Prince 0f Obsession (Dracula's Bloodline Book 2) Read online

  The large man and I walk towards Radek for what feels like interminable moments, our steps echoing against the granite floor. When Radek and I face each other up close he looks at me intensely, his eyes unblinking. A prince of beauty, that’s what he is with that perfect face and those lips, oh my God, those lips... We’re so close that I feel his scent of rain and wet earth, my knees going weak.

  There’s no way I can summon that veil between us, no way I can keep faking detachment. Wearing this hat was a good idea, but now that I have to take it off, I panic.

  Radek doesn’t greet, he doesn’t say anything at first. He walks behind me and helps me out of my coat, which he then hands to the large man who’s waiting patiently. Then he faces me again, holding out his hand for the hat.

  I remove it slowly, unwillingly, knowing that exposing my face to him this time will also mean exposing my feelings. Luckily I was bright enough to wear make-up, unlike yesterday evening at the Opera House with Lazarus, so at least I have a hope of hiding my giddiness.

  Keep strong. Keep cool. But that resolve only lasts until Radek’s regal blue gaze slides down my body. I feel naked in the knee-length silver dress with a heart-shaped corset and bare chest and shoulders. Blood rushes to my cheeks as I remember last night, because I felt him even though I couldn’t see him. I don’t know if he participated, but I know that he watched until the very end, and that makes me want to sink into the ground.

  To my relief, he walks to the other side of the table, allowing me a break from eye contact, and holds the chair for me.

  “Please,” he says in that luring dark voice that has the power to bewitch me. I swallow hard, fighting it.

  He walks back to his seat, and just stares at me for moments, without even blinking. I feel like stalked prey, because there’s something wild, something that says I-can-barely-still-control-it in his eyes, as if he could lunge at me over the table anytime. He sits straight and dangerous, without reacting in any way to my fidgeting that betrays my weakness. He’s so in-your-face young and powerful in this decorum, with all the glass and granite and the all-around skyline, that it overwhelms me.

  Damn it. I had so many conversation-starters ready, certain that I’d be able to master myself. But I feel no more in control than I did almost six years ago, the first time we sat at the same table at his castle in the Carpathians. I’m the first one to break under the silence, so I do everything I can to summon the ‘yoga veil’ between us. I square my shoulders in the chair, hands in my lap after I hang the purse on the back of my chair.

  “Your message sounded serious.” I have to talk slow if I want to keep the impression that I’m in control.

  “I want you to stay away from my business in Berlin,” he repeats what he said at the Opera, his luring voice like a drug to my senses.

  “Are you using your powers on me, Radek? Are you mesmerizing me?”

  “Yes.” He doesn’t move at all in his chair. He sits there like a god, too beautiful, his entire frame immobile.

  “I’d like you to desist.”

  “I’d like you to relax.”

  “We have a history, Radek, I can’t relax around you,” I admit. “And sure as hell not with the way you’re looking at me.”

  “I understand that. Which is why I’m helping.”

  The sight of him unmoving in his chair, hands on the chair arms, hypnotizes me.

  “Then I’ll take a glass of red wine. That will loosen my mood.”

  He smiles and signals the waiter, who hurries over with a bottle of red wine. Its heady smell does me good as he pours it into my glass, and I drain it immediately. It also goes to my head immediately. It was a good idea not to eat anything at lunch. I couldn’t even think of food since the message he sent me.

  “Now,” I say, grateful to lose some tension. I hope for more wine soon. “Why don’t you want me nosing in on your—” I make air signs with my fingers, “—business in Berlin.”

  “Because you’re making waves about it, and it’s supposed to stay in the shadow.”

  “I’m making waves because you didn’t let me know, as you usually do.”

  “I didn’t let you know, because it’s secret.”

  “I’m sorry, Radek, but you do not afford ‘secret’ when it comes to me.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “I can afford anything.”

