He looks to Selene. “Please bring us a decanter of the special vintage, my dear.Undiluted. Three glasses.”
She arches an eyebrow at him but rises and leaves the room.
“Special vintage?” I ask as I lean forward and set my glass on the coaster on the coffee table separating us.
“I do not wish to say anything else until you taste it. But it is…exquisite.” His eyes actually light up.
“Why, Lucius. Should Selene be jealous?”
He grins, showing full fang, very amused. “Not in the slightest. First, you taste. Then we will discuss. I actually think you might be the answer for each other’s mutual…situations.”
The old bastard has my interest, and he knows it. Selene glides back into the room and carries a tray holding three crystal wine glasses and a matching crystal decanter, the latter of which is filled with a dark red liquid I know isn’t wine. She pours three generous servings, not spilling a drop, and serves Lucius, then me, and takes the final glass for herself before settling on the sofa at his side once more.
Being a polite guest, I wait to waft it under my nose until she’s settled, but when I do…
Holy fates!
My eyes fall closed. A buzz fills my head, and my mouthwaters.
Lucius laughs. “Ahh, I knew you’d like it.”
I haven’t even tasted it yet, and I already want to meet and mate the creature, regardless of gender, whose veins could produce such a heady bouquet. “Shifter?” I manage, forcing my eyes open.
He’s still smiling and sipping. “To be honest? I don’t knowwhatthey are. Which is exactly why they are currently under my protection. Taste it, Dexter.”
I do. Brilliant colors of flavor explode in my mouth like ripe berries and sweet honey.
My god!
It’s enough to make me want to believe in happy endings of the non-pornographic kind.
I must be wearing a “look” because Lucius smirks. “Once again, I’ll ask if I can persuade you to postpone your silly notion of greeting the sunrise.”
If my heart still beat, it’d be racing in my chest. Even my cock stirs, eager to learn more. “Only if you promise to introduce me to them.” I know he’s being cagey for a reason. He’s trying to hook me and reel me in. “How much money will this cost me?”
He exchanges a glance with Selene. “I wish I could quote you a price, but I cannot. They are their own person, and it is a…unique situation. They’ve been with me since I opened the club. I also wish I could say they are an experienced sweetblood, but they are not.”
“They’re not? Thisisn’tsweetblood?”
“They have never been blooded, only…donations. In addition to working for me, I ‘ethically source’ their blood from them for more than fair compensation. Usually, I dilute it by mixing it with other batches. I can charge more for it that way and make it last far longer.”
“And they’re not a shifter?”
He shrugs. “Come out tomorrow, meet them, and tell me what you think.”
I swirl the glass under my nose again, deeply inhaling. I feel like I’ve never seen colors before this moment, never had the ability to smell anything, until now.
For the first time in too long, I eagerlywantto see another day.
So to speak.
I’m torn between wanting to guzzle the remainder of the contents in two or three swallows, and slowly sipping it for hours. When I finish, Selene automatically moves to refill my glass, pouring me what’s left in the decanter. I know she didn’t spike it with something because she poured all three servings from the same decanter.
“What did I do to earn such good graces from you, Lucius?”
Honestly? I’m starting to feel a little drunk. Or, maybe that’s his goal.
He shrugs. “You are family, in a manner of speaking.” His smile fades. “I have lost too many. And, as you said, you have no desire to overthrow me. You have no nest of your own.”
