awesome.
* * *
Christoph came out of the bathroom, now clad in jeans, and walked over to see what Ken was moaning and groaning about. He reached around the vampire and snagged a shirt, pulling it over his head. Finally.
“Hey, I like that aftershave,” he said, scooting past Ken and fishing the bottle out of the trash.
“You may like it, but your adoring fans will not,” Ken said, snagging it out of his hand and throwing it right back into the trash. “If you’re going to work Twisted Temptations, you have an image to uphold.” He grinned wide enough to show a bit of fang as he looked Christoph up and down. “Though you might be able to get by on looks alone with a body like that. Ooh, Daniel is going to love you.”
Mouse hid her head in her hands, shoulders shaking in equal parts silent groans and laughter.
Christoph grabbed the aftershave out of the trash again. “I don’t have adoring fans. And what the hell is Twisted Temptations?”
He was starting to feel very uneasy. Not that he was completely at ease before, but this “Twisted Temptations” thing people were talking about was not a word combination he wanted to be associated with.
“Oh, you will. Twisted Temptations is one of Alec’s clubs. He expects you to play the part of eye candy.” Ken’s grin widened, his canines gleaming sharply. “It’s one of the hottest nonexclusive clubs in the city. Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of it?”
* * *
Analie had to knock a couple of times, finally pounding the door with her fist to be heard over the mayhem on the big screen.
“Come in!” Sebastian shouted, still focused intently on the TV. Even Thad had woken up a little and was watching the screen avidly as Jason Statham performed a very unlikely maneuver with his fist, destroying the face of the guy he was fighting.
Analie entered the room and winced at the volume of the movie. She was surprised to see Ashi sitting on the couch, looking incredibly at ease, with Thad and Sebastian. He glanced back as she came in and quickly stood and approached her. Analie edged away.
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing at the box.
Analie glared and walked over to the couch, careful not to startle Thad. She dropped the box off in Ashi’s vacated spot, mumbled, “Sorry about the whole fuzzy thing” and hurried back to the door. Thad barely had time to say “thanks” before she was gone.
“Hey, wait. I have a favor to ask—” Ashi began.
“Ask whoever wants to chomp you,” Analie snapped, and slammed the door shut behind her.
“Harsh,” Sebastian muttered, not looking away from the screen.
Thad opened the box Analie dropped next to him and pulled out a cookie, munching on it. “Ish good. Ya shud try shome.”
* * *
Royce was staring at one of the security feeds on a monitor in his office. Analie had defied him again. She knew very well that she was never to travel unchaperoned. It probably had something to do with Christoph and Ashi being here, though he wasn’t sure precisely how they tied into the matter. She had returned on her own so he wasn’t too terribly put out, but it was a concern, nonetheless.
“John.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Make sure someone is keeping an eye on Analie. She’s not to travel alone again.”
“Yes, sir.”
He thought about it a bit longer, reviewing the security feed one more time. He watched the way she bounded up the steps, and the cheerful smile on her lips, with narrowed, calculating eyes.
“One other thing.”
“Sir?”
“Make sure the Goliath alpha gets copied on the promotional piece for our new guest stars at Twisted Temptations.”
John’s lips curved in a wicked grin. “With pleasure.”
* * *
Christoph would not describe himself as “eye candy,” but when in Rome, he supposed. “I don’t care what happens in New York. I live in California.”
He glanced over as Analie entered the living room, breathing a long sigh of relief.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
“Great,” Analie said, giving him a warning look. He nodded and turned his attention back to Ken.
“Christoph, you just know you are going to draw all the honeys if you tell them you’re an up and coming Hollywood star. You wait right here, I’m going to go get that other boy. What was his name?”
“Ashi,” Jessica answered, the dry humor in her voice tempered with concern. “I’ll come with you. He might not agree right away.”
As in, not at all.
Ken shrugged and nodded. “Okay then. We’ll be right back.” Mouse