“A toast to your dazzling performance.” She tilted her glass to clink it against mine, and Lucian did the same. The gold liquid sloshed against the sides. The bubbles mesmerized me, and I found it very hard to focus.
“Riveting,” Lucian said with another of his stunning smiles. Seduction must run in the family.
“I can see why Henri is so taken with you,” Lena said before I could respond to their compliments. “We do have a weakness for decadence.”
“And beauty,” Lucian added with a wink.
“Thank you.” I was suddenly shy. Their praise made me feel like I might float away. Despite everything you’d told me, Lena was still your mother. And your brother—I wanted to make a good impression on them both.
“Tell me the significance of your character,” Lena said.
I went into a mini history lesson of how the Dance of the Golden Idol wasn’t in the original choreography forLa Bayadère, but was added nearly 75 years later. I told her, too, about the unusual phrasing of the music, which was not a traditional march but a waltz in 5/4 time.
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I talk a lot when I’m nervous.”
Lena smiled benevolently as she placed a hand on my bare knee. She was a gorgeous woman. Her sensuality was a powerful cocktail that drew me in like an anemone’s tentacles. “There’s no need to be nervous with me, dear.”
An overwhelming sense of calm descended on me like a full-body muscle relaxer. I slumped a little in my seat, no longer worried about staining the soft leather.
“Are you seducing me?” I asked with a lazy grin.
Her smile widened as she glanced at Lucian. His eyebrows raised. Lucian’s teeth looked sharper than normal human teeth. Not pointed, but… serrated?
“Is it working?” she asked.
I nodded. My skin was so sensitive that my nerves tingled at the slightest touch. I rubbed a hand along my arm, and it brought me so much pleasure I worried I might sprout a boner right there in front of them. How embarrassing would that be?
“You’re powerful,” I commented, more to myself than anyone else. “Both of you.”
“Yes, we are,” Lucian said arrogantly. Lena handed him her champagne glass, and as if reading her mind, Lucian produced a cigarette from his lapel pocket, tipped it into his mouth and lit it before passing it back to her.
“It’s a terrible habit,” she said while lowering the window just a crack. “I hope you’ll forgive me for polluting your lungs.”
“It’s fine,” I said while watching her every move. I couldn’t look away. Your mother made everything look so… sexy.
“Are you familiar with the Ten Commandments?” Lena asked.
I nodded. I’d been doing my research.
“And which one do you suppose you might have broken?”
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” I said with perfect recollection. I had no idea where those words even came from. It was like she’d summoned them from me.
“Yes, one and the second as well. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” She looked me up and down. “Of which you certainly are.”
“No one would worship me,” I said, embarrassed.
“I believe you are quite wrong there,” Lucian added and licked his lips.
Were they talking about you, Henri? I couldn’t tell. Just like you, they spoke in code. Their language was a deep ocean, and I could only see what was floating on the surface.
“Am I going to Hell?” I asked in all seriousness.
Lena let out a low, throaty laugh. It sounded like the wind rustling through the trees. Lucian was grinning as well.
“Would you like to?” Lucian asked with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
I could only stare at them, frozen like a mouse caught between two lions. There was a strange acceptance in knowing a struggle would be pointless. I was still alive because they’d allowed it. Lena continued without demanding an answer.
