“Dare what?” he whispered, his sorcerer’s voice slipping under her skin like a flame. His gaze was so intense, she felt the same flames licking along her nerve endings.
His mouth was now mere inches away. Her tongue touched her lower lip. Enticed him. Tempted him. She closed her eyes as his mouth came down on hers. Fire swept through her, consumed her. His arms crushed her to him, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but his perfect mouth and the earth moving beneath her feet.
She belonged to him, with him. There could never be another. Only Aidan. Only the two of them together. She was his.The words beat in her head, imprinting themselves forever on her heart. On her soul. Alexandria reluctantly pulled her mouth from his, burying her face on his chest. “You aren’t playing fair, Aidan,” she said, the words muffled in his shirt.
The warmth of his breath touched her neck. “This is no game, cara. It never has been.” His mouth closed over her pulse, sending it racing. “This is for all time.”
“I have no idea what to do with you. I don’t even know if you mean the things you say.” The confusion in her mind was very real. He was swamping her, giving no relief, no time to figure things out for herself.
That wasn’t what Aidan wanted. Alexandria needed to trust him, to see him as a friend as well as a lover. The urgent demands of his body and nature gave them very little time, but he was determined to make the most of it. She could laugh at him, make him laugh at himself. It was a start to friendship. Slowly, reluctantly, his arms released her, and he stepped away, providing a measure of relief for both of them.
“Thomas Ivan needs to be taken out and shot,” he said deliberately to make her smile. “He’s a spoiled brat who made too much money too fast.”
She relaxed visibly. “I wonder if he thinks the same thing about you.”
“With his vivid imagination, he probably envisions a stake through my heart,” he muttered. “That man has a sick mind, to make up all that nonsense. Did you happen to pick up his last game, the one with the vampires and their army of women slaves?”
“Well, it’s obvious you have,” she pointed out, pouncing on that. “Secretly you probably love his games. I’ll bet you own every one.” Her eyes widened, and a slow, wicked smile spread across her lips. “You do, don’t you, Savage? You have all his games. You’re a secret fan.”
He nearly choked. “A fan? That man could not find the truth if it was staring him right in the face. As it was the other evening.”
She raised an eyebrow. “His games are fiction, Savage. No truth intended. Only imagination. That’s why they’re entertainment, not truth. Admit it, you like his games.”
“It is never going to happen, Alexandria, so do not hold your breath. And another thing—when you talk to that pompous ass on the phone, do not go all syrupy.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked down at her from his superior height.
“Syrupy?” she echoed indignantly, outraged at the accusation. “I never sound syrupy.” Her large eyes flashed a warning at him, daring him to pursue his point.
He dared to. “Oh, yes, you do.” He clasped his hands together and made a face, his voice rising an octave as he simpered. “Oh, Marie, the flowers are so beautiful. Thomas Ivan gave them to me.” He rolled his eyes as he mimicked her.
“I did not say that! And I never act that way. For some reason, you just can’t bring yourself to admit you like Ivan’s games. It must be some macho kind of nonsense, although a lot of men play them and enjoy them.”
“They are pure trash,” he insisted. “And there is not a grain of truth or sense in any of them. He romanticizes vampires. It would be interesting to see what he thought if he was introduced to one.” It was a veiled threat, nothing less. Aidan fairly purred with satisfaction at the mere thought of it.
Alexandria was horrified. “You wouldn’t dare! Aidan, I mean it, don’t you even think about doing something so evil.”
“Was it not you who said there was no such thing as a vampire?” he inquired innocently, his white teeth very much in evidence.
His mouth again. She found herself staring up at it, fascinated. His smile had softened its lines into pure sensuality. She blinked to bring perspective back into her life. He should be outlawed.
His smile widened, dispelling any hint of cruelty, and he leaned close to her. “Remember, I can read your mind, piccola.”
Her blue eyes flashed at him, and one small fist thumped the middle of his chest. Hard. “Well, stop it. And don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t exactly giving you compliments.”
“No?” His hand touched her face tenderly. “Keep fighting, Alexandria. It will not do you any good, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead.”
“Arrogant, primeval ape,” she sniffed, turning away before he could read her need of him in her eyes. She deliberately went to the telephone. “I believe you have Thomas’s number?”
He reached around her, his arm brushing her shoulders, his scent enveloping her. Any of his kind would recognize his brand, would know she belonged to him just from his scent on her. The human, however, would never notice. Irritated by the thought, Aidan found the business card beneath the phone and handed it to her.
“Call him,” he dared softly.
Her chin went up. She was human. She would be human. Even if she wasn’t, this... this creature, whatever he was, would not rule her life. Defiantly she stabbed at the buttons on the phone.
To Alexandria’s amazement, Thomas himself answered. It seemed so out of character. “Thomas? This is Alexandria Houton,” she said hesitantly, not certain, now that she had him, what to say. “I hope it isn’t too early to call.”
“Alexandria! Thank God! I was beginning to think that man had you locked up in a dungeon somewhere. Are you all right? Do you want me to come and get you?”
Thomas sat up, pushing at the hair falling across his forehead. The sheets had wound around him so tightly for a moment, he had to fight just to move.
“No, no, I’m fine. Well, still a bit shaky, and I have to rest a lot, but I’m doing much better. Thank you for the roses. They’re beautiful.” She was acutely aware of Aidan standing close to her, listening to every word, listening to the tone of her voice. She had an impulse to try for syrupy. The man had no right monitoring her personal conversations.
“I’m coming over, Alexandria. I have to see you.” Thomas said it almost belligerently, determined not to be denied.
“I believe I have an interview with a couple of detectives this morning,” she said in a gentle reprimand.
Beside her Aidan stirred restlessly. Her voice was far too soft for his liking. Far too sexy. She was a Carpathian now, with all the sensuality and the mesmerizing effect on humans of one born to his kind.
Aidan’s subtle, possessive movement brought his body even closer, and she could smell his scent. It invaded her very being, sending liquid warmth pooling unexpectedly in her midsection. Alexandria hunched her shoulders and stepped away, backing up against the antique cherry-wood piece the phone rested on.
“I was so worried, Alexandria. And that strange man. How well do you know him?” Thomas had lowered his voice to a conspirator’s whisper.
Alexandria was acutely aware that it did not matter how quietly Thomas spoke. Her own hearing was so sharp now that she could hear at great distances if she chose. It only stood to reason that Aidan’s hearing would be even more intense and his ability to control it far better than hers. She felt color wash into her face.
“You don’t know Aidan at all, Thomas. You barely know me. We only met for one dinner, and that was interrupted. Please don’t say things against someone who has been a great friend to me.” For some unknown reason, Thomas’s slights against Aidan annoyed her, but it was the last thing she wanted Aidan to know.