Marked for Pleasure [Blood Bond] Read online

He shook his head. “I’m the youngest. It seems every generation learns a few tricks about blending in. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be old and wise.” Another step closer. “What’s really important is adaption. Survival of the fittest.”

  She felt cornered like a deer in the sights of a wolf. A violent mix of desire and trepidation swirled inside her womb. “Wouldn’t you be from the same generation? Joseph and Francis don’t look that much older than you.”

  He shrugged. As he moved nearer, she noted a hunger in his eyes. All the years she’d vied for his attention, she’d have given anything for him to look at her like he was now. “They’re old-school. It’ll be the death of them.” He braced a hand on each side of the desk when she had nowhere else to go but sit on the hardwood surface. “I keep telling them to smile once in a while, but nope, just the creepy-guy faces. I swear it’s why we never have company.”

  She couldn’t tell when he was kidding or being serious, not when he was so close. The heat from his body had her blood boiling. The scent of his expensive cologne was subtle and delicious, teasing her senses. The smell was ingrained in her memories. From the meal at the mall together, to the time he helped her push her car out of the intersection when she’d ran out of gas, to the random encounters when she’d bump into him after work. There was always that mouth-watering musky scent which got her pulse racing.

  “I’m sure it’s none of my business.” She swallowed the frog in her throat, wanting to submit but knowing she couldn’t jeopardize her job. “Maybe I should head out. I can come back later to take the video.”

  He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever you wish, Heidi Walsh.”

  She gathered her files and purse and rushed out to her car. Joseph and Francis weren’t anywhere in sight when she walked back through the house to the exit. Where had they gone? Would they try and convince Christian to fire her? She filed through her memories, hoping to recall anything she may have done wrong. Was it her outfit? Shit, she should have dressed more respectably. Rather than represent a professional businesswoman, she fit the stereotype of dumb blonde with her stilettos and formfitting suit. She wanted to strangle herself as she drove down the winding driveway.

  When she got home, hoping to crash on her bed and mope for a while before heading back to the mansion, she was greeted by a chorus of “Congratulations.” Her parents, family members, and close friends sported banners and helium balloons.

  “What’s going on?”

  “It’s a celebration dinner, sweetheart. You’re a big star now.” Her mother hugged her from the side as Heidi scanned the room.

  Her parents were thrilled about her big deal. It wasn’t every day a small-town girl got such a big break. She only hoped the DeVille brothers didn’t change their minds about hiring her. Disappointing her family would crush her.

  “You didn’t have to do this, Mom.”

  “Are you kidding? Come on, have something to eat.”

  Numerous hands clapped her on the back, leading her to the folding tables that had been set up in the living room. With all the people occupying the small bungalow, she could barely navigate.

  After the initial excitement of her arrival, everyone began to talk amongst themselves. She noticed her best friend, Carmen Ridgeway, talking to her father in the kitchen. They’d known each other since grade school, even pretending to be sisters since they both lacked siblings. Carmen was her kindred spirit, but a physical opposite with dark brown hair and eyes.

  “What’s going on in here?”

  “Hey! Sorry, I just got here. Had to work late.” Carmen hugged her close, and her father drifted off into the other room. He wasn’t a sentimental man but very utilitarian and hard to please. It was one of the reasons she had to succeed. After she got the DeVille deal, he’d told her how proud he was. She savored the comment, knowing it would be a long time before she got another one. If ever.

  “I have to talk to you.” Heidi pulled her friend to the basement entrance and tugged her down into her apartment.

  “What’s wrong?” Carmen adjusted her long brown ponytail and flopped on her threadbare sofa. “You’re missing your party.”

  “It’s about the DeVille house… I think I’m in over my head.”

  Her friend sat up, her interest piqued. “What do you mean? The contracts are already signed, aren’t they?”

  “It’s not that. There’s just something about the brothers. I mean, they’re hot, hotter than hot. I can’t even think straight when I’m around them. I don't know if I can go through with the deal.”

