Kiss of Crimson by Samantha Coville (best love story novels in english txt) 📕

in her suite and fumed alone. But I knew she was probably only building up to the boiling point before paying me the visit that I knew was inevitable.

Sure enough, the footsteps grew louder and louder but didn’t retreat after like they had for the past couple of hours. She’d been pacing by my door, but this was different. My door flung open and she stomped in, chest rising and falling quickly. Her face was reddened and her hair was down instead of its usual state of perfectly pinned up. She was in her sleeping robe, the straps flying wildly behind her.

She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and finally the words fell out, tumbling one after the other. “I just want you to walk me through what went on in your head to make you think waltzing in there last night was anywhere near a good idea. This will set off a chain reaction of consequences that you can’t even begin to fathom. I can’t fix this and-”

“There’s nothing to fix,” I cut her off before she could pass out from lack of breath. “This was something long overdue.”

She threw up her hands and groaned. “El, I love you so, so much, but I have kept you in the dark. These people are nothing like this fairytale you have in your head.”

“You said that last night and I had a wonderful evening,” I pointed out. And I had had a wonderful evening. My feet ached from all the dancing and my stomach was full from the miniature tarts and pastries.

My mother crossed the room hurriedly and sat herself on my bed. “El, you have to promise me you will not get tangled up with them. The vampires.” Her voice was hushed and her eyes were watering.

“I’m not going to do anything stupid, mother. I will be cautious when dealing with anyone, human or vampire.”

I could tell she wanted to make a remark regarding my saying that I wouldn’t do anything stupid. Probably to tell me that I already had done something exactly that. But she simply nodded her head and studied me intensely. Her voice quivered uncharacteristically with her next words. “I will do everything I can to protect and support you. That’s my job as your mother. Simply promise me you’ll at least listen to any advice I give? You don’t have to do whatever I say, but don’t block me out.”

It seemed like a simple enough request. Just listening couldn’t hurt. But it seemed like it meant the world to my mother that I say yes, so I did. The tension in her shoulders relaxed the slightest bit, and I could see her breathing return to some sense of normalcy. She stood up and pulled me up with her for an embrace. I regretted what I had to say next.

“Mother,” I considered my words carefully. “I have to get ready. I promised I would have lunch with Ferdinand this afternoon.”

“Even if I weren’t your mother, I’d tell you he’s a creep,” she exclaimed rather loudly. “He’s one of my best clients, but his intentions and lifestyle outside of our business dealings are shady at best.”

I pulled away and headed straight for my closet. Grabbing a yellow summer dress, I held it up to my body and examined my reflection in the vanity mirror. My mother’s disapproving stare was there as well. I spun around and tilted my head, full-on puppy dog eyes in action.

“We literally just made an agreement, mother, that I would listen to your advice and that you would trust me to do what’s best. It’s just some lunch, and it’s in the garden, in the backyard even. You’ll probably be watching us from a window the entire time.”

“Well, that’s a given. Be careful what you tell him about yourself. You never know how those crafty bastards are going to turn things against you.”

A laugh slipped out of me and I tried my best to regain my composure so as not to escalate the situation. “You’re so cynical, mother.”

“I have reason to be,” she muttered as she started toward my door. All in all, the conversation had gone better than I expected. Maybe in time, she would come around and a vampire gentleman would meet her standards for approval. But that was still a long way off.

She left me to the quiet of my room again, and I quickly changed into the dress. Last night I had been dressed in my finest, so today I wanted to show my more relaxed side to Ferdinand. I didn’t straighten or curl my hair this time, instead opting for thorough brushing and some hairspray. I added a white gold bracelet to complete the look and gathered a sun hat from my storage chest. I had seen enough vampires in town to know sun hats were a necessity. They wore it to protect themselves from nausea or burns caused by too much direct sunlight, but because of this, it had become an essential piece of human fashion to match.

There was a soft tapping at my door and I opened it to find Jewel, one of the servants of the mansion, standing with her hands clutched in front of her and her head bowed. Her voice was similar to the squeak of a mouse.

“Master Ferdinand has arrived. He’s waiting for you in the entry area.”

I was giddy with excitement as I straightened out the strap of my dress and hurried past Jewel. I was racing down the steps of the staircase and nearly slipped at one point, but thankfully Ferdinand didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were warm as he took my hand as he did the night before and placed a kiss on it. His bow was even lower this time than it had been the previous evening.

“Radiant as always, Miss Eloise. I am ravished for lunch today.”

His voice flowed and sent a shiver down my spine. “Well, the chef has cooked up something divine today. We’ll