The Vampire Pendant Read Online Free Page A

creamier.
    “We’re perfect together,” he said.
    Better than him and Simone? Yes, she thought. Because Simone slept with his brother, too, and Tessa belonged only to Anthony.
    With that thought spinning around in her head, she came like a geyser, all over her lover’s hot and greedy mouth.

Chapter Four
    Anthony wiped his mouth, stood up, and led Tessa to bed.
    “Aren’t you going to get undressed?” she asked.
    “Not yet.” He didn’t think she was ready for him yet. He thought she needed to rest, to recover from her orgasm before he deflowered her for real. He ditched his shoes and got under the covers with her.
    “This feels like a fairy tale,” she said. “I could almost peg you for a magic prince.”
    “Almost?”
    “You know what I mean.”
    “The genie who saved Simone, Nicholas, and me from being killed is the ruler of a magical kingdom. He lives in a castle in another realm.”
    “Wow. Who knew such things existed?”
    “I didn’t. Not until I became a vampire.”
    “What’s the genie’s name?”
    “Mathieu.”
    “Have you ever been to his castle?”
    “Yes, but only in the room where he keeps the jewelry he uses to contain new hybrids. After he saved us, he brought us there with the wave of his hand, taught us about being gen-vamps and told us what was expected of us. Then he placed us inside of our respective jewelry pieces and arranged for us to be auctioned to our first owner. We were offered as a set and have remained that way ever since.”
    “Why did Mathieu save you to begin with?”
    “Because there are two types of genie rulers: the type who gains power from killing vampires and the type who gains power from saving them and turning them into hybrids. Mathieu is the second type.”
    She snuggled up to him. “I’m glad he saved you.”
    He smoothed a strand of hair away from her face. “So am I.”
    She put her hand against his cheek. “I still want to know what you did when you were mortal.”
    “I was an architect. I worked for a company that designed homes for wealthy clients.”
    “Were any of them movie stars?”
    “Yes.”
    “Like who?”
    He named a few of them.
    Her voice jumped. “That’s impressive, Anthony.”
    He shrugged. He didn’t see why it mattered. They were all dead now. In spite of his heartbeat, technically, so was he.
    She traced the line of his jaw. “I think you look like a movie star.”
    “Both of my parents were actors.”
    “Then that explains it, doesn’t it? You have Old Hollywood genes.”
    “I suppose I do. But my parents weren’t famous. They never starred in any of the pictures they were in.”
    “But you still grew up in that world.”
    “It was pretty much all I knew.” He glanced around her room. “I spent a lot of time at this hotel, even when I was a kid.”
    “Was it a celebrity hot spot then?”
    “Yes, but I think it was the most glamorous in the 1940s. That’s when the Crescent Wing was added and the hotel was painted pink.” He smiled. “The Pink Palace. It was the place to be.”
    She angled her head. “What year did you become a vampire?”
    “1950.” Before she had a chance to do the math, he said, “I was thirty-eight. A successful bachelor, indulging in everything this town had to offer: a home in the hills, beautiful lovers, rich and powerful friends.”
    “How did you meet Simone?”
    “She crashed a party at my house, passing herself off as a French heiress. Later, after everyone else was gone, I discovered that she was a vampire.”
    “Did she turn you that night?”
    He nodded. “A few days later, she went after Nicholas. She wanted him, too. We reminded her of her previous companions. She’d been with them for centuries.”
    “What happened to them?”
    “They were killed by a vamp-staking genie. Simone would have been targeted, too, but she’d gone off to feed alone that night. When she discovered their fate, she was crushed.”
    “How did you and Nicholas feel about being her new