  “Heidi, you can’t be serious.” Carmen stood up and braced her shoulders. “For God’s sakes, you have to separate business and pleasure. Didn’t they teach you that in real estate school?”

  “I can’t explain it. It’s like they have some magnetic pull, but at the same time they act like they can’t stand me. I’m afraid they’re gonna ditch me and hire another agent. I’ll never live it down if they do.” She covered her face with her palms as she imagined breaking that kind of news to her parents, especially her father.

  “Well, they didn’t say anything, did they? As far as you know you’re still selling their house?”

  “I have to go back tonight to take a video tour.”

  “Good. Get it done, keep professional, and get out. You can’t lose this opportunity, Heidi.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  Carmen looked her in the eyes. “You’re the one who’s gonna make it big. Maybe be the first to get out of this fucking town.”

  Heidi walked away and started rooting through the closet in her bedroom. She didn’t have to be told how important this deal was. It meant everything to her.

  What should she wear tonight? Part of her wanted to dress even sexier, but the rational part screamed for her to get it together and dress matronly. Heidi sorted through the hangers, disapproving of everything she saw. Her mind was a mess, trying to balance two different opportunities. On one hand she had the career move of the century, and on the other she had the potential to get through to one of the DeVille brothers.

  Carmen joined her and sat on the edge of her bed. “I know you used to talk about Christian all the time. How does he look now?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “You have no idea.” She pulled down a simple black dress and held it up against herself as she gazed in the full-length mirror. “He’s fucking edible.”

  “Business and pleasure, my dear. Never forget why you’re going there.” She wasn’t so sure herself.

  Heidi set her clothes on the bed then spent another hour mingling with her friends and family upstairs. It felt good to be recognized. Her parents’ friends always bragged about their kids—success in university, their new homes, cars, and toys. Heidi could finally make her family proud. A sale of this magnitude would put her on the map as an agent, and her career would no doubt begin to thrive.

  By the time she set foot outside her home, the sun had nearly set, only the twilight hush surrounding her as she walked to her car. The distinct click of her stilettos against the concrete marked each step closer to something she both dreaded and highly anticipated.

  Heidi set her video camera in the back seat, along with her briefcase, and began the short drive to the house at the end of her street. It looked foreboding with the evening darkening the unique architecture in an array of shadows. The iron gates opened upon her arrival, creaking apart in a leisurely motion. She followed the winding path to the house. With her windows rolled down, the drone of crickets became louder as she neared. The rear and sides of house were all vacant fields with tall, unkempt grass. Only the immediate area was carefully landscaped with golf course style lawns, bushes trimmed into geometric shapes, and immaculate flower gardens.

  Her heart began to beat faster, her palms becoming sweaty. She parked her car and glanced up at the solid wooden entry door. It had a large, brass, lion’s head knocker, right out of a fantasy novel.

  Each step she took up the stairs to the porch, punctuated by her heels, made her feel more apprehensive. She was acting like a foolish teenager, scared of her own shadow. It was just a house, and these were just men. Rich and fucking sexy, but still flesh-and-blood men. Her family knew where she was, so if she didn’t return home, half the police force of their little town would be breaking down the very door she now stared at.

  Before she could knock, the door swung open.

  Chapter Three

  “Good evening, Ms. Walsh.” Joseph gestured for her to enter. He’d had a few hours to get his faculties together and now felt energized and capable of resisting the tempting little blonde. Francis had also talked some sense into him, forever the voice of reason in the house. Some days he felt like the puppet with Francis pulling the strings, but today he appreciated the guidance.

  She tentatively stepped into the foyer. “You were expecting me?”

  “The gates alerted us.”

  “Of course.” Heidi gazed around the foyer until finally focusing on the staircase, as she had earlier. “It looks different at night.” She set her briefcase down and walked toward it, running her hand along the banister.

