His smile widened. “I wanted to get you something that you would never have guessed in a million years; something unique. I had a team of people working on this, including vampires whose gift is technology-based. As you can see, you have the option of playing as different people within The Hollow – including me, you, and members of the squad. They each have the gifts, strengths, and weaknesses in the game that they do in real life. Even Dexter’s in it. There are lots of potential assignments and mysteries. The special effects are absolutely amazing. You could even think of this game as a method of training in” He grunted as I suddenly dived on him. “Does this mean you like it?”
Straddling him, I kissed him hard. “I bloody love it. I noticed that one of the ‘baddies’ in the game is Magda. This means I get to kill her over and over again, doesn’t it?” At his nod, I was so touched I almost cried. “This is the sweetest, most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever given me.” He laughed, and I wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.”
When I finally pulled back, he slid a hand under my hair and squeezed my nape as he tugged my face to his. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, coaxing a contented sigh from me. Then his tongue boldly swept inside, stroking mine, as his hands slid down my back to cup my arse. Releasing my mouth, he just stared at me…like he was drinking me in, like it was perfectly normal and acceptable to stare at someone. And it always annoyed me.
“Stop it or I’ll let Dexter spit venom in your eyes and temporarily blind you.”
He smiled, running his fingers through my hair. “No you won’t. Is it really so bad that I like to look at you? Like to look at you knowing you’re mine and that I’ve tasted every single inch of you?”
“Yes, it is. Now, can we play this game or what?”
“I’m not going to be able to pull you away from it without a fight, am I?”
“Nope.”
He just rolled his eyes. “Antonio has a birthday meal planned for you later. That means you can play the game until then. I have a feeling that the squad will want to play it too.”
Jared had been right. When the squad – along with Jude – came to wish me a happy birthday and each gave me a present, they joined me in playing the game. It was so well thought out. The first level was the try-outs. The second level featured a number of training sessions in the arena. Then each level thereafter was an assignment with a different ‘baddy’ each time. And of course things got harder and harder as the game went on. It even had bonus levels such as paintballing and swimming in the bat pool.
The players were so life-like that it was almost freaky. The structure of The Hollow was picture perfect – even the surrounding rainforest was amazingly identical to the one here. The squad took turns at playing as other people, boasting that they had better control of that person’s gift than they did. That caused some arguments.
Even Antonio and Luther had a turn when they came to pay me a visit. I would never have guessed that they were so competitive if I hadn’t seen it for myself. Some of the curses that flew from their mouths had even my eyes widening. Fletcher and Norm also had a turn – Fletcher played me, delighted to be able to use an energy whip.
Of course they all asked if Jared could have one made for them, even Antonio and Luther. But Jared refused, telling them that he wanted me to have something that nobody else had. Fletcher and Norm thought that was extremely sweet. Everybody else whined about it. I couldn’t blame them – it was even more addictive than ‘Vampire Nation’. So addictive that I played it until my eyes hurt, and I actually moaned when I realised that it was time to attend the birthday meal that Antonio had organised.
Forcing myself not to be an ungrateful bitch, I came away from the game, and changed into a little black dress that Fletcher had given me as a birthday gift. “Ready to go?” I asked Jared as I exited the en-suite bathroom.
His hands landed on my hips as his gaze explored every inch of me. “If it wasn’t your birthday meal, I’d say skip it so I could roll this dress up and bury myself inside you.” He nuzzled my neck, inhaling deeply.
I smiled, skimming my hands down his chest, and wishing the shirt wasn’t in the way. “You can do that later.”
“You can bet your sweet little ass I will.” He dropped a kiss on my mouth. “Come on, everyone will be waiting.” To my surprise, Jared didn’t teleport us to Antonio’s huge parlour room. Instead, he took us to…the beach. A strangely empty beach.
I frowned. “Where is” He twirled me around, and I gasped at the sight ahead of us.
