Kiss of Crimson Samantha Coville (best short books to read .TXT) 📖

as suddenly, she let go and was out of the car in a flash, almost closing the door into my face.

With a quick wave goodbye and a wide smile, she was up the front stairs and out of sight as the front doors closed behind her.

After a second or two to compose myself, I started the long drive back home to Jardin’s.

Did you enjoy yourself?

I had asked that of her.

And with the taste of her lips still heavy on my tongue, I found myself smiling.

Yes.

Yes, I did.

Nine

Eloise

As if things could not get better. I woke up the next morning to the sound of knocking on my bedroom door. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched before hurrying to open the door. Jewel gave a quick bow of her head and reached out her arm, an envelope in her grasp. It was a small envelope with a red wax seal on it.

"You've received a letter, Miss Eloise. It's from your sister."

I don't think I've ever grabbed anything that quickly in my life. I snatched the letter and excused Jewel with a hurried thank you. I shut the door behind me and nearly jumped onto my bed, landing on the fluffy pillows. I wanted to rip open the envelope, but at the same time, I wanted to preserve it. So I gently slid my fingers under the flap and opened it without breaking the ornate seal. It must have been the seal of her new husband.

The paper crinkled in my shaking hands and I read:

"Eloise,

I've heard from my husband that you've been making quite the stir in the vampire community. You just couldn't stay in your room, could you? But I guess I admire your courage, and I honestly should have expected it to happen after I left and couldn't watch over you anymore. I hope the world of the balls has exceeded your expectations.

I'm writing you this letter to finally invite you to come to visit me. I live not far from the mansion, so you can come over whenever best suits your schedule. Hopefully, you're not too busy with all of those handsome suitors. You'll find my address at the bottom of this page for you to give to your driver. I await eagerly to see you!

Your Loving Big Sister,

Madge"

I squealed in excitement as I hugged the letter to my chest. It was short and sweet, as Madge seemed to be in everything. But it meant the world to me to hear from her. Growing up in this large, old house, we relied on each other for company and advice. Thankfully, the balls had distracted me from the lack of her presence, but the second I saw her name I missed her sorely.

"Jewel! Jewel! Get the driver ready and notify mother that I will be out of the house this afternoon!"

I threw the letter onto my vanity and rummaged through my closet. I found a floor-length navy blue skirt and a white blouse and put them on in a flurried tangle of fabric. I ran a brush through my hair and decided there was no time to do anything special with it. Madge wouldn't care, anyway. I grabbed a purse to match my ensemble and bolted down the staircase. Jewel was at the bottom of the staircase and I could tell she had been as fast as I was because her cheeks were flushed and she was struggling for breath. I gave her a hug, which was admittedly unusual for us, but my excitement was too much to keep bottled up.

I left her confused in the entryway as I hurried out the door and down to the driveway area. It was a large circle of pavement to accommodate large streams of cars. And if you walked too far past it in a drunken stupor, you'd wind up in the pond. The driver was there holding my door open for me at the car and I thanked him as I took my seat on the cool leather. He went around the opposite side of the car and got into the driver's seat before turning to look back at me.

"Where are we off to today, Miss?" His accent was thick and his beard was white with age. Our driver, Daringly, had been with the family for as long as I could remember and he never quite followed the protocol of how to address the members of the household. But no one ever said anything. He was like the goofy, loving uncle that everyone let get away with everything. I read him the address, and he winked at me. Double-checking my seat belt was securely in place, he sped off onto the busy roadway.

We drove past the downtown area and I peered out my windows at the marvel of it all. It didn't matter how many times I'd seen it, it still left me in awe. Large skyscrapers reached to the skies as man and vampire alike strode down the sidewalks, either to get to work or to visit one of the stores. Our world was an odd blend of modern human inventions and the vampires who wanted to preserve the world from before their loss in the war. You could tell which shops catered to which race and, if you looked closely enough, you could tell which humans were still very much wary of their blood-drinking counterparts as they passed them in the streets. There would be a sideways glance or an attempt to avoid them by taking a detour. In my head, I wondered if maybe it was deserved after how a few of the vampires had behaved around me.

But Arden was different.

I sighed and tried not to resort to being the bubbly schoolgirl type. I could keep calm and collected around him. The butterflies in my stomach could not, however. Luckily, we were soon pulling into the driveway of a mansion that looked similar to my mother's but was double the size.