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

Madge's husband was one of my mother's clients who had expensive tastes and the wallet to back it up. He only purchased when she stole blood from specific regions of the planet, but he paid triple for her troubles. I didn't understand how the taste could be different. Blood is blood, isn't it? But my mother entertained his antics and somewhere along the way Madge was promised to him.

That sounds barbaric, marrying away your daughter to a client. But that was normal in the community. And from the way Madge talked, she didn't mind. I'd heard from Jewel that he was an attractive man, and Madge seemed ecstatic to get out of the mansion. Who could blame her? The mansion stood three stories high and was made of stone. Vines covered one side of the house, probably growing for decades. A butler was outside by the double doors, waiting for my arrival. I hoped he hadn't been there too long. Had Madge sent him out the second she sent her letter?

We came to a stop at the entrance, and my door was opened for me. The butler held out his hand to steady me as I stepped out. The second my feet were on the ground, my sister burst through the doors. She was as beautiful as she had ever been. Her hair was braided in a way that I had never seen before and must have taken focus to do. My mother's pearls were around her neck, her emerald green tea dress stopping just above her knees. Her heels clacked as she ran over to squeeze me in a large embrace.

She backed away and grabbed my arms. "I am so excited that you're here, El. This house is far too big for me to be in by myself all day. Antony is always away at business and he comes home in the evening. Meaning I have hours to try and fill and no clue what to fill them with."

I widened my eyes. "And you have free reign of the entire house?" She nodded. "I would be hosting tea parties and fashion shows and all sorts of mayhem. Tell me there's a staircase in there that would be perfect for mattress surfing."

She laughed deeply at this and I saw her eyes water. "We haven't done that since you were six and for good reason. It's so dangerous!"

I crossed my arms and made a fake pouty face. "You get married and suddenly you sound like mother."

A frown flashed across Madge's face and I worried that maybe I had insulted her. "That's someone that I hope will come to visit me soon. I haven't gotten a letter or anything from mother."

I frowned, but quickly hid it to try and cheer her up. "Well, of course you know mother's been busy trying to handle my crazy adventures."

My sister gave me a pointed look as she escorted me into her house. "About that. You need to be careful about who you befriend at those balls. Not all vampires are respectable people. And before you brush me and say I simply sound like mother again, I confess she was right about some things. And you'll learn that, eventually."

I decided it was probably best that I did not tell her about my failed attempts at socializing. Once with a boring drab of a man and once with a sociopathic lunatic. I looked around the entryway we had entered and it took everything in me not to let my jaw drop to the ground. This was a wide-open space with a large cascading fountain in the center, colorful koi fish swimming beneath the lily pads. There were a handful of lounges and couches for socializing and relaxing. I stared wide-eyed back at my sister.

She giggled. "There are some perks of this place. Unfortunately, there is no ballroom area. There are just more rooms than I can count that he claims are for family and friends to visit. But I found some are just filled with books. He likes to read like you do, but he reads historical military recounting, instead of your usual fairy tales."

My sister gestured for me to take a seat on one of the chaise lounges in the corner, and I happily did. A handmaid brought a tray with a collection of pastries and fruit. I grabbed a handful of grapes and plopped them into my mouth one at a time, savoring the sweet juices. "Will I get to meet this husband of yours?" I questioned with my mouth still full.

Madge was stiff in her chair and twiddled her thumbs as she took a deep and depressing sigh. "I'm afraid not. He's out of the country at the moment on important business. But I think that is for the better. I needed to talk to you about that, Eloise."

I halted eating my grapes and sat up straighter in my own chair. "Madge, what's wrong?"

The waterworks began as tears trickled down her cheeks. I jumped from my chair and squeezed in next to her to hold her as she choked out her words. "I love this house, El. I love the serving staff that works here. I even loved the balls as much as I pretended I didn't for your sake. But my husband is not the man, or vampire, mother made him out to be. And it's nothing against her, El. So don't go back home and start a row with her. I've figured out all the vampires are like this. They look down at humans. He looks down at me. I'm not really a wife, I'm an arrangement he made to keep ties with his blood trader."

"Madge, has he hurt you?" I balled my fists and wanted nothing more than to track this beast down and give him a piece of my mind.

She shook her head, sniffling. "He hasn't physically touched me, El. Not even in the way a husband should touch his wife. I barely see him except for dinner. But when