SeduceMe (6 page)

Yet she was already retreating from it, running scared. He
could see it in her eyes.

“I should probably, you know, get back to Yvette.” She
stood. He let her go.

Disappointment washed over him, but it was followed by a
hint of relief. He’d dodged a silver bullet. Letting her walk out on him was
the smartest thing he could do. If she stayed a minute longer, he feared he’d
pounce.

He watched as she collected her handbag and rounded the sofa
a bit shakily. She pressed her clutch to her breasts and made a beeline for the
door.

Over her shoulder, she said, “I appreciate your time. I’ll
email you with any questions I have, if that’s all right.”

“Certainly,” Drake said, forcing the displeasure from his
tone. She wasn’t even interested in seeing him again. Not even a phone call.
Rather, she intended to contact him via impersonal email.
If
she
contacted him at all.

That dismal thought had him on his feet in the next second,
just as she reached for the decorative lever on the door.

Jane let out a low hiss, making his head snap in her
direction. She sprang from the sofa and asked Shana, “What went through your
mind when you first saw Drake?”

No doubt taken unawares by the question, Shana’s hand fell
to her side and she frowned as she turned to face them. “Excuse me?”

Coming around the end of the massive sectional, Jane said,
“When you first saw him…what did you think of him?”

“I…um…” She shook her head, as though confused by the
question. “I…” Her eyes narrowed on Jane, then shifted to Drake. Several tense
moments passed. No one spoke or moved a muscle, including Shana. She simply
stared at him, not even blinking.

Drake stood perfectly still, resisting the urge to march
across the office, take her hand and drag her back to the sofa. He also
remained quiet, tamping down the temptation to rescue her from the awkward
question.

He suspected there was a method to Jane’s madness. At least
there usually was, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Unable to rudely shun her hosts—though Drake certainly would
have understood if she’d chosen to do so, since they’d put her uncomfortably on
the spot—Shana squared her shoulders and lifted her chin a notch.

As though she pulled moxie from somewhere deep inside
herself, she said, “I thought he was the most beautiful man I’d ever laid eyes
on.”

A peculiar, knee-jerk reaction to her words almost had Drake
closing the wide gap between them and doing precisely what he’d wanted to do
not more than ten minutes ago. Haul her up against him and kiss her with all
the pent-up passion and desire she so easily evoked, which he’d had to keep
securely under wraps all this time.

Prudence kept him rooted to the spot in which he stood and
it was the most tormenting thing he’d endured yet. She might have found the
nerve to admit what she thought of him, but he had no doubt she spooked easily
and would be out the door if he made any sudden movements.

Beside him, Jane sighed wistfully. “Yes, he does have a
certain something that draws attention.”

Shana gave a slight nod of her head. “A commanding presence.
A piercing gaze. A confident stature.”

Admittedly, Drake had a healthy ego, but he wasn’t in need
of hearing what this particular woman found attractive about him. What he
wanted was for her to
act
upon that attraction. Yet she didn’t move any
closer to him than he did her.

“And what did you think of me?” Jane asked in a tentative
voice he’d not heard from her before.

Shana’s face fell, all traces of bravado vanishing in an
instant. Her gaze dropped to the floor as her shoulders slumped and she
fidgeted with her handbag. Long, tense moments passed until finally, she said
without looking at them, “At first, you reminded me of the French and Swedish
women in the orchestra I toured with. In fact, it was a huge relief to hear
your British accent.”

“Why did you dislike them?”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t like them,” she was quick to say as
her head jerked upward and she stared at Jane. “It wasn’t like that, per se. It
was more…envy, I guess. They were all so tiny and feminine and…perfect.”

Drake felt an odd twisting in his gut. “But you headlined
the tour—you were the star.”

“What does that matter in the grand scheme of things?” she
asked, her gaze shifting so her eyes locked with his. “Boys and then young
men—and older ones as I grew up—approached me because they knew my name. They
knew I had money. They wanted me because of my notoriety, that’s all.”

His own brow furrowed. “You really believe that?”

