“He wanted me to have sex with you, long enough for him to come and meet you.” Mason lowered his voice. “I don’t really do that… with men, but I guess I could… with you.”
“It’s a trap,” you said hotly. Your fingers were already closing into fists. I laid a hand on your arm to reassure you. It wasn’t easy trying to seduce two people at once, especially not with the aggression you were directing at Mason.
“Where did you meet this man?” I asked Mason while trying to keep you focused. This might be our only opportunity to get answers.
“Here.” Mason motioned to the room, slightly bewildered, as if he hadn’t left the casino since then. “I needed him to stake me. I was on a lucky streak. I was sure I’d win.”
“And did you?” I asked, already knowing the answer. He must have bet his watch as well.
“No,” he said softly.
“That’s too bad. I really hate losing. But tell me more about this man, Mason. He seems so very interesting. Tell meeverything.” Mater had taught me to begin a seduction with simple yes or no questions and work my way into more open-ended ones. She said once the seal was broken, there was no stopping them from admitting to their worst sins.Try it on Henri,she’d said.You’ll see.
At the moment you were scanning the room as if a squad of hitmen might show up and abduct us.
“He got me a room, a nice one. He told me to bring you there and offer you whatever you wanted. Food, drinks, drugs, sex... He said you might bite me, but that I shouldn’t try to stop you. No matter what.”
Someone who knew about our thirst, or mine at least. I felt bad for Mason. It wasn’t his fault he’d been sent to me as a poisoned apple.
“How long ago was this?” I asked.
“Two weeks.”
That was roughly when we’d arrived in Vegas.
“Do you remember what the man looked like?”
“He was handsome.”
“What color hair?” you growled. “What color eyes? How tall? Any marks or scars?”
“I can’t remember.” Mason’s voice hitched in panic. You were doing the psychic equivalent of dumping ice cold water on my seduction.
“Mason, can you excuse us for a moment? I have to discuss something with my friend here.”
“Not him,” Mason said, fearful. “I’ll only do it with you.”
I patted his arm, the only reassurance I could give him. Then I turned to you and asked what you thought.
“I think that someone—this unidentifiable man—has set up spies around town and has bribed or threatened them in order to locate you.”
“Who would go through the trouble?”
“Someone we’re not going to enjoy meeting.” Your brooding eyes swept the room again as you contemplated our next move.
“We could take him with us,” I said. “Maybe the man will come looking for him?”
“I don’t think so. And I don’t care to reveal our location, either.”
I sensed your mounting apprehension. “What is it?”
“This feels like the work of a demon, not a human. A being who wants to win you over, at least initially. Otherwise, why not just alert some muscle as to your immediate location and make an attempt to grab you?”
“Because you’re here with me?”
“I’m not invincible. With a couple of tranquilizing darts, they’d be able to snatch you away in a heartbeat.”
I swallowed. I didn’t like to think about that. “Maybe they’re waiting for us outside or up in Mason’s room.”