  “You like it?”

  “The entire house is unbelievable, but the staircase is like right out of a movie.” Her voice echoed slightly, reminding him it was just her and him.

  Where had his resolve gone? Just being close to her, despite quenching his thirst earlier, made him hungry. “What movie? Dracula?”

  “I was thinking more of Gone with the Wind.”

  “Hmm.” He moved around her, taking in her every detail from her shapely legs to her long blonde waves of hair. She was just another woman, another human, but one he couldn’t get out of his head. Joseph didn’t like the weaknesses she brought out in him, but his instincts kept insisting he’d recover once he tasted her. One bite. But real estate agents were off the menu, according to Francis.

  “Is the electricity turned off?”

  He frowned for a moment until he realized she was speaking about the candlelight. Joseph and his siblings were more comfortable with minimal lighting, and the soft light from a candle was much more pleasing to the eye than artificial overhead fluorescents. To her weaker eyes, the foyer would be all flickering shadows.

  “No. Does the darkness bother you?” He couldn’t help himself. He moved in closer, smelling her neckline from behind. Francis would have his head for giving in so quickly.

  She turned around. With his proximity, they were nearly pressed together. “Um, no, but my video camera may not work without more lighting.” She reached out to his chest to stabilize herself from falling back.

  He growled—a nearly inaudible sound. Her touch seared him, even through the fabric of his shirt. His beast clawed within him to be free, his upper lip already twitching as his fangs fought to emerge. His ancestors used to take what they wanted by force in the cruelest of ways, whether women or blood. But his race had evolved, learned to control its vampiric urges.

  “Do you remember that night we spent alone at the office rental?”

  Her breath faltered. “How could I forget?”

  All the lights in the foyer, halls, and upper level switched on at once, smothering the intimacy and deep-seated need Joseph had begun to feel.

  Francis joined them. “Does this help?”

  Saved by big brother. He’d be reprimanded tonight for sure.

  “That’s much better.” Heidi reached for the camera hanging over her shoulder. Her heart was pounding, the only sound he could focus on. “I can start in here. I promise I won’t take much of your time.”

  Joseph and Francis stood against the wall by the front door while the woman did her thing with the camera.

  “I thought you had yourself under control,” said Francis, his voice monotone.

  “I did. Or I thought I did.”

  When she moved on to the kitchen, Francis pushed off from the wall. “Stay away from her.” It was all he said as he walked away. The warning was evident, but the words spoke more than mere caution.

  Did his brother realize he had some sick obsession with the human? That he hadn’t stopped thinking about her for the past several years? Joseph had watched her from the shadows, monitored her habits, and held back from visiting her as she slept. She had a unique aura, a purity that called to him. As much as Joseph wanted her, he also knew she had to remain untouched.

  Mixing with humans was what brought about the last plague. Biracial offspring were susceptible to human disease, but their vampiric blood made them excellent carriers to full vamps. Although rare in this day and age, Francis wouldn’t let them forget the horrors of the past when they lost both their parents.

  They joined Heidi in the kitchen. She traveled the space, holding the camera in a smooth, sweeping motion to get the full view of the area. Her black dress was a stark contrast to the bright whites and stainless steel around her. Even her blonde hair stood out against the dark colors she wore. Joseph couldn’t believe his wet dream was inside his home, leaving her sweet, unique signature behind for him to bask in once she was gone.

  “I’ll get these up on the agency’s website as soon as I get into the office tomorrow morning,” she said as she continued to videotape the far end of the kitchen. “Will I be able to tape the upper level, or is Christian sleeping?”

  “You can do whatever you like.”

  Francis elbowed him. Was his big brother that in tune with his desires? Joseph bit his lip to keep from saying anything else that would get him in the proverbial doghouse with Francis.

  “And the basement? I haven’t seen it yet.”

  “There’s nothing to see down there. It’s unfinished and nothing for you to worry about,” Francis stated, leaving no room for argument.