“I didn’t look like the other women. It was quite…glaring,
actually. The differences between myself and the others. Not just my skin tone,
but my dark hair and my eyes and…” She shook her head and a pained expression
crossed her face. “My figure. I blossomed rather quickly.”

“But you’re perfect,” Jane said on a sharp breath, as though
offended for Shana, but also shocked the woman didn’t see what she did. Her
gaze flashed to Drake. “Isn’t she.”

It wasn’t even a question. Jane sought an easy confirmation.
He opened his mouth to concur, but Shana silenced him with a bitter laugh.

“Please, I’m the furthest thing from perfect.” They’d made
her even more uncomfortable, put her on edge. He could tell by the chill in her
tone. She quickly added, “I really must get back to Yvette. Thank you for your
hospitality.”

She turned to the door. Drake was beside her in a split
second, long before he could even process the thought to stop her—or stop
himself from chasing after her. She’d pulled the door open and he’d placed a
hand against the wood, slamming it closed. The sound echoed in the quiet room
as ominously as a coffin being nailed shut.

Chapter Four

Shana gasped. Her eyes bulged. Her breath seemed to catch in
her throat.

Behind them, Jane made a soft tsking sound.

Shana stepped away from Drake as he groaned.

“You think
you
don’t fit in…” he grumbled, unable to
mask the angst in his tone. He shoved a hand through his hair as he glanced
over at Jane, finding an anxious look on her face.

“How exactly did you—” Shana shook her head again, cutting
off her own statement. She tried once more. “I mean, you were way over there.”
She pointed to where Jane still stood. “And then you went all
Twilight
on me. No one moves that fast, except, you know…
vampires
.” She whispered
the last word on a sharp breath.

It was meant to be joke, he could tell by the way she rolled
her eyes.

Then she said, “But that’s ridiculous of course. They only
exist in movies.” Her voice remained a soft murmur during her rumination. She
clearly didn’t want to believe what her rational mind obviously hinted at as
being a reality. Yet, at the same time… Her eyes grew wide and he could see it
really was no joke to her.

“I’m just being melodramatic, right?”

He didn’t respond.

She gasped again. He returned to his spot next to Jane as
Shana tried to grasp the reality of the shocking situation. He, in turn, tried
to appear less intimidating. Less big bad wolf about to devour little red
riding hood.

She stared at the two of them, disbelief evident in the way
her mouth gaped. But in her shimmering eyes was that look of intrigue and
fascination that emulated his own. Her interest in him had continued to burn
brighter as the evening had progressed. She couldn’t hide it, even if every
other part of her emitted uncertainty and incredulity.

“I only had one sip of champagne,” she said. “I’m not drunk.
Or delusional.” To Drake, she added, “You move quicker than my heart beats. How
is that possible?”

“Haven’t you already answered your own question?” he
countered.

Shana didn’t appear to have a response to that. At least,
not one she found acceptable.

“This is fortuitous, really.” Jane stepped forward, albeit
with trepidation. Again, so as to not spook their guest. “You think you’re
different. Imagine how
we
feel?”

“But I don’t believe in vam—”

“You don’t have to.” Jane’s tone was soft, her smile a
friendly one.

Shana sucked in a breath, then let it out with a sharp
whoosh
.
“Oh my God.” The color drained from her face and her back pressed to the closed
door as one hand searched for the doorknob. “Am I, like, dinner?”

Jane stared at her, aghast. Drake bit back a grunt,
offended.

“You’re perfectly safe in our company,” he assured her,
though his voice was tight. “Our interest in you is not sustenance related.”

She stared quizzically at him. “What
is
your interest
in me?”

“Oh dear,” Jane murmured.

Drake turned away. He returned to the living room seating in
front of the glowing embers in the fireplace. Settling in a chair adjacent to
the sectional, he crossed his legs and tried to appear casual. Tricky though it
was. Something dangerous and forbidden and exhilarating swirled around inside
him, making his gut clench and his cock throb. He’d crossed a line he shouldn’t
have and wasn’t putting much effort into a retreat.