“You look amazing,” Jared whispered into my ear as he started to lead me across the sand. No, what I could see ahead of us was ‘amazing’. Several tables were set up on the sand, all with white table cloths, lanterns, champagne glasses, and flowery centre pieces. I loved the beach at night, loved the way the moonlight played off the water. That was clearly why they had done this for me. God, I was spoiled rotten by these people and I probably didn’t deserve it.
With the exception of one table, all the others were seated with guests. On the first table sat Antonio, Lucy, Luther, and – groan – Collins and Eloise. On the second were Fletcher, Norm, Ava, and Cristiano. The third seated Butch, Salem, David, and Denny, while the fourth seated Chico, Jude, Harvey, Damien, and Reuben. My heart squeezed as I thought of the three people who couldn’t be here.
Everybody stood, smiling, as Jared and I went to the empty table in the centre. “Oh my God,” I said a little breathlessly. “I can’t believe you all did this.”
Fletcher looked at me like I was daft. “Of course we did this; we love you.”
“We wanted to make your evening special.” Antonio smiled. “I hope we manage to do so.”
I found myself wishing I was better at receiving things because I wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks…It’s really amazing.” That seemed to satisfy everyone, because they all grinned and sat down.
Most likely sensing my relief, Jared laughed silently as he sat opposite me and laced his fingers through mine. “Neither of us is good at the whole expressing gratitude thing, are we?”
I shook my head. “Luckily they like us in spite of it.”
“You’re wearing your earrings,” he observed, leaning forward to gently finger one.
“Once again, thank you for them.” See, I could do gratitude sometimes.
“You’re welcome. I’m just relieved you like them. You’re not really a jewellery person. In fact, you’re pretty hard to buy for. And you’re even harder to surprise, since you insist on hunting your gifts down – I swear you’ve got a nose like a bloodhound.”
I chuckled, feeling ridiculously happy. A twinge of guilt immediately followed the feeling – here I was celebrating when Evan, Max, and Stuart were stuck in a cell, dying.
Jared squeezed my hand. “Hey,” he said gently. Of course he’d known where my thoughts had taken me. “They’d want you to celebrate your birthday.”
He was right, they would. That was exactly what I needed to hear. I was about to flash Jared a smile of thanks, but then his face morphed into a scowl as his eyes focused on something over my shoulder. Confused, I turned to track his gaze. Ah…Ava and Cristiano were approaching us.
Wearing her usual cheery smile, she bent and planted a kiss on my cheek. Being courteous for a change, I stood and awkwardly accepted the hug she gave me. I wondered if I’d ever be much good at physical displays of affection…Probably not.
“Happy birthday!” She handed me a gift-wrapped box. “Don’t open it yet. Wait until you’re alone.” Leaning in closer, she added in a whisper, “Well, wait until you’re alone with Jared.” Her cheeky grin made me laugh. “This is from me and Cris, by the way…Although it was me who picked it out. He’d blush if he knew what it was.” Well that certainly had me intrigued.
“We just want to wish you a happy birthday,” Cristiano said, his voice uncharacteristically rough. “You look beautiful.” When Jared growled, he held up his hands in a gesture of innocence, though his smug smirk was
there. “It was just an observation.”
“There you are,” drawled a familiar and very unwelcome voice. Then the bony form of Joy was lounging all over Cristiano. In Fletcher’s words, Jared’s old consort was a cross between a whippet and a witch. I’d honestly never seen anyone so thin. My brows arched in surprise at the way she was petting Cristiano. Ava rolled her eyes while he sighed tiredly and tried to shift away from Joy. She just moved with him.
After licking her lips at Jared, Joy gave me a sickly sweet smile. “Happy birthday.” She had said it in the same tone as someone would say, ‘I hate you.’ “Hope you’re having a good time. Did Jared get you anything nice? I’m surprised he let you out of the apartment. When it was my birthday, he never let me out of the bed.”
How could I not pity her when this kind of crap gave her a kick? “Aw, such a precious little brat, aren’t you?”
