Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers Book 1) (6 page)

"How
can you like that guy?" Letting out an annoyed huff, Spencer turned from
her and glared at the wall ahead of him. "He’s an arrogant, spoiled
asshole."

"He
is not," Ashleigh laughed. "He gives to charity."

"I
heard he’s gay anyway."

"Sure,
Spencer." Shaking her head, Ashleigh walked toward the elevator doors as
they opened. "You’re just jealous. Caleb's not gay…he likes women and…"
She grinned cheekily. "My books.”

"At
least I don’t have childish crushes on rock stars." Spencer shoved past
her, purposely hitting her hard in the shoulder. "And make them into
characters in my books."

Covering her mouth, Ashleigh stopped walking for a few seconds. She
watched him storm off with a dropped jaw.

"What are you doing?" Turning around, Spencer motioned for her
to follow him. "Come on."

"I’m coming." Ashleigh jogged a little to catch up to him. She
forced a smile as she walked side by side with him, playfully nudging his
shoulder. "If you think Caleb makes a good vampire, wait till you see how
I added you into my new book."

"Huh?" Spencer turned to her, a very confused look in his eyes
as he scanned her smiling face.

Ashleigh
laughed and walked faster, so she could get ahead. "Is this guy paying for
room service? Because I think I deserve a big juicy steak for supper."

Ashleigh
was in her room getting ready for her meeting with Spencer’s friend. She was
told she had to dress up. Spencer didn’t approve of the conservative black
dress, sweater set, and Mary Janes that Ashleigh had picked out, and he made
her go out and buy something different. Even though she was very uncomfortable
in a cocktail dress, the high heels bothered her even more.

Spencer
wouldn’t give up the concert tickets he had gotten, and she was growing tired
of his instructions. He wanted to change everything about her—the way she
walked, how she spoke, and even did her hair. This infuriated her, and if she
wasn’t terrified of him, she would tell him where he could go.

"Hot
mama." Natalie wolf whistled when Ashleigh came out of the bathroom in a
tight, red dress that showed off her large breasts, something Ashleigh didn’t
like exposed.

Spencer
was staring at her, his jaw dropping a little as she walked over to them. His
eyes were glued on her hefty assets, a wicked grin on his lips.

Ashleigh
ignored Spencer’s reaction and sat down next to Natalie.

"It’s
eleven." Spencer tried not to look at Ashleigh’s breasts and chose to look
at the bed near her instead. "I’ll take you to his room, and you can wait
there for him to arrive." Ashleigh grabbed her army jacket. "And
don’t you dare wear that." He pointed to the door. "Let’s go."

Ashleigh
put on her heels and switched her jacket for a black sweater. She followed
Spencer down the hallway, pulling on the sweater because it was still very cold,
despite the heat that was on. Natalie followed, dressed up as well.

"Go
in there." Spencer pointed to an open door at the end of the hallway. "I’ll
meet up with you there in a few minutes."

The
girls entered and looked around at the grand presidential suite, which seemed
more like an apartment than a hotel room. There were a few people in there
already and drinks were being given out at the bar. They each grabbed a drink
and climbed the stairs to the second floor, where it wasn’t so crowded.

"I
wish I would’ve stayed with you this afternoon because then I could’ve met Armageddon
too." Natalie’s hand trailed on the railing. Ashleigh was clinging to it
tightly, not used to wearing heels. "So, is Caleb as gorgeous in person as
he is in his pictures?"

"Oh,
yes. He's amazing. Absolutely amazing." At the top, Ashleigh leaned
against a nearby railing. "And he said he'd come back and return my
book." She peered over her glass as she took a sip, her gaze scanning the
crowd below. "Do you think he meant it? Do you think he'll come
back?"

"Sure."

"I
hope so. Meeting him in person definitely gave me some ideas for the new book."

"Like
what?" Natalie gestured with the bright blue drink in her hand as she
spoke. "Victoria watched him slowly lift his head, a shimmer of her womanly
wetness still lingering on his lips. The tease of his smile was maddening.
Victoria’s eyes lingered on his fangs, thoughts of him penetrating her making
her body quake with desire."

Ashleigh
laughed, holding one hand over her mouth as she listened to Natalie quote a
passage from her book. "I don’t know which is worse, that you can quote a
passage from
Nightwalkers
, or that
you used that line completely out of context and made it sound cheesy."

"Well,
Caleb didn’t think they were cheesy."

"Yeah,
and Spencer said he got off on it, too. I guess guys do read romance."