  Apparently, Ms. Walsh was more stubborn than she looked. “But—”

  “Can you or can you not sell the house without viewing the lower level?”

  She lowered her camera to her side and nodded, her enthusiasm dashed. The poor little thing. Francis was too rough on her. She’d done nothing wrong but ask a simple question, not realizing the significance it carried. They’d have to clean up their act and vacate everything from the basement as soon as possible, because there was no telling how soon the house could sell.

  Joseph had always felt their new home in the sleepy little town was a good fit. It had been owned by their parents once upon a time. The Devilles now lived their lives with no interference from neighbors, and the authorities hadn’t paid any special attention to them. It was nice not to be constantly moving to avoid detection. Why Francis insisted they move back to the homeland across the ocean was beyond him. Moving was a huge pain in the ass, and, personally, he’d rather not travel closer to ground zero of vampire politics. But he and Christian rarely questioned Francis’s judgment. He was the elder, their example, what they were supposed to aspire to if they wanted to keep their race pure.

  It wasn’t just the move itself that didn’t sit well with him. Leaving behind Heidi Walsh was another. In his siblings’ eyes, she may just be a dime a dozen human, but not to Joseph. He felt a distinct draw from her that he hadn’t experienced in decades—no, ever. She was like candy and he the greedy little boy. Joseph knew she was no good for him, unhealthy even, but he craved a taste regardless of the consequences. His heart had always told him Heidi was his mate, the one fated to him before he was even born. As soon as he saw her, there was immediate recognition, as if she was the one he’d been waiting for all his life. But whenever he’d broach the subject, Francis would insist he was delusional, that fate wouldn’t send him a weak human girl. He wanted to follow in his brother’s footsteps, so ignored the call of her blood as best he could. Now that she was here, in their house, his carefully guarded ideals were slipping.

  “I’ll bring you upstairs,” said Joseph.

  The tension in the room had grown to uncomfortable levels. He’d come to the conclusion that Francis shouldn’t be around humans—period. By now he should have assimilated to their customs, mannerisms, and emotions. Yet nothing, as if he detested the thought of becoming anything like the inferior race. It seemed the oldest vamps were the ones who had the hardest time blending in, which was probably why Christian had it so easy being young.

  Heidi followed him up the winding wooden stairs, but Francis stayed below. “Where should I go first?”

  “Like I said, wherever you want. Just lead the way, and I’ll follow.”

  She began by filming the wide hallway and then each room in sequential order. When they came to Christian’s bedroom, he was lounging on the bed watching his flat-screen television. His youngest brother was the polar opposite of Francis, extremely comfortable in human society to the point they had to remind him of what he truly was—a creature of the night, a predator, a vampire. He even felt guilty for taking the blood he needed to survive.

  “Sorry, I can get this room another day,” she said after spotting Christian.

  “Right…the big filming. No problem. I can hide in the closet or something.” Christian winked at Heidi as he adjusted his weight to his elbows.

  Joseph felt a surge of something hot and unpleasant fill his veins. He wished he could converse with her so easily, so naturally. Every time he tried to speak to Heidi, his body responded by growing fangs, and he lost all coherent thought. How could his little brother exhibit more control than he? It was embarrassing.

  “It’ll take just a minute…”

  “No problem.” Christian slipped off the bed and joined Joseph in the hallway. “Francis let you be alone with her?” he asked, casually leaning against the wall.

  “Why wouldn’t he?”

  He shrugged. “From what I gathered you couldn’t keep it together when she was here earlier.”

  “Francis tell you that?”

  “No, the loud cries from the basement told me that. I may be the youngest, but I can read between the lines. But, then again, you never were the discreet one.”

  Joseph had to get his fucking act straight before he lost all credibility. He was a vampire, not a weak human. There should be no doubt about his ability to keep himself in check. If he was next in line after Francis on the vampiric council, he had to get his shit in order. “I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”