“You think you can help calm my fears?” Layla lifted an eyebrow at the Vampire.
“Perhaps.” He spoke quietly, intensely sensual. “I can smell fear all over you, though you’re trying to reason through it. You’re worrying about sleeping with a stranger who has paid to have your first Assignation. You’re afraid of the implication that you will be owned for the night; it runs against every moral you have. Yet this is how you and Adrian Rhakvir have decided to flush out his enemies on the Owners’ Board. This is the course of action agreed on with the Intercessoria Judiciary, to create a Venusian fly-trap for the Crimson Circle, that Heathren Merkami wants to bring to justice. This is how you have all planned to get close enough to the Twilight Realm’s über-elite to dig for information on your own personal enemy – Hunter. That’s a lot riding on your shoulders. Or between your legs, as it were.”
Layla stilled, her fingers clenching in her lap, even though she tried to breathe through it. The Vampire was right on all counts, though gods knew how he had gotten all that information. Layla supposed Adrian had filled him in sometime in the past month, though it bothered her that Quindici knew all those reasons for her becoming a Courtesan.
“You’re right,” Layla spoke at last, holding Quindici’s dark gaze. “I am afraid. Afraid of what I might have to do tonight; afraid of the outcome, whether it goes well or badly. Everything in me screams that fucking for money is wrong, and I think auctioning a person off is disgusting.”
“Yet the Dragon in you is eager to take a new partner, and another, and another. All a mystery to be discovered.” Quindici spoke, his gaze drilling right to Layla’s core.
Layla drew a deep breath, trying to slow her suddenly pounding heart and the way her Dragon roiled inside her veins with a spiced blaze, wanting to devour Quindici’s dark gaze and everything it promised. Not to mention the countless unknown partners she might have as a Courtesan. “My Dragon doesn’t discriminate in the bedchamber. Only in matters of true mates.”
“Only in matters of true love, you mean.” Quindici corrected softly, his dark eyes searching hers. “I have known Binds in my time, Ms. Price. They never do anything without love. Just as I can taste your fear, I also feel your heart. Your blood rushes through your veins at the mention of Adrian Rhakvir. He is a true love, is he not? And would you not do anything to protect him?”
“Yes.” Layla’s answer was immediate. It was all true, and if Quindici really was an ally, he’d understand. If he was an enemy, then Layla wasn’t going to mince words.
“Lay your plans carefully, then.” Quindici’s dark eyes glittered as if he could read her fierce thoughts. “Infiltrating the Crimson Circle is a severe danger. You will be in the center of that danger if you are alone in a bedchamber tonight with any of them.”
“Is that a threat?” Layla prickled, narrowing her eyes.
“I am not your enemy, Layla,” Quindici spoke softly, his dark eyes ancient, his tall frame utterly still in a way that alive creatures just didn’t have. “I only warn that you pit yourself against a deadly conglomerate. I fear that by attempting to infiltrate the Circle, you are attracting attention whichwillharm you behind closed doors. Many with far stronger magics than you could ever dream of. I have assured Adrian I would protect those he loves while he is away, but blood will flow if you follow this course. Maybe yours; maybe people you care about. I know a thousand ways to devastate people, but the Crimson Circle know a million. Your heart will break before they are done with you. And that is not a threat I make – that is one which has been well-known in the Twilight Realm for ten thousand years since the Hotel was established.”
“No one asks for the head of my lover and gets it,” Layla growled, bristling as a wave of furious heat washed through her veins from her Dragon.
“No one asked for your heart or your sanity,” Quindici countered smoothly, “but that is what you will give them if you step into this matter.”
Quindici sat back in his throne-like chair, watching as Layla fell silent. His dark eyes perused her face and he inhaled, flaring his nostrils. Layla knew he was smelling her scorched-bourbon scent, like orange trees set fire with burning liquor. As he went utterly still, Layla saw a tyrant of the ages. This was a man who had killed his Maker, who had learned every manipulation and seduction in the book to rise high and dominate the Vampire clans of Italy. He wasn’t King of his Lineage, but Layla knew Quindici was damn close to it. Like a viper in the dark who knew how to strike at the most opportune moment, Quindici held deep secrets in his stillness, though Layla didn’t know his motivations.