Her smile faltered slightly. “Black is very slimming on you – good thinking, wearing that. Curves don’t look good on everyone.”
Groan. “As for you…I see you’re still a fan of the, um, starved look.” Honestly, if she swallowed a sprout, she’d look pregnant.
Jared, Ava, and Cristiano chuckled quietly.
“Such a joker,” Joy spat bitterly.
“I was actually deadly serious, but sure.”
“Personally, I wouldn’t be so happy if the guy I was Bound to would never be totally satisfied with me. Jared likes a little variety in his sexual diet. Even three consorts couldn’t keep him completely satisfied. Maybe right now he’s happy enough with just you, but that will change. Once the novelty wears off, his interest will wane.”
I was really supposed to believe that? Snort. I gave her a pitying look. “Jealousy isn’t attractive, you know. You don’t wear it well.”
Jared, who I could sense was totally riled, went to say something to the bitch. But then Denny – my very own personal saviour – appeared at her side and held up his index finger. A sting suddenly appeared at the tip, making Joy gasp.
“Two things can happen,” began Denny. “You could walk away of your own accord, or I could stab you with this and drag you away. I wouldn’t recommend the latter. It itches like crazy, and you’ll have an oozing spot tomorrow. So, what will it be?”
Joy shot me an ugly scowl, shoved away from Cristiano, and then marched off.
I sent Denny a smile. “You know I adore you, right?” He laughed and returned to his table.
Cristiano gestured at Joy’s retreating form. “I think she thought she’d find an ally in me.”
Confused, I asked, “Why would she think that?”
Cristiano frowned, apparently surprised by my question. Then he looked at Jared, arching a quizzical brow.
“She doesn’t see it,” Jared explained with a sigh.
Ava blinked rapidly, looking just as surprised as her brother. “Really? But he always” She stopped as Cristiano took her arm and began to literally drag her back to their table. Wearing her cheery smile again, she waved at me. “Enjoy your meal! And happy birthday again!” I noticed that Salem followed the cute little thing with his eyes as she moved. She presented him with a bright, flirty smile to which he grunted. For whatever reason, she seemed to find that hilarious.
Sitting once again, I asked Jared, “What did you mean when you said, ‘She doesn’t see it’? See what?”
“That Dickhead wants you, of course.” He rolled his eyes, taking my hand and tracing over the Binding knot. “I think he’s right. I think Joy thought he’d be as jealous as she is about us and then they could be buddies who together made our lives miserable.” He pinned my gaze with his. “You know Joy was talking shit, don’t you? You’re all I want.”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “If I thought you wanted anyone else, I’d plonk your bare arse on a cactus.”
He winced. “Fair enough. Okay, no more talk about other people. I think we should talk about how great I am and how hot you are for me.” I burst out laughing. “You know it’s true.”
“It’s true. Want to know just how hot I am for you? Or should I say how ‘wet’ I am for you?”
His eyes narrowed at my impish smile. He leaned forward and feathered his lips over mine, asking quietly, “You’re not wearing any underwear, are you?” When my smile widened, he groaned. “You can’t do this to me.” I just laughed again. “Come here. I want to feel you.”
“Oh no,” I chuckled, dodging the hand that reached for my leg under the table. “Too many people are around, and I’m unfortunately the focus of attention. You’ll just have to wait until we get home.”
He shook his head, looking pained. “It’s going to be a long-ass night.”
It was, but it was also a great night. The meal was delicious and the atmosphere was so jovial that it was almost effervescent, making energy cling to my skin and sprinkle from my fingers like fairy dust. Jared sucked chocolate sauce from my finger at one point just for an excuse to taste my energy-coated skin – according to him, my skin fizzed like sherbet or honeycomb whenever energy clung to it like that.
Eloise spent most of the night scowling and sneering at me from her seat, but that just made things even more fun. Collins was more interested in trying to get pally with the squad, but they only seemed interested in growling or snarling at him. Surely he’d worked out by now that they pretty much despised him. Could he not take a hint or something?
