Blonde & Blue (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #4)(91)

He sat next to me, an untouched martini in front of him. He kept trying to slide it in front of me, and I slid it right back. I wasn’t touching a drop of alcohol, not with what he had in mind.

“Relax, Alexa. Enjoy the buildup. It’s like foreplay. No need to be impatient.”

“I’m not impatient. I’m nervous and starting to change my mind.”

Tearing his gaze from the interior of the martini lounge, he fixed me with a daring stare. “Oh no, you’re not. I told you, I’m not going to let you be bloodlust’s bitch anymore. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You’ll see.”

He hadn’t let go of his intent for us to hunt together. It made me uncomfortable in more ways than I could count. I’d seen Arys in action. It was both thrilling and frightening. But, to accompany him? It didn’t sit well with me.

“You damn hypocrite.” I ran a finger along the top of my sparkling water glass. I felt too nervous to drink it. “You live by the rule of all or nothing. Isn’t that why you look down on the vampires that feed at The Kiss?”

“This isn’t about them. It’s about you. You try to hide that it drives you crazy, but then you break down and slaughter someone. You’re not cut out to live my lifestyle. The guilt would eat you alive.” He offered me the olive from his drink, and I grimaced at the smell. “Besides, I don’t take the kill every time. Just more often than not. Every now and then, I like the tease of resistance.”

I didn’t know what to expect from a hunt with Arys; I’d half expected to stalk helpless victims in dark back alleys. When I’d voiced that very thing to Arys, he’d both scowled and laughed at me. Instead we’d ended up in a martini bar on the main floor of a five-star hotel with a key to a room upstairs. It seemed like excessive work to me though Arys shrugged it off as no big deal.

I watched Arys as he scanned the lounge for the right victim. I was impatient and wanted to get this over quickly if I had to do it at all. But, he was calm, like the fox in the hen-house, deciding which one he liked the most.

“So, what are we waiting for? Can’t we just do this already?”

He frowned and ran his tongue over his lips. Just watching him perform the casual action made my stomach tighten.

“Patience, my wolf. Don’t be so quick to act. If you’re stuck with the bloodlust, you might as well learn to enjoy it. It doesn’t have to all be bad.”

“That’s the problem. I want to hate it, but once I’m caught up in the moment, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. And, that’s what I hate.”

Arys took my hand and lightly ran a finger over the back of it. His touch stirred my longing. The bloodlust was running high. Arys had wanted me to be at its mercy. I couldn’t say I was loving it. My senses were on fire. Every touch and smell was amplified. All I could focus on was the tingle in my loins as he stroked a finger up my bare arm and the thick scent of human blood. It begged for my attention, making it hard to acknowledge any other smells in the lounge.

“That one, right there.” Arys drew my attention to a woman sitting alone at a table on the opposite side of the room. “She’s perfect. Do you want her?”

She was a leggy brunette in a designer dress, staring intently at her cell phone. Nothing distinguished her from any other woman in the lounge except for the fact that she was alone.

“A woman, huh?” I teased. “I guess that’s fair considering I’m usually the only woman present.”

Arys grinned, but his eyes glinted seriously. “Alexa, I don’t mind sharing you with the wolf pup. You seem to think I do, but sharing you with him means not having to share you with anyone else. Simple logic but it works.”

I thought it over, finding his logic to be a tad skewed like usual, but somehow, it made sense this time. “Alright. You want her, that’s fine with me.”

I was uneasy, but Arys had promised me that we weren’t killing anyone tonight. This was about finding the balance I needed to appease the bloodlust without taking the kill.

Tipping my head up with a hand under my chin, Arys kissed me lightly. “Stay here until I give you a signal.”

He slid off his stool and was gone before I could change my mind. The sound of my heart beating was suddenly deafening in my ears. I clutched my purse tightly and fidgeted with my short skirt. I couldn’t tear my gaze off Arys as he sauntered through the room like a wolf stalking prey. As I watched him go, the nerves melted away, replaced by a hungry anticipation.

Arys was a vision of sensuality. He moved through the room with dark intentions, drawing the attention of several women as he passed. It was impossible not to look at him. From head to toe the man oozed sex. It didn’t come as a surprise that the majority of other women thought so, too.

At his approach, his intended victim glanced up from her cell phone. She looked wary, but once Arys started talking, she smiled. I would have loved to hear what he was saying. The grin he beamed at her was downright seductive. I was falling for it from where I sat. So when she gestured to the chair next to her, I wasn’t surprised. Actually, I was a little turned on watching Arys work his magic, although a little part of me wondered if I was as easy a target as this woman was turning out to be.

Watching Arys seduce our victim made me ache for satisfaction. My growing hunger was testing the limits of my control. I’d questioned his intent to lure her upstairs to the room, but my patience was slipping. Now, I just wanted to make it happen.