And it was that detail which made her shiver as Quindici watched her.
“The Red Letter Hotel and its Crimson Circle were formed for a reason,” Quindici spoke at last, “though its shadowy purpose is deeper than even I have been able to discover over the years. From its birth, the Hotel has built itself into the most powerful empire in the Twilight Realm – prostitution is an ancient profession, and those who profit from it at the point of a knife are nearly as old. Become a stronger player in the game and feel the cut of that knife, Layla.”
“Fear doesn’t control me.” Layla spoke stubbornly, crossing her arms in a raging defiance.
Falling silent, Quindici watched her, then at last gave a sigh. Rising to his lean six-foot-plus height, the Vampire rounded his desk in a wave of slow, sexual grace. He offered his hand to Layla and she took it like a Courtesan should, rising. Reaching out, Quindici brushed his long fingertips over her cheek and Layla shivered, his touch so very cold yet somehow flooded with heat. Though the Master Vampire could stand in the winter sunlight without effect, his skin didn’t warm, and his power flowed out in a chill nimbus around him, dimming the light. His onyx eyes held hers as he ran his thumb slowly over her lower lip – an exquisitely erotic sensation that made Layla shiver, though not from cold.
“You are the brightest Bind I have ever seen…” Quindici murmured with a dark poetry. “I would not see such a lovely creature become a beast of rage, claimed by darkness rather than light. But oh, how brightness can darken under the right circumstances.”
“What do you mean?” Layla blinked, pulling back from his touch as alarm shot through her.
“Tell me you have not felt the darkness of the void inside you,” Quindici spoke quietly, some ancient knowledge in his eyes. “I too have met the creature that hunts you, Layla, for once he also hunted me. He never hunts anyone who does not have his same blackness inside their hearts.”
“You know Hunter?” Layla stepped back in severe alarm now, a wave of cold shivers taking her at the topic Quindici had switched to.
“The Hunter and I have met.” The dire quirk of the Vampire’s lips was not lost on Layla, nor was the haunting in his eyes. “He does not suffer those he deems powerful to rest. He pushes the powerful into their inner blackness by his actions, but what if he didn’t have to? What if by pursuing the Crimson Circle, you do the job for him – and the sacrifice is your unholy soul?”
Quindici’s gaze spoke of terrible things as he watched her. Not of things the Crimson Circle would do to her if she pursued this path – but of things Layla would do if she ever went dark like Hunter. His warning shuddered through Layla’s bones, a blow deeper than any other he could have struck as she stared at him.
His gaze softening, an ancient sadness moved through Quindici’s eyes. Stepping in close to Layla, he set a hand to her shoulder, then leaned down and set his lips to hers, exhaling a gentle wave of heat down her throat. It was like a reversal of his seeking, dark Vampire-energy, and strangely not unlike something Adrian could do.
Layla was at first startled that he’d kissed her, but something about that smooth, calm power was compelling. Called to draw a breath from Quindici’s lips, Layla felt that warmth curl deep into her body, and soon found herself steadier and less bleak. As if he had given her something a Vampire would normally take, it was a tender gift – and as Layla pulled away, she found herself staring up at him, captured by his presence in a way she couldn’t describe.
As Quindici stared down at her with his dark onyx eyes, they suddenly seemed sympathetic rather than calculating. Touching his full lips to hers one last time, Layla felt a gentle press of his fangs as he murmured softly, “Do as you will, Layla Price, for I cannot stop you. But take my warning to heart as advice from a friend. The Crimson Circle are dangerous, but what lives inside you as a Royal Dragon Bind may be more dangerous still. I will fill you in on the things I know about Hunter at a later time, just as I have for Adrian. But right now, you need to prepare for your debut. Go with my blessing on behalf of the Hotel, and go with your head high to protect those you love from the Crimson Circle. I will see you at the Ball.”
Stepping back, Layla shuddered hard as she stared at Quindici. A million questions thundered through her, but he was right – now was not the time. Gathering herself, Layla became steady on her stiletto heels.
And with a nod, departed the Associate Hotel Head’s office with poise and grace.
CHAPTER 4 – YULE
