the vampire community would gain the edge we need to withstand the Incubus King and a rogue muse.”
I rolled my eyes. Sure, he was hot and the rune pulsing low on my belly was begging me to explore his body, but I was a succubus. I didn’t do “mates.” I had other men in my life. “Again with the mate thing.” I motioned for Luke to sit with me. With a sly grin, he obeyed. I ran my thumb across his lower lip and gazed into the perfect blue of his eyes that held so much pain, mystery, and longing. “I am not made for just one man.” I loved Luke. Just like I loved Jet and Nate. They all soothed a deep wound inside of me that had plagued me all my life. It was hard to believe that my magic believed Xavier comparable to the souls who’d won me over.
“He’s no man,” Xavier observed, ignoring the point I was trying to make entirely. “My witches never miss anything—or anyone. The only reason they wouldn’t be able to foresee Luke’s arrival is if he were a powerful supernatural.” He set his glass on the table and the liquid inside sloshed in a way that made my stomach roll with nausea. “So, my friend, what exactly are you? Why does this succubus resist me when she has been destined as my mate? Why does she cling to you, when she should be draping herself over me?”
Luke ignored the provocation and kept looking into my eyes, his hand slipping up the back of my neck as he pulled me in for a deep, sensual kiss. Warmth flooded through my body and my world spun when he pulled away. “You’re so much better than wine,” I said with my smile against his teeth.
Xavier huffed a laugh. Instead of getting the point—again—he was amused.
Sneaking Xavier a glance, I glared. “So, your witches,” I said, purposefully pushing him off topic, “what else did they see?”
His ruby gaze darkened for the first time as he leaned back into the embrace of the sofa. “Death,” he said, the word an ominous growl. “This city will be the first to fall to Derek’s madness. With the three stones of power, as well as the alliance of the other two muses, he will undo all the hard work that Hades has put in place.” His gaze grew dark. “I fear the harsher possibility. They come to kill my master while he sleeps and I won’t be able to stop them, not without inducing Hades into a premature awakening.”
I shrugged. “Okay, so, go wake him, then.”
He watched me with an intensity that displayed every facet of his inhumanity. He didn’t blink, didn’t breathe. Every muscle in his body was taut and ready to spring. “No one can wake a sleeping vampire, especially Hades. Only the power which gave all vampires life could rouse him from his current state.” His gaze dipped to my breast where a faint red glow had begun to throb, and for the first time I dumbly realized that Xavier’s eyes were the same kind of red as the power exuded by my Blood Stone. “I’m afraid you’re the only one with that gift,” his gaze snapped to mine, “but you won’t be able to wake my master with the power of your Blood Stone alone. You must be able to speak to him, mind-to-mind.” He leaned his elbows on his knees. “You must become avampire.”
Shivering, I peeled myself away from Luke who’d begun to grip me a bit too hard.
