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

A few minutes later, Eloise returned to me, a broad smile on her face.

“Did you know she has a first edition of Hans Christian Andersen’s Nye Eventyr og Historier?”

“Gesundheit,” I replied, setting my empty glass back on the tiny crystal tray it came on.

She gave me just about the most adorable smile I’d ever seen. “It’s one of his first collections of fairy tales, silly.”

Beatrix was pulled to one side by her butler, who held what appeared to be a dinner menu in his gloved hands.

No doubt discussing the menu for the night, to which of course we were the guests of honor.

If I could somehow manage to peel Eloise out of this room, that is.

I couldn’t help but wonder if I could ask Beatrix if she could arrange a tray for Eloise so she could eat and read at the same time.

Eloise bent down and gave me a quick peck on the forehead.

It gave me far more pleasure than I cared to admit.

“You remembered. Thank you, Arden. Thank you so much for this gift.”

I never cared much for books, but it made me happy to see just how happy she was.

I waved a hand nonchalantly in the air. “Go. Go and enjoy yourself. Pay me no mind, read to your heart’s content.”

Twin circles of pink riding high on her cheekbones, she spun on her heels and half-jogged to the other side of the room, no doubt already thinking of the books she would read.

We ended up eating dinner in the library, or rather Eloise did, while I sipped another glass of blood, courtesy of Beatrix’s excellent hospitality.

We didn’t leave until well past one in the morning, with a promise from Beatrix that Eloise was welcome anytime in the future, with or without me.

It was enough to make Eloise burst into tears of happiness, and my heart veritably melted as she pressed her wet face into my shoulder.

The drive back, Eloise chattered nonstop of the new books she found in Beatrix’s library, expressing disappointment that she hadn’t been allowed to spend the night amongst all the tomes.

“I really wouldn’t have minded,” she bemoaned. “There were plenty of comfortable sofas.”

“You can go back any day you want. But if I don’t bring you home, your mom is going to have my head on a stake.”

She giggled. “I suppose you’re right.”

When we arrived at her home, for whatever reason, I was loathed to leave her just then.

Even though we had technically spent the whole night together, we hadn’t been “together” and that knowledge rankled me a fair bit.

Not that I’d ever admit that I was jealous of a bunch of old, moldy books.

Instead of driving away, I walked Eloise back up the stairs and into the house, her hand securely in mine.

The house was sleeping, quiet as a tomb.

Eloise’s shoulders shook with silent mirth as we crept up the stairs to her bedroom, as furtive as thieves.

I could’ve taken her.

But…

While a small part of me was absolutely befuddled by my next course of action, I bent my head and captured her sweet lips with mine.

She moaned softly, almost melting in my arms.

My head spun as I drank her in, almost drunk on her delicious passion.

No.

I couldn’t.

I don’t know how I managed to pull away, but somehow I found the fortitude to take a step back, even though every fiber of my being ached to be pressed against her soft body.

“Good night, my beautiful princess.”

Blushing madly, she nodded and then slipped into her room, closing the door with a barely audible thud behind her.

She didn’t lock it.

But it was an invitation that I could not accept.

Without a human to hamper my movements, I descended the stairs silently and paused at the landing, my head tilted to one side, ears pricked.

Nothing.

Everyone was asleep.

Good.

A strange, almost sickly sensation roiled through my gut as I carefully went through each room, in search of something, anything to give to Jardin.

I had to.

There was something about Eloise that absolutely captivated me, haunted me, and the very knowledge that she affected me so strongly scared the bloody shit out of me.

I had to bring an end to this before she affected me further.

She was dangerous, and I had a tendency of running at the first sign of trouble.

I found what I had been looking for at the very end of the hallway.

The room was elegantly furnished with dark mahogany furniture and rich leather, very reminiscent of furnishings from a gentleman’s club.

And I mean a gentleman’s club from London that only admitted the rich and titled, not those cheap stripper joints that littered the strip malls of America.

Hah. Was that why they were called strip malls?

Stepping lightly on the balls of my feet, I proceeded to the large desk at the other side of the room and began to riffle through the drawers.

Account books, bills, maps.

All here.

And not even under lock and key!

Certainly, Madame Hart was still a neophyte when it came to the cutthroat (hah) world of blood.

It only took a few minutes to take pictures with my cell phone, taking special care with the blueprints of some of her warehouses, with the security system locations labeled so helpfully in the margins.

Something caught my attention, stilled my movement.

Was that a footstep?

Quickly, I replaced everything where I found it and sidled out of the room, keeping to the shadows as I emerged into the foyer.

And walked straight into Madame Hart herself.

Jesus fucking Christ!

If I’d been a cat, I would’ve jumped ten feet into the air, screeching like a banshee, my tail fluffed out.

As it was, I barely managed to retain my composure, hiding my sudden shock by running my hands down my front, as though bumping into her had wrinkled my clothes.

“Madame Hart. Good evening. I was just leaving.”

She crossed her arms and moved to block me from the front doors. “You.”

“Yes, me,” I said, injecting a note of impatience into my voice. It wasn’t hard to do. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

“May I ask what you were doing in