“Mr. Durant.” The man, who was surely a vampire, based on his flawless face, nodded at Darius. “It is a pleasure. I apologize that I haven’t been able to properly greet you until now.”
“Mr. Regent,” Darius said in greeting. “We have been busy. Thank you for accommodating us.”
“My pleasure, as always. I look forward to the critique.” His smile was a whopper—charming, disarming, boyish, and devilishly handsome all at once. He was a panty melter, for sure. “Please, can I interest you in a drink?”
“Not just now, I thank you,” Darius said, starting forward again. “We’ve had a long night. I do wish to speak with you regarding some matters in the area, but that can wait until tomorrow.”
“Of course, sir.” Mr. Regent flashed that mouth-watering smile again. “Can I send something to your room?”
“I’m hungry,” I mumbled with my hand on my stomach.
“Yes, darling. You are always hungry.” Darius nodded at Mr. Regent. “Surprise her. She’ll eat most anything.”
That was true enough.
“Of course. And you?” Mr. Regent glanced at Dizzyand Callie.
Dizzy turned up the wattage of his smile. If he’d hoped to compete with Mr. Regent, though, he had a long way to go. “We’ll place an order in a little while. Thanks so much.”
“Of course,” Mr. Regent bowed with a soft chuckle. “At your convenience.”
Back in my room, I heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed on the bed. The last trembles of fear worked their way out of my system. That had been a helluva fight, and most of the battle was against myself. I had so much to learn. I knew that now. There was a gaping hole in my knowledge about my power that I needed to close up. That I needed to fuse with what I did know. The demon had seemed so certain I was powerful, and being what it was, that it had been sent up to find me, it probably knew. I needed to look into that.
Tomorrow.
Or maybe the next day.
I was too tired to worry about it now. The threat was gone, and that was good enough for the moment.
My stomach rumbled. I heaved myself up off the bed and stripped. I needed a shower and food. Then I needed to really ponder if heading over to the vampire’s room was a good idea.
My stupid heart fluttered again. This time it wasn’t as welcomed. I was in great danger here, and not like I’doriginally thought. I wouldn’t lose myself to Darius because of his species, but I might in the way a woman loses herself to a man.
The hot water falling over my skin felt good. The absence of the hollow, cold magic felt good. And when I got out, wrapping myself in a white, fluffy towel felt great.
I stood in the center of my room, looking at the white door leading to Darius. He wouldn’t come in to pressure me, I knew. He wouldn’t open the door and ask if I was coming. He would wait for my decision, and respect it, whatever it was.
I heaved a sigh, tried to resist, and walked to the door.
On the other side, I smiled at the fresh rose petals littering the ground and bed, then cocked my head in confusion at all the unlit candles.
“Afraid of a fire hazard?” I asked as I stepped into the room, officially making my decision.
He was dressed in a robe and had draped a big arm over the back of the chair.
“I thought you could light the candles,” he said. He stayed where he was, waiting for me to come to him.
“You’re not playing those hunter-and-prey games you said you liked, huh?” Heat infused my body. Concise balls of flame sprang to life around us, then drifted toward the candles.
“No.” Darius lifted a hand to stop me. “Light them with a thought, not with that method.”
I snuffed the little balls of flame. My fingers curled into fists as I concentrated, imagining all the different little wicks spread across the room. With a push, they lit as one.
Darius smiled. “Perfect. And I already told you, I hunt until my intended fully succumbs to our joined pleasure. As you did last night. When that happens, I fully succumb as well. We are past games, you and I. We are equals, and both of us are completely invested.”
“That’s heavy.” My instinct was to meander around the room, trying to get comfortable or work up the gumption to leave. I knew where I would end up, though. I knew that when I’d walked through the door.
So I just cut to the chase. And dropped my towel.
