Blood Dolls (8 page)

“There’s a party tonight,” Jade told Celia. They were in the bath together. They’d stopped bathing separately after they’d slept together for the first time. After that experience, there had been no secrets between them. They’d grown close, and the vampires in the mansion hadn’t seem to mind that two of the dolls enjoyed playing together when they weren’t feeding anyone.

“Am I going?” Celia squeaked. She splashed the water in excitement and a few of the bubbles went over the side of the tub.

“Of course,” Jade laughed. “But stop the messing. Seriously, someone is going to have to clean up this mess, and it’s not going to be me.”

“Yes,” Ariana said from her spot in one of the other tubs. “You’re being a bit ridiculous, sweetie. It’s only a party.”

They all burst into laughter and finished bathing. Celia tried not to ask too many questions, but she couldn’t help herself. There had been a few parties since she’d come to the house, but nothing like tonight. Nothing that involved the use of the theme rooms.

She’d seen most of them, but always when they were empty. She wondered what the rooms would look like when they were in use, when humans and vamps alike were dressed up, sprawled out, fucking hard. She wondered what it would be like to see the sex, the kissing, and the biting that would happen that night.

She wondered what would happen with her, to her.

With Samuel.

“It’s a masquerade,” Ariana said. She helped Celia dry off with one of the big, fluffy towels, and Celia did the same. As she moved the towel down Ariana’s body, she admired her friend’s soft body. Ariana was a little bigger than Celia: a little taller, a little curvier.

She was a little more experienced.

A little more dangerous.

A little more exciting.

“I’ve never been to one,” Celia said. She had wanted to, once. In college, a friend had invited her to a sorority party. It was a masquerade and all the men from the frat house next door were going to come over.

She hadn’t gone. She’d been too scared, too nervous. She’d slept with people in college, but the idea of going to a party seemed risky, dangerous. She was still scared and jaded from what had happened with her stepfather. She couldn’t handle the idea of another man taking advantage of her.

Now things were different.

She might sleep with someone at the party tonight, maybe even several someones. Samuel would be there, though, and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. He gave her the safety net to be herself, to explore her sexuality. She could go crazy at the party, let her guard down, and have a good time. She could do anything and he would be there.

He was her protector.

“It’s going to be fun,” Ariana said. Celia looked up. She realized she had knelt in front of Ariana, but hadn’t moved. Ariana raised an eyebrow, then stepped outward, opening her legs. Celia smiled at the offer and planted a kiss between Ariana’s legs. The woman’s soft pussy was bare. She kept her body shaved the same way Celia did, the way all the dolls did.

“Mmm,” Ariana moaned, and Celia began to lick her in long, slow strokes. She reached around and gripped Ariana’s bottom, pulling her closer to her own face. Then she licked and kissed. Ariana murmured to her, whispering sweet nothings.

Ariana tasted sweet, sugary. She almost tasted like candy. The woman was everything Celia wanted in a doll, in a woman. If she was a vampire, Ariana was exactly the type of girl she’d want to feed from

Jade was sweet, too, in her own way. Even Tasha was perfect in Celia’s eyes.

One of Celia’s favorite things about living in the mansion was being able to explore her sexuality with different women. She’d never been with women before coming to the mansion and somehow, she felt like she had missed out. For years, she had thought she should only be with men. Now, though, she felt like it didn’t make sense.

It didn’t make sense that you should only be with one person. It didn’t make sense that this person should have to be a male. It didn’t make sense that if you wanted something else, if you needed something else, that you were branded as a wanton, that you were branded as a bad girl.

Celia licked Ariana’s pussy until she was breathing quickly, until she was tensing her muscles. Just as she was about to come, Celia slid her fingers into Ariana’s soft, dripping pussy and thrust them in and out.

Ariana came with a cry, holding Celia’s hair, gripping her head for support and balance as pleasure washed over her. Celia looked up as her friend orgasmed, watched her face. She had never seen anything quite as serene as a woman in the midst of orgasm, and she thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

“Come here, you,” Ariana whispered. She tugged Celia to her feet and wrapped her arms around her. They hugged for a moment, breast-to-breast, body-to-body. Then Ariana gave Celia a soft, passionate kiss. Their tongues circled one another and Celia’s pussy clenched with arousal at the feeling.

She wanted more, needed more.

“You’ll get more,” Ariana whispered, and Celia wondered if she had spoken aloud or if her friend had just known what she was thinking. “The party will be wonderful, Celia. It will be everything you want and more. It will be everything you need.”