  I smile provokingly. The waiter refills my glass, which helps my growing boldness. “Do I have to remind you of our arrangement again?”

  “I never agreed to consult you about my business decisions.” I know he can sound much more threatening than this, so I can only conclude he likes the exchange of lines.

  “I’m not interested in your business, I’m interested in an army of evil invading Europe.”

  He frowns and tilts his head to the side, as if he’s mildly confused. “Invasion?”

  I lean forward, just enough to bait him with the push-up swell of my breasts. If he stayed to watch me masturbate last night, it’s clear he’d like sex with me again, at least once. Then why not use this trick on him? He sure deserves it. He proved that when he traded a marriage that would have been for love against meaningless sex with many women. If tits and ass is what he prefers, then tits and ass is what he’ll get. The wine helps me in my resolve. I look at him with smoky eyes, a provoking grin quirking up my mouth.

  “Radek, when you first came to Berlin, when we first met, you had come here acquiring real-estate for obscure reasons. For as long as we were engaged—” Though my eyes are fixed on Radek, I can perfectly sense the waiter’s eyes snapping at me as he’s refilling my glass of wine. No doubt he read the papers. “You seemed to have lost interest in whatever your plan was with all those properties. Which, to me, meant that you lost interest in evil dealings after the pact with Magda, Lazarus and me. Now, you come back to Berlin, resuming those dealings, so you won’t mind my worrying.”

  He just keeps looking at me for moments after I finish speaking, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair like a pondering king. But his eyes glint like those of a wild beast from the bushes.

  “Leave us,” he tells the waiter. I know him well enough to understand this is the point where he’ll concede some answers, so I lean back in my chair, ready to bait him with tits and ass again if I have to. But he doesn’t speak for long moments after we’re alone.

  “So?” I nudge him.

  “Wait,” he says quietly, eyes fixed on me. It’s unnerving despite the wine, because now we’re completely alone, the soft lights even dimmer. “They’re still eavesdropping.” His voice echoes in the room. “We’ll wait until it’s truly just you and me.”

  Steps shuffle down the spiral stairs after the ‘spies’ heard him. Now a dangerous smile turns up the corners of Radek’s mouth, making him look like one of those magazine-worthy models when they pose into the bad guy, only that it’s all to clear he’s the real thing. My heart beats faster, making the exposed skin on my chest rosy, but I manage to keep a grip. It’s not easy.

  “I’m here to find the one thing that would make my brother, Dracula, invincible again. The one thing that will make him immune to daylight and silver. You probably know the vampire weakness from your man-friend, Lazarus.”

  “So you did change to the evil side,” I breathe.

  “No.”

  “Then why would you search for the one thing that would make Dracula invincible? That means helping him. That means being on his side.”

  Radek picks up his own glass of wine, raising it shortly as if he’s drinking in my honor, and sips. I burn with the need for information until he sets it back on the table, licking his irresistible lips. My eyes are drawn to them, I just can’t resist.

  “I need to find Dracula’s Grail—that’s how we refer to it in the Hidden World—before he does. Because if he finds it first, there will be no stopping him. There’s only so many warriors I can summon from the past and other dimensions, only so many of his vampires that I can seal away, and only so many I can fight.
I suppose you don’t even want to imagine me transforming innocent people into warrior monsters by activating the power of the Midnight Prince in order to build an army, do you? That would mean dooming them forever, which is the best-case scenario, you know that. Most of them would die.”

  I blink rapidly, still dumbfounded. I let everything he said go through my mind until it begins to sink in. The world weighs on my shoulders all of a sudden like in the mythos of Atlas.

  “There are other organizations we could unite with in case Dracula rises to power again.” Fear makes me speak faster. I instinctively take one hand to my throat as I talk. The thought of Dracula invading Europe is a horror movie to me. “Lazarus discovered an organization of witches and warlocks, they—”

  “I know, they’re all beginners,” Radek dismisses. “There are only a few old mages in this world, like Magda, and even they are relatively young. One or two hundred years isn’t much for a supernatural being. An ancient mage or wizard would be indeed powerful, but still no match for Dracula.”