Antonio made a toast, once again wishing me a happy birthday, after which everybody then asked me to make a speech. Ha. As if. They simply laughed at my refusal, knowing that I wasn’t much of a public speaker.
When people asked for music, Fletcher – always prepared – plugged his iPod into a set of speakers. Everyone danced on a kind of makeshift dance-floor on the sand. Considering Fletcher’s taste in music, it was no surprise when ‘YMCA’ came on, or ‘Oops Upside Your Head’ – he actually dragged Luther onto the dance-floor and taught him the moves. As usual, I never danced to the slow songs, although it wasn’t for the lack of trying on Jared’s part to get me up there.
It was when he left me alone for a moment to go and speak to Antonio that a soft voice spoke. “Hi, Sam.”
Looking up, I found Antonio’s future mate smiling down at me. “Lucy…Hi. Sit down.”
Her expression was grateful and, if I wasn’t mistaken, contained a hint of relief. “Thanks.” She perched herself gingerly on the chair, as if ready to bolt at any moment. Whether she suspected I would send her on her merry way soon or she was just edgy because she knew that Jared would be back at any moment, I wasn’t sure. Many people found him intimidating. “I wanted to say happy birthday. I love that dress.”
“I can’t take the credit – Fletcher picked it out.” Knowing I was a bit of a tomboy, he always selected dresses for me. “But I get the feeling that you haven’t come to chat about my dress.”
Her smile turned sheepish. “Um, Antonio told you that he plans to Turn me soon, didn’t he?”
“He did, yes. Are you having second thoughts?”
“I’m not having second thoughts about Turning, but I know a lot about the different breeds of vampire and, well…” Her voice lowered. “If I’m honest, being a Keja doesn’t appeal to me. The bloodlust isn’t as strong as that of Pagoris, but it’s strong enough that it would take the best part of a year for me to have it under control. I’m not keen on being isolated for that length of time. But Sventés…well, you guys are more human-like. It takes you less time to gain control.”
I could see where this was going. “You’re wondering if I’ll Turn you?”
Biting her lip, she nodded. “I’d rather be a Sventé.”
There were a number of potential issues with her request. “Have you spoken to Antonio about this? If I’m honest, I don’t think he’s going to want any vampire other than him to Turn you.” It would be hard for him to know that she had a blood-link with another vampire. I certainly hadn’t liked knowing Jared was linked to Magda but ding dong the witch was now dead.
“I know it might offend him. That was why I wanted to ask you first. It’s not worth even bringing it up to him if it’s not something you would be prepared to do – I’ll have offended him for no reason. Have you Turned anyone before?”
“No. Until I came to The Hollow, I hadn’t been living the kind of life that I’d happily bring someone else into.” The biggest issue at play here, however, was that I was no longer a Sventé. I was a hybrid. And anyone I Turned would become like me. That was if it even worked. For all I knew, I wasn’t able to Turn anyone, considering my new genetic status wasn’t natural for vampires. But that wasn’t something I could reveal to Lucy.
Aside from all that…“Really, though, I’ve never wanted to Turn someone, and I’m not sure that I ever will. The idea has just never appealed to me. It’s a big responsibility to begin a line…a little like beginning a family.” Ruling alongside Jared would bring me enough responsibilities. “And my being linked to someone else would most likely drive Jared mental.”
Lucy gave me a half smile, though she was clearly disappointed. “I understand.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t talk to anyone else about your reservations. It’s something that you and Antonio need to work out between yourselves. He’d never force you to be a Keja if he thought that it would make you unhappy. Trust him to do what’s right for you. And trust me when I say that communication is really important if you’re going to be Bound to someone.”
“You’re right.” Seeing that Jared was returning, Lucy quickly stood. “Thanks, Sam. I really appreciate you hearing me out. And thanks for the advice.” Then she was gone. Hmm. Clearly Jared did intimidate her.
Frowning, Jared tipped his head in the direction of a quickly retreating Lucy. “What was all that about?”