our house to fuck my mother when my father was at work.”
His step faltered when she stopped and turned. She slipped her hand into his and pulled him to the side. That softness was coming over her face. The one that told him she was feeling sorry for him. “Please tell me your business here tonight isn’t with the son.”
“No, sadly it isn’t. But I still might get him alone. If I do, I will be sure to warn you to look away before I do anything that might shock you.”
She blanched. “Uh, like what? Why would you do anything to him? Because of what his father did?”
“No. Because of who his father raised.” He accepted two glasses from Spencer—one of the seven who formed the protective circle around them. Lucian handed a glass to Yasmeen and could feel the heat from Sorin’s body he was standing so close.
His pet sniffed the contents of the crystal. “What is it?”
“Chardonnay.”
Their eyes met, and she tipped her chin down so that she was peering up at him through her long lashes. Seeing her so heavily made up, the urges coming to him weren’t good ones for her.
“That’s it?” she questioned in a soft tone. “No roofie?”
Would anyone notice if he pinned her to the roulette table behind them and counted her perfect teeth with his tongue? “Are you attempting to distract me, pet?”
“Yes, sir. Is it working?” She smiled cheekily.
“Do not call me Sir. I do not need such an abused title. It is a shame what they have done to something that used to be so powerful.” He nodded to her glass. “It is an aphrodisiac. Drink up. It should take effect within moments of you imbibing, and you should be begging me to take you only moments after that.”
She laughed, sounding breathless and angelic. When she stepped closer, her scent swept up his nose and he grew dizzy with lust. “Did Frosty just make a funny? Yikes. Keep it up and I’ll never be able to resist you.”
Did she still think to resist him?
“And an aphrodisiac, did you say? So that’s what your secret is. Here I thought it was just chemistry. Is the gas form being pumped through the ventilation system at the castle? Is that why I feel like I’m in season whenever you enter the room?”
She was going all out in her attempt to distract. His very sight darkened, tightening his scope until all he saw was her. He found her ass among the smoky material of her dress and pulled her into his aching groin. Bringing his mouth to her ear, he inhaled once before speaking.
“No, draga mea. The hopeless yearning that invades this body when it is near its owner is not chemically induced. That reckless desperation that comes over you once I take you to a certain point? That is simply something you and I share. The urgency, the manic pressure that builds, the torturous journey to a fulfillment that never seems quite enough. Does this sound accurate?”
She didn’t answer. But then, she didn’t have to.
“That is us,” he informed her before straightening. “It is a curse I would bet my fortune one of my ancestors put on me: To never find complete satisfaction in the arms of the only one who can provide it.”
She looked stricken, and then her cheeks grew so pink she appeared feverish. “I don’t satisfy you?”
He gave his head a sharp shake and stroked her throat with his thumb. “You misunderstand. It is my greed that leaves me unsatisfied. You sate me, and my insatiable appetite for all things Yasmeen returns almost immediately. It pleads for more. Even my demons have begun to gorge themselves on you because they know one day they will no longer have the opportunity. That angers them. And me. Enough that I am considering making this a permanent arrangement. But first I must have that fortress built some place outsiders cannot intrude.”
He kissed her, vowing to finish up here as quickly as possible so he could get her home. Now that he’d put that alarm back in her eyes by revealing his thoughts, he needed to get her behind closed—locked—doors.
♦ ♦ ♦
Yasmeen forced a smile for the waiter holding out a small tray with what would be her second glass of white wine. “Thank you.” She took it but shook her head when he handed her a small plate with bite-sized triangles that looked like tiny sandwiches. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
He cleared his throat