Toxic (Venom Series) Book Three Read online

  “This is my cue to leave,” said Slade walking over toward the doorway.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  He sighed. “To talk to Aiden.”

  “Are you going to tell him about us?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t be happy.”

  “Why not?” asked Melody.

  “He’s just trying to look out for the both of you,” said Slade.

  “He should concentrate on his own love-life,” said Melody.

  “There’s no room in his life for one of those. He’s a workaholic,” said Slade.

  “I’ve noticed,” she replied.

  Slade’s cell phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket. “Speak of the devil. I need to go find him. I’ll catch you later,” he said.

  “Okay,” I replied.

  Slade suddenly turned around and walked back over to me. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me deeply. After several seconds, Melody coughed.

  We pulled apart and Slade smiled. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “I’m counting on it,” I said, smiling back.

  When he was gone, Melody went over what had happened between her and Liam. Apparently, after he’d thrown her into the pool, she’d gotten back out and pushed him in.

  “Then what happened? Did he get angry?”

  “No. We started wrestling in the pool and then,” she grinned wickedly. “I don’t know how it happened, but suddenly, we had our hands all over each other, kissing and making out. It was so… exciting.”

  “So, you almost had sex in the pool, is what you’re saying?”

  She sighed. “Yes. But then he pushed me away and took off, leaving me alone.”

  “He did?”

  Her eyes twinkled. “But, he wanted me. I could feel how excited he was in the water.”

  “Maybe he’s worried about Aiden freaking out?” I replied. “Slade is certainly worried about making him angry.”

  “I’m starting to think you’re right. Looks like I’m going to just have to keep working on Liam,” she replied with a gleam in her eyes. “Until I get him exactly where I want him.”

  “If he doesn’t want to have sex with you, why do you keep trying?”

  “He does and that’s why I keep trying.”

  “Okay, he does, but it’s obvious that Liam doesn’t want to hurt you. You know he’s a player. He’s admitted it more times than I can count.”

  “I know, but it just might be that he hasn’t met the right woman. The one that will make him change his ways.”

  “I’m pretty sure that many of the women he’s left behind probably thought that very same thing,” I said dryly.

  “Yeah, but I’m different.”

  “Apparently,” I said. It was pointless to argue with her. She was too stubborn. “You know, have you ever thought about playing hard-to-get?”

  “I don’t think that’s going to work with Liam.”

  “Is what you’re doing working?”

  She smiled. “Almost.”

  I sighed. “Okay. If it continues to fail, I’d try the other.”

  “Advice noted.”

  “I’d better take a shower. What should we do today?”

  “Maybe we can talk Liam or Slade into going for a drive?”

  “That sounds like fun. In fact, maybe we can go back into town and try to find jobs? I hate relying on everyone else for money.”

  “I feel the same way. We should definitely look for job openings. Maybe Aiden can get us some kind of identification, which we will need, too?”

  “Let’s talk to him about it. I’ll meet up with you when I’m finished getting ready. Then we’ll go and look for him.”

  “Okay,” she replied.

  She left.

  I took a shower, then got dressed. As I was getting ready to put the blue Henley on, I glanced at the tiny marks on my shoulder. They were barely noticeable, but it was really disturbing to think that Lucian may have bitten me in the shoulder.

  Sighing, I pulled the shirt on, dried my hair, and then applied a small amount of makeup to my face. When I was satisfied with the results, I grabbed my cell phone and smiled when I noticed a text message from Slade.

  I can’t stop thinking about last night or you. I’m leaving here shortly, to shower and grab another change of clothes. I’ll be back later.

  I messaged him back.

  Hurry back. I miss you already.

  A few seconds later, he sent me another text.

  Not as long as I’ve missed having someone like you in my life.

  Smiling, I slipped on a pair of brown ankle-boots and then walked over to door. When I opened it, a friendly face smiled at me from the other side.

  “Hello,” I said, feeling warm and fuzzy in his presence, as usual.

  “Hello, Chelsey,” said Lucian, staring into my eyes. “You and I are going on a little trip.”

  AFTER LEAVING CHELSEY, I walked downstairs to the kitchen and started snooping around for something to eat.

  “Can I help you?” asked a plump man in a white uniform.

  “Oh, you’re the personal chef, aren’t you?”

  He smiled. “Yes. My name is Christopher. Are you hungry?”

  “Oh my God, yes. I’m starving. I was just going to look for something quick, though. Do you have any yogurt or oatmeal?”

  “I can do better than that. Why don’t I make you an omelet or some French toast?”

  “Oh, an omelet sounds great,” I replied. “Could you make two of them? My cousin should be down in a little while.”

  “It would be my pleasure. What would you like in your omelet?”

  “Whatever you want to put in it.”

  “Ham, spinach, and onion?”

  “My stomach is already growling,” I replied, smiling. “Neither of us are fussy, so put whatever you’d like in it.”

  “Neither am I,” replied a familiar voice. “Could you whip me one up, too?”

  “Of course, Mr. Rylan. Would you like yours with six eggs?”

  “Do you have to ask?” he asked, grinning.

  “Someday you might surprise me and say seven,” replied Christopher.

