Page 40 of Call of the Blood

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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ilooked at myself in the mirror, hoping I chose well for the night. I didn’t see Alexius when I finally got home after shopping, but I knew he was out there now, waiting on me to come up, all ready for the night. I was actually worried. This was just a bit out of my comfort zone, the short black dress. It covered everything, being one of the more conservative options in terms of length, but it was still a club dress, fitted tightly, showing every curve, dip, and bump. At mid-thigh, I would have to be a little careful, but I could probably get away with bending over if I had to. I did smoky eye makeup, as I had as a human when I went out with friends. My hair was down, framing my face.

I was ready to go. I just had to step out and go to the club.

I checked my phone, seeing my brother had filled out his schedule, and I wouldn’t be able to see him for another couple of nights. Tomorrow, he had a regularly scheduled date with Lexi, and they needed it. If he wanted to try making it work with the werewolf, I would have to bite my tongue and let him. Any more feelings I had on the matter weren’t helpful.

And I had a lot of feelings. Between Declan and Henry, the men of my family were too much this trip.

And the only person I had to turn to was the man waiting for me, and that was complicated all on its own. He didn’t even know about Henry, and I still wasn’t sure I was going to tell him until I had no other choice.

Okay. Let’s just… get this entire thing over with. Maybe I’ll finally learn a bit more about whatever Alexius is doing. What I saw at the café was my only hint yet. Asking about vampires who didn’t report to Maria’s nest. Maybe she’ll let something slip tonight.

I walked out, nervously smoothing the dress as I got into his view. He wore a pitch-black suit, not an ounce of color. It absorbed light, so dark, not reflecting anything. And he looked fucking good. His hair was barely styled, but it worked so well for him. He was casual and put together, effortless in a way that reminded me that he was wealthy and powerful, so much, in fact, that he didn’t really care. He put the suit on, wet and pushed back the hair, and that was it. It was already falling out of place.

“You look wonderful,” he said immediately, and it seemed like he tried to straighten up as I walked closer, the click of my heels on the tile of the foyer the only sound aside from his voice.

“Thanks. I went and found something because I wasn’t sure I should show up in my normal stuff for Maria. You’re you and do whatever you want, and I could get away with things, but she’s still a member of the Tribunal, and I’m not as familiar with her as I am Isaiah. So, dress to impress, right?” I did a half turn in each direction, hands up to show off the dress. It had thicker straps, which covered the bra straps. I couldn’t bring myself to go braless the way I was supposed to under such a dress. Or that’s what the salesperson had recommended. Braless. He’d also recommended fishnets, and I decided to go barelegged.

“It’s perfect,” he said softly, taking one of my lifted hands. “Let’s go. The sooner we go, the sooner I can convince her we can leave.”

He held my hand all the way to the SUV, and the vehicle choice told me he wanted to drive. I was fine with that and slid into the passenger seat, but he was sweet, getting the door for me and closing it once I was putting on my seat belt.

It was charming.

“You fed enough when you woke up, correct? This is your last chance to feed…” He looked over at me from the driver’s seat.

“I’m fine.” With a smile and my hands tucked in my lap, I projected the image of being ready for the evening, even if I wasn’t. I had fed, and it felt uncomfortably full in my stomach now as we headed off to a place I’d rather not go. Nerves. I still had them.

There was a valet at the club, and when Alexius got my door, one of the attendants frowned, as he had already been reaching for it.

“You don’t have to do that,” I whispered to him as we went inside.

He was silent for a long time, but as we wandered down a low-light hallway, he leaned down.

“I want to.”

I figured I had two ways to feel about that response. First option was to feel frustrated because I could throw it into the pile of other mixed signals he sent on a daily basis. The second option was to be grateful he was just honest about why he was being sweet and escorting me and getting the door and all the rest, things he didn’t always do.

Both. I think I have enough emotional depth to decide to feel both.

We finally reached the real front doors to the club, an underground affair, hidden underneath a different club, so the people coming and going didn’t seem strange.

The bouncer was a vampire and only had to look at Alexius to decide to open the rope guard on a secondary door.

“This way, sir.”

I looked up at him and watched his eyes take a slow look up and down me. He was a big man, definitely fitting the stereotype of a bouncer. Any vampire could probably do the job, but he was intimidating enough for humans to respect him without knowing he was a vampire.

And he was very much checking me out.

He wasn’t bad, as I looked him over after noticing his eyes on me, and unlike Wren, more my type. I was finding myself into the big, intimidating warrior types. See exhibit A: Alexius.

So, I threw the bouncer a smile and saw his lip curl knowingly. If I was going to be at this place, I was going to try to make the best of it.

Alexius was none the wiser. He pulled me into the side door, and we were guided along farther. I would lose the chance to see the blood club in its full glory through the front door.