She let go of Celia and turned to get ready. Celia realized she needed to finish dressing and styling her own hair, and she wondered if Ariana was right.

Would the masquerade be everything she wanted? Would it be a culmination of her weeks at the mansion? Would it be exactly what she had hoped for?

For Celia, being taken into the mansion had been a trip down a rabbit hole she had never known about, but now that she did, she was beginning to think she never wanted to leave.

She had moved from being a scared little girl who was afraid of everything to something else, something darker. She wasn’t a child anymore. She was very much an adult, very sure and certain of herself. She had grown in ways she never would have thought possible, and certainly not in such a short amount of time.

Maybe this was what she’d been waiting for.

Maybe life among the humans had always seemed so forced because she wasn’t meant to live among them. Maybe she wasn’t even supposed to be one.

She had started craving more shortly after she arrived. Samuel had opened her eyes to a whole new world and Celia was drawn to the power as much as the sex. The Vampire Lord of Willowcroft Mansion was a beast, a predator. She wanted him even more for it, because of it.

More than that, Celia wanted the same things Samuel had.

When she was alone, which wasn’t often, she imagined she was the princess of Willocroft, the vampire mistress. She thought about what
she
would be like as a vampire, what dolls she would take. She thought about the ways she would feed.

She thought about what desires she might have if she were one of the undead, if she were one of the creatures of the night.

“It’s time,” Jade’s voice sounded through Celia’s thoughts and she turned. “It’s time,” Jade repeated, and motioned for Celia to come sit at one of the vanities. Celia quietly lowered her body onto the soft cushion. Ariana’s flavor still covered her tongue, and when Jade kissed Celia, she smiled.

“You’ve been having some fun,” Jade whispered.

“Only a little.”

“It’s about to get more fun.”

“How much more fun?”

“You don’t want to know,” Jade began to curl Celia’s hair.

“I might want to know.”

“Fun you didn’t even know existed.”

“They’re like a drug,” Celia said.

“I know.”

“I’m addicted.”

“I know.”

“Am I still going to exist after tonight?” Celia wondered. She hadn’t meant to ask it aloud, yet she did. The question was valid enough. Would she still be her?

The girl her mother had raised was gone. There was no question about it. She had disappeared, vanished into the day. Celia lived in the darkness now. She lived amongst the dead, amongst the ones who had no concern for the living other than what they could offer: food, sex, companionship.

The vampires didn’t love. At least, not in the way humans knew love. Celia scoffed as she thought of her upbringing, of the idea that a monogamous relationship was the epitome of true love. She didn’t even know what she believed anymore. All she knew was that the idea that a simple life no longer meant anything to her.

She had been raised to believe she was supposed to go to college, find a man, fall in love, and get married. That was the dream. That was the goal, the ideal.

So what happened?

Samuel had happened.

He was nothing like she expected, but everything she had ever needed.

Jade gripped Celia’s shoulders and met her gaze in the mirror.

“Look at me,” she said. “Just look at me. Do I look weak to you?”

“No.”

“Do I look like I don’t exist?”

“No.”

“I’ve been here a fuck of a lot longer than you, Celia,” Jade said. “So don’t you even think for one second that wanting to stay, or liking what happened to you makes you a bad person. It doesn’t make you weird. It doesn’t make you wrong. You are not a broken toy to be fixed. Do you understand?”

“I am a toy to them.”

“We’re all toys to everyone. The whole fucking world is a game. People use each other all the time. The vampires are just more honest about it than humans.”

“It’s simpler here.”

“That’s because vampires don’t need to lie to get what they want. They just take it.”

“I like knowing where I stand.”

“We all do. It’s security we’ve never felt before. Look at fucking Ariana. Look at Tasha. Look at me. Before they took me, do you think I ever would have had the balls to wear something like this?” She motioned at her outfit: a black leather corset with matching booty shorts. “Fuck, no. I’m a preacher’s daughter. I’m not the whore. At least, that’s what I was raised to believe.”

“You don’t believe that anymore,” Celia kept Jade’s gaze in the mirror. She wanted to know what she would say. How did she justify the things she felt? How did she make it seem like everything was going to be fine?

“I think that unless you’re turned, you only live once, so you’d better live for yourself and not for your fucking parents, or your pastor, or your friends. I think you have one shot, Celia, so you’d better make it count.”

When she walked into the ballroom, Samuel was waiting. He’d been waiting all night for her and he’d keep waiting. He’d wait forever if it meant getting to see the look on Celia’s face when she walked into the room, if it meant getting to see the way her eyes glowed when she looked around the party he’d prepared just for her.

