as he wrapped his arms around my waist, locking me inside his embrace. I ran my fingers through his wavy hair, weaving them in and out. It was silky and smelled like roses and tobacco.
“I could take you right here in this room. On the cold cement floor,” he whispered between kisses. “Or up against this wall…on the stairs…I want to bend you over that barrel and fuck you until your heart explodes.”
And in the dark, damp cellar of blood and danger…I wanted to let him.
Her beautiful brown eyes widened. Her pulse quickened at my touch. I didn’t have to slip my hands between her legs to know she was dripping wet. I could smell it on her. But she stiffened. Pulled away.
“I—I can’t,” Raven mumbled.
I backed away with a smirk. “Because I’m your boss? Fine, then I’ll fire you.”
Her eyelids fluttered up at me. “It’s not just that… I’m not ready to be with another man yet.”
“At some point, Raven, you are going to have to allow yourself to feel pleasure again.” I brushed a fallen strand of hair out of her eyes and she quivered.
“I know,” she whispered. “It’s just hard…”
I started toward her again, but she fled. Her tiny frame bounced up the stairs without a glance back.
I waited a few minutes before leaving and locking the door behind me. I couldn’t risk anyone else finding my stash and asking questions. I wasn’t usually this careless, but with everything going on with Camille, the hacker, and Raven…I was highly distracted these days. I believed Raven would keep my secret but it wouldn’t be long before she started asking more questions and I wasn’t ready to answer them with the truth. Raven wasn’t like the rest, but I thought that about Camille at one time too. I still wasn’t sure I could trust her with my secrets. If I showed her who I really was and she rejected me…I don’t think my heart could handle it.
When I finally joined Cassius on the terrace, I noticed something was wrong. Something in his expression. He was stiff, his face pained. I followed his gaze and my muscles twitched. “How did she get in here?”
Cassius shook his head. “How does Camille do anything? I haven’t taken my eyes off her since I saw her.”
The rage I felt was strong enough to wipe out an entire city. Not only did Camille crash my party, she had Raven cornered over by the caviar station. “I knew she was going to be trouble again. I need to get her away from Raven before she ruins everything.”
“Just keep cool, brother. You don’t want to cause a scene. That’s what she’s hoping for,” Cassius muttered under his breath. “She loves to provoke you.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be a perfect gentleman.” I winked and flashed my fangs before charging over to them.
I came up behind Camille and pinched her elbow, pulling her into my chest as I did. “A word please. Now. In the study,” I whispered angrily into her ear. I turned toward Raven and gave a slight nod. “Pardon the interruption, Miss Deveraux and I have some business to discuss.”
Camille eyed me like a cat who was readying to pounce. “By all means, lead the way. Raven, it’s been a pleasure. I’m sure our paths will cross again.”
At that, I yanked on her elbow and led her through the crowd. As we passed Cassius, he turned and followed.
Camille kept a plastered smile on her face even as she gritted her teeth. “Why is the wolf following us?”
Cassius always did make Camille nervous. He made most vampires nervous for that matter. Aside from the fact that he was the alpha of his pack, which meant he was deadlier than all of them put together, he also had silver on him at all times. Despite what the movies depicted, silver was deadly to vampires, not werewolves. I liked the fact that I had a werewolf as a best friend. It kept all the other creatures at bay.
“Just an insurance policy to make sure you stay in line,” I spat at her.
I shoved her into the study while Cassius shut the door behind the three of us. “Start talking Camille. What are you doing here?”
She rested her ass against my desk and leaned back. “Don’t mind if I make myself comfortable for your lecture now, do you?” No matter how much I despised her, she was still sexy as hell. Wearing a tight black dress with a plunging neckline,