  “That, I might,” he said and then looked at me.

  “Morning, Liam.” My stomach fluttered with butterflies as drank in the sight of him. His blonde hair was damp, he wore a white T-shirt, and low-riding, faded blue jeans. I’d have changed my omelet for one of him in a heartbeat.

  “Good morning,” he said, yawning.

  I smiled. “What’s wrong? Couldn’t sleep?”

  “I’ve slept better,” he admitted.

  I walked over to him and tugged on his belt loop. “If you wouldn’t have taken off so quickly, last night, I could have found several different ways of making you relax and fall asleep.”

  Instead of answering, he looked over my head. “Christopher, we’ll take our omelets in the dining hall.”

  “Okay. They should be ready in fifteen minutes or so,” he replied before entering the large walk-in refrigerator.

  Liam grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the kitchen. When we were in the hallway, he turned to me.

  “Melody, you’ve got to quit doing this.”

  I stared at him innocently. “Doing what? I don’t know what you mean.”

  He sighed. “You know exactly what I mean, lass.”

  “You didn’t seem to mind too much last night,” I pouted, sliding my hands over his muscular chest. I stared up into his eyes, aching for him to kiss me again, like he had in the pool. His lips and tongue had taken my breath away.

  “We can’t fool around like that anymore,” he said grabbing my hands while he glanced around nervously.

  “What are you so afraid of?”

  “To be honest? You.”

  Smiling, I leaned forward and whispered into his ear, “You should conquer your fears, Liam.” I licked his lobe and then nipped it playfully. “What do you say? Make me your bitch. I’ll even let you do me doggy-style.�
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  Groaning, he released my hands and pulled me to him, kissing my lips hungrily.

  I slid my hands around his neck and began kissing him back with just as much fervor.

  “No,” he growled, pulling away. He was panting and his eyes were wild. “I can’t.”

  I pushed him against the wall and looked him square in the eye. “Liam Rylan, I know you want me and dammit, I want you, too. I’m not a child. I think you’ve figured that out. I’m a woman with needs. What I need is you and I’m not talking about some kind of lovey-dovey romance. I want straight-up sex and lots of it. I want it with you, if you think you can handle it. We’ll keep it just between us, nobody has to know. In fact, I prefer it that way, with no strings attached. I mean it. I’m not into commitments.”

  His eyes widened.

  I stood on my tippy-toes until I was inches from his mouth. “So, are you up for this or not?”

  Liam hoisted me over his shoulder and started running.

  TWENTY MINUTES LATER, we were both naked and in his bed, trying to catch our breath.

  “You okay?” he asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

  “Yes. I didn’t know that I could bend like that, though,” I replied, my legs shaking from the last orgasm he’d given me.

  “It surprised me a little too.”

  I giggled.

  “So, you ready for round three?” he asked, turning to his side.

  I glanced down at his manhood, in shock. He was ready to go again and I was already so sore.

  Be careful what you wish for…

  “Actually, I could really use a bath,” I replied, thinking that it would soothe my tender flesh.

  “Perfect, we can take one together,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Oh God…

  AFTER A BRIEF discussion with Aiden about Lucian, and the fact that he hadn’t made an appearance, I flew home to Romania and showered. Then I dressed and tossed a few items into my duffel bag, all the while telling myself that Chelsey needed me in her life more than she needed me out of it. At least while she was still young and vulnerable. I knew it sounded like a lame excuse, but deep down, I knew the truth - I couldn’t stay away from her even if I tried.

  I loved her

  As for Vanessa, she was no longer the young woman I’d met all those years ago and her heart belonged to Lucian, who didn’t even deserve it. The only thing I had left for her now was pity.

  IT WAS JUST after twelve, when I returned to the castle. The first person I ran into was Aiden, who was on his way to the airport.

  “Hey, Slade. I’m going to pick up my brother and his guests. If you see Liam, could you tell him to answer his damn text messages? He’s been ignoring me.”

  “Maybe he’s still sleeping?”

  “I hope that’s what it is,” he said, zipping up his jacket. “But I doubt it.”

  “I’ll go and look for him.”

  “I’d appreciate it. I’d like to have him around when Torin shows up.”

  “Sure. So, who are these other guests?”

  “Three women,” he replied and then smiled to himself.

  “What?”

  “I know one of them, although it’s been many years. I don’t even know if she’d remember me.”

  “How did you meet?”

  “She’s a writer and we met in Vegas, at some benefit. I can’t even remember what it was for, but I certainly remember her.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Very. I should warn you, she is a Lycan. So is her daughter.”

  “Oh. Good thing Lucian and that quack are gone. They’d probably want to try experimenting on them.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” he replied. “Anyway, I’d better go.”

  “I’ll look for Liam. Have you seen Chelsey around?”

  “No. Nor have I seen Melody. Maybe they’re both with Liam.”

  “I’ll find out,” I said, walking away.

  “Okay. Remind him to call me.”

  “Will do,” I called back.

  I climbed the winding staircase and went in search of Liam. When I reached his bedroom door, I heard the sound of Melody’s laughter coming from within.

  Smiling, I shook my head and knocked on the door.