  “How do you define ancient? Because for me, that would mean thousands of years.”

  “Yes, I mean thousands of years.”

  “But that’s much older than Dracula,” I say enthusiastically. “Older also means more powerful, doesn’t it?”

  Radek looks down, shaking his head. “Dracula hosts a timeless and very powerful demon, like our father before him. Think of his title alone.”

  “Vlad the Devil,” I whisper. I look at the dangerous man sitting across from me, basically on top of the world, the skyline of the European capital at his feet. If Dracula becomes invincible, he’ll be even more powerful than this.

  “The sleeping world has no idea of the dangers preparing to befall it,” I breathe, looking out at the city, its night-lights twinkling obliviously.

  Probably taking pity on me, Radek loses a few degrees of ‘dark’, and relaxes in his seat, making himself a bit more... available.

  “I will take care of it, Juliet, don’t worry. I just need you to stop interfering with this business, because it’s not helping.”

  I look at him with a decision. “I will not only keep interfering, I also want to be part of it.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. This involves the human world, my people. I want to be part of your quest, I want to help.”

  “I don’t see how you could—”

  “I can help you with big connections.”

  “Juliet, I can’t let you get involved, it’s too dangerous—”

  “The auction was called off,” I keep talking, determined to convince him, “and neither you nor that other guy got your hands on the orphanage building. Access to it is restricted, but I can get you inside. Actually, it might be better that none of you won the auction, because there’s a higher chance that no one clears out what’s of real importance.”

  Radek shakes his head with a smile on his face, but he lets me finish. Then he looks at me like at a child whose enthusiasm he has to kill even though he doesn’t want to. “I can access the building, Juliet, don’t forget I’m a master of dimensions.”

  Words catch in my throat, ideas freeze in my mind. I’m out of arguments.

  “I searched that orphanage. I want to buy it because I need to tear it to pieces in order to trace the Grail.”

  “Trace the Grail?” I whisper, confused.

  “I know it’s been in there, but tracking it down will take more than visits at the orphanage. I need a specialized team.”

  I narrow my eyes. “What is Dracula’s Grail, Radek?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? A certain person’s blood.”

  That goes like thunder through my head. “A child?” I breathe horrified.

  “Yes. There are traces of this child’s blood in the orphanage, but time has washed them out. I need a specialized team to trace blood, and replicate it, because I doubt this person is still alive. Then I have to find a way to use it against Vlad.”

  “Your brother is the most despicable kind of monster.” I can’t hold the words back, my mouth distorting as I spit them out. “He’s capable of taking a child’s blood in order to replenish his own powers.”

  “The child lived many years ago, Juliet, he or she is almost certainly dead. But, if I can replicate the blood, I actually have a plan to defeat Vlad.”

  I just look at him for moments, wondering if I can believe him. No, I’d be an idiot to trust him after what he did to me, stomping on my heart the way he did, shattering my ability to believe in him.

  “I’m sorry Radek, but I don’t trust you,” I tell the truth, pushing out my chin. “You’re a dark prince, not very different from your brother. I want to be part of this every step of the way. Actually, I want to monitor your entire activity regarding this issue, make sure you’re not planning the freaking end of humanity.”

  He smiles at me like a big cat looking down at a mouse wanting to play with the big guys. But, to my surprise, he says, “All right.”

  On the inside I breathe out in relief, but on the outside I remain cold as ice. “All right. Where do we start?”

  “In bed.”

  The words tear through my eardrums. “What?”

  His eyes never lost intensity the entire time, but now he grows darker, his stare that of a stalker in the night.

  “I’ll let you be part of this, Juliet, but there’s a price. Not much for you, really, it’s nothing you haven’t done before.” He licks his lips, preparing to tell me his demand. “Sleep with me.”

