Page 19 of Blood Claims (Garnet Dagger Mafia #2)

THE POWER OF EGGS

F or the first time in what felt like a lifetime, I woke without restraints. I did, however, once more find myself in a room I didn’t recognize. It was the same one I managed to get a brief glimpse of, last night.

It didn’t take much of a guess to realize this must have been their penthouse bedroom, but unlike the rest of their city home, this room was completely black.

As in… everything.

The walls with their molded panels, the floor, with its dark-slate tiles and the luxurious, butter-soft bedsheets that lay draped over me on the huge bed.

Even the elaborately carved headboard was painted in a high gloss of black paint.

Every other piece of furniture was covered in black leather, with rivets that framed the material being the only flashes of silver.

It was a gothic haven, something I wasn’t surprised to find in the home of a couple of Vampires.

In fact, it wasn’t surprising that I hadn’t seen much of it last night, because there really wasn’t much to see.

Especially not in the way of color anyway.

No wonder they had originally put me in a different room.

I think if I had woken up in this one after that first kidnapping, I would have thought I was waking up in some kind of hotel in hell.

As for now, I simply stretched out, wondering what time it was, as the thick black curtains gave me no indication.

In fact, the only reason I could see anything at all, was thanks to the low glow of the wall lights that one of the brothers must have left on for me.

Oh, and no guessing needed, they were also black.

Black metal cylinders, with white light casting a beam upward against even more fancy molding.

The one thing I hadn’t been expecting was to be alone when waking. The empty spaces either side of me had not too long ago been filled with two sexy Vampires. But now, with them gone, it left the room feeling cold and unwelcoming.

So, with nothing more to do, I whipped back the covers and shifted off the bed. Directly opposite me were two doors, both black, and both carved in the same design as the headboard.

“Well, at least one of them should be a bathroom,” I said to myself as I walked to one and found it to be a huge walk-in closet. However, surprisingly, it was empty.

“Hmm… that’s weird,” I muttered before trying the next door and finding out that I was right, it was a bathroom like I hoped it would be.

The most luxurious bathroom I had ever seen.

It looked more like something you would have found at an exclusive spa.

It also wasn’t as dark and masculine as the bedroom was.

Although, with its light-gray marble covering the walls, it created a flow from one room to the next.

The difference here was the white marble.

It had fine gray lines branching out along the floor that tied in perfectly with the gray on the walls.

The same white marble was used on the countertops that were void of any sinks.

Instead, it seemed as if the water would just naturally flow back into a hidden reservoir before it had a chance to overflow what looked like a flat surface.

The feature continued in the sunken bathtub that needed steps down into it.

It was positioned directly in front of the window, with views of the city ahead and of central park directly below.

The bathtub was like an infinity pool that I couldn’t wait to see in action.

Especially considering how big it was, knowing that it could fit the three of us inside without a problem.

The fantasies of such quickly took hold, giving me another reason to splash water on my face whilst getting ready.

I looked toward the shower, remembering the one taken together at the club and blushing because of it.

However, this one was different. As like the bath, it was built into the walls with no glass in sight.

Oh, and it could fit at least six people inside because it was more like a small room, complete with seating against one wall.

As for my morning routine, this was a quick dash of doing the basic essentials, meaning I left without having a shower for two reasons.

The first, I had no spare clothes and had no idea where my bag was, so therefore didn’t want to shower only to put my pjs back on.

The second, well… there were so many controls on that shower, I felt like I needed a degree in engineering or computer programing just to work the damn thing.

Like I would press the wrong button and there would be some kind of self-destruct countdown blaring like the first Alien movie we watched last night.

Not that I had made it to the end but still, everyone knew Ripley grabbed Jonesy the cat and kicked ass after making it to the shuttle.

It was clear that these Vampires planned ahead, because I found a new toothbrush, fancy soaps, and a hairbrush, all still new in their packaging, tucked away neatly in one of the drawers.

