there. Would that be suitable?"
"Perfectly. Thank you."
"Good." His fingers touched my spine, lightly guiding me towards the door. It was a heat I felt all the way down to my toes. "Boris, a bottle of champagne for the two of us, please?"
"Not for me. I'm working." I opened the door and stepped away from his touch.
"Surely even the Directorate would not begrudge her guardians a sip or two?"
"My boss is rather old fashioned when it comes to mixing alcohol and work."
The office was sparsely furnished, with filing cabinet, an old desk neatly stacked with books and paperwork, a leather office chair that had seen better days, and a coat stand. The only luxurious items were the two plush, burgundy velvet armchairs. I walked over and sat in the one closest to the door.
It didn't make me feel any less trapped.
God, what was it about this man that was getting to me? Hell, I'd faced a god of death. One golden vampire shouldn't have worried me in the least.
And yet he did.
"Ah, but this isn't mere alcohol," he said softly, seductively, "but rather the finest ambrosia ever made."
I shrugged. "He'd still class it as off-limits."
"Tragic." He sat down and crossed his legs, the action elegance itself. One shiny shoe briefly touched my calf, and delight shimmered up my leg.
I shifted fractionally. Amusement twitched at his lips.
"What is it you wish to know, Ms. Jenson?"
"What do you know of a vamp called Grant Haven?"
Starke didn't answer immediately, waiting as the bartender came into the room and deposited a bottle of Bollinger champagne and two glasses on the table. Once he was gone again, Starke picked up the bottle, popped the cork with ridiculous ease, and began pouring it.
"Please, none for me."
"Ms. Jenson, it is totally uncivilized to be sitting here without partaking of one of life's great pleasures." He held out the glass of liquid gold, his gaze meeting and holding mine. The hunger was stronger in those watchful depths, and suddenly I wasn't so sure he was talking about the champers. "And I refuse to answer questions until you at least take a sip."
"I could just haul your ass down to the Directorate for questioning."
"You could," he admitted calmly, "but that would cause a rise in the ill feeling you're so desperate to avoid."
He had me there. So I accepted the glass, careful not to touch his fingers in the process. The delicate lemon and grapefruit notes teased my nostrils, making my taste buds water. I'd become something of a champagne freak since I'd begun hanging around with Quinn, and Bollinger, with its fresh flavor and teasing undernotes of fruit and coffee, was one of my favorites. I took a sip.
"There," I said. "I've upheld my end. Now answer the question."
He smiled again, and my stomach knotted in response. "Haven is one of the regulars here. He services my guests."
"So the vamps here are under your employ?"
"Not all of them, no. Haven wasn't, but this place was close to his cafe and handy for a nightly top-up." He took a sip of champagne, then sighed. It was a sound of sheer pleasure, and it curled around me as lovingly as a caress. "There is no sweeter taste than the nectar of the gods."
"Oh, I could think of one or two things that are better," I said, trying to keep it light. Trying to ignore the net of hunger that he seemed to be spinning around me. "Hazelnut coffee, for instance. I'd die without my daily dose of that."
"Good coffee is a must, although I'm not sure hazelnut could be classified as good." His heavy-lidded gaze met mine again, and something hot unfurled inside me. "Though I do agree that there are things in this life whose sweetness equals that of champagne. The juices of a woman in the throws of ecstasy, for example."
The words were barely out his mouth and I was imagining him between my legs, licking and teasing and savoring. I blinked and the image shattered, leaving me aching and hungry.
"Will you stop that?" I said sharply.
"Stop what?" he asked, the innocence in his voice at odds with the wicked smile teasing his lips and the dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Spinning the seduction web. I'm here to find a killer. Nothing more, nothing less."
"I weave no web. I merely enhance what is already there."
"You can't enhance it because it isn't there, so start concentrating on answers." My voice was sharp. "Otherwise I will arrest your ass and drag it