“Because…you sent me to your office…” I reply, my voice thin. Suddenly, I feel very silly, but I can’t stop talking. “I thought maybe you didn’t like my blood. When you tasted it earlier.”
A slow, mirthful smirk appears across her face. There’s something about her mouth, about the elegant curve of her lips. The way she speaks, the way she grins. I can’t take my eyes from her. Are all vampires like this? Is she enchanting me, somehow?
“I enjoyed your blood,” she replies, silkily. “You have nothing to worry about. I called you to my office to sample you again, inprivate, if you desire.”
The words “private” and “desire” float around in my head, making me feel gooey and warm.
She leans forward, her grey eyes locked on mine. “I can make it feel pleasurable for you, if you wish. Another skill that I possess…”
I’m caught in the net of her gaze, unable to break free. Is that what Eloise meant, when she said that it could feel good? Nervously, I tuck my hair behind my ear, trying to ignore the heat that’s suddenly spreading through my core. I find myself leaning toward her, shifting myself closer…
What’shappeningto me?
Her fangs begin to elongate slightly, and the ache intensifies. There’s something strangely…satisfying…at the thought of submitting myself to her…
“Would you like that?” she whispers, her voice low and husky.
My voice is so quiet I don’t know if I speak the words at all. “I think…I would…”
Her eyes meet mine, and I can feel a tug. My body starts to tingle, as though I’m melting…
Then I remember what I came here to do.
“Wait!” I gasp, pushing myself away from her.
She frowns, and the tingling sensation stops. “Would you like to stop?”
“No…” I bite my lip, nervously. The potion feels sticky and cold on my neck, and there’s a horrible twist of guilt in my stomach. I don’t know how to tell her this, but I also know that I can’t let her bite my neck. She would consume whatever the other vampires put on me, and it would weaken her.
I can’t do it. Not even for twenty thousand dollars. It’s not right.
With a deep breath, I come clean. “That…that other vampire who was here before…”
“Waylan?” Her eyes narrow. “What did he say to you?”
I struggle to stay composed under the force of her stare. “He…him and another vampire put something on my neck. Some sort of…potion, I think. They said it was made by a witch.”
Her nostrils flare, and she bends her head toward me, sniffing my throat. The proximity of her mouth to my neck makes me quiver.
“Thatbastard…” she says, her eyes flashing red. She seems to understand what’s happening without me having to explain further. Then she trains her gaze back upon me, a powerful ferocity in her eyes. Her pointed canines begin to crest over her bottom lip.
Fearfully, I scramble against the other side of the leather couch, asfar as I can get from her lethal fangs.
“You were involved in their scheme?” she hisses.
“No! No, they offered me money, but I couldn’t do it,” I sob, shaking my head desperately. “Please don’t hurt me, I didn’t want any part of it!”
She sighs angrily, giving me a suspicious look. “Who was the other vampire? Wait…was it Sabina?”
“Y-yes.”
Her anger is palpable, chilling the room like a dense fog. She leans in closer to me. “Did either of them touch you? Hurt you in any way?”
The breath catches in my throat. There’s something startling in her tone. Something possessive. It’s strangely gut-wrenching, although I don’t understand why she’s asking, or why she would care about me.
I shake my head.
“Good,” she growls, her voice so low I almost don’t hear it. “Then I won’t stake them. At least not yet.”
