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

vampire. His blonde hair was in a sweeping wave on his head and his ocean blue eyes twinkled as he placed a hand on my elbow.

"Are you a diamonds type of woman or do you prefer something... more elusive?"

Arden, now would be a good time for you to get jealous. I'm already sick of this guy.

I leaned forward to whisper in the vampire's ear. Whatever I said meant nothing to me, but it was the only way I could keep him occupied while I looked around the room for those eyes that had pierced me. But he wasn't there. It wasn't that I just couldn't spot him; he wasn't there at all.

My eyes narrowed. I wondered about what, or who, he was doing at that moment. My cheeks flushed, but it was hard to gauge if it was from anger or the sudden longing I suddenly felt at the thought of Arden's body entangled in bedsheets.

I reeled away from my own thoughts. Had my mind really gone there so quickly? The vampire I had been entertaining pulled away and looked at me questioning, his eyebrow arched. I must have stopped talking when my mind went to more... private matters. I flashed him a smile and forced a laugh.

"I don't think I've had enough to drink. Please excuse me. I'll find you once I've had a bit more of my liquid courage."

I finished with a wink that apparently sold the stranger on whatever he thought I was offering. He bowed to me and I hurried away. I left the ballroom with some nods to the guests as I passed and made my way to one of the corridors adjacent to the entryway and behind the staircase. It was one of the hallways less used because the only things attached to it were an empty office and the doors to the varying stairs for the servant's quarters in the underground levels.

I enjoyed the quiet, dark privacy of the hallway and breathed deeply to still my heart. Time had flown by inside the ballroom, but it was clear Arden was not going to grace the ball with his presence. Mother had probably warned him not to. I thought about it and realized I had probably told him not to as well.

But then I heard a voice. Two voices, actually. They were hushed, but anxious. One I instantly recognized as my mother's, but the other was unfamiliar to me. They were coming from the empty office room that I thought never got used. Mother's main office, a lavish, spacious affair, was two halls down from there. What was she doing in there? I hadn’t even noticed her leave the event.

I was thankful the hallway was carpeted, so it muffled the sound of my heels on the floor. I tiptoed closer to the door and listened closely to the voices that definitely had an angry twinge to them.

"I should have known he would waste no time in striking now that I've discovered his rat in my house." My mother hissed angrily, and the sound of what I assumed was her fist hitting the desk startled me.

A gentleman's voice sounded in reply, worried and sounding just as startled as I felt. "Madame, we mustn’t take action immediately until we know for sure who is responsible. Jardin hasn't sent you any threat or demand yet."

"But he's involved!" She whispered louder and fiercer at the mention of a man. "If he's part of this, then Jardin must have organized the whole thing. But you've never steered me wrong, so, once again, I will listen to your words of advice. We'll wait until the morning and I hope to any god above who cares to listen that neither the boy nor the shipment is harmed."

What was she talking about? Luckily, I didn't have to ponder for long. The man, who I assumed was some adviser to my mother, spoke again and gave me all the horrifying details I needed. "What should I tell the carrier boy's mother? Should I alert her that her son has been kidnapped by Arden and his fellow goons during his latest assignment?"

My heart dropped into my stomach. A carrier was someone who did the actual dirty business of smuggling blood across borders. Madge had giggled about one who had kissed her in a corridor similar to the one I now hid in. The carrier boys were usually young, eighteen or nineteen was a common age. Would Arden really do such a thing as to kidnap one? And the way my mother spoke, it sounded like a strong possibility that he could hurt this carrier. Had he moved on that quickly from our separation?

I heard footsteps as the adviser was heading to the door that I hid by, and I started planning my escape. But my mother's voice stopped him again.

"Where are those rascals right now?" Her voice was drenched in resignation. Her hands were tied at that moment and she knew it.

The adviser rattled off an address, and I squeezed my eyes shut to quickly memorize the numbers and street name. Before either the adviser or my mother could exit the room and find me eavesdropping, I quickly left the hallway and stopped in the entryway. To my left was the ballroom. To my right was the front door.

Part of me begged and pleaded with myself to go back to the music and laughter and revelry of the ball. But I knew that wasn’t what my heart and my stubbornness were leading me to do.

I chose the front door and held my dress so I didn't trip on my way out.

There were over two dozen cars waiting in our sprawling circular driveway, drivers bored out of their minds, waiting for their masters to finish their fun. I was grateful to see Daringly was engaged in friendly banter with a handful of them. These were his colleagues, and he was enjoying some fresh air.

I looked sorely out of place among them as I struggled with