by Alexa Silver
He had hired her on the spot. Not just because she came highly recommended and was clearly good at what she did. Truth be told, he’d taken the risk of hiring a human for a highly classified office because he’d wanted to see her again. He’d wanted somehow to get her into bed where he could plunge himself inside her exciting ninety-eight-point-six degree human warmth. Her natural, exuberant energy that she wore around her like an invisible, cheerful cloak was another nearly irresistible lure. He scowled. Protesting his explosive desire for her would not enhance his case.
She had the grace to look as though she wanted the ground to swallow her up. Good. Maybe he could use her innate sense of fair play to nip this mushrooming crisis in the bud.
She chose that moment to straighten her spine. “I mean what I say, Mr. Chase. I will report you all.”
So much for innate fair play. The stubborn set of her chin was no lie. The situation was getting desperate. If she followed through on her threat, she’d be the one in danger. He could use mind thrall on her, of course. Make her forget she ever walked into his office in the first place. But he found himself loath to risk it on Serena. Every human reacted differently to the effect of vampire hypnosis. The last thing he wanted was for her bright brain to turn into Swiss cheese, full of holes and unable to hold a coherent thought for long. And, if truth be told, he didn’t want her to forget all about him, either. What to do?
“Unless…” She added the belated word tantalizingly.
“Unless…?” He waited, not exactly holding his breath, but not bothering to breathe either. What surprise was she about to hit him with now?
“I have need of your…help.” She lowered her lashes. He could no longer see the thoughts reflected in her brilliant eyes.
“You want money.” Flat disappointment laced his voice. It was an educated guess based on her previous assertions that she was in financial need. If she was attempting to blackmail him and hurt his people merely to gain a bundle of dirty paper that humans prized so much, she was in for a shock. He’d mind thrall her into forgetfulness and then have security toss her onto the sidewalk without a second thought.
“What? No! What do you take me for?” She bolted up and looked him proudly in the eye, her appalled outrage plain to see. Her vehemence reassured him that she wasn’t so mercenarily shallow as to threaten the brave employees under his protection merely for monetary gain.
“Glad to hear it,” he replied dryly. She was wringing her hands in her lap, clearly conflicted over her attempt to blackmail him. “But if filthy lucre isn’t your aim, why don’t you tell me what you do want in exchange for your silence in this matter?”
Her honest eyes blazed at him. “I want you to stop a no good, low down, mean-tempered, bullying, son of a bitch vampire from marrying my cousin against her will. And I need you to do it tonight!”
Chapter 2
At her words, Caden instantly pressed a hidden button under the edge of his desk. The glass wall partition turned an opaque black, giving them complete privacy. In a blink he towered over her chair and lifted her smoothly to her feet, his long fingers curling carefully around her upper arms. He ignored her startled gasp as she stumbled against him.
“A vampire is trying to marry your cousin?” He tilted her chin up to make her look him in the eye. “Are you certain?”
“Yes,” she answered, breathless, clearly too surprised to struggle in his grasp.
Damnation. That was a red flag, and a game changer. But he couldn’t tell Serena why. Not yet. Not until he tasted Serena’s own blood to test his hypothesis. And how could he do that without making her more frightened and suspicious of him than she already was?
“Zoe has only been dating Drake for a few months and we just found out he’s…he’s one of you,” she continued.
“Drake Garoul?” Damnation.
She nodded. He made an impatient sound, frowning down at her. “Garoul may be a vampire but there any similarity between us ends.”
“Yes, well, be that as it may, when Zoe tried to break off their relationship he turned from Prince Charming into Count Dracula in a hot, fast heartbeat.”
She glanced pointedly at his hands that restrained her and arched her brows in challenge. He sighed and loosened his grip but didn’t release her, rubbing his cool thumb against the warm skin of her arm.
“She wanted to jilt him at the altar because he’s a vampire?” Caden watched Serena’s face carefully for signs of bigotry.
“No! For lying to her about it! And for using mind thrall to get her to do whatever he wanted.” He felt her breasts brush against him. Her heartbeat hammering against his ribcage told him she was telling the truth. Her delicious heat, especially at her crotch, told him something else. Serena Bliss wanted him. Even though he was a vampire. An aching throb of desire shafted through him at the welcome realization that she was also struggling with the powerful attraction that had sparked between them from day one.
In the circle of his arms, her breath caught and he knew she could feel the rigid pillar of his brazen erection pressed against her midsection. He should really let her go, yet he wanted nothing more than to crush her closer and flatten her nude, warm breasts against his bare, cool skin.
She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. Then in a quick move she pulled herself out of his grasp. He released her immediately, dropping his hands to his sides, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do.
She rubbed her arms as though they tingled, even though he had been holding her gently. Her breathing was ragged, and he could see the outline of her hardening nipples through her blouse. He smiled in satisfaction. It was only fair. Now that he was no longer hidden behind his desk she had spotted and gotten up close and personal with the bulge in his pants that was for her alone.