"They
read smut and violence, which is all your books are about."

Ashleigh
playfully shoved Natalie, trying not to spill her drink. "My books aren’t smut."

Natalie
found Ashleigh’s overdramatics hilarious. Their laughter was loud but was quickly
drowned out by the music downstairs. The large subs set up near the bar
vibrated the room and made the walls shake.

An
Armageddon song came on, and the girls peered down at the rowdy crowd below
starting to sing along. Even though Ashleigh loved the loud music, she didn’t
like the people crowding around her. Some shoved her from behind and brushed
her shoulders as they stood next to her on the balcony. Ashleigh took a very
long drink from her glass.

"Wow!
I think Spencer sent us to the wrong room! There’s a party startin’ up in here!"
Natalie had to yell now, her face close to Ashleigh’s ear. "I’m getting
another drink! Don’t move. I’ll be right back!"

Ashleigh
nodded as she turned around and watched Natalie leave. She waited for her
friend to come back, but from where she was standing, she could see Natalie
flirting with a guy at the bar. Natalie was in her bent over, flirty pose that
showed off her cleavage, something the guy seemed to be enjoying.

People
behind her shoved to get near the balcony, and Ashleigh held onto the railing, feeling
very out of place.

Natalie
looked up at her, frantically pointing to the DJ booth on the other side of the
room, a very excited smile on her face. She heard someone yelling on the
microphone as a new song played. Her gaze fell upon Caleb, who was singing a
karaoke version of one of his songs. He was holding a bottle of beer in his
hands, his facial expression tense as his lips formed the words.

Ashleigh
pushed through the crowd on the stairs, bumping into a lot of people on her
descent. When she reached the bottom, she started for Natalie, but a hand on
her shoulder made her turn around. Her eyes met with a man in his early forties,
who was dressed in a designer suit, his whitish blond hair neatly slicked back.

"Miss
Allure?" He smiled when he saw her grimace at his words.

"Allure
isn’t my last name." Ashleigh glanced over at Natalie and then back at the
man. He was eyeing her curiously, and the devilish grin on his face was making
her very nervous. He had a perfect smile, none of his teeth were even the
slightest bit crooked.

"Spencer
says you’re a fan of Armageddon."

"Yeah."

Natalie
was frowning, and her mouth formed the words, “
Is that him?” as
her finger pointed toward the man.

"A
very big fan actually."

"Then
I’m glad I invited them here."

Ashleigh
made eye contact with the man. "You invited them here…for me?"

"Yes."
Watching his face move as he spoke, Ashleigh could see his very defined jaw and
masculine features. He was a big man, his neck thick and his body towering over
hers. "My name is Robert." He held his hand out, his smile not
faltering, even though he saw her fear in wanting to take in hers.

"Ashleigh."
She took his hand, shaking it quickly.

"It’s
an honor to meet you, Miss Brown." He dropped her hand and motioned for
her to walk with him. "Many have tried to find you lately, but I am the
first to succeed."

She
looked over at Spencer, who was talking to Natalie. There was a sad look in his
eyes, but Ashleigh didn’t have time to linger on it because Robert spoke again.

"Do
not let your view of us be based on the behavior of the hunters. Spencer is not
the shining example we would have represent our kind." He put his hands on
her shoulders, leading her through the crowd toward the DJ booth. His lips
lingered near her ear, and though the music was extremely loud, she could hear
everything he said.

"Right
now, I am hungry and may be a little more irritable than usual, so please
pardon my rudeness." He squeezed her shoulders as his lips kissed the
surface of her neck. "If I remain this close to you, I fear I may harm you,
so please…" He looked toward Armageddon, Caleb bent over slightly as he
belted out a perfect song, his hair still wet and full of sweat from performing
at his concert.

"Enjoy
the floor show while I take care of this need." He pushed her forward, so
that she was now standing in the front row of people watching the band members
singing karaoke. "A word of caution, a well fed vampire will be very
active and aggressive, so bear with this behavior, because once the high is
over, we settle down."

He
pointed to a closed door. A large man was standing near it and not letting
anyone in. "If you wish for a drink, you can get one there. A woman of
your caliber should not have to wait with these commoners. I will be back
shortly, so enjoy yourself until then."

Ashleigh
turned around and watched him walk away, his large body intimidating to those
around them, making them move before he had the chance to push them aside. This
man was very polite and regal in nature, a lot like the vampires in her novels.
He had a great mystery to him, and Ashleigh thought he’d make a great
character.
A villain perhaps? No, Robert doesn’t
seem like the villain type.

