The Way You Bite(15)

Tense silence shrouded her while he surveyed her from head to waist, ending with a disenchanted sigh.

“So nice you could finally join us tonight.” The fury dulled. His eyes narrowed with a speculative slant, and the right corner of his mouth elevated.

Alarm shrieked inside her head. She gazed downward with fake submission. “I apologize for my tardiness, but I was unavoidably delayed.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “By your senseless work. Human pets…ack. ’Tis time Ambrose makes you quit. I’ve been patient…”

She internally rolled her eyes. Patience wasn’t one of Dominic’s virtues. He’d given her two choices when she graduated vet school. Move back here and work as a vet but remain within one hundred miles of him, under his watchful eye, or he would force her back here and not allow her freedom.

Freedom. Such a joke while anywhere near him. But she’d get her freedom very soon, and on her own terms.

“You must retire.” He folded his long, delicate hands in front of him, the left pinky tapping furiously against the table.

Retirement—a euphemism for broodmare-dom. She despised being ordered she produce a kid. She was more than a breeding vessel. The thought of sleeping with Ambrose…ick.

Her mind spit out an image of Lexan. Her body tightened at the thought of sex with Lexan.

No, no, no. She couldn’t think of him now.

“I have great respect for your guidance, but…” She forced a polite smile and gripped her hands behind her back to control their trembling.

A masculine voice whispered in her ear in a clipped British accent, “Careful, love.”

She jumped and looked up at five-foot-eleven of gorgeous vamp, shocked. “Ambrose? I thought you couldn’t make it tonight.”

Ambrose nodded his perfectly groomed blond head at her father. “Dominic. Such a delightful party. I wouldn’t dare miss it, or seeing my fiancée in such a lovely dress.” He sent her a lascivious scan, guaranteed to convince all around their bedroom antics were anything but boring.

“DiFalco.” Dominic’s lips clamped shut, as if holding back a curse. Dominic may hold great power in the States, but the DiFalcos remained the ruling family to which all must bow.

“Do you mind if I borrow Vee for a turn?” Ambrose purred. “Someone needs to take advantage of the live music. Such a rarity these days. The stiffs you invited seem unwilling to soil their shoes on the dance floor.”

Ambrose lifted Vee’s hand and delicately kissed her knuckles. “You are a vision, Vee. As always.”

Her first instinct was to yank her hand out of his grasp, but she didn’t. She hated his smooth-as-silk side and much preferred him as the self-obsessed asshole she’d met behind closed doors. At least the latter was honest.

“I would love to dance. Thank you. Would it be okay, Father?”

Dominic nodded but sucked in his cheeks like he’d just bitten into an unripe plum. “We will speak after your dance, Velvet. Perhaps, all three of us in private.”

She hadn’t expected to avoid a confrontation with her father, but she’d hoped.

With expert precision, Ambrose spun her into a slow waltz. The one other young couple maneuvering the small dance floor fled the moment they arrived. As expected, they attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.

The rhythmic turns to a classic waltz distracted her mind from panic planning. Ambrose’s large hands clasped around hers, strong and warm. She concentrated to maintain the proper waltz interbody space, but she was far from a professional dancer. She tripped on his foot. He caught her without even breaking stride. Her face heated. When she looked up, amusement bled into his hazel eyes.

“I’m sorry. Is your foot okay?” she whispered.

Loudly, he said, “My lady, it is but the price one pays to be a gentleman.” He smiled and inclined his head in a brief nod. Without warning he dropped her into a low dip. His nose came within kissing distance of the top of her left breast.

“Nice dress.” His breath tickled her chest.

She should feel something in response to his compliments. But they were bullshit. Everything about him was a mask, a show for those around them.

“Smile, darling. People are staring. Time to put on a face,” he ordered softly.

She pasted a smile on her lips and gazed up at him. How was she supposed to convince the hoard around them she was into him? Maybe a little tittering or whatever crap happened when a powerful vamp was into her. She’d never desired him. She’d never liked him, even though he was the world’s best catch from a vamp’s perspective. Handsome, rich, and powerful. He was also one of a slim few vamps Dominic wouldn’t try to bulldoze. He agreed to marry her at his father’s order. This had everything to do with her bloodline and nothing to do with her being an appropriate partner to him.

Three months. She had but to delay their union for a few months. Then freedom.

Ambrose leaned in close and whispered, “I need it ramped up a bit.”

She almost jerked away from his breath on her ear. “How convincing? You plan to push me up against the wall and fuck me? Maybe that’d prove your machismo and how into you I am?”

“Don’t be vulgar, love.” He pulled away and a slow smile spread on his lips. “Is that your fantasy? Public domination? Could be fun. Maybe a bit shocking for those here.” He glanced around. “Narrow-minded twits.”