Which meant that I left the room with minty breath, fresh armpits, and hair that no longer looked like I had partaken in a mosh pit at a rock concert. And what did I find… but two very domesticated looking Vampires playing house.

“Erm… hey,” I said shyly. I felt like I was intruding on this family time because Victor was cooking in the kitchen, while his brother loaded the dishwasher. Needless to say, I was utterly astounded and even questioned if this was the dream after the nightmare.

“There she is. Our tired girl,” Tal said with the biggest grin after kicking up the door on the kitchen appliance to close it. Victor turned to look at me from the stove where he appeared to be cooking something in the frying pan.

Something that smelled delicious.

“What you doin’ all the way over there, babe?” Victor said when I didn’t move. He added to this a sexy as sin crook of his finger, showing me exactly where he wanted me to be.

It was the most casual I had ever seen him.

And boy oh boy, it had to be said, the man could fill out a pair of jeans…

his ass was droolworthy. The dark-blue jeans were paired with a long-sleeved light-gray tee, made from a material that molded to his muscular torso in a way that gave me zero hope of acting cool, calm, and collected.

No, more like hot, bothered, and horny… Jesus, would these two ever play fair?

Just like his brother, Tal added to my internal struggle because he was sin wrapped up in light-gray jeans, and a tight black T-shirt.

One that stretched around his thick biceps like it was one tense away from splitting.

The thick black belt he wore was fastened with a bad ass biker buckle.

Something that gave off metal reaper vibes with the cloaked skeletal figure holding a scythe arched above.

Both men were barefoot and navigating the space like they had lived this domesticated dance all their lives.

And here I was, with the desperate urge to run from both of them.

Especially seeing as my five minutes in the bathroom really hadn’t been enough.

Hell, a day at the spa, an award-winning hairstylist, and a Hollywood make-up artist wouldn’t have been enough!

“Nessa.”

“Yeah?” I asked, finally tearing my eyes from the delicious sight, only to find them both smirking at me… it was clear I had been caught ogling them.

“Come here, Firefly,” Victor commanded in a gentle, yet stern tone, one that obviously said that he’d had enough of waiting.

And as for me, I was too afraid to see what would happen should I just start running.

Hence why I did as he asked and walked into the kitchen area.

Something that made him happy, because the moment I was within arm’s reach, he curled his around my waist. Quick to draw me in and cut out the rest of the space between us.

“Afternoon, beautiful,” he hummed down at me with a grin, his one hand still on the spatula held over the frying pan, that I could see had an omelet cooking in it.

“I slept until the afternoon?” I asked, but he ignored this question in favor of his next demand.

“Won’t answer that until I get your lips,” he said, making my mouth drop a little in surprise.

Something he took as an invitation, because he tossed the spatula to the counter so both hands were free to frame my face.

Then after tilting my head back, he lowered his lips to find mine and kissed me.

Which I should point out, wasn’t just an average, token first-kiss-of-the-day, type of kiss.

Oh no, it was hot, and it was heavy, and it left me feeling breathless. After which he answered my question.

“Yeah, babe, you slept in.” And as for my reply to this, it was lost the second Tal framed my hips from behind. His large hands gripped tight before spinning me to face him.

“You forgettin’ something?” he teased, and he didn’t wait for an answer before he was kissing me too.

And just like his brother, he didn’t hold back.

He buried a fist in my hair, rendering the fact that I had brushed it, pointless.

His other hand fisted at my lower back, his fingers curling tight enough in the material of my tank top that it tugged at my breasts.

“Mmm, mint and peaches,” he hummed after finishing the kiss with a deep inhale of my neck, making me shiver in his brutal hold.

“You hungry, sweetheart?” Victor asked, making Tal growl in my neck and admit,

“I know I am… fuck, baby, but you smell so good.”

This caused another sexual ripple to trickle through me.

“Alright, brother, let’s not give her the impression we are uncontrollable animals and give her some space,” Victor advised as Tal hadn’t let me go, yet. Instead, his head was still buried in my neck like he was a man obsessed with the smell of me.