  Feelings whirl inside my chest, feelings that I won’t be able to hide for very long. I need to get out of here, fast.

  “There are many games among the powerful,” I say, collecting my purse and pushing back my chair. “I may not be one of the top players, Radek, but believe me—I’ll stay on top of all your games, or die trying. I’ll never be your sex slave again.”

  CHAPTER V

  Juliet

  I stomp down the spiral stairs, my cheeks on fire. Radek and I have enjoyed complete privacy, but now I see through the sound-proof glass door that the club is already full. I don’t know how long I’ve been up there with Radek, that’s how intense our meeting has been for me.

  I discover a big green button by the side of the door and press it. There’s a buzz, and the door springs from its lock. Bass hits my ears, and a wave of heat, cologne and body odor washes over my face.

  I push my way among people, my face still burning from the whirl of emotions that Radek stirred inside of me. Desperate to get out, I haven’t even thought of taking my coat, let alone the hat with the net that would hide my face. People have started to recognize me; the girl in front of me, the one I was about to shove, moves her drink in the other hand and points at me, drawing her male companion’s attention.

  Crap, there has to be another way out. I need to get back to Radek.

  But when I turn on my heels towards the spiral stairs, a surprise hits me—Radek is behind me, advancing like a stalking big cat. Yes, that’s how I used to call him... Hellcat. He still deliciously resembles one. I swallow hard, clutching my purse.

  We face each other in the middle of the club, surrounded by bass, heat, the heady smell of alcohol, and hundreds of eyes.

  “So much for thwarting the press’ attention from us,” he says, his ivory face above mine. He’s so close.... Too close. And he loved saying ‘us’, I could tell.

  “I was only coming back for my coat and hat,” I shout over the music. I don’t know how his voice got to me, because mine is lost with the bass. He must be using his powers again, talking only in my mind.

  Those red sensual lips draw in the smile of someone with a dark plan, and he bends to say something in my ear. My hands clutch the purse harder, and my teeth sink into my lower lip as his mouth brushes my earlobe.

  “You won’t need your coat and hat. Because you won’t be leaving.” His princely body in that white shirt is so close to mine that I can feel his heat, his scent of rain and wet earth f
illing my senses. This is more than I can bear.

  “I sure won’t be staying here with you either.” I turn around, determined to put distance between us, but Radek grips my upper arms. God, his hands are on me, I’m actually feeling them after all these years. My eyelids flutter. The Prince of Midnight is touching me again, pushing his body into mine.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I manage, keeping my voice low. I understood that Radek doesn’t need to hear my words over the pounding music, he’s already inside my mind.

  “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  “You can’t force me to sleep with you.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “Then let me go.”

  “No.”

  His arm slides around my waist from behind, giving him control over my body as he leads me towards the bar. ‘Discreet’ is out the window, everybody around is staring. People don’t even need to know the story filling the papers, or him and me as public persons in order to be attracted; Radek’s looks alone are enough to intrigue. He’s so beautiful with his angelic skin and sensual lips over masculine bone structure that you can’t not stare. Add the svelte, athletic body under a fitted white shirt with an open neckline, and you have a top candidate for sexiest man alive. Or The Bachelor. I imagine a dozen babes swooning over him, treading on each other to impress him, and my teeth grit with an unpleasant sensation—jealousy. Then I remember Irina, and I try to jerk away from him, but he won’t let me.

  “What the hell is this, Radek? What are you doing?” I say as he finds us a place at the bar—people instinctively make room when they see Radek. Two guys measure me appreciatively from head to toes, but Radek shoots them a glare that makes them stiffen and turn around.

  “You said you won’t be my sex slave,” he says, still glaring at the guys. I can’t see his face but, through our connection, I can sense his every move. “But that’s not what I asked.”

  “I won’t sleep with you, no matter how you put it.”

  “Let’s make a deal.”

  “No deals.”