"You want kids?" Maggie asked, somewhat surprised. He didn't seem to be the kind of vampire who wanted a relationship or the kind of guy that wanted to settle down and have a family. He seemed to be the type that focused on his job and had fun on the side.
"I just know the statistics based on the research," he explained, brushing the question to the side. "Genetics fascinate me. Species fascinate me. I may work in finance but I love learning about the historical part of Stewart Enterprises." There was undeniable passion in his voice and Maggie couldn't help but be captivated by it. "You... you fascinate me."
Maggie felt her cheeks turn pink and she hated how easily he could make her blush, simply by flattering her. She cleared her throat and forced herself to look away.
"What kind of tests would we run?" she asked slowly, glancing around the dining room to the glass doors that slid open and led to a secluded, wooded backyard.
"Just blood tests for now," he told her. "My colleague Barry works on data. I could get him to set up an appointment later this afternoon, after your classes, if you want.
“Look, don't feel pressured if you're not into it. I understand." He shook his head. "The fact that I'm even asking you this is breaking our contract and completely inappropriate but..." He stared at her like she was some Greek statue housed in The Louvre. "I'll set up an appointment. Come to my building and meet me there today, after your class - if you want. If I don't see you there, no worries."
"Okay," Maggie said with a nod. "I'll think about it."
With that, she headed out the door.
--
Christian closed his eyes, muttering swear words at himself at how fucking stupid he sounded. He was not an awkward, bumbling vampire who didn't have a clue as to what the fuck he was doing. He had been around for a thousand years. He had ripped the throats out of his enemies and drank the blood of his lovers. He was savage and beastly, confident and strong. Yet this girl, this human girl, made him turn into some kind of inexperienced idiot.
It's not entirely your fault, a voice pointed out. Her taste is...
He felt himself get hard just thinking about it. The problem was, it wasn't just her taste. Her taste was a surprise, and a pleasant one at that. He was dangerously attracted to who she was - a sweet, naive young woman with a trusting head on her shoulders and a sweetness to her charm. She was the sort of girl who didn't realize she was drop-dead gorgeous. She was the sort of girl who blushed when sex came into play. He could taste her innocence which drew him to her even more.
Christian wanted to taste her again. He wanted to throw her on his bed, hold her down, and thrust into her tight, wet cunt until she begged him to make her come, until she screamed his name. And then, once she was at her peak, he wanted to send her over the edge by biting her neck and taking her blood. He grunted just fantasize about it. His cocked strained against his pants and he decided to take a shower in order to release his pent-up desire. There was no way she would ever agree to have sex with him - he wasn't looking for a relationship and she was the sort of girl who wouldn't fuck without a commitment - and even if she was willing, he wasn't sure he wanted to risk losing her as his feeder in case word ever got out. Christian wasn't as well known as other businessmen in Somerset - Lucas Cruz, Marcus Sterling, even the goddamn prince of vampires, Nikolai Dragulia - but he was known and he did have admirers.
The problem was - he couldn't even remember what those admirers looked like, let alone their names, now that he had Maggie and her blood stuck in his head like a pop song.
Jesus, he was in trouble. He needed to sort this out before it got the better of him.
Once he got to his shower - attached to the master suite in the home - he removed his clothing and stood under the water. His cock was still hard, even after a few moments of trying to think of something else, so he grabbed the base and began to stroke - slowly at first. His eyes closed and he leaned against the porcelain white wall so the water pounded his back and eased the tension out of it.
His mind took him away, took him to his bedroom where she was waiting for him in one of his white collared shirts and nothing else. He interrupted her touching herself, waiting for him to come home after a long day of work.
He hung in the doorway, his shirt already crumpled on the floor, still clad in his black work slacks, just watching her, just listening to the noises she made. He couldn’t exactly see much thanks to the oversized shirt and the way her body was positioned, but it was enough. The sounds she was making sent shockwaves straight to his crotch and as he watched her, he reached down and pulled out his hard cock in order to stroke himself as he watched her.
She was a goddess, an angel, someone he definitely didn’t deserve. Having the honor of fantasizing about her actually doing this was enough to make him hard, and as the water continued to stream down and hit his back, he realized he was going to come and they hadn’t even had sex in his fantasy.
Christian had always enjoyed sex. There were a few women he dated somewhat seriously – monogamously but not seriously enough to label as girlfriend – and sex was a big part of his life. He was as picky about his sexual partners as he was with his donors but he never allowed the two worlds to crossover. Things would get too complicated, too convoluted. Feelings would get involved, and he couldn’t have that.
He wasn’t the type to have feelings. He didn’t particularly believe in love, but the minute he saw Maggie, something odd happened to his body. He was new to this; he wasn’t sure if this was a direct reflection of his attraction to her or if maybe he had been so hungry that something wrapped up in a package like her caused his desire for her to intensify.
When he reached his peak, he sped up his stroking and spilled his seed into his hand. He hadn’t had sex in a while, he realized. It almost seemed as though his lack of eating directly correlated with his lack of sex. If one basic need was met, the other would be, too.