“Speak for yourself,” Tal replied playfully, winking at me before giving me enough space that he could take my hand in his. Then he led me to the seat I always seemed to find myself in at the island.

“Do you like omelets? My brother makes the best,” Tal asked, and I had to say, it was sweet. It tugged at my heart when hearing him complimenting his brother this way.

“Yeah, as long as I am not making them,” I replied with a little smile that only ended up making his grin huge.

“She’s a self-confessed terrible cook,” Victor added, making me pretend to be offended before pointing my fork at him from the place setting that was already there.

“That was a secret,” I accused playfully.

“No secrets between us, babe,” Tal replied, before asking me, “You a coffee girl?” The question made Victor smirk as he muttered,

“Oh, this should be good.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

“Oh, I don’t know, little Miss to foam or not to foam,” he replied with a wink, reminding me of our coffee date. As for Tal, his brow raised as if waiting for one of us to explain, so I got there first.

“I might be a little indecisive on occasion when it comes to ordering coffee.”

“Well, lucky for you we have a machine that makes every type of coffee you can think of.”

“Oh, I don’t know, she can certainly get creative,” Victor commented in a teasing tone, making me roll my eyes at him and tease back,

“Don’t you have amazing eggs to cook?”

He saluted me with the spatula, and that rare cheeky grin of his, did things to me I didn’t want to admit. Because seeing them both this way was making me fall even harder… it only added to the dream of them.

The dream of us.

The taste of what could be. It was like a drug I knew I shouldn’t be tempted to take. But the promise of what it could offer me was too much to resist. Because I so badly wanted this to be my life. Vampires or not. They already had me. They just didn’t know it yet. And as for me…

They were never mine to claim.

But for the time being, I was going to take them up on their bargain. I just needed to set some ground rules. But first things first…

“I will take a latte please,” I told Tal, who was standing at his fancy coffee maker that had been hidden behind a secret panel. Because, God forbid, it would be on show in this fancy kitchen.

“So, I get it makes coffee, but why does it also look like it’s going to transform into a robot and drink it for me, while sprouting off quantum physics and telling me where the best place to buy that wood lathe I have been after for the past week?

” I said, making Tal throw back his head and laugh, and his brother gave me one of those sexy ‘behave, Nessa’ looks.

“She’s funny,” Tal said to his brother, who agreed with a short,

“Indeed.”

“Yes, well she would have to be to survive this situation,” I said, talking about myself in the third person.

Victor plated up my omelet and slid my breakfast over to me with a,

“Eat your eggs, funny girl.”

I saluted him with my fork, taking a page out of his book, and making him smirk because of it.

The second I took my first bite of the fluffy, cheesy, perfectly cooked eggs, I couldn’t help but moan.

“Holy shit, this is amazing!”

Victor grinned, although he also looked slightly red-cheeked by my praise, but he nodded his head in thanks, seemingly lost for words.

“What did I tell you?” Tal agreed, waiting for the coffee machine to do its business.

“Yes, well, if the rest of your cooking is anything like your eggs, then forget the chains, just keep me fed like this and I will never want to leave,” I teased, making Victor toss his spatula off to the side with a clatter before he was making his way to me with determined steps.

My face was soon tipped up as I was still chewing, making me swallow hard.

“You keep being this cute and we are going to give you a very different reason to throw away those chains and keep you here, baby.” Again, I ended up swallowing hard before squeaking out a small,

“You are?”

“Oh yeah… we are,” he replied on a sexual growl that, I swear, was a sound powerful enough to connect remotely to my sex. But because I knew he would enjoy it, I used humor to hide this fact.

“You going to wash my hair again?” I asked, making his lips twitch.

“You liked that?”

“Mmhmm,” I told him, making him grin and tell me,

“Then just wait until we get you in our bathtub.”

Again, my face must have given away my arousal, or was it my rapid heartbeat? But instead of saying more or teasing me about it, he palmed the back of my neck. Then he pulled me close so he could kiss me on the forehead.

“Enjoy your breakfast, babe…”

“Eggs are just the beginning.”