“Vampires aren’t fully welcome in human society yet,” he reasoned softly. “We’ve only been allowed to enter the mainstream in small number during the past couple of years. There are still a few very vocal mobs with proverbial torches and pitchforks that want to chase us back into our coffins. A few of our kind have fallen in love with your kind, and been spurned because of our nature.”
He allowed his eyes to run down the length her body, letting her see the open flame in them for her.
She folded her arms across her chest, hiding the taut nipples that poked through her blouse at him. “A nature that makes your kind see my kind as walking, talking snack bars.”
He shrugged dismissively. “There’s a little more to it than that but suffice to say, right or wrong, maybe Garoul was waiting for the right time to tell your cousin what he is.”
“Call me old-fashioned but the time to tell your future bride you’re not human is at any point before you pop the question much less before she says ‘I do’,” she replied acidly. “The wedding is tomorrow. He was going to marry her without telling her what he is. And now she’s trapped at his place and I can’t get a hold of her!”
“In that case, what he’s doing is illegal, no matter what species he is,” Caden stated, taking a slow step toward her while trying not to appear as though he was stalking her. A tricky thing, that. “Why not go to the police? Why involve me or my team?”
She held her ground, watching him with what looked like fascination in her eyes. “Drake Garoul would just use mind thrall on any human who tried to intervene. He’s using it on Zoe now to make her go through with the wedding! I can’t go over there to check on her in case he twists my thinking, too.
No, I’ve thought this through. The old adage of ‘It takes a blood-sucker to catch a blood-sucker’ seems applicable in this case. And, well, you’re the only blood-sucker I happen to know,” she finished weakly.
An ironic smile tugged at his lips. “I’ve been around a long time, Miss Bliss, and I don’t recall that old adage phrased in quite that way before.”
She placed her hands on her delightfully rounded hips. “If the fang fits, Mr. Chase.”
“I’d show a little more healthy resp
ect for the fangs, if I were you. You’re lucky to still be standing right now. Most vampires don’t take being blackmailed with exposure as kindly as I have.”
Her gaze was clearly suspicious. “And why exactly are you taking it so well, I wonder?”
“I’m just an incredibly good sport, I guess.”
“Uh huh. I meant what I said about turning you in if you don’t help me,” she warned. “I’m desperate. I will do what it takes to get Zoe away from that fangy creeper and out of L.A. She’s like a sister to me.”
He raised both hands in mock surrender. “I believe you already.”
She sucked in a breath. “Then you’ll help me?”
She was so beautiful as she pled with him. He almost hated to dash her hopes. But she needed to learn a lesson about how to deal with vampires. The next vamp she pulled this kind of stunt on would no doubt be her last.
“Sure. I’ll help you.” He crossed to his desk and pulled a couple of business cards out of the center drawer. He held them out to her invitingly. “Here you go.”
Warily, she eyed his outstretched hand, craning her long neck in an attempt to see without coming any closer. “What are they?”
“Direct phone numbers to the heads of the V.B.I. and the C.V.A. Knock yourself out.”
“But you said you’d help me,” she frowned in puzzlement.
He dropped the cards on the corner of the desktop. He stepped back a couple of paces so she’d feel free to come closer, which she did.
“I am. I’m helping you report me to the government, per your civic duty. Deputy Director Rodgers and Director Hughes are poker buddies of mine. Say hi for me, will you?”
She slumped, all bravado draining from her. “They already know all about you and Chase Industries, Inc., don’t they?”
“Yep,” he responded gently. “If vampires are ever going to walk in the daylight and if humans are ever going to walk safely at night, we all have to find a way to live together in peace. That’s what we’re endeavoring to do here at Chase Industries. All with the government’s highly classified, conditional cooperation. Vampire and human peaceful co-existence is the cause to which I’ve dedicated my existence. So you see, I can’t be blackmailed in this case. There’s simply too much at stake, no undead pun intended.”
Like a broken doll, Serena sank back into the chair across from him and ran a slender hand over her weary face. “You were my only hope. My cousin is doomed.”
“Not necessarily.”
She looked up swiftly, faint hope rekindling in her fascinating hazel eyes that were sometimes more green than golden and other times more golden than green.
“But you just said —”
He leaned against his desk and folded his arms, looking down at her through hooded lids. “I only said I can’t be blackmailed, Serena. I never said I couldn’t be bribed.”
*****
A few minutes later, Serena stumbled out of the Chase Industries building on wobbly legs and into the fine Los Angeles spring evening that was neither too cool nor too warm. Without knowing quite how, she made her way to her car in the lot several stories below Caden Chase’s penthouse office. She couldn’t believe what she’d agreed to.
She thought back to minutes before, to the conclusion of her interview with the vampire.
“Wh—what do you want?” She’d asked when he had suggested bribery over extortion.
“A date.” The tall, gorgeous vampire she’d had an office crush on for weeks stared down on her and smiled. So normal looking. No fangs in sight. He was drop-dead gorgeous, no undead pun intended. Why, oh, why did he have to be a vampire?
“A date. With me?” Her voice had squeaked up a few decibels. He’d smiled in that way he had for putting her at ease. Pretty good trick for a vampire, she had to admit.
“Yes, with you. Tonight.”
