Page 14 of The Vampire's Redemption

He was gone for a second. When he reappeared, he carried a chair and placed it in front of the mirror.

“Sit.”

As much as she disliked taking orders from him, she was intrigued. Gabby sat, ignoring the desire flaring to life at his proximity. The space in the bathroom seemed to have shrunk with Felix in it until it took effort for her to ignore him.

Felix acted unaffected by their closeness. He looked over the bottles lining the sink before taking one and squeezing some white cream that smelled of sweet coconut into his hand.

“May I?” He gestured to her hair.

Who was this Felix that asked for permission rather than doing whatever he wanted?

“Yes,” she said, though unsure if it was wise to let him touch her.

He took a strand of hair and rubbed the cream over it. He worked methodically, coating every bit of her hair, yet taking care not to touch her. Frozen in her chair, Gabby wished more than anything he would touch her. Tension from the unfulfilled desire wound her body tight like a strung bow.

If only he would touch her!

When he leaned down, she thought he had succumbed to the same need burning within her. Instead, he reached past her, his arm a few inches from her face, and opened a few drawers, searching. She was mesmerized by his long and slender fingers, recalling the magic those fingers could bring. Her insides turned to jelly as all the endless years of loneliness flooded her. What would it feel like to have him again?

Heaven. It would be heaven,a part of her whispered.

No, no, it wouldn’t.So what if she wanted him? That had never been the problem in their relationship. It certainly wasn’t why she’d left him.

Before she succumbed to madness, he picked out a weird L-shaped cylinder with a black cord coming out of the fat round part where the L curved. When he leaned back out of her personal space, Gabby let out a sigh of relief, uncaring if he heard.

Now she knew why he was being a perfect gentleman. He was seducing her, waiting for her to break.

Felix plugged the end of the wire into the electrical outlet. “Tune down your hearing.”

He didn’t wait, and when the sound of blasting air hit her, she winced and did as she was told. When he turned the end of the L-shaped object toward her, waves of hot air blasted her in the face.

What was he doing? Was this some sort of trick? The desire evaporated to be replaced by confusion.

Before she could demand an explanation, he stepped behind her and lifted a strand, then directed the hot blasting air onto it. The heat felt strange, and the sound was loud even with her hearing tuned down.

What’re you doing?

Drying your hair.

Even with the heat against her scalp, the touch of Felix’s fingers against her neck sent a different hotness through her. She clenched her legs and gritted her teeth, refusing to explode at his gentle, teasing touch.

Gabby looked at the mirror. Him bending over her, his hand in her hair. His eyes flicked up and met hers in the mirror. A slow, sensual smiled curved his lips.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She’d been right. The bastard. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.

After five interminable minutes, Felix turned off the device and put it back on the counter. It took all of her willpower to resist leaning into him. With the reverence of someone worshipping at a church altar, he brushed her long locks to one side, exposing the left side of her neck. She needed to move, to get away from him, but she was stuck in her chair, drawn to him like Eve to the serpent.

When Felix leaned down and touched his lips to the nape of her neck, a moan escaped her. Her breasts were full and heavy and begged for his touch. Her nerves were on fire. Wetness flooded the area between her legs.

She leaned back, resting her head against his shoulder as he kissed around her neck to her jaw. When he pulled away, Gabby didn’t know if she should feel relieved or disappointed.

Don’t stop,she almost said.

“We’ll be late for the Gala,” Felix said, his voice hoarse with pent-up desire.

The Gala. Right. They had things to do. Places to be. She wrapped the robe tighter, as though it could protect her from the passion invading her bones.

---