Not that she trusted Aden. She wasn’t that naïve. But he seemed, if not honest, then at least businesslike. And maybe a little intrigued by her sexually. And, okay, maybe she was intrigued right back at him, which made her wonder at her own sanity. But she couldn’t get the image out of her head of Aden’s mouth on her neck, his breath warm as his fangs slowly emerged from his gums, as they pierced her vein . . .
Damn. She shook herself mentally. Was this why so many women, and men, too, lined up for those blood houses? Did the vamps exude some sort of pheromone that made regular humans lose every ounce of survival instinct?
“Snap out of it!” Sid told herself sharply, then laughed. She really was going nuts. She stepped into the green wool sheath she’d decided to wear tonight, pulling it up over her hips and reaching back to zip it before eyeing herself critically. It was a nice enough dress, but she’d chosen it for the neckline. Most of her winter clothes had turtlenecks, because they were winter clothes. This was Chicago, after all. The sweater she’d worn last night and this dress were probably the only exceptions in her closet.
She smoothed the soft wool over her hips, fighting the instinct to find a cardigan to cover the sweetheart neckline, which not only bared her neck, but also showed a fair amount of cleavage. With a deep sigh, she stepped into a pair of simple black pumps. Simple in that they were unadorned, but the heels were high and spiky, and there was a tiny bow on the back that transformed them from businesslike to sexy. Or so she thought. Hopefully, Aden would, too.
With another long-suffering sigh, she pulled on her warm coat and headed off to walk voluntarily into the lion’s den once more.
ADEN STOOD BEHIND his desk as Sidonie Reid entered his office. Not for the first time, he wished his vampire gift had included a greater telepathic component, especially when it came to humans. He could work his will on them easily enough. If he’d wanted, he could have had Miss Reid stripping herself naked and on her knees before him in no time at all. He rarely did such things, however. He preferred seduction, drawing his victims in until they begged for the very thing he’d wanted from them all along, even when they’d denied him only moments before.
Some vampires used their ability to mesmerize humans to enrich themselves. But it was never money or gold that Aden wanted. He had plenty of both and could always get more. No, what he desired was sexual surrender. And he was a master at getting what he wanted.
Take Sidonie, for example. She wanted something from him and was willing to use her sexuality to get it. She probably had no intention of following through on her seductive advances. No doubt she was used to confusing men into giving her what she wanted and then dancing away without ever having to deliver. She and Aden were alike in their use of seduction, except that Aden always delivered. That was half the fun, after all.
She dropped her coat onto the sofa and turned with a polite smile. The dress was a dark green that flattered her hair and accented the pink hue of her pale skin, especially along the curve of her breasts which were showcased by the curved neckline. She wasn’t quite comfortable with the dress. He could tell by her frequent, aborted attempts to tug the neckline higher. He smiled in amusement at her modesty, especially when contrasted with the fuck-me heels she was wearing.
He didn’t say anything, just watched and waited, as an embarrassed flush crept up over her neck and face.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, managing to stop her hand halfway to another tug at her neckline.
“I don’t know,” he said smoothly. “Is there?”
She tried to cover her irritation, but two little crease lines appeared between her brows.
“Where did you go last night, Sidonie?” he asked. “After you left here.”
The crease lines deepened into a scowl. “I went home. Why, what’d you do?” she demanded.
Aden’s lips curved into a slight smile as he strolled over to face her. She stared up at him with wide eyes and started to take step back. But then she squared her shoulders and glared, her lips flattened defiantly.
“Sidonie,” he purred and smoothed the back of his fingers down her silken cheek.
She blinked rapidly, her clear blue eyes meeting his, her heart pounding so loudly in his ears that she had to be hearing it herself. She swallowed and whispered, “Yes?”
“Oh, don’t say yes too quickly, sweetheart,” he murmured, letting his fingers continue downward, over the curve of her elegant neck, and down even farther to skim the swell of her breasts. He leaned forward until his lips were nearly touching her ear. “I like the dress even better than the sweater,” he whispered.
She sucked in a startled breath, and he was standing so close that her breasts brushed against his chest. But rather than backing away, as a gentleman might have done, he stepped even closer and rested one hand on her hip.
“Have you ever been bitten, Sidonie?” he asked, his mouth hovering above hers as he slid his hand around to caress her lower back, just above the curve of her ass. It was a light touch, but enough to hold her in place, enough to let her know she was his to control.
She shook her head, her eyes wide, pupils dilated with desire. “No.”
“Would you like to be? Is that why you’re here?”
She seemed to have trouble coming up with an answer for that. Did she think she could lie to him? Impossible. A vampire of his power could detect all of the subtle changes that affected humans when they lied. But maybe she didn’t know that. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.
“That’s not—” She drew a deep breath, her breasts once again brushing against his chest, even more so this time. He was holding her so closely that he felt the scrape of her erect nipples and heard the soft hitch in her breath that she probably hadn’t intended him to hear.
Aden’s lip curled in pleasure. She wanted to feel the kiss of his fangs, but she didn’t want to want it. This was what he loved. This was what made him hard. His cock swelled, thick and hot beneath the fine wool of his slacks, and he shifted slightly, letting her feel it.
She sucked in a breath. Her hand came up to press against his chest, her fingers curled slightly, as if she couldn’t decide whether to stop him or drag him closer.
Aden dipped his head and drew in the scent of her, her arousal, her blood so close to the surface, rushing through the big vein beneath her ear, thick and warm. He trailed his tongue along the path of her jugular, then lifted his head and blew softly on the wet skin.
Sidonie shivered and made a little sound of pleasure, and Aden smiled.
“Where did you go last night?” he whispered.
She stiffened. “What?”
SID LAID HER HAND on Aden’s chest and sighed with pleasure. He was so big, the muscles beneath her fingers like iron. And she was going to do this thing. He’d started in on her almost the minute she walked through the door tonight, crooning at her in that low, sexy, voice, his dark eyes caressing every curve of her body, every inhaled breath that plumped her breasts over the low-cut neckline. Maybe he was hungry, maybe whatever had happened last night had drained him, and he needed blood. Maybe that was why he was doing the full-court press right off the starting line. The part of her brain that was a writer chided her for the mixed metaphor, but she told it to shut the fuck up.
She shivered as Aden bent closer, his wet tongue gliding over the skin beneath her ear, his breath warm, just as she’d imagined it would be. She couldn’t stop the tiny sound of pleasure that escaped her lips. Hadn’t she known all along it would come to this? Hadn’t she dressed this way to seduce him, to have his teeth on her neck? And what could it hurt? It was just a little bit of blood, after all.