Ashleigh
grinned at the thought. She turned back to the action but was feeling a little
lonely watching Caleb and Kris, Armageddon’s drummer, perform for the audience.
She missed Natalie and had no one to whisper too or to hear her giggles while
they both drooled over Caleb.

Caleb
smashed his beer bottle against the speaker before climbing on top and
balancing himself on it as he rocked it from side to side. He was saying
something, but it couldn't be made out, his hand raised in the air as he
laughed. The guys were quite rough, and one could tell they had been drinking
heavily. Kris was sitting on a nearby sub, singing a song to the crowd and
winking to the women near him.

Ashleigh
laughed at what they were doing, her hands covering her lips, her fingernails
now painted a bright red to match her dress. She stood on her tiptoes as she
tried to find Natalie, but she couldn’t see over the heads of the crowd.

The
throng of people pushed against her, and after a few minutes, Ashleigh grew
annoyed of the closed in feeling and walked toward the door Robert had offered.
The man let her in, sending her a small smile as he held it open for her.

The
door led to an adjoining suite. It was larger than her room and was two stories
like the one next door. No one was in the room, and Ashleigh took a much needed
breath as she walked farther in. The large windows lining the side wall offered
a great view of the city below.

Noticing
a bar on the other side of the room, Ashleigh grabbed a bottle of raspberry-flavored
beer. She pulled off the top and tossed it in the garbage can near her. It was much
quieter in here and a lot cleaner too. She walked over to the couch, pulling
out her phone and reading a text message from Natalie.

Bartender is Hott!! I’m gettin sum dat.

She
drank from the bottle, her eyes glued on the small screen of her phone as she
typed a reply.

Take pictures or i won’t believe u.

A
few seconds later, a picture popped up on her phone of Natalie with her arm
wrapped around the bartender’s shoulder, kissing his cheek as she took the
picture from a weird angle.

Ashleigh
stood up from the couch, aimlessly walking back over to the windows. She wasn’t
really paying attention to where she was going, and bumped into things along
the way because she was texting.

I miss u Nat. I want 2 hang wit u but can’t
L

A
small sigh escaped her lips. She placed a hand on the glass, which was cold to
the touch, and watched the snow fall on the town below.

Ditch em n come to the bar.

Ashleigh
went to the cooler and grabbed another bottle of beer. She went out the door
back into the noisy suite. Holding both bottles by the neck in one hand, she typed
an affirmative with the other.

Someone
shoved into her, making her bottles fall from her hand and shatter on the
floor. The liquid bounced up onto her, covering her legs and getting on her
dress. Making a sour face, Ashleigh stared down at the puddle on the floor and
the stickiness that covered her. She looked toward the man who had pushed her,
but he was now talking to someone else. The people around her laughed at her
misfortune.

She
was soaked, and so was her phone. This changed her mood, and in her anger, she
got a little rougher than normal. She shoved through the crowd, using her hands
to push people away from her. Some girls standing in the front row ogling Caleb
and Kris yelled at her when she blazed a path through them toward the exit.

Ashleigh’s
heels squished as she walked, and her hands quickly went to her feet as she
raised each leg and yanked them off. She left the party suite and walked back
to her own room to change her clothes. This time, she put on the dress that she
had brought.

Returning
to the party, she immediately went to the bar to see Natalie. Natalie was drunk
already, which was mostly due to the men flirting with her at the bar. She squeezed
in between some of the men and stood next to Natalie. "Take it easy on
that, Nat."

"Ashleigh!"
Natalie turned around and gave Ashleigh a giant hug, kissing both her cheeks. She
reeked of alcohol, and by the higher pitch of her giggle, Ashleigh knew for
sure she was drunk. "Hi, sweetie!"

"Stop
it." Ashleigh laughed as she pulled away, grabbing her friend’s arm. "Let’s
go watch the karaoke."

"Sure,
honey." She playfully waved goodbye to the men at the bar, who were
begging her to stay. Natalie winked at them. She carried a drink in her hands
and was unsteady on her feet as Ashleigh pulled her forward. "I feel dizzy."

Now
other people were up front singing, most of them very bad at it. The thick
audience had disbanded and spread out to other parts of the room.

"Get
up there and sing." Ashleigh was in a playful mood now that she was with
Natalie again. "I wanna hear ‘Heaven’."

"No!"
Natalie laughed as Ashleigh pulled her into the front row, waving the thought
away with her hands. "I’m not going up there."