Scream Come True: Steamy Older Man Younger Woman Romance Read online

  Even as the words left my mouth, I knew it would be impossible for me to do that. I couldn’t send Adéle away. I couldn’t deny her anything she wanted. But if all she wanted was a distraction—a rebound—I didn’t know if I could be that for her. Not for more than a little while, at least.

  And I wanted more than that. I wanted eternity.

  “You could be happy, Pierre,” Angelique’s eyes were pleading. “I’m here for you, and if you would just turn me, I could be here for you forever. You’d never have to worry about anything again. I’d be here supporting you, taking care of your every need, for as long as you wanted. Forever.”

  I shook my head. It was an argument I’d heard many times before, and not one I was eager to have again. Especially not now. Turning Angelique was technically an option, and maybe even a good idea, for the reasons she mentioned.

  But to spend eternity together with her? No. That wasn’t going to happen. She wasn’t the one who was fated to be with me.

  That person could only be my Adéle.

  Angelique was still watching me, still waiting for an answer to her plea for eternal life. The gift that I was keeping from her.

  “We’ll talk another time,” I said, unable to come up with a better excuse. “Leave me, please. I need some time to think.”

  She looked like she might be about to say something more, but I waved a hand dismissively and shook my head again. Angelique didn’t take orders well, but she was smart enough to know when and how to push my buttons.

  Now was not the time.

  “Whatever you decide,” she said. “I’ll be here.”

  I watched as she walked out of the study and closed the door behind her, then leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

  And if what Angelique told me really was true, things had only become worse. I didn’t mind being Adéle’s plaything, but only if she would be mine, too—forever.

  How could I say that to her, though? She would think I was crazy, or worse. And if she walked out of my life for good, there would be no need to think about eternity.

  It simply wouldn’t be worth it without Adéle.

  Adele

  I was in my bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering when Pierre would call. Wondering if he’d ever call again.

  He’d said he would, of course, but I had to come to terms with the fact that I really didn’t know the guy well enough to say if his word could be trusted.

  The connection I felt with him, though…

  It was more intense than anything I’d ever felt before. And the sex.

  My phone rang, making me sit straight up in bed as I scrambled to answer it. It had to be Pierre. He was calling to tell me he needed me again, that he wanted to see me.

  But no.

  Looking at the screen, I frowned as a familiar name and number came up.

  I swiped to answer and flopped back down onto my pillow. “Hi, Jean-luc.” I tried to keep my voice flat and emotionless. “What’s up?”

  “Adéle, can I come over?” His voice sounded rushed, urgent, like he was upset.

  “Now? Why?” Despite my best efforts, my concern had started to creep into my voice. I couldn’t help it, though. Up until just a week ago, I had genuinely cared for Jean-luc. It was hard to just turn those feelings off. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I mean… no. I just wanna see you, Adéle. I think I fucked up. You know how they say you never realize what you’ve got until it’s gone?”

  “Yeah, I’m familiar with the expression.” I rolled my eyes and didn’t even try to hide my annoyance. He wasn’t upset. He was regretful. Big difference.

  “Well… I miss you.” There was a pause, and then he continued, sounding so hopeful that I wondered if he really did mean it. “I thought maybe we could… you know, like… try again? As a couple?”

  Seriously? I listened, waiting for a minute, certain that he was going to follow that up with some kind of punch-line or something. Was he really asking for another chance?

  No. Hell no.

  “Jean-luc, I really do still care for you,” I said, somehow managing to contain every single smart-ass comment that popped into my head. “But we’ve been down this road before. We tried, remember? It didn’t work.” I sighed. “It didn’t work for you, and now that I can look at it objectively, I have to admit that it didn’t work for me, either.”

  I didn’t want to tell him that I was maybe sort of seeing someone else already. Mainly because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but also because… was I actually seeing Pierre? Did the few times we’d been alone together count as dates? As dating?

  It had sort of felt like it, but aside from his talk about us being fated, we hadn’t really talked about it. And as far as I knew, Pierre might use that line on every woman he brings back to his place.

  I. Just. Didn’t. Know.

  “Fine,” he said, huffing it out in a short breath that I’d heard too many times before. “You’re probably right. It was dumb of me to even call.”

  “No, it wasn’t dumb,” I said, feeling sorry for him—for the whole situation, really. “Not dumb… just… that’s not where we’re at anymore. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I get it.” He paused for a second, and I could almost picture him on the other side of the phone trying to work up a smile. “Take care, Adéle. Goodbye.”

  He’d hung up before I could even answer, and for several long seconds I sat there looking at the darkened screen of my phone, wondering where that call had even come from, wondering what had made him think it was worth another shot with me when he’d been so hell-bent to find something better just a few days before.

  Maybe the grass wasn’t always greener, but there was no doubt in my mind—and especially not after the conversation we’d had the other day—that Jean-luc would be better off without me.

  No, we’d both be better off—and not just better, but actually happy.

  My phone vibrated in my hand, making me jump and fumble with it as I tried to read the screen. It was a text, and my face broke into a wide smile as soon as I saw the number.