  “Oh my God, I bet that’s Chelsey,” squeaked Melody. “I totally forgot, I was supposed to meet her downstairs.”

  “Or Aiden. Hurry up and get dressed. I’ll tell her I haven’t seen you. When she’s gone, you can sneak out.”

  Chuckling to myself, I waited for Liam to open the door. When saw it was me, he relaxed. “Oh, it’s just you.”

  “Yeah. Tell Melody to relax and that I won’t tell if she won’t tell.”

  “She already told. Me,” he replied and then punched me playfully in the gut. “Way to go, vampire. You finally got yourself a piece of ass after all of these years. Everything still works down there?”

  “Just because I wasn’t screwing my way through all of our mortal fans, doesn’t mean I was celibate.”

  He grunted. “Right…When was the last time you got laid, before now?”

  I thought back. It had been a few months. “None of your business. Anyway, Aiden went to go pick up Torin and the other guests. He said you’d better start answering your texts.”

  “I saw them I was just too busy to respond. It’s hard to concentrate with a girl like Melody,” he said, lowering his voice. “She’s insatiable. Worse than I am.”

  “I find that hard to believe. Anyway, enough about that. Have you seen Chelsey?” I asked.

  “No, not recently,” said Melody, appearing next to Liam. Her hair was askew, there was mascara smeared under her eye, and her lips were swollen.

  I grinned. “That’s an interesting look.”

  She slid her arm around Liam’s waist and smiled weakly. “I bet. I’m afraid to look in the mirror. This guy is an animal. I can barely walk.”

  “Hell, then let’s get back inside, woman. If I’d have done you right, you wouldn’t be able to walk at all,” joked Liam.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s closed downstairs, for repairs.” She shifted her position and grimaced. “In fact, I should probably go and get an icepack or something.”

  Liam was about to make a cocky reply, when I cut him off. “While you do that, I’m going to look for Chelsey,” I said. “I’ll catch you two later.”

  “Okay. Tell her that Liam distracted me and I’m really sorry,” said Melody.

  “Sure.”

  “We forgot about the omelets,” said Liam, turning to Melody. “Dammit, I bet Christopher threw them away by now.”

  “Let’s find out if he’ll make us something else. Do you think he’ll be angry?”

  “Not angry but probably wondering what the hell happened to us,” he said, shutting the door as I walked away.

  When I reached Chelsey’s room, she wasn’t there so I tried sending her a text, but she didn’t reply. Not thinking too much about it, I spent the next several minutes searching the castle. When I couldn’t find her, I tried calling her phone, but still there was no answer.

  “Have you seen Chelsey around?’ I asked Dobs, when I ran into him.

  “Not since last night.”

  I frowned. “Okay. If you see her, let her know that I’m looking for her and that she needs to call me back.”

  “Will do.”

  After a few more trips around the castle, I caught up with Liam and Melody again. They were eating lunch in the Dining Hall.

  “Have you seen Chelsey?” I asked.

  “No,” said Melody.

  “What’s wrong? Can’t you find her?” asked Liam.

  “No.”

  “Hm. She didn’t go to the airport with Aiden, did she?” he asked.

  “No,” I replied, now getting worried.

  “Let me try calling her,” said Melody, reaching for her phone. “Maybe she’s angry with you again.”

  “I doubt it,” I said dryly. “There’s no reason to be
. Not that I know of, anyway.”

  When nobody answered, she sent a text and then set the phone back onto the dining table. “I’m sure she’s fine,” said Melody, picking her fork back up.

  “I don’t know,” I replied. “Aiden was concerned that Lucian would return last night. Maybe he waited until this morning.”

  Melody sucked in her breath. “Do you think he might have taken her?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied as I started to pace. “It is odd that she’s not returning our calls and nobody knows where she is.”

  “Call Aiden,” said Liam. “See if he can find out if Lucian caught his flight last night.”

  “Good idea,” I replied, taking out my phone. I dialed Aiden.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Chelsey is missing.”

  There was a long pause. “Missing? Are you sure?”

  “None of us can find her. Is there a way that you can check to see if Lucian and the others made their flight last night?”

  “I already checked late last night, with one of my contacts at the airport, and they confirmed that he was on it.”

  “Could it have been someone else?”

  “I suppose, if they’d planned it right, with someone who looked like Lucian.”

  “Or someone who could have charmed the airline attendants into believing it was him when he checked in,” I said.

  Aiden swore.

  “If he took her I’ll skin him alive,” I said angrily.

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet. Now, you’ve looked everywhere?”

  “Yes. I checked her room twice. The pool. The library, the entire castle.”

  “You’re sure that she’s not taking a walk outside or over by the stables?”

  “I checked the stables, but I suppose she could have taken a walk.”

  “Torin is with me, along with our other guests. We should be returning shortly. If she’s still missing by that time, we’ll send out a search party for her.”

  “Okay,” I replied, anxious to find her. Something told me that we weren’t going to find her anywhere near the castle and it was driving me mad.

  After we hung up, I quickly told Liam what Aiden had said.

  “I think he took Chelsey,” said Melody, looking frightened. “We have to help her.”

  “I’m going to check the area and see if she might have just taken a walk,” I answered.