“That’s it? No… other strings?” Her fingers had fluttered to her neck before she could stop them.
“Well. Maybe a couple.” Caden had sounded amused. “I’d like you to wear something more feminine than trousers, for one thing. A dress, perhaps. Something a little above the knee. Low cut. Leave all silver jewelry at home. I’m allergic. No black or red, please. Feel free to wear your highest of high heels. But no perfume. I like your natural scent,” he’d finished helpfully.
“A date,” she’d repeated, trying to puzzle out his words. It was the last thing she’d expected from him.
“I’ll pick you up at your place at eight.”
She’d stared at him. “Why?”
“That’s what guys usually do at the start of a date.”
“No, I mean…why?”
He shrugged. “Because I want to take you someplace nice and get to you know you better, and you want something from me. Fair exchange, really.”
“But I’m not into vampires!” She’d blurted the lie, knowing full well that she was into at least one vampire. “And besides, I already have a date tonight.”
His face had hardened, then he shrugged.
“Break it. Think of it as your golden chance to brainstorm with me how best to help your cousin,” he’d offered in a light tone.
She had to agree. Only his help alone could save Zoe from making a terrible mistake against her will.
She’d squared her shoulders. “Okay. I’m in.”
The memory of his sexy, triumphant grin now caused her to fumble with the door handle of her car in the parking lot. She suddenly froze, feeling the hairs prickling on the back of her neck, just like they did in the office whenever she caught Caden staring at her with that hot, predatory gaze of his.
Swiveling her head she glanced up at the high rise behind her. In the final rays of golden hour she saw the outline of Caden’s body in the top floor window, staring down at her. She shivered, but refused to decide if it was from the thrill of fear or sexual excitement.
Like having a tiger by the tail, once she had a vampire by the fangs did she dare let go? She hustled inside her car and slammed the door with more violence than necessary before peeling off into the night. After all, she had to get ready for a very important date.
*****
From his window, Caden watched her taillights fade in the distance. His office was still flooded with Serena’s heady, natural perfume. He spent several minutes luxuriating in the lingering fragrance until it turned into a faint facsimile of itself, like a faded photograph left too long in the desert.
The room felt cold and empty without her in it. He missed the fireball of incredible energy that his feisty, little extortionist exuded. Still dazed, he wondered how she’d had the guts to blackmail him. When was the last time he’d seen a human walk away from a stunt like that?
Serena was brave, no doubt. The bigger question was whether she’d have the courage to accept a vampire like him as a lover? Especially after what she discovered Garoul was doing to her cousin. Ever since she walked into his afterlife, his sexual need for her had been building to fever pitch. Only she could assuage the aching need inside him.
It was springtime, when a vampire’s fancy turned to the Blood Mate hunt. If said vampire was fortunate enough to find such a proverbial needle in a haystack, he’d be a fool not to do everything he could to ensure her desire in return and bind her to him. He couldn’t know for certain without tasting her, but his every instinct told him he had finally found the one. His mind and his body had decided upon Serena Bliss.
He had no choice at this point but to claim her for his own.
Chapter 3
A few minutes before eight, her bazillionaire vampire date rang the doorbell.
Serena gave a last glance in the bathroom mirror. Her hands trembled a little as she smoothed the vibrant melon colored skirt over her thighs with damp palms. The hem of the dress reached just above her knees, showing off her toned calves and slim ankles.
The sleeveless bodice of the dress clung in all the right places, revealing her bare shoulders and arms. The dress’s deeply scooped neck showed a good bit
of her round, high cleavage — just as ordered — without being lewd.
Serena slipped her strawberry polish-tipped toes into a pair of beige, strappy high heels, dabbed on a bit more passion cherry lip gloss, and grabbed her clutch just as the doorbell sounded again. She could picture Caden Chase’s eyes narrowing as he stabbed the doorbell a second time when she didn’t answer his summons immediately. Good. Let him wait. It’s not like he could bust in on her without an invitation. Ha.
Serena marched down the stairs of her townhouse condo, determined to keep her own body in check tonight. Yet her lacy panties were as damp as her palms at the thought of Caden Chase on the other side of her front door.
How could that be? No matter how strong her attraction to Caden Chase, her cousin’s current nightmare with a duplicitous, selfish vamp had cooled any thought Serena might have had of wanting an undead boyfriend of her own. She’d packed her handbag sufficiently to ensure she didn’t become a vampire’s aperitif tonight.
So why was the small yet persistent voice in her head reminding her that, until she had discovered Caden Chase was a vampire a few days ago, she’d been crushing hard on her boss for the past three months? He’d even been the featured guest star in all of her sexual fantasies since they’d met. Hell, she might as well name her vibrator “Caden.”
Yanking the handle, she threw open the front door just as the bell sounded for the third, imperious time. Caden filled the doorway, looking tall, dark, and dangerous in a perfectly fitted charcoal gray suit. He was sans one of the habitual power ties he always wore to the office. His crisp, white shirt was open at the collar revealing the strong column of his neck. The warm light from her home spilled through the opening, illuminating his short, black hair and pale green eyes that raked her form, warmly assessing every detail of her appearance.