  It was Pierre.

  I want to see you. Tonight. Come as soon as you can.

  I was up off my bed and pulling on clothes before I even stopped to consider texting back. It had been nearly three days since I’d seen him, and it had felt like forever. I didn’t wanna waste time talking on the phone or texting when I could be looking at him face to face, feeling the warmth of his body next to mine.

  Well, there was one message I needed to send. I stopped and sat back down on my bed, pulling on my shoes as fast as I could and leaving them untied while I tapped out a reply on my phone. I didn’t need to know why he wanted to see me tonight or why he hadn’t called. It didn’t matter.

  On my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes.

  I hit send and tied my shoes, still smiling as I grabbed my purse and took a quick look in the mirror. After lying in bed for most of the evening, I kind of looked like a hot mess, but… whatever. He’d been happy enough to see me when I’d shown up in a ratty t-shirt and jeans to clean his house, so this bed-head look couldn’t be too shocking for him.

  Still, maybe a little something.

  I rolled my eyes at myself and pulled my hair back in a tight ponytail. That was going to have to be good enough, because I really didn’t want to waste any more time.

  I needed to see my man.

  I took the big stone steps two at a time, practically running up them to reach Pierre’s door. Like always, I’d barely had time to knock before the door swung open. How did he always manage to be right there whenever I arrived? It was such a big house…

  But instead of Pierre’s smiling face that greeted me, it was her.

  Angelique.

  “Hi,” I said, breathless but still managing to smile, even though she really was the last person I wanted to see. “I’m, uh, here to see Pierre?”

  “He’s not
here,” she said. “But do come in, please.”

  I blinked and stood there, rooted in place for a moment. “But… He sent me a text earlier—he said he wanted to see me tonight. Will he be back soon?”

  She shrugged. “It’s certainly not my place to say when he’ll be back, but he didn’t send you that message, Adéle. I did.”

  “Wait, what?” My brows furrowed and I started to feel irrationally angry with the beautiful but slightly scary woman standing in front of me. “You sent me that message? You pretended to be Pierre? But… why?”

  “I didn’t pretend to be anyone.” She shrugged. “I can’t be blamed for what you mistakenly assumed. Please come in, though. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

  My brain was shouting for me to turn and leave—to run from this woman, as far and as fast as I could. There was just something not quite right about her, and even though all I really had to go on were a couple of awkward experiences and a whole lot of intuition, that was normally enough for me.

  This time was different, though. She didn’t seem dangerous, or even unfriendly. And I really, really wanted to know what she had to discuss with me. Clearly it meant a lot to her, or she wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of pretending to be Pierre in order to lure me here.

  And she had pretended, no matter how much she feigned innocence.

  She’d already turned to walk away, leaving the door open for me. If I was going to run, that would’ve been my chance, but all I could do was follow her as she walked through to the dining room.

  I felt my face go hot at the memory of the last time I was in there, naked and pressed up against the table while Pierre fucked me. I wondered for a moment if she knew?

  And if she did, was she jealous?

  “Have a seat, Adéle.” She gestured to one of the chairs. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  I shrugged as I pulled out the chair she’d pointed at and sat down. “Sure, thank you.”

  She walked over to the corner of the room and returned with two glasses of the same dark red wine Pierre had been drinking that night. The same wine he’d insisted wasn’t for me—had insisted that it wasn’t even wine.

  But if she was going to drink it, I wasn’t going to object. And I certainly wasn’t going to go into all the things Pierre and I said and did that night.

  “I’ll just cut to the chase,” she said, walking around to sit across from me. “I think it might be for the best if you stayed away from here for a while.”

  “What? Why?” Now I was feeling that anger surge through me again, and I had to struggle not to raise my voice. “The only times I’ve ever been here have been because Pierre asked me to come.” I gave her a pointed look. “Or when I thought it was Pierre asking.”

  “I know.” She nodded. “And I”m not saying you’ve done anything wrong. It’s for your own good, really.” She drummed her fingers on the table, her long, red nails tapping out a staccato rhythm for a moment while she paused. “You see, Pierre isn’t like other guys.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” I said, doing my very best not to roll my eyes. How many other guys had houses like this with creepy-but-beautiful women wandering around. “I like that he’s different.”

  She shook her head. “You may think that now, but you can never truly be happy with him. And you have to know that you can never truly make him happy, either.”

  I felt my eyes widen and I reached for the glass in front of me, determined to take a big drink of wine rather than start yelling at this woman.

  As soon as the liquid passed my lips, though, I nearly gagged and spit it back into the glass. Whatever else was going on, Pierre had been right about one thing. That wasn’t wine.

  “What did you give me?” I asked, my eyes flicking from the glass to her face and back again. My anger was nearly forgotten as I tried to figure out if she’d just done something really crazy. Had she poisoned me? Is that why she’d invited me over?

  I stood up and then felt dizzy. “Oh my God,” I murmured, leaning against the table. “What did you do?”

