Bloodbound: The Alliance
Chapter 35 - 39

Chapter 35: Chapter 39

Vance POV

I peer into the standing mirror, uncuffing my sleeves and rolling them up.

A hardened frown knots my face. Still too formal. I’d hate to be deigned a stiff, not that I care about Kelsey’s opinion of me. I blow out a heavy breath, unbuttoning the shirt with frustrated haste as I move back into the walk-in wardrobe. I toss it on the headless seat in the center, then I unbuckle my belt, ripping it out and placing it away. I scour the shelves for something casual. After a while, I change into a billowy short-sleeve shirt with matching loose-fitting pants. I switch out my Oxfords by Berluti for flip flops.

I leave my room and head downstairs, brought to a pause when I hear Landen’s voice floating to the foyer. I follow it, trailing down the corridor, and his voice grows. His bedroom door is ajar, I nudge it open, leaning my shoulder against the frame.

"Doesn’t matter," Landen says, on a call, only wearing dark-blue Nike joggers. "As long as it gets here before the weekend."

He senses something and turns suddenly.

Landen sends me a wink. "Call me if he gives you any problems."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Who you looking fine for?" he throws back, smiling, his tongue poking through his cheek. "Is this all for wifey?"

My jaw clamps, I recede, returning to the foyer. Landen goes after me.

"How did you go from hating her to dressing to impress her?"

"It’s hot Landen, what do you expect me to wear?" I say, without looking back at him.

"This is coming from the same man who wore a Tom Ford suit at the beach?"

I shoot a glare at him from over my shoulder.

"Did dad give you the ring yet?"

I nod rigidly. "The day he told me about the alliance."

"Do you have it with you?"

My forehead puckers at the question. "No, it’s at the penthouse back in New York."

I exit the sun lounge through the open sliding door to the outdoor deck, Landen still on my ass. I falter in my steps. Landen comes to my flank. The girls are reclining on towels, on the pier that outstretches on the lake like a wooden limb. The jade-green marvel of the forest surrounds the crystalline surface of the marble-blue waters. Landen moves first and I follow, slipping my hands into the large pockets.

The two are bathed in sunlight, both of them wearing two-piece bikinis. But Kelsey wears a black, high-waisted see-through skirt and a huge floppy hat to shield her from the sun. Landen leaps on the pier, skipping the three steps. They chuck him an apathetic glance, which they will soon regret. Landen rushes up to Avara and scoops her into his arms, bridal style, spins and tosses her into the air. She screams, flailing before she’s swallowed by the water. Landen turns to smile deviously at Kelsey. She launches to her feet, scrambling up to escape him. But now I block her, impeding her path, looking down at her.

"Don’t you dare."

The challenge only excites me even more.

She tries to pass me again, but I capture her, ducking low to hurl her over my shoulder. Her hat falls off and she screams, floundering on my shoulder. I stroll to the edge, intending to throw her in, but a brute force rams into me, and we are both plunged into the water. I burst out of the surface, shaking my head and pushing my hair back, glaring up at Landen. He hooks his pinkie finger in his mouth, dragging his lips to one side to increase his smile. Something I haven’t seen him do since he was twelve.

He sinks to his haunches, perched at the edge of the pier.

"You should know better than to turn your back on me."

Avara slinks out of water, silently, pushing herself up onto the pier with expert stealth.

To keep him distracted, I say, "You’re my brother. I’d be expecting you to be watching my back, not pushing it."

He shrugs carelessly, grinning stupidly. Avara creeps up behind him and thrusts her foot at his back and he collapses into the water. Kelsey scream laughs, splashing the water in a fit of hysterics. Landen re-merges again, his hair looking oil black when it’s wet. His fingers comb through to push idle strands from his face, gazing up at Avara, who smiles victoriously.

"Guess I’ve met my match."

We all swim to the edges of the pier, hauling ourselves out. I get out first so I can offer my hand to Kelsey. She smacks it out of her face and helps herself out. My eyes explore her length as she wrings out her drenched coils, her full-bodied figure on display, curvaceously sumptuous, my eyes gripping every curve as my gaze traces each contour.

"So the Lumina festival is tonight," I announce.

"What’s that?" Avara asks, walking back to her towel to plop down on it.

"Like a lights festival," Landen adds, "good music, even better booze. And fireworks."

"Sounds like fun," Kelsey says with a considering smile.

"Well, I saw that your lodge has a library," Avara points out, bending her legs and wrapping one arm around them. "And this is my perfect, if only, opportunity to catch up on some reading. So I’m out."

I look at a sly-eyed Landen, ever-concocting mischief with a distrustful smile on his face.

"Landen?"

He runs another hand through his wet hair. "Normally I would. But. I think I’m gonna catch up on some sleep—I’m gonna need it because I organized to have dad’s yacht—the black one, brought here. Along with a few friends."

I sigh exasperatedly. "A yacht party?"

"So you see why I need my beauty sleep." He inclines his head with an infuriating smirk, looking at me from down his nose. "But you and Kelsey should go, luss the town. You know where the real fun is at. Take her to the devil’s peak and make a night out of it."

My eyes crawl to Kelsey, half in hope, half in dread. Her crescent shaped eyebrows lift slightly as she watches me stare at her expectantly, waiting for her to give the final verdict. She looks at Avara for permission and she gives it with an eager nod.

"You two go," she endorses with genuine excitement. "Have fun. You won’t be missing out much here."