Page 51 of Infernal

Less than an hour later, we pulled into the valet of a luxury hotel overlooking the rocky coastal waters. If it was up to me, which it wasn’t, we’d be staying at some low-key motel off the freeway, but Dominic refused to entertain the idea. Vampire or not, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and that wasn’t about to change anytime soon. Instead, he checked us into their finest suite using a combination of his glamour, fake names, and his fat inheritance.

We took the private elevator up to the top floor, which opened up to the penthouse suite. Floor to ceiling windows greeted us, stretching all around the room as they gifted us with a picture-perfect view of the ocean.

My jaw just about hit the floor as I stood there frozen and awestruck.

“Make yourself at home,” he said as he picked up a tiny remote control and aimed it at what looked like a gargantuan flat screen TV built directly into the wall. But it wasn’t a TV.

Flames immediately strung up from behind the black glass, dancing rhythmically over hundreds of glittering rocks that looked just like diamonds. It was a fireplace, though I’d never seen one quite like that before.

My eyes veered back to the balcony, and then my feet were moving, slowly making my way towards it, stopping only when my feet hit the beginning edge of the terrace.

It was a hell of a long way down.

“It won’t bite you,” chided Dominic, encouraging me to step outside.

Ignoring him and my pattering heart, I took a small step forward and then another one, and before I knew it, I was on the balcony, drinking in the incredible view.

“It’s just…breathtaking.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” he said from somewhere over my shoulder.

I felt as though his eyes were trained on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn away from the view. I needed to soak in every morsel of its beauty, take in all the colors of the coast and the haunting sounds of the water crashing onto the shore and then sear it into my memory.

With how my life was going, who knew if I’d ever get the chance to see something like this again?

I’d never admit it to him, but I was glad he insisted that we come here instead of the rat-hole I wanted to go to.

After getting my fill of the view, I headed back inside and took in the rest of the room. And by room, I mean massive condo. There were two spacious bedrooms on opposite ends of the suite, and at the center of them, a luxurious living room, equipped with a Grand piano, all-white seating area, and a fully-stocked wet bar.

And then there was the bathroom. Heated floors, a massive hot tub and a glass shower the size of my old bedroom in Florida. I seriously wanted to live in that bathroom.

“Which room is mine?” I asked, figuring I should let him have first pick after the big fuss I made about having two separate rooms. If it was up to Dominic, we would’ve been shacked up in the honeymoon suite.

“Whichever one you want, love. I’ve already seen the view hundreds of times.”

“Are you sure?” I tried not to sound too excited at being able to take the bigger room with the insanely beautiful ocean-front view. “Because I’m going to choose the better one.”

He laughed. “Be my guest.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice. I strutted back to the master suite and tossed my schoolbag on the plush chaise. Flopping back on the bed, I spread my arms and closed my eyes for just the tiniest of moments. In that small span of time, nothing and no one existed. It was just me and my fancy room.

“Perfection,” I muttered to myself.

“It’s about as close as I’ve ever come to it.”

I opened my eyes and met his gaze. He was leaning against the doorway with his arms folded over his chest and a strange look in his eyes as he watched me from the entrance. There was something about the way he was looking at me. It was intense yet soft. Adoring, yet frustrated. It was hard to wrap my mind around it, especially since he’d begun looking at me like that a lot more lately.

And he was still doing it.

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Like what, angel?”

“You know, all…” I was going to say goo-goo eyed, but my mouth wouldn’t finish the sentence. Instead, I bit down on my lip and muttered, “Never mind.”

A smolder of heat darkened his eyes as he stared down at my mouth. I promptly released my bottom lip and pretended not to notice the obvious effect I had on him. I couldn’t let myself be distracted by that, or him, or anything. I wasn’t here to give in to my traitorous skin that craved his touch or the bloodbond that sought to bring us together. We’d already established the line, and I needed to stay on my side of it.

Sitting up, I scooched over to the end table and pulled the phonebook from the dresser drawer. Dominic watched me with interest as I flipped through the pages until I found what I was looking for. Grabbing the pen from the notepad, I circled the batch of telephone numbers I needed and then set the book down beside me.

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