the rim of
the sink. Her breath quickened as sweat from her latex cat suit stuck to her flushed
skin. Turning on the faucet, she splashed cold water onto her face and tried to
calm down. In the background,
Savannah
and Sienna’s soft giggles barely registered in her mind. If they’d been talking
to her, she hadn’t heard a word the blonde bimbos had said.
Her thoughts were preoccupied with Oliver and
the performance they’d given for a room full of sick, sadistic vampires.
Never in a million years would Anaïs have
expected to find a man quite like Oliver Polinski. One minute, he’d shackled
her to a bed and played her body like a fiddle. Then next, he let her serve as Dom
to his uber-obedient sub. The whole fiasco with
Pierre
had only been a convenient excuse, she
knew. She’d let Oliver weasel his way into her panties because that was exactly
where she’d wanted him. Hell, they’d only had intercourse once. Yet those
fifteen minutes plastered against the wall of the club had been the most
intense she could have ever imagined.
But it wasn’t only the mind-blowing sex they’d
shared. The emotions Oliver brought out of her had been buried deep. With him,
she felt safe, yet vulnerable. Powerful, but not quite strong enough to make
him bend to her will. He made her feel things she hadn’t experienced in
centuries, the consequences of which forced her to re-think the course of her
life.
On the outside, Anaïs’s outer shell was as hard
as nails. Inside proved to be a whole different story. In fact, she was an
emotional wreck. Preying on men, especially those who reminded her of her
loathsome patriarch, had become a coping mechanism, a twisted method she’d
employed to ensure that no one ever got too close. It was a character flaw, she
knew, but one she couldn’t cut loose.
Somehow, Oliver had begun to break down the
barriers she’d built. He pushed the boundaries, threatening to breach her stone
cold heart. Day after day, he demolished the walls that took lifetimes to
construct. The ones that kept people out and that attacked those who dare tried
to bridge them.
Again, Anaïs’s instincts told her she should
flee. Get away from Oliver before things got out of hand. With her departure,
Pierre
would disappear
back into the shadows as well. At least, that’s what her head told her she
should do. Her heart, on the other hand, nagged at her to stay, face her demons,
and see how everything would turn out with Oliver.
Run, you coward, Anaïs screamed to herself.
The words reverberated in her head the moment
Anaïs heard Bobby’s girlfriends exit the bathroom stalls. She stared into the
mirror and smiled back at them, shattering the myth that vampires had no
reflection. Then she grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser to dry the
dripping water from her cheeks, and stepped out of the way to let them use the
sink.
“You okay? You look a little pale,”
Savannah
asked her, lifting
the back of her hand to Anaïs’s forehead.
“Sis, leave her be,” Sienna said as she swatted
her sibling’s hand from the vampire’s face. “Can’t you tell she’s just trying
to get her bearings? After the show the two of them put on out there, she needs
a few minutes to settle back down.”
“Sienna’s right. But thanks for the concern,”
Anaïs said while she smoothed down the frazzled curls that sprang from her
scalp. Then she undid the zipper above her right hip and took out the vial of
lip gloss she’d kept hidden there. She applied a thin sheen to her lips, then
shoved the tube back into her pocket.
At the same time, Anaïs felt her cell phone vibrate.
She pulled it out and glanced at the display. Oliver had sent her a text
message.
Ha! He can’t stand being away from me for long.
“Speak of the devil,” Anaïs said with a shake of
her head. “Oliver just sent me a text. He wants me to meet him in some room.
Have either of you heard anything about the Tunnel of Torture?”
“Oh, kinky. But I’m not
the sink. Her breath quickened as sweat from her latex cat suit stuck to her flushed
skin. Turning on the faucet, she splashed cold water onto her face and tried to
calm down. In the background,
Savannah
and Sienna’s soft giggles barely registered in her mind. If they’d been talking
to her, she hadn’t heard a word the blonde bimbos had said.
Her thoughts were preoccupied with Oliver and
the performance they’d given for a room full of sick, sadistic vampires.
Never in a million years would Anaïs have
expected to find a man quite like Oliver Polinski. One minute, he’d shackled
her to a bed and played her body like a fiddle. Then next, he let her serve as Dom
to his uber-obedient sub. The whole fiasco with
Pierre
had only been a convenient excuse, she
knew. She’d let Oliver weasel his way into her panties because that was exactly
where she’d wanted him. Hell, they’d only had intercourse once. Yet those
fifteen minutes plastered against the wall of the club had been the most
intense she could have ever imagined.
But it wasn’t only the mind-blowing sex they’d
shared. The emotions Oliver brought out of her had been buried deep. With him,
she felt safe, yet vulnerable. Powerful, but not quite strong enough to make
him bend to her will. He made her feel things she hadn’t experienced in
centuries, the consequences of which forced her to re-think the course of her
life.
On the outside, Anaïs’s outer shell was as hard
as nails. Inside proved to be a whole different story. In fact, she was an
emotional wreck. Preying on men, especially those who reminded her of her
loathsome patriarch, had become a coping mechanism, a twisted method she’d
employed to ensure that no one ever got too close. It was a character flaw, she
knew, but one she couldn’t cut loose.
Somehow, Oliver had begun to break down the
barriers she’d built. He pushed the boundaries, threatening to breach her stone
cold heart. Day after day, he demolished the walls that took lifetimes to
construct. The ones that kept people out and that attacked those who dare tried
to bridge them.
Again, Anaïs’s instincts told her she should
flee. Get away from Oliver before things got out of hand. With her departure,
Pierre
would disappear
back into the shadows as well. At least, that’s what her head told her she
should do. Her heart, on the other hand, nagged at her to stay, face her demons,
and see how everything would turn out with Oliver.
Run, you coward, Anaïs screamed to herself.
The words reverberated in her head the moment
Anaïs heard Bobby’s girlfriends exit the bathroom stalls. She stared into the
mirror and smiled back at them, shattering the myth that vampires had no
reflection. Then she grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser to dry the
dripping water from her cheeks, and stepped out of the way to let them use the
sink.
“You okay? You look a little pale,”
Savannah
asked her, lifting
the back of her hand to Anaïs’s forehead.
“Sis, leave her be,” Sienna said as she swatted
her sibling’s hand from the vampire’s face. “Can’t you tell she’s just trying
to get her bearings? After the show the two of them put on out there, she needs
a few minutes to settle back down.”
“Sienna’s right. But thanks for the concern,”
Anaïs said while she smoothed down the frazzled curls that sprang from her
scalp. Then she undid the zipper above her right hip and took out the vial of
lip gloss she’d kept hidden there. She applied a thin sheen to her lips, then
shoved the tube back into her pocket.
At the same time, Anaïs felt her cell phone vibrate.
She pulled it out and glanced at the display. Oliver had sent her a text
message.
Ha! He can’t stand being away from me for long.
“Speak of the devil,” Anaïs said with a shake of
her head. “Oliver just sent me a text. He wants me to meet him in some room.
Have either of you heard anything about the Tunnel of Torture?”
“Oh, kinky. But I’m not
Similar Books