  Even through the haze of what I was sure had to be my impending death, she looked calm and collected. “It’s just wine. Don’t be so dramatic, Adéle.”

  “That’s not wine,” I said, slumping back into the chair and still feeling like I might throw up or pass out at any moment. “I’ve never had wine like that before.”

  “No, I wouldn’t imagine that you had. It’s bloodwine. Our house blend.”

  Yeah, I was really going to throw up. Suddenly, the color, the thickness the slightly metallic taste all made sense. I swallowed hard, as much out of fear as to keep the rising bile down. This was crazy. She was crazy.

  “What?” Angelique asked, her voice going high-pitched as she feigned innocence. “Pierre didn’t tell you? I thought you knew how different he was.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I said, trying to stand again and willing my legs to support me. “I’m getting out of here. I’ll straighten this out with Pierre some other time, but—”

  “No, I don’t think you will.” She stood as well, cutting me off with a wave of her hand. “Pierre is a vampire, and you’ll stay far away from him if you know what’s good for you.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. I took a step, and then another, but the haze was closing in fast. I was going to pass out here in front of this crazy woman, and there was nothing I could do about it.

  Behind me, there was a voice, a deep, rich, warm voice that washed over me and made me feel for just a moment that everything might be okay.

  And then the darkness overtook me.

  Pierre

  Even before I got home that night, I knew something was wrong. And I knew it had to do with Angelique.

  When I’d told her I’d be in Metairie for the evening, looking at some investment properties after-hours, she’d been more accommodating than usual. She hadn’t even batted an eye when I told her I’d be missing dinner—normally her favorite time to sit and talk.

  I should’ve known then there would be a problem. I should’ve called off the meeting and stayed home.

  “Angelique,” I froze as soon as I walked into the dining room and saw here there with Adéle. “What in the hell—”

  I couldn’t even finish the question. As soon as I saw Adéle stumble and reach out, I couldn’t think of anything else. I moved to catch her just as she started to collapse, gathering her in my arms and pulling her close.

  “It’s okay, beautiful,” I whispered, inhaling the scent of flowers that always seemed to cling to her. “I’ve got you. I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

  I wasn’t sure if she could hear me, but she murmured something I couldn’t understand, and that was enough to let me know that she was still semi-conscious. Her heartbeat was strong. I still didn’t know what had gone on between the two of them before I got there, but I knew that Adéle was going to be okay.

  That was all that mattered, really.

  Once I got Adéle propped up in the chair again, I turned my head to face Angelique. “What did you do? I swear to you, if anything happens to her, I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?” Angelique asked, her eyes narrowing as she moved from her chair to come around and face me. “Hurt me? Kill me? Send me away?” She shook her head. “I don’t care anymore, Pierre. Do what you will. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  Adéle was starting to come around again, and her eyelids fluttered as she shook her head and murmured again.

  “I’ve got you,” I repeated, stroking her cheek before turning back to Angelique. “Tell me what you did.”

  She nodded at the glass of bloodwine and shrugged. “I just told her who you really are. It was going to come out eventually, right? Or did you plan on lying to her forever? How about when she finds out she’ll never be able to carry your child? Or when she starts to grow old and wither and die while you stay exactly the same? What would you tell her then?”

  Her words str
uck me as surely as if she’d slapped me with her hand, and I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to tamp down the rage that was about to boil over. “You had no right to do what you did, Angelique. No. Right. You have to leave. Right now, before I do something I’ll regret.”

  “I told you already,” she said, smiling in a way that was completely devoid of any happiness. “Do what you want to me. I don’t care anymore.”

  “I care,” I said through clenched teeth. “Get out before I throw you out. Or worse.” She stood there defiantly until I banged my fist on the table with enough force to make the glasses jump. “Now.”

  She swept past me and a few moments later I heard the front door slam, but my attention was already back on Adéle, where it belonged.

  “Are you awake, beautiful?” I tried to push aside all of the other conflicted emotions I was feeling and just be there for Adéle, to soothe her and let her know it was going to be okay. “Can you hear me?”

  “Pierre?” Her voice sounded faint, like she was in the middle of a dream. Then her eyes flew open and she scrambled backward in her chair, trying to push me away at the same time. “Stay back. I-I don’t know what’s going on here, or what you are, but—”

  “No, please, Adéle,” I reached for her, but let my hand fall when she flinched away. Fuck, did she think I’d actually hurt her? My heart crumbled as I took a step back to give her some room. “Please hear me out, Adéle. I’ll beg if it will make you stay and listen.”

  “All I need to know is if it’s true.” She was eyeing me warily, as if I might pounce on her at any moment.

  Even though I was dying inside, I took another step back. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel threatened in my house. “I’ll tell you anything, I swear. Just ask.”

  “Is it true?” She repeated, slowly standing up and moving behind her chair, putting it between us. “Are you a… a vampire?”

  For several long seconds, I didn’t answer. I didn’t know how to answer. I couldn’t lie to her, especially not when I’d just begged her to stay so I could explain myself…