“Maybe Ricardo isn’t so bad after all.”

“I’m sorry to destroy your fantasy but you’re not his type. He’s a fan of plump, curvy females with big butts. You’ll see what I mean when you get a glimpse of his consort.”

“So, basically, his taste is the opposite of yours.” Before he could make an impish comment I quickly asked, “So at some point you’ll speak to every vampire in this file.”

He nodded. “That’s right. They’ll come over, ask how Antonio’s doing and to pass on their regards, that kind of thing. It’s just exchanging pleasantries to show respect for Antonio.”

“Right.”

On the last photograph a very grim looking vampire was staring back at me. He made me think of an army sergeant or something. His face and neck were covered in scars and tattoos and had a beard of stubble, giving him quite a rugged appearance. He didn’t look in the least bit welcoming.

“Kaiser Something-Or-Other. I can’t pronounce his surname. He’s German and a Pagori. High Master over Germany, Russia, Sweden, Finland and other places round those parts. I’m 100% confident that he’ll be the first to offer to join Antonio. He might be miserable and mind-numbingly boring but he’s loyal to Antonio. He’s visited The Hollow a few times.”

“His gift?”

“He can petrify any plant, animal or even human – totally turning them to stone.”

“Well he’s just gone up in my estimations.”

“He’ll probably be very pleased with you. Likes the slender but shapely type. Not approving of Joy.”

I couldn’t help smiling at that. “Well that’s because a lot of blokes like to be able to hold what they can see.”

His expression became all bad-boyish and spoke of utter mischief. “I’d certainly like to hold what I can see right now.” He brushed my hair over my shoulder and leant over to my ear. “Sam,” he breathed. “You know you want this.”

I rose and took a step to the side so that I was standing in front of the neighbouring seat, taunting him more than anything else. He left his chair and advanced toward me, perching one butt cheek on the table.

Grinning, he held up his index finger. “Now that is something you can’t do tomorrow night. You’ll be posing as my consort; no one will believe that if you’re shifting away from me. Speaking of, you know consort decorum, right?”

I groaned and rolled my eyes. “I was Victor’s for three years, what do you think?”

“I know, but that was when you were travelling in lower class circles. This gathering will be full of the big boys, there’s a certain standard they expect. Number one: you cannot leave my side without asking permission. Where I go, you follow. Number two: you don’t speak to anyone unless they speak to you first. They’ll speak about you to me, that’s different. Unless they address you, you keep zipped. Number three: you don’t argue with anything at all that I say. I know that goes against your very nature, but you have to be a good girl.”

I groaned. “All that is going to kill me.”

“I should warn you and your feisty little self now that you should expect them to speak about you. You’re a Sventé vampire. Me bringing a Sventé as my consort is like the president taking his servant to a royal gathering.”

“Oh really? Well I think you’ll be very surprised by their response.”

“In what way?”

“Just because Kejas and Pagoris rarely associate with Sventés because of their prejudiced view that we’re apparently more human than vampire, don’t expect them to frown upon my presence. They’ll be just as curious as you are about being having me bite them.”

He gave me a doubtful look.

“Trust me. At least one will ask if you like to have exclusive rights to my saliva because they’ll want a sample, you’ll see.”

His gaze was hot again, and the heat was contagious. My self-consciousness under his glare had long ago subsided as my desire grew. Those sensual lips and those masterful hands brought plenty of memories – really good ones – to the forefront of my mind. This was not good while he was so close.

“Can I claim those rights now?” He leant toward me. I took a step backwards but he took my wrist and tugged me lightly to him. Not up close to him. He was just stopping me from getting away.

I swallowed. “No, and you won’t be claiming them tomorrow night either. You’re going to promise me now that you won’t try to take advantage of the situation that I have to do what you say.”

His smile widened. “Don’t worry, I won’t. Know why? For the same reason that I’m not running my hands all over you right now. I’m not interested in doing anything to you that you don’t first say you want me to do. When we have sex – and we will, Sam – it won’t be because I seduced you, it’ll be because you’ve finally admitted that you want it. That’s why I didn’t want us to do anything last night. It wasn’t really me you wanted, and you’d have just said afterwards that you weren’t thinking straight at the time because of what had happened outside the bar.”

I didn’t argue. I would’ve done that. The truth was that last night I did want comfort. He gave it to me by holding me, but I’d wanted more. I’d wanted to know just how good he could make me feel. Once my head was clear I probably would have browbeat myself for shagging a bloke who collected women like they were coupons.

He slowly brought his face to mine but didn’t kiss me. The red rings of his irises were glowing. “Why do you fight it so hard, Sam?” His voice was no more than a throaty whisper.

“You know why,” I whispered.

“I’ll get rid of them. All of them. Just say the word and they’re gone. You’re all I want.”

Taken aback, I studied his face searching for some indication that he was either joking or lying. But there was no deception or humour there, and I could sense nothing but honesty coming from him. “You’ll get rid of your consorts? Just like that?” There was pure disbelief dripping from the words.

“Like I said, you’re all I want.” His voice was still deep and throaty, indicating a barely controlled hunger. “Not as a consort. You’re worth more than that. I’ll grant you it’s greedy of me to have three, but just because I like to enjoy the advantages of being Heir doesn’t mean I see women as objects or that I’m anything like your Sire was. If getting rid of them proves that to you then that’s what I’ll do.”

I went to say something but the intensity of his gaze as he ran his knuckles down the column of my throat brought me up short. His gaze dropped to my lips which were dry and I was restraining from licking them in case he mistook that as a signal for him to kiss me.

“I’ll get rid of them,” he repeated.

“Oh, really?”

“You don’t believe me.”

“Of course not.”