The fact was, he wanted to be open with Shana about his and
Jane’s true nature. He wanted her to know them—
really
know them.

But how detrimental would that be to all three of them in
the end?

And what on earth made him think she’d actually believe them
if they continued to travel this path? She’d already admitted she didn’t buy
into the idea vampires truly existed. In order to validate their claim, he or
Jane would have to reveal their demon natures. Show their fangs.

How could she not freak out if she saw who they really were?

“Perhaps it’s best if you leave,” he finally said. Something
about her made him trust in the fact that she wouldn’t share the revelations of
this evening with anyone. Maybe because she couldn’t comprehend the idea of
vampires. Maybe because no one was likely to believe she’d just met two of
them, were she to tell anyone.

He was resigned to the fact he’d botched the whole evening.
Was monumentally pissed off at himself for it, but what could he do at this
point? Best to cut his losses and hope his Shana White obsession would end
sometime soon. This century, at least.

But just as he was berating himself and fighting off the
fury that warred with the peculiar liberation he felt over her knowing his
deepest, darkest secret, she went and shocked the hell out of him.

Pulling away from the door, she took two steps toward Jane.
Her mouth opened and she appeared to search for the right words. She gave up
and took a couple more steps forward. Jane stayed where she was, shooting a
perplexed look over her shoulder—toward Drake—before her attention returned to
Shana.

Jane said, “You’re not scared.”

Again, she didn’t pose a question. Drake guessed she’d
tapped into that mysterious part of Shana’s existence once more, connecting with
her soul in a way Drake would never understand or experience himself, much to
his dismay. He’d never been as envious of Jane’s gift as he was tonight,
wanting very much to share that intimacy with Shana himself.

She said to Jane, “I just realized you would have gone for
my jugular long before this. If that was your intent.” She set her purse on the
edge of the desk, as though offering a truce, a white flag of sorts—silently
telling them she wasn’t about to turn tail and run, or divulge their secret.

Drake found this interesting. His eyes narrowed on her as
she took another small step toward Jane.

“Yvette said you’re both very mysterious. You keep to
yourselves, for the most part.”

“It’s not that we don’t like humans,” Jane said, her tone
somewhat contrite. “That’s not the case at all, in fact. We live in your world
and we respect your rules and your boundaries. We don’t drink human blood. I
never have and Drake gave it up centuries ago.”

He could practically see Shana’s mind churning as she
processed what Jane had said, chewing over every bit of evidence presented,
laid out right before her very eyes.

When her glowing amber gaze landed on him, Drake felt a
powerful reaction that made him jolt in his seat. As though she’d touched him
physically and his body had reacted innately and lustily to it.

“When I tripped earlier,” she said to him, “and you lifted
me up… It was effortless. Like I weighed no more than a feather. And you didn’t
miss a step.” She seemed to replay that moment in her mind before continuing.
“I felt normal. With both of you. Like, for the first time in my life, I fit in
with someone. Well, two someones.” She looked back at Jane and smiled. “I can’t
explain it. It’s not like how I feel with Yvette and Finn. I adore them, but
there’s something about Yvette that just makes me feel so…subpar.”

“She’s stunning, yes,” Drake said in a quiet voice.
“Gregarious and brilliant. They both are. But there’s a sensual exuberance you
ooze that’s as emotionally stirring as it is sexually arousing. It’s impossible
to escape or ignore. It’s captivating. Especially to us.”

Jane added, “I suspect those women you were always jealous
of were actually jealous of you.”

“Oh, no,” she was quick to say. Her gaze dropped to the
floor again and her teeth clamped down on her trembling lower lip, as though
she’d just recalled some deeply painful memory from those days in the
orchestra.

Jane took the two steps forward that closed the gap between
them.

Drake sat up straight, alarmed. “Jane.” That one word was a
warning she didn’t heed.

Instead, she reached for Shana’s hand and again enveloped it
with hers.

Shana glanced up, hesitation in her eyes. As though she were
certain she should pull away, but was reluctant to do so for some unfathomable
reason.