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“The car will be ready at five, sire,” Ashe says as he stands and heads towards the door, leaving me alone in my office.
I bite back the growl clawing at my ribs; at the agitation fueled by Eloise’s blood seeping into my veins; at Ashe’s question; at the reality I must face.
Eloise Morse is a threat, rushing in my veins taunting the beast within.
Chapter Nine
Eloise
All I can think when I look at myself in the full-length mirror in the massive walk-in closet that Ambrose dubbed the “wardrobe” is holy shit. I turn from side to side, craning my neck to check out the back of the positively sinful dress that Ambrose picked for me. I wanted to be annoyed when I saw the garment bag and the attached note with only “Wear this” on it. I was almost just petty enough to pick out a different dress, and I’d made up my mind to wear something else if I didn’t like it after I tried it on.
I can’t even be mad about how much I love the dress.
Black as night, its thin satin straps drape down into a cowl neck to offer a generous tease of cleavage. The rest of the dress hugs my curves until my hips, where it flares out over my ass down to my ankles. It’s practically backless, with the fabric gathered to drape just below the small of my back, showing off the dimples on either side of my spine. I’d look short, but there’s a slit that goes all the way up to the top of my thigh and somehow it makes me look as tall as Deidre, and I’m not even wearing shoes yet.
It’s a simple dress, one that I would have dismissed had I been choosing for myself, even if I could afford a dress like it. Seriously, this dress has to be at least five hundred dollars.
And it makes me want to purr like the cat who got the cream. It’s sultry and sexy in a way that makes me feel powerful. Deidre is always going on about the right clothes making a woman, and damn, now I absolutely can’t argue with her.
Joséphine had helped me with my hair and makeup before I got dressed. The vampire tamed my hair into a French twist then dusted makeup over my cheeks and eyes as if she knew I hated a ton of makeup. She’d laid out the ruby teardrop pendant earrings without comment, and when I asked, she simply said that I can’t go without jewelry and left me to put them on and stand in front of the mirror at last.
I smooth the satin over my stomach, nerves rushing forward as I meet my own gaze. I look like myself, at least, and yet I can’t help feeling like an imposter playing dress-up. Affluence has never been a part of my life.
The hairs on my neck raise and my eyes dart across the mirror before landing on him. Ambrose is leaning against the wall, his hands in his front pockets, studying me. Warmth washes over me when his eyes drag up to meet mine, my core pulsing at the memory of him standing between my legs, his desire hard against me and mouth exploring my neck.
No, not exploring, I remind myself. Feeding. He was feeding on me, because that’s what I am to him.
Grasping onto the clarity with both hands, I raise a brow. “I thought vampires didn’t have reflections.”
He snorts and his mouth twitches, like he’s holding back a smile at my goading. I don’t know what it is about Ambrose that makes me want to needle and push until he snaps. I’m never like this; I can keep my attitude in check when I need to, and for the most part, I’m actually pretty nice. This man, this vampire, is dangerous and he can kill me, after making me endure incredible pain, or order someone else to do it.
Yet I still push, poking and prodding until I get under his skin, to see what he does when I finally piss him off enough.
Then, if I survive it, I’ll know what type of man he really is.
“You’re gorgeous, Eloise,” he says, instead of responding. My cheeks go from pink to red as I have to break his gaze. I ignore the butterflies his words set free in my ribcage and make my way to the cream tuft divan that sits directly in the center of the wardrobe, opening the shoebox I’d set out. Ambrose hadn’t picked out the shoes for me, which meant I’m absolutely planning to wear the heels I fell in love with that morning.
I ease one out of the box, smiling softly at the shoe as if it’s a beloved pet. Before I can lower it to slip my foot into, Ambrose’s hand is on the shoe. He takes advantage of my surprise, taking it from me with a serious expression.
He kneels in front of me and my eyes must almost be popping from my head.
“Allow me.” His voice washes over me and I’m helpless against the effect he’s having on me, frozen in place except for watching his hands move.
He guides the bottom of my calf upwards; the black satin parts as my foot rises, exposing my leg all the way up to my thigh. Ambrose guides my foot through the straps, before expertly buckling the ankle strap with a single hand. Rather than letting my foot fall, he lowers it before slipping his hand into the slit of my dress to repeat the process.
As he reaches for the second shoe, he speaks, his head bent just enough to hide his eyes from me.
“Tonight is another move in the war.” His long, graceful fingers brush my ankle as he fastens the buckle. Rather than letting my foot go, he holds it gently in the middle, his fingers wrapping around my arch and his thumb presses just below my ankle bone. He meets my gaze, his eyes golden and bright, and something in them has me swallow back any retort I might have given. “Your friend is with Kasar at a safe house. Her captors had kept her high on Rapture, dangerously so. Kasar will see her through this, though.”
“Thank you.” I smile weakly at him, thankful that Deidre is in safe hands and terrified that she might get hurt from the very drug she was investigating. “How is this connected to tonight?” I ask after a moment, considering the first part of what he’d said.
His thumb strokes small circles, almost distracting me. I narrow my focus. I might not have known Ambrose for long at all, hell, I still don’t know him, but I know enough to know he does nothing without intention.
“We will be dining with Michael Garner.” —why did that name sound vaguely familiar?—“He is connected to the group who is selling Rapture outside of my control, though we have not fully discovered how. That is what tonight is about.”
My heart quickens, and my mind starts working through different scenarios. Anger turns my blood hot. “He could be connected to Deidre’s kidnapping.”
Ambrose nods once, his eyes becoming steel. “Which is why I’m here. I need you to agree to something, or you cannot attend. I do not have time to handle you as well as Garner.” He waits for me to object, but when I say nothing, he continues. “If you attend dinner with me, you must obey me without hesitation and without question. Do you understand?”
