Blood and Mint Chocolates by Adrianne Brennan (best books to read for young adults .TXT) 📕

as they whipped through her hair ... and once again she stood in the hall where she'd ran into Babalon earlier--literally, in fact--except that this time she stared into dark, familiar eyes that twinkled as they gazed into hers.

"Ah, Meri," Kalia purred. "I had no idea you were coming here tonight." She ran her hand down Merideth's arm, and the contact sent hot lightning straight into her gut. And, oh, that Southern drawl of hers! It always got Merideth hot; she found it incredibly alluring.

Oh, I hope to be "coming" tonight indeed, Merideth thought with longing and wicked amusement. Was it the sangria, or perhaps the wine from Babalon's chalice? Her senses were far sharper than usual, yet the room continued to spin madly around her.

"Kalia," she struggled to speak through the haze in her mind, "it's good to see you. James sent me here on a, um, vacation," she tried to explain. How could she tell this gorgeous creature in front of her what she was doing here at the ball and why? She didn't even know! Was she crazy? Merideth, also known as Amaltheia, the Clan's librarian, at a fancy vacation resort attending a costume ball! Surely the gods possessed a bizarre sense of what constituted as humor.

"Oh, wonderful!" Kalia smiled. "Have you been having a good time so far?"

"Oh yes, yes, definitely," she replied with eagerness.

Kalia's smooth fingers wrapped around Merideth's trembling hand. Oh, those fingers....

"That's good."

Merideth continued to stare into those dark, twinkling eyes as Kalia slowly took her finger into her mouth, and with a single nip of her fang pierced the soft pad on the tip. She gasped aloud as Kalia began to suck on it and at once felt embarrassed at her reaction. Oh, damn those human habits; if James were here to see me now.... Merideth hadn't breathed, let alone gasped, in decades--like all vampires, she didn't need to breathe. Vampires took in merely enough air to speak, and little else was required.

Well, Merideth reasoned, she could always say as an excuse that they were surrounded by humans, after all, and had to blend in, and oh, Blood have mercy, Kalia's tongue felt so good on her finger....

"Um, Kalia, I--"

DID I MENTION HOW GOOD YOU LOOK TONIGHT, MERI? came the thought from Kalia.

Her face grew warm. "Thanks, Kalia ... I um, so do you--"

REALLY?

Blood, yes. Kalia continued to suck and lap at Merideth's finger, which was doing nothing good for her thinking let alone allowing her to speak with any degree of coherence. "Oh yeah. You look really good in leather. And black. I mean, it um, it suits you ... very much...."

DO YOU WANT TO FUCK ME?

Merideth's eyes bulged. Kali never lacked in honesty, but damn. She struggled to get out an articulate response, feeling rather awkward and virginal. "I ... um ... Blood, you're hot, and I ... well...."

The Magistra reached out with the hand that wasn't gripping Merideth's, and with a sudden, fierce movement pulled her hips closer to her own. It was a good thing that vampires didn't have to breathe, because at that moment, Merideth wouldn't have been able to do so. Kalia's hand on her ass provided more than enough leverage to dispel what ability she had left to think.

IS THAT A YES?

"I, well, um," Merideth stammered, "Blood, I can't think straight right now, I--"

Kalia yanked Merideth's finger out of her mouth and with vampire speed, kissed her on the lips with delicious passion. Sweet, hot ripples of ecstasy shot through the vampire as the magistra's tongue flicked inside of her mouth, and Kalia's lips were every bit as soft and sexy as in all of Merideth's fantasies.

AND BLOOD, SHE TASTES SOOO GOOD....

Once Kalia's hand wandered between her legs where she was sore and throbbing and rubbed at her clit through her gown, Merideth replied. Fuck, yes.

GOOD, LET'S GO THEN. I KNOW WHERE THERE'S A ROOM WE CAN PLAY IN.

Chapter Five

Passion Fulfilled

Scarcely believing what was happening, Merideth was led towards one of the far rooms on the upper floor. After Kalia reassured her numerous times that these rooms were reserved for "private moments for the guests", she relaxed a little. The last thing she needed was to upset the host of the party.

Kalia laughed at her, but the laugh contained no malice. Her low, sexy voice sent shivers up and down Merideth's spine.

"Oh, my little green fairy," she whispered in her ear, "let me take you places. Please." Her fingers danced on Merideth's sensitive neck, and she fought back a moan. The magistra did terrible, wondrous things to her insides, and she wanted nothing more than to devour her on the spot.

The room Kalia took her to was nothing short of stunning. A beautiful, burgundy colored comforter draped over a four poster mahogany bed. And the rug ... oh, the rug. Merideth felt almost afraid to walk on the ornate tapestry that passed for decoration on the floor. No windows in the room existed--which suited her just fine. The last thing either of them needed was an "Oops, it's dawn!" moment to interrupt their time together.

But then again, she thought as Kalia's soft, teasing lips grazed her neck, perhaps Babalon would be kind enough to slow down time, even if just a little. Hands moved up her back, and the sound of a zipper whispered as her wings and dress fell silently to the floor.

Merideth thought with glee and relief that she didn't wear undergarments often--and Kalia seemed to enjoy this fact as well. Besides, they itched and felt too constricting. She enjoyed having her "girl bits", as she put it, free.

Kalia's fangs broke into her flesh, gentle but sharp, and Merideth became aware of something warm and light on her skin. Blood.... The light, almost ticklish sensation traveled down her shoulder, chest, and breast, then gave way to something else ... wet and rough--Kalia's tongue. With great deliberateness, the magistra licked the blood off of Merideth's chest, her breast, her sensitive nipple