Once he finished in the shower, he threw on a simple green t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He didn’t bother styling his hair; instead, he allowed it to fall into his face. He headed to his study and shut the door – which was silly since he was alone in the house and would be for the next few hours. Regardless, his privacy was important, especially when it concerned what he was about to do.
Research.
He brought up Google and started doing casual web searches. From there, he went into a couple of websites before digging deeper and finding what he was really after: information regarding the possibilities that fairies existed.
There was one such website he was somewhat familiar with, a website Google couldn’t pick up on when searched. He had to find it through other websites buried deep in technical mumbo jumbo that most people didn’t have the patience to actually sift through.
And then he lost himself in his research.
Chapter 10
After classes, Maggie caught a ride from her friend Danielle, who dropped her off at Stewart Enterprises, a forty-something story building in the heart of the business district of Somerset. Maggie didn't really know much about what Stewart Enterprises did, but she did know they did acquisitions, historical research, and collected a variety of artifacts regarding the supe races. Christian was in the financial and acquisition section of the company – the section of the company that earned a profit. Historical research and the collection and preservation of historical artifacts seemed more like a pet project of the older Stewart. There were rumors Stewart Enterprises wanted to buy out Lucas Cruz and Avery Montgomery in order to own the LunaApp, an app that tracked supernatural entities the NDS could use in order to keep a tab on the supe population. However, it was highly unlikely that was going to happen considering the NDS did not want to privatize technology that could be used for what they deemed as the greater good.
Regardless of the innovation the company was producing, Maggie couldn't help but be intimidated in front of the building. It was tall and unflinching, looming over the Somerset population like it was a king and they were mere peas
ants. Even though she had a right to be there, a reason to be there, she couldn't help but feel as though she didn't quite belong - regardless of who invited her.
"You okay?" Danielle asked, looking at her friend with worried brown eyes from the driver seat of the car.
Maggie blinked. "Of course," she said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I guess Christian needs a feeding or something. I get paid extra if the feedings aren't scheduled, so..." She let her voice trail off. She had no idea what to say.
Danielle was currently dating her former literature professor and Viking vampire, Alekssander Eriksson. If Maggie could talk to anyone about this, it was her. Danielle wouldn't judge; she would listen and be there for her. But this wasn't her having sex with Christian - although there was a part of her that was intrigued by him. Though whether that was because of the feeding or because she was legitimately attracted to him, she couldn't say. This was her potentially being part-supe - if Christian was to be believed and Maggie didn't see why he would lie to her about something like this.
She didn't understand it so she couldn't explain it. If she couldn't explain it, she didn't want to invoke her friend because what if it turned out that it was nothing, that Maggie was just an ordinary human? She didn't want to make herself look like an ass in front of Danielle, especially considering Danielle seemed to have her shit together - even though her dad was kidnapped, she seemed okay.
Her dad worked for the NDS as some kind of research scientist. That was all Maggie knew. She didn't know if Danielle found out more about what happened, but it appeared as though the Wright wolf pack - a genetically engineered wolf pack that saved the lives of American soldiers by infusing their blood with Luna qualities who had taken over a former NDS research facility in the middle of the Black Forest and killed whoever they felt was a threat - was responsible for taking him, even though that had yet to be proven. Granted, there had to be more to the story since Danielle had been hanging out with Aubrey Greene. Maggie didn't know much about her save for the fact that she was a journalist for their school and always broke university scandals before they happened. She was quiet and kept to herself and there were times Maggie thought she was a little weird, but the girl was smart and knew her stuff. It wouldn't surprise Maggie at all if Aubrey found out more than what the media was reporting.
Through all that, Danielle somehow kept her head high, her eyes clear. Granted, she had a nice pair of arms to fall into. Alek was gorgeous and brooding and protective of Danielle. They were actually really cute together and Maggie was happy for her friend because if anyone deserved to be happy, it was Danielle.
Maggie sucked in a breath. She shook off the feeling of doubt and insecurity. She had a reason to be here. Christian invited her himself. She kept reminding herself of that as she walked through the winding doors and headed over to security.
A gruff man who had seen hard days gave her a questioning look. Maggie couldn't exactly blame the guy, considering she was a college student in a pea coat and jeans and not an intern in business casual. Suddenly, the feeling of being out of place magnified.
"Can I help you?" he asked, not bothering to hide the obvious doubt that permeated his tone.
"I'm here to see Christian Stewart," Maggie replied. She tried to sound firm but she could swear she heard her voice quiver a couple of times.
He rolled his eyes. "Mr. Stewart doesn't have any appointments on his books," he said.
"Maybe if you could call-"
"I'm not going to call Mr. Stewart because some college kid wants to meet a celebrity," he said. "Go find Lucas Cruz if you want to meet a supernatural businessman. I hear his building his more relaxed about that kind of thing." He rolled his eyes and dropped them to look at the paper he was currently reading.
Maggie clenched her teeth together.