She didn’t know what he wanted from her, for her. She didn’t know he wanted more than just a human darling to play with. She didn’t know Samuel had been thinking of turning her, hoping for it, considering it.

She didn’t know it was eating him up inside not to be able to do it.

Tonight he had to tell her about the past, about the events that led to this moment. Tonight he had to tell her about Harper, about his bride, about the way he had failed the woman he adored. Tonight he had to tell Celia everything and then he had to tell her just a little bit more.

Tonight he had to tell her, but first, he had to love her.

She stepped carefully, not quite used to the heels she was wearing. All of the other blood dolls were barefoot, but he wanted Celia uncomfortable and off balance tonight. He wanted her to be nervous, cautious. He wanted her to be paying attention.

Most of all, he wanted her to look like the queen she was to him.

She looked around the room at everything he had prepared for her. There were rows of food and blood laid out on tables. While the dolls were obviously available for entertainment and pleasure tonight, he did have some guests who preferred their blood from a bottle, so he had different types prepared in different ways so there would be something for everyone.

Celia’s eyes roamed the buffet tables and he laughed when they lingered on the chocolate fountain. Of course she would go for that. She didn’t realize it was infused with blood, but she’d find out soon enough when she went for a taste.

Fruit, meat sticks, and even desserts lined the area around the fountain. He’d had it designed just for her, just so she could see this party was meant to be extravagant, over-the-top, incredible. It was supposed to be the type of night a vampire never forgot. It was supposed to be the kind of night you couldn’t help but remember.

Celia kept moving further into the room. Her hair was down, flowing over her shoulders. Her black mask hid the upper portion of her face, but not her eyes. He’d know those eyes anywhere. Even if he was unfamiliar with her body, which he wasn’t, he’d know her sweet, blue-green gaze.

He watched the way she glided. Even in the heels, she was determined. She walked with grace and with a solidarity that couldn’t be matched.

And then she was there.

She was standing in front of him.

And he needed her.

“You’re beautiful.”

“I could say the same thing, but I think you might protest.”

“You can say whatever you like.”

“You’re beautiful,” she said. The word hung in the air between them for just a moment, then something shifted. Something changed. Everything changed.

He reached for Celia and pulled her close, then Samuel kissed her like she was the only one in the room. She wasn’t, of course. There were other vamps around kissing, hugging, touching, and dancing. They were all wearing masks and several were already starting to undress.

Samuel allowed his fingers to trace over her bare shoulders and down to the start of her dress. The black strapless gown was modest for a vampire ball, but he’d selected it especially for her. He’d hoped Celia would want to wear it for him. He’d hoped she would want to dress up for him, to be his little toy at the party.

As he kissed her, his dick got harder. He wanted to rip the dress off, tear it to shreds. He wouldn’t, not just yet. It wasn’t quite time because he had another surprise for her. The night would wear on a bit before he’d give her everything she needed, but he wouldn’t forget. Not tonight. Tonight was about letting Celia see the part of him few humans ever did. Even his dolls didn’t know what these nights meant to him.

“Come play with me,” Samuel said.

“Is that a request?”

“No.”

“All right,” she kissed him one last time, then Samuel guided Celia through the ballroom. Vamps and humans alike were dressed in dark shades of red and black. Some wore suits: some corsets. A few wore ball gowns and a couple wore Victorian dresses. Each attendee wore the perfunctory mask. It wasn’t really necessary: the mask. It was just a bit of fun, just something to mix things up, just something to make the night a little more enjoyable.

They pushed their way through the crowd, making the necessary greetings. When they were in the center of the room, the song changed and a spotlight came down on them.

“You planned this,” she said in surprise.

“I want to ask you something,” Samuel said. He didn’t kneel. This wasn’t a marriage proposal the way humans thought of marriage. This wasn’t some super-sweet moment where he’d promise to love only her, where he’d tell her she was the only woman he’d ever look at. This wasn’t a moment where he pledged monogamy. This was nothing like that.

“What is it?” Celia looked confused as the crowd quieted. Everyone turned to look at them: the master and mistress of Willowcroft Mansion.

“This isn’t just a masquerade.”

“Of course it is,” she said. “Look at everyone. They’re beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful, Celia.”

She looked up at Samuel like this was the first time she’d really heard what he had to say, like this was the first time anyone had told her what they thought of her. She looked at him like she’d never been taken care of before, like she was the last woman on Earth and he was her savior.

“I want you to be my queen,” he said.