Page 6 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“Isn’t that a sex club?”

“Officially, no, but unofficially, sex can happen there, between consenting adults, of course. I consider it more of a cabaret show with a side-dish of titillation should my patrons wish to indulge.”

Titillation that often includes my human patrons being feasted on by my clan members, and later, their memories wiped.

“Hmm, well, all of this is very interesting, but I think it’s about time I get going…”

Her voice trails off as I palm her entire foot, my free hand massaging the sensitive area of her Achilles heel. “You want to stay,” I insist, the familiar sensation of my compulsion once again stretching out towards her, only to slam against a shield so thick, it’s impenetrable.

Swallowing hard, she eyes me suspiciously. “Is this where you pretend to woo me, give me the best orgasm of my life, and then I end up in a suitcase, or worse, just another notch on your bedpost?”

“It’s worse to end up a notch on my bedpost?” I raise my brows in surprise, not sure whether to laugh or call her a therapist. Then again, perhaps it’s me who needs a fucking therapist, given I’m still sitting here.

She just shrugs.

“First of all, I don’t pretend at anything,” I begin, except being human, “And second, I’d certainly give you the best orgasm of your life.”

“Arrogant as well as good-looking. I shouldn’t be surprised,” she mutters.

“But I’m not in the business of murdering the women I choose to take to my bed, and neither am I foolish enough to keep a log of who I’ve slept with either.” I just like to feed on their blood.

“No little black book then?” she asks.

“No, no little black book,” I reply, smothering another smile.

Again, another miracle. I haven’t smiled this much since… Well, for a long fucking time. “In truth, there are very few women who’ve made it to the sanctuary of my private rooms, and even fewer who piqued my interest like you have tonight. This may be bad timing, but⁠—”

“Let me go!”

I’m not sure what I’ve said to make her stiffen the way she has, but something uncomfortably close to pain flashes behind her eyes as she tries to tug her feet out of my hold.

“Edie—”

“I said, let me go.”

“I’d like you to stay,” I say, forcing my glamour outwards in a futile attempt to get her to yield to me. It wraps around her, an invisible force that usually breaks through a human’s will within seconds. But no matter how hard I try with Edie, there’s no gap to slip through, no weak spot to break. She is impenetrable, and that only means one thing. She’s an Aegis. A name we’ve given to humans who can shield against our compulsion. I’ve come across a few in my three centuries and have avoided every single one. Until now.

“And I could kick you in the balls,” she pipes up.

“You could try,” I say, my gaze snapping to hers.

She huffs out a breath. “Look, I’m discombobulated, okay? Of course, I’m not going to kick you in the balls. I’m not an idiot. I don’t actually want you to murder me.”

“Discombobulated?”

“It means⁠—”

“I know what it means. Besides, I wouldn’t,” I say, digging my thumb into the heel of her other foot instead of walking the fuck away.

“Wouldn’t what?” she murmurs, her eyes that were full of pain and rage a moment ago are now heavy-lidded and unfocused.

“Murder you,” I say, my whole palm cupping the bridge of her foot, whilst my thumb continues to knead her arch.

“Oh, thank goodness, because, despite common sense telling me to get the hell out of here, I really don’t want you to stop what you’re doing. That’s heavenly.”

She moans, her shoulders slumping as she melts into the seat, her eyelids drifting shut. Her submission stirs my cock because I know it’s on her terms, not mine. If I do or say something she doesn’t like, she’ll be eviscerating me with her words long before I have the chance to backtrack. Knowing that is surprisingly invigorating.

“Damn, you’re really, really good at that,” she says, a breathy moan releasing from her lips as she relaxes.