He smiled, brushing his nose against mine. “Why?”

“What was it you said to me when we had that fight? That I should get on with my celibate lifestyle and you’d get on with shagging your consorts?”

“I haven’t slept with any one of them since before our fight. Doesn’t seem any point when it’s you I’m thinking about.”

“While you’re on a roll with lies would you care to tell me anymore?”

His gaze seized mine. Softly, he insisted, “I’m not lying.”

I snorted. “You can’t expect me to believe that. Joy comes to the office all the time talking about plans for you and her involving whipped cream and handcuffs and all that crap.”

His smile grew. “I knew you were listening.”

I smiled back in spite of myself.

“Her version of seduction techniques. All were unsuccessful.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry but there’s just no way I can believe that you haven’t touched them for weeks because of me. And I definitely can’t believe that you’d ditch them for a shag, no matter how much you say you want me.”

“Oh I don’t want a ‘shag’.” With his nose he skimmed the line of my jaw, making me shudder. “Once won’t be enough. I want to do it over, and over, and over, and over again. And I intend to do a lot more to you than just that.”

Great – now I had a series of images circulating round my head that were dazing my brain with lust. “I heard you don’t shag the same woman twice unless it’s a consort.”

“I don’t.”

“Yet you’re saying ‘over and over again’...?”

He softly ran the tip of his finger along my bottom lip which I very nearly flicked it with my tongue. “It’s...different...with you,” he finally said.

Close to overwhelmed by his closeness and teasing touches I swallowed so hard that I was surprised that I found my voice. “Different how?”

He seemed to be searching for words; confusion was splattered across his face. Eventually he shrugged one shoulder slightly. “It just is. I don’t just want you, I need you. Crave you so bad that no one else even appeals to me.”

The hint of desperation in his voice sent a shiver through my body. I might have thought these words were just designed to eat at my defences if I hadn’t seen the truth in his eyes. But even as he stood here admitting – something that I could see wasn’t easy for him to do – that he craved me so badly, he was sure to keep his touches light, simple, non-invasive. He had to see the effect he was having on me, had to be able to sense my arousal, and yet he wasn’t leaping on that. He really wasn’t going to until I gave in to him, I realised with a shock. Until he heard the words come from my mouth, he wouldn’t act on what he wanted – craved – no matter how bad it was for him. How could I have ever thought that there was any similarity whatsoever between him and Victor? They were nothing alike. That old bastard had took what he wanted when he wanted, disregarding anyone else. Yeah Jared was arrogant and slutty, but taking advantage of his position of Heir and accepting the offers of the women around him wasn’t a crime and didn’t make him anything like my Sire at all. But then I’d known that all along really, hadn’t I? It was like Jared had said; it had just been so long since my body had responded to a bloke without being manipulated that I hadn’t known how to deal with it. So what had I done? Slammed up a shield and ran from it.

“You know how it’ll feel, Sam.”

I did know. I knew how his hands would feel on my skin. I knew how wildly he would kiss me. I knew how tight he would hold me. There would be that explosion of heat coursing through me, like fire. And if just having him kiss me and touch me would make me feel that, what would the rest be like? My cl*t was throbbing just thinking about it. Oh God I really needed to step away from him. Right. Now.

Did my body move? No.

“I’ll get rid of them, Sam. I told you I will, I meant it. All you have to do is admit that you want me.” He brought his lips to mine and spoke against them, “Just admit it. Tell me you want me and I’ll get rid of them.”

Suddenly every single fibre of my being was sizzling with alertness and desire and anticipation. Yeah, he was a sod and, yeah, he was sexist and, yeah, he’d rejected me last night and, yeah, there were probably more reasons than that why I shouldn’t want him. But at this point I’d had enough of fighting myself on this, enough of running away. All I wanted now was to feel that fire again. To have his hands on me again. To have him finish what he started weeks ago. My body was supportive of that idea. My body also sensed the but...Yes, there was a but. I just found it way too hard to believe that he would get ditch his consorts just to shag me no matter how many times he was hoping to do it or how much he wanted me.

“Just tell me you want me, and I’ll get rid of them,” he repeated.

Cloaking my hypersensitivity to him, I smoothed out the collar of his jacket and spoke against his lips, “Get rid of them, and then I’ll tell you I want you.” He didn’t tug me back to him this time when I stepped away. His smile hadn’t fallen but frustration – sexual frustration, mostly – filled his expression. And his pants.

There was also respect in his gaze; a gaze that was exploring my body again. Exploring it so closely that I was tingling all over. I wondered if I’d made him even worse by holding back. He seemed to appreciate a challenge more than most. “Alright,” said Jared, smiling. No one should have a smile that sexy. “You don’t think I will, do you?”

“Nope.”

He came toward me. “I can promise you that when I come for you tomorrow night to leave for Connelly’s gathering I’ll be consort-free...and ready to make you scream as soon as we get back from there.”

“Oh is that right?” I giggled.

He nodded and then seized my eyes with a gaze so heated that it scorched my entire body. “And I can’t wait to hear that husky voice you’ve got calling out my name.”

“Sorry, I don’t call out anyone’s name. It’s nothing personal.”

His smile was now almost stretched from ear to ear. “You will for me. You will for me.”

(Jared)

In the interest of not having the people in the neighbouring apartments gossiping – Sam liked her private business very private, she said – I teleported her to her apartment so she didn’t have to leave through the door. I was so close to just snagging a kiss before I left but I held everything I was feeling in reserve. I meant what I’d said just as seriously as I’d said it: I wanted her to admit that she wanted me before I touched her. Twice we’d kissed before and twice she had backed away full of excuses. This time there would be none, and no one would be backing away. I’d make sure of it.