"Do you know who I am?" Maggie asked, trying to keep her voice down so she wouldn't make a scene.
The guard raised a brow but didn't even bother to give her his attention. "Sweetie, I know you're one of the many women Christian Stewart likes to sleep with on a casual basis," he told her. "That doesn't mean you're going up there. If you were important to him, he would have had me put it on the books, you hear me?"
"I'm his feeder," she told him through gritted teeth, her eyes narrowed. Her index finger was tapping his desk. "And he called me in for an emergency feeding so there wouldn't be an appointment on the books. So why don't you call up to him unless you want to explain to Mr. Stewart why you neglected to inform him that his donor was here?"
Now, the guard looked at her. His face paled at the thought that he could potentially be responsible for Christian missing his feeding appointment. Without saying another word, he dialed up and murmured, "Can you please let Mr. Stewart know his three o'clock is here?" There was a pause. Then: "I know there's nothing on the books, Izzy, but I checked her out. If you don't tell Mr. Stewart, it's your ass, not mine, okay?" Another moment of silence. Then, the guard hung up the phone and looked up at Maggie. "You can go up now. Floor forty-two. The receptionist will direct you further."
"Thanks-" Maggie's eyes dropped to the guard's nametag. "-Mitch. I think we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
It was only when Maggie was tucked safely inside the steel elevator did the cool, confident shell of a woman she had so eloquently projected finally collapse into the nervous, awkward college kid she really was. As the elevator started to ascend, her heart pounded against her chest. What the hell was she doing here? Getting her blood drawn? What the hell was that about? She already hated needles but what if she was ordinary and this was all for nothing? What if Christian tasted something that wasn't even there? Was that even possible?
But then, what if she did have traces of a species of supes inside of her? What then? What did that mean for her? Did she want to know? Did she want to be confronted with that? She still planned to talk to her mom about the mystery origins of her father but she wasn't sure if she wanted to be supe.
She also didn’t know if she wanted to just be ordinary either. Truth be told, she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to be.
Maggie didn’t have much time to contemplate much else. The elevator dinged, indicating a stoppage, and the doors slid open. A blonde secretary with the biggest breasts Maggie had ever seen looked up with a curious look on her pretty face. She stopped typing whatever it was she was working on and took in the sight of Maggie with no distraction. Maggie did her best not to shift uncomfortably under the scrutiny; she wasn’t sure why she needed the extra-long stare unless it was some kind of security practice.
There was also something else to the look, something dark and angry. But Maggie knew she might be misinterpreting the secretary just because she was so nervous, so she decided to withhold judgment until she had actual proof.
“And you are?”
Okay, Maggie definitely was hearing a slight undertone of attitude. The secretary topped it all off with a raised brow and a cocked head.
“I’m here to see Christian,” Maggie said. Her voice wasn’t as strong as it had been with Mitch. Maybe that was because Maggie was bad at bullshit and the secretary looked as though she sniffed that out full-time.
“You mean Mr. Stewart?” the secretary asked.
Maggie’s eyes dropped to her desk. Isabella Black in fancy black lettering on a nice, shiny nameplate.
“Uh, yeah,” Maggie said, pulling her eyes back up to Isabella Black. “He, uh, well, he requested my presence here and I am here to, uh, satisfy that request.”
Immediately, Maggie’s face was set on fire. That came out the wrong way. Even Isabella narrowed her eyes and placed a hand on her jutted hip, looking at Maggie like she was a crazy psycho who was trying to get to Christian by playing a stupid game and making herself look like an idiot.
“I’m sorry?” she asked. She furrowed her brow and dropped her eyes to Maggie’s body – covered in the pea coat. When Isabella met Maggie’s eyes once more, she perked her brows and press
ed her lips in doubt. “Mitch tells me he personally requested your services for today but I don’t see anything scheduled in his books. If you are what you say you are, Mr. Stewart knows when he needs to eat and when he doesn’t. He schedules everything so he doesn’t need to worry about extra fees – and he never feeds at work. Especially not when he’s off.”
Maggie pressed her lips together. “You’re telling me he’s not here?” she asked, not bothering to mask the doubt.
“I’m saying he was sent home because he was under the weather and the fact that you’re here indicates-“
“Indicates that he’s here,” she said. Her voice shook as she interrupted but she managed to look at Isabella in the eye without flinching. “It means I know he’s here and you’re just trying to save face or figure out if I am who I’m saying I am. I can suggest saving yourself some time and asking Christian yourself. I’m sure he’s waiting for me in his office.”
“Maggie!” At that moment, Christian opened the door to his office. He nodded her over and Maggie all but smirked at Isabella before heading over to him.
Chapter 11
When they were tucked safely away in Christian's office, Christian walked around her and drew the blinds.
"I have to make this seem as real as possible," he explained to her without even looking her way. "I can't let anyone else know what I'm doing."
Maggie pressed her brow together. "Why?" she asked.
An Education in Scandal: A Somerset Novel (Somerset Series Book 5) Page 6
