His lips curved into a dark smile before he sat back, brushing his hand over his mouth. He watched me, his eyes slowly roaming over my face as he considered his reply. The hair on my nape rose from the look in his intense, smoldering gaze.
“You’re still a virgin. You were told to remedy that. You didn’t. Should I take it as an invitation, Aria?”
“Absolutely not,” I scoffed as the smile dropped, and I frowned, the answer I’d wanted to say heavy on my tongue. I snorted before rolling my eyes so he could see my response.
The timbre of his voice filled with rough gravel when he spoke after a moment. “You’ve decided on Brander?”
“You said to choose him, so I did. You said he was safe, and safe is what I need.” My body heated with the way he continued staring, letting his head tilt to the side before he stood.
“It’s your choice, Aria. He is safe, and he’ll be gentle with you.”
I wanted to ask him to do it, to be the one that took my virginity, and yet my tongue wouldn’t move. There was nothing gentle about Knox, and yet, surprisingly, I didn’t crave gentle. I may have needed it for the first time, but I wanted the electricity that erupted when Knox touched me. Brander sent butterflies fluttering; Knox sent ravens into flight violently inside my belly. It was night and day between the twos’ touches, and I craved the sexual predator that lurked right beneath the surface of Knox. Brander had a beast too, but where his was silent and content to pace, Knox’s monster wanted to destroy and conquer—and I wanted that from him.
Knox watched silently, waiting for one wrong move to claim and destroy me. His lips curved into a conceited grin, as if he felt my choice on a cellular level. As if every cell in my body knew it should be him, and yet my mouth didn’t open to tell him. Nodding, he moved to the door where he stopped and stared out into the hallway.
“Your outfit for tonight is in the bathroom. Brander picked it himself for the occasion. Dinner won’t be served tonight; they will bring a small meal to your room instead. I’ll be heading out again tonight.” He turned, smirking wolfishly. “At six, someone will retrieve you; they’ll deliver you to Brander’s room on the third floor.” He waited, and when I failed to say what refused to come out, he left, silently closing the door behind him.
I stared at the door for too long. My sigh exploded while I groaned, dropping back onto the bed. It had been less than a week since we’d returned to this town, and already everything that could go wrong had or was doing so now.
Tonight I’d be sleeping with a male I didn’t even know well. I knew he had unlimited women trailing through his revolving bedroom door. Now I’d learned it wasn’t even his bedroom; if what Knox said was true, Brander’s bedroom was on the third floor.
Dinner showed up at five, and it wasn’t a small meal by any means. There was roasted lamb marinated in a light rosemary sauce that melted in my mouth. The red baby potatoes soaked in butter with a light rosemary base was to die for. The wine was red and delicious, and by 5:30 PM, I’d drunk half the bottle to numb the nerves that grew more intense with every minute the clock ticked down to six o’clock.
At 6:00 PM, I was dressed in a ruby red dress with a deep V-neck that had a matching back. The belt was a bow, and it sat right beneath the bodice. It had a unique skirt that spiraled around and reached for the bust line. It was cute, while still maintaining a hint of class and sexiness. High heels adorned my feet, with wraparound ribbons that went past my ankles, stopping just below my calves. My hair was up, exposing the delicate lines of my throat, and the bra and panties that had been sent with the dress revealed no lines and matched in color.
I had to give it to Knox. He’d chosen an outfit that positively screamed sex while allowing the woman to feel not entirely exposed at the same time. The dress Brander had chosen remained hanging in the bathroom.
I felt sexy in the one Knox had purchased for me for my birthday, whereas the one Brander chose was more revealing. I checked the pins in my hair and used my finger to rub on some lipstick to lighten my natural lip color. Stepping back, I frowned, wondering what Knox would think if he saw me right now. Probably not a lot, since he had women who literally did whatever it took to sleep with him.
Giving myself a mental shake, I turned as a knuckled knock sounded against the door.
Opening the door, Greer stood outside of it.
“Hey, Greer,” I said, watching as his lip curled up with disdain even though his gaze slid over my dress, heating before lifting back to my eyes.
“I am here to escort you to the third floor. If you could refrain from speaking to me through the duration of that time, I’d be eternally grateful.”
He waited as if he expected me to rebuke his words, and yet my heart was fluttering with what I was preparing to do and where he was taking me, so I just stared at him. His smile was predatory when it finally came, and I tilted my head, noting the fangs that clicked into place when he smiled.
“Greer, the vampire, huh?” I tightened my lips to the side as my nose scrunched up. “Who would have thought it?” I chuckled, stepping into the hallway with him.
“Apparently, not you,” he sighed dramatically for effect. “Hopefully, Brander isn’t gentle tonight, mistress.”
“I mean with the name Greer, I’d be thinking demon or something that was created. It’s more like a human name in a case where your mother didn’t entirely like you.”
“Must you speak?” he grunted as we continued walking.
“I knew you were old. To get to your level of cankerous, that takes time and work to achieve with the perfection you have mastered, Greer the Vampire.”
“Mistress Aria,” he muttered beneath his breath, pushing a code into the wall before the elevator doors opened. “Get in, please. I’m not getting any younger, and neither are you.”
Chapter 31
I stepped inside the elevator, watching as he shielded the code box and added a badge to it to make us move. My stomach churned with the need to say this was a mistake, or that I had changed my mind, and yet I didn’t. It stopped on the third floor and opened into an apartment. Stepping off the elevator, I turned to wait for Greer but watched the doors close quickly with him still in the elevator.
I took in the candles that burned through the apartment, and the expensive white cashmere couch and chair that sat in the entrance. Exhaling, I struggled to get my nerves under control while my hands trembled at the mistake I was making.
My hands rubbed down my arms as I inhaled the familiar scent of a male. Not just any male, the room reeked of Knox, but then Brander had a similar smell. Power exuded from within the room, and it sent a ripple of apprehension shooting down my spine. I was moments away from bolting.
“Greer, dick move,” I mumbled under my breath, fighting for calm as I started into the apartment, only for my jaw drop.
Books lined the shelves on one wall, while the other held weapons behind glowing glass. Crystals sat on a large desk that faced into the room, and a large bed sat against a wall. The entire bedroom was huge, filled with interesting items that made it feel like a library, office, and bedroom all pushed into one overly large room. One I itched to explore leisurely.
“Fuck me,” a masculine timbre erupted behind me, forcing me to turn in the direction it had come. Brander scrubbed his hand down his face, letting his eyes move from mine to the red heels I wore, and back up. He opened his mouth before closing it.