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And then there was Demetri. He promised to be there for her whenever she needed him. So far he’d lived up to his promise. But would he continue to? Especially once she’d taken on other lovers?
Would he still be there for her? Still be willing to be friends with benefits? Still want to be her lover? Or would he consider her a slut, and decide he didn’t want to see her in a personal way any longer?
Oh yeah, she sighed. Savon has his work cut out for him today.
Chapter Nine
Stacy looked in the mirror. She wondered for the tenth time if she should’ve changed her clothes again. She’d gone through at least three outfits before she’d decided to simply come into work. Everything she tried on seemed to show the marks that had been made on her—whether the bite mark or the marks lower, on her breasts. Should she have continued searching for something that exposed her neck but covered the bite mark on her shoulder? Should she have worn a turtleneck and covered every inch of skin possible despite the heat?
Regardless of what she could have or should have done, there was no time for her to change now. Jack—what kind of name was that for a vampire anyway?—would be there at any moment.
It had taken more than two hours for Savon to get her to calm down—and that wasn’t counting the time he spent helping her with her meditation exercises or the time it took her to babble out her story. And she still wasn’t sure how she felt. Not even a long supper with Tina had helped. She’d just about bitten her tongue in half to prevent herself from asking any personal questions about Demetri. She wanted to know what Tina thought he would think about her having other lovers. Or why he’d bitten her. Would she have a scar on her shoulder from his bite? Why did people seem to know she was talking about him all the time when she’d gotten her thoughts blocked?
At one point it seemed as though Tina knew about her curiosity, but the other woman had remained quiet. Stacy decided to take it as a sign that she didn’t need to know the answers to her questions right now. Or that she really didn’t want to know them. Besides, she was too wrapped up in Demetri as it was. She really did like him, but...it was complicated.
Like a coward, she’d allowed her voicemail to answer his phone call earlier. She didn’t know if she could handle talking to him. Not when she knew she had to see another man for who knew what or how long that night. When she replayed the message he apologized for not calling the previous night, but explained that something had come up with the pack. He’d also told her that as of ten thirty five that morning she was free to live as though she were single.
Thomas had caved and signed the papers. That meant either his girlfriend wanted to get serious, or he was afraid of what would happen if those photos got out. Stacy was positive Thomas’s boss wouldn’t appreciate seeing them. Especially when everyone in the office was positive he was the man Amanda, his secretary, was sleeping with on the side. At least, those had been the rumors at the last company party she’d gone to. But that had been more than a year ago. Perhaps things had changed. Of course, Amanda certainly did seem to get awfully cozy with her boss when they thought no one was looking.
At least tonight she had a clear conscience. Nothing else she did could be considered adultery. Now all she had to do was wait out her time—four more months of being separated, thanks to the fact that Demetri was able to back date the separation to the last time she and Thomas had sex. And thankfully, her ex didn’t seem to be disputing that either. Four more months, and then she was completely free of him.
She wondered if Thomas realized he’d signed away any rights to alimony in the separation papers. Or if he’d even read that far.
Shaking her head, she cleared thoughts of her ex away. Tonight she should be celebrating, not working. But duty called. Though, it didn’t feel much like duty, not yet, anyway. After all, look at what BSC had done for her. They’d certainly done more than she’d ever hoped they would.
Even if Ms. Pope did still look at her as though she were waiting for Stacy to realize what was going on, because everyone else already knew. Stacy got the feeling her boss already knew what revenge she’d request against Thomas. Sometimes, she wished Ms. Pope would let her know what it would be so it could be over and done with.
The outside bell rang, and Stacy stood up. Jack was punctual at least. She opened the door and smiled as he entered the office. Thankfully, she didn’t gape at him as she had the first time she met Demetri.
Jack was very attractive. His golden brown hair was cut short and looked soft and silky. His green eyes seemed to sparkle as he allowed her to appraise him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell much about his body, thanks to his business suit. One day she really would have to stop mentally stripping the clients before they could even walk inside the office. He was an incredibly handsome man, one that she’d have been all over if not for...
Mentally shaking her head, Stacy decided she wouldn’t think about her too-sexy lawyer. Unlike Randal, she didn’t think she’d mind if Jack decided to drink from her. Blushing at the thought, Stacy knew it wasn’t up to her who was allowed to drink or not drink from her body. But she knew she wouldn’t mind having Jack’s lips pressed against her. When he smiled, she wondered if he could read her mind as well as Ms. Pope seemed to be able to.
Clearing her throat, she gathered up the folder and notebook she had waiting on her desk before facing him again. “Would you like to follow me to the conference room?”
“It would be my pleasure,” he purred with a half bow.
Ms. Pope sent the instructions for her meeting earlier, including which conference room they’d be in. Thankfully, they were in the crimson one. At least she wouldn’t have to spend half the night remembering the way she’d been put on the table and fucked so deliciously instead of working.
Stacy had believed that each conference room would be similar, just done in different shades. She was wrong. This room was smaller than the other conference room and had a glass topped table. Thankfully the walls were not the color of blood as she’d feared; they were more of a dark burgundy. It was tastefully done and conveyed a sense of warmth.
She sat down in one of the chairs, uncertain what to expect. She did however open the notebook and poised her pen—thankfully she’d grabbed a regular pen, and not the blood pen—to begin writing. Now she was just waiting for Jack to say something.
“Is there anything you’d like to ask me before we begin?”
There were only a million questions running through her mind. She wanted to know what the VBA was, or if she really needed to know. She wanted to know if he was going to drink from her, but didn’t want to give him any ideas if he hadn’t already considered it.
“It’s okay, you know. You won’t get in trouble. I respect the fact that you are trying to learn about us.”
“How did you know that?”
“There isn’t much that doesn’t get around in this community. And I like to know who I’m working with.”
She couldn’t fault his logic so she allowed her curiosity to prevail. “What does VBA stand for?”
“Vampire Blood Association. We try to make sure that vampires aren’t just drinking from any mortal they wish. There are a few who know about our world, and they’ve consented to giving us blood. But we watch them to make sure they aren’t changed. Unlike some of the myths imply, we don’t want to change all mortals. When there are too many vampires in one area, you have fighting. Primitive instincts kick in to remain powerful and, unfortunately, the only way to make sure you don’t lose your edge i
s to drink more blood. It causes a hellish loop in which everyone loses.”
