Once upon a time, this space was a ballroom or some shit. The ceilings are high, and the windows are ornately shaped, showing off the elaborate gilded moldings. The floors are still shiny as hell, but instead of hosting fancy celebrations for noble vampires, it holds weekly staff meetings and the occasional recruitment events.
A few people take seats at the linen covered tables, while most of the others stand around, but all of their eyes shift to me. I don’t jog to the back of the room, but I sure as shit hustle. The sooner we find these kids, the sooner I can get back to Quinn.
“Have there been any developments?” I scan the small crowd of about fifteen, but no one offers up any information. “Who’s got a list of the kids?”
“I do.” Will steps up and passes me a hand scrawled note with seven names and their ages. I skim it quickly and nothing really stands out to me. There are four boys and three girls, all over the age of fifteen.
“Anyone familiar with this group? Are they friends, enemies, hooking up?”
Paul steps forward. “The floor leaders would know better, but I can tell you we haven’t had trouble with this lot. Not as a group anyway. I’m familiar with a few of the boys, mostly fights or dominance issues.”
I nod and look around, wondering who I can trust. It’s not lost on me that all the kids missing are vampires, and Griff suspected the kid in Quinn’s office might have been sippin’. I was half expecting to find his name on the list, but it isn’t.
One of the people in this room could be the one who let Michelle out of the containment room, and if Griff is right, they could be supplying unblooded vampires with blood. Three weeks ago, I would have gone to bat for everyone in here, certain that none of them could be involved with something like this, but that’s changed. Right now, I just left the only people I can trust with this shit upstairs, and I’m not sure they feel like they can trust me right now.
Quinn
“What the heck happened in the bathroom?” I ask, a little out of breath from rushing around to get dressed. Griffin arches one brow at me as if he can’t believe I’m asking that question. “Don’t tell me you two got into a fight?”
“A fight? It’s adorable that you think if we fought, the only thing that would be damaged is a mirror.”
“Just tell me what happened.” I perch on the edge of the bed to put my socks on. This place is fricking cold when I’m not constantly surrounded by men.
“You can ask Evan, but it’s obvious he’s pretty disappointed in his…lack of control,” Griffin informs me, unruffled. He’s already dressed, decked out in a fine suit that makes him look like a mafia boss, especially with all those rings on his fingers. I’m going to ask him about them one day, just not right now.
“He did it?” I scrunch up my nose.
“You seem surprised.” Griffin takes my hand and helps me rise from the bed.
“Well…I kind of am. It’s hard to imagine him doing that,” I admit.
“So you thought it was me?” He pulls his hand up to his chest. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s a little affronted.
“Youareso much more…moody,” I reason.
“I think you meant to say passionate.” Griffin dips his face close to mine but keeps just out of kissing range.
“Did I?” I tap my finger against my lip, and his eyes are drawn to the movement.
His tongue peeks out from behind his full lips. “How are you feeling this morning?” His tone has shifted. The hint of teasing is gone, and it’s been replaced with something so much darker. It makes me think about the way his lips felt on my neck last night, the way his teeth felt against my throat.
“Good, how about you?” I almost ask if he’s hungry, but we don’t have time for that right now. I promised Evan we would help look for the kids.
Griffin steps in a little closer so there’s barely any space between us. I feel his fingers under my chin as he tips my head back. His eyes roam over my face as if he’s searching for something. “Thank you,” he murmurs softly.
“For what?” I press, my voice sounding breathy.
He brushes his cheek against mine as he moves his lips closer to my ear. “For letting me taste you.” His words are almost a groan. I nod and try to speak, but my tongue is glued to the roof of my mouth, which is probably a good thing because I want to tell himanytime.
“I bet the only thing sweeter will be your pussy.” I inhale sharply. “I can’t wait to taste you again, and again, and again.” As if to prove his point, he licks the side of my neck. I feel a slight pulse when he grazes over the same spot he drank from last night. I have to fist my hand so I don’t reach up and touch it to see if I can recreate the feeling, I don’t want to take the chance I might dislodge him.
Griffin pulls back and looks down at my face. His eyes are lidded, and he looks so fucking sexy, especially knowing what’s under that suit. I want to say something back, to tell him just how much I like the idea of him tasting me, but my experience with dirty talk is pretty limited. I don’t want to come off sounding like an idiot.
Gathering courage, I grab the lapels of his jacket and say, “I’ll settle for a kiss until you can make good on that promise.”
It must have been okay, because his lips are on mine before I have a chance to take another breath. He’s not as gentle as he was last night, but he’s still careful. His hands are cupping my face, controlling how I move and pinning me in place. His tongue pushes into my mouth in a way that makes me think of him sliding in and out of me. I shift my hands from his jacket to his chest, my fingers slip around his back, and he leans over me, making my spine arch to keep my lips on his.
I feel off-kilter, like I could fall at any minute and Griffin is the only thing holding me up. I relax, allowing his body to mold to mine, knowing he wouldn’t let me fall. Feeling my surrender, Griffin shifts his hold to grab my ass with one hand and palm the back of my head with the other. I’m still trapped against him, with him controlling my movements, but it’s a completely freeing experience. He trails kisses from my lips over to my jaw, continuing to my ear. I can feel his erection against my belly. It’s thrilling knowing how badly he wants me.
