“Don’t you have employees for that?” I asked as he placed the glass back on a shelf behind him and reached for the next one.
“Good evening, youngling,” he said, giving me the tiniest of nods. He didn’t say anything else, clearly waiting for me to say something.
“Itwasa good evening,” I said, thinking about the way Finn had been all snuggled up to me after our little endeavor in the shower. “Then I had to leave my mate’s bed to visit you here.”
God, how much I hated this club. And Aries’s pretentious face. The way he looked so fucking careless and unbothered by fucking everything. As if his whole existence were one big joke.
“Ohh… you were in your mate’s bed? Tell me everything, youngling.” Aries leaned forward, bracing his hands on the bar top.
I rolled my eyes. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Aries gave me a laugh, running a hand through his long hair. “So, there were kisses involved? Interesting, youngling. Very interesting.”
Gah. I balled my hands into fists to keep from throttling him. How could one vampire be capable of shredding all my patience within thirty seconds? It had to be a special talent of his.
“Now, follow me. Your young sire can follow us once he’s done eating,” Aries said loudly. Loud enough for Bennie to give him a thumbs up, while still sucking face with his guy.
Aries took a moment to talk to his bar staff, then led the way to his office. I sat down on one of his couches and leaned back.
“Do you need a snack, youngling?” Aries asked, his back turned to me again as he rummaged through his fridge.
It was all a show, I was sure of it. A power play designed to make me aware of his status without having to say a word.
“No, thanks, I fed tonight.”
Aries turned to me with a grin, waggling his eyebrows. “Do tell, youngling. Is your mate as delicious as he looks?”
I couldn’t help the snarl escaping my throat.
Finn wasmine.
Aries let out a delighted laugh. “It’s so easy to rile you up. Don’t be afraid, I’m not gonna take your mate away from you.”
I took a deep breath, just to calm myself down a bit. I’d known Aries was goading me, I’dknownit, but I hadn’t been able to keep my cool. Not where Finn was involved.
“You wanted to talk to me,” I said, trying to change the topic.
Aries nodded, stepping up to the glass wall, looking at the club below. “Ah, yeah. But let’s wait for your sire. I believe he’s on his way up.”
And really, just a minute later, there was a knock on the door, and Bennie entered, smiling widely while trying to tame his hair. He reeked of arousal and blood. I wrinkled my nose, but he just raised his hand, shaking his head.
“I don’t want to hear a word, Eric.”
Rolling my eyes, I grumbled. “I wasn’t about to say anything.”
Not here, at least. I would’ve waited until we were home.
“How come you’re so uptight, youngling?” Aries asked gleefully.
I wasn’tuptight. I just had a shred of human decency left. Not that I told Aries that. I kept quiet, grinding my teeth.
“Why are we here?”
“Oh, right. Have a seat.” Aries motioned for Bennie to sit too, then headed over to us to sit in an armchair, legs extended, back resting against the cushion. “First, I wanted to know how things with your mate are progressing. It’s been a while since I last witnessed a vampire meeting their fated one, and I have to admit it’s… rather entertaining.”
Rolling my eyes, I bit back a snarky remark, trying to remind myself that I wouldn’t even know who Finn was to me without Aries’s help. I didn’t have to like the guy—and I really didn’t—but I did have to give him props for letting me know.
“Things are good,” I said. We were making progress.
