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Chapter Ten
Eloise
Michael Garner stands, his eyes darting between us as he keeps a pleasant and placid expression. He wasn’t expecting Ambrose to have a guest, that much is obvious.
“Ambrose,” he greets with familiarity, holding his hand out for the vampire to take. I’ve never heard someone call Ambrose his first name, and from Ambrose’s expression, Michael hasn’t earned the right. The power plays have already started, and Ambrose counters Michael by ignoring him entirely as he pulls out the chair opposite of Michael’s spot and sits. Ambrose doesn’t leave me to wonder what side I’m supposed to sit on when he gives my hand a firm tug and I find myself seated on his leg, my back resting against his chest and shoulder. His left arm wraps around my waist, as if chaining me to him like I’d insist on my own chair.
Which, to be fair, in normal circumstances I would.
“Mr. Garner,” Ambrose succinctly replies before snapping a finger. I keep my eyes on the white cloth in front of us, my attention on the man’s reaction. He frowns, but he gets his feet under him quickly and takes his seat again, the pleasant expression back in place. A server appears at our side as if they’d been waiting for the vampire’s signal. Without taking his gaze from Michael, he orders, “A bottle of Chateau Grands Arbres. Sparkling water with ice and lemon, two wedges each.”
I better be getting some of that wine, I think as the server disappears.
Ambrose’s hand loosens slightly on my waist, his fingers stroking me as if silently telling me to relax.
When I’d made the bargain to be Ambrose’s for three months, I definitely didn’t picture decadent dinners in expensive gowns with dirty politicians. It’s better than just sitting in a room waiting for him to order me to him three times a day for my blood. I turn my full attention to Michael, who’s looking at me with amusement. I lower my brows in a disapproving glare. He looks at Ambrose, and I get a chance to study him.
Young. Wholesome. The sympathetic and eager young man hoping to turn Newgate into a better place. When really he’s just another power-hungry political snake, who is connected to the people who hurt my friend.
“If I’d known you were bringing a guest, I would have brought someone to keep her from growing bored,” Michael says with a boyish grin, inviting Ambrose to join in the joke.
I open my mouth to snark, but Ambrose’s fingers press into my hip as he speaks. He looks to me and, with his free hand, drags a finger possessively along my jaw and down my throat to where he’s fed from me twice now. I can’t stop the shiver of pure sensation as his fingers touch the spot; the area around the bite marks is so sensitive and each time he touches there, the pleasure is impossible to resist. I melt more against Ambrose, his cool body tempering my heating blood but it’s not enough to extinguish it entirely.
“On the contrary, Mr. Garner,” Ambrose murmurs, his voice decadent. “She is here to ensure I do not get bored.”
The server returning with the requested bottle of wine saves Michael from having to respond, but I watch through half-lidded eyes as the politician’s eyes flash with envy and... desire. He wants me, I realize, but on the heels of that thought another comes. It’s not me specifically he wants. He wants what Ambrose has. Seductive power and adoring worshipers.
I prevent a huff of laughter by accepting the glass of burgundy wine Ambrose presses into my hand and taking a sip. It’s incredible, and despite its smooth, rich flavors, I can sense the strength of the alcohol. I need to keep my wits about me, so I reach forward and set it on the table in front of me before leaning back against the vampire again.
This dinner isn’t a subtle trade of information between allies. Ambrose is taunting Michael Garner with his power, making it clear that Michael doesn’t matter to Ambrose and in turn, making Michael want to get closer to the throne the vampire sits on.
Recognizing the play for what it is, I loosen my body and languidly bring up my right hand until I’m stroking Ambrose’s neck. I keep my eyes on Michael, as if interested in what he has to say but making it clear that my attention is on the true power in the room. Ambrose takes a sip of his own wine, before speaking again.
“You requested this meeting.” He sounds bored already, leaning his head towards my hand to encourage me. “What is it that I can do for you, Mr. Garner?”
Michael, the experienced politician in spite of his young age, doesn’t let his act drop at the blunt question. He settles back into his chair, one hand wrapped around a tallboy of amber liquid, giving us an easy smile. “I believe some of our interests align and that a partnership could be quite beneficial for Newgate.”
Ambrose’s hand strokes upward over my side, the satin easing his way, until his fingers are teasingly close to the underside of my breast. Michael’s eyes flick to the movement before he quickly recovers and continues. I’m fighting to keep my expression bored as I focus on what Michael is saying and not the sensations Ambrose’s hands are building in my skin. The satin dress offers little defense against Ambrose’s meandering caresses.
When Ambrose turns his attention to me again, as if more interested in playing with his pet, it’s even harder to focus on what the other man is trying to suggest. Having the full weight of Ambrose’s attention is as heady as it was before, and I shift, rubbing my thighs together to try to stop the ache growing there.
By the time food arrives—a thick, rare steak—Michael’s calm demeanor is starting to crack under the vampire’s supposed distraction. The entrees must have been ordered beforehand, and there’s only one plate on our side. Like the wine, I hold back my bratty impulse, and besides, I enjoy a good steak. I wait a moment after we’re alone in the room before giving Ambrose a questioning look. He turns a pointed look to the meal and back, and it takes me a moment to understand.
I pick up the fork and steak knife, cutting off a small piece of the very rare steak. I raise the fork, giving him a coy look as his golden eyes fill with approval, his face turned towards me to accept the bite.
I wrap my lips around the fork, letting my eyes close as I make a soft sound of pleasure. When I open my eyes again, Ambrose is still looking at me but the approval is gone and a different promise is in his eyes. My stomach flips and I’m so tempted to take the next bite for myself again. But I know it’s not the time and bring the next bite to his lips, lungs struggling as I catch the slightest glimpse of a fang and his tongue before his mouth closes around the fork.
Despite our company, feeding Ambrose feels intimate, like this is just for us and not an act for the game we’re playing.
I’m aroused and there’s no way Ambrose doesn’t know it.
Apparently our distraction has gone on too long when a glass is set down with a loud thump. I startle, my head snapping around to look at Michael. All of his wholesome, eager appearance has disappeared. Now he’s looking at us with barely concealed irritation, his grip on his own knife and fork turning his knuckles white.
Michael narrows his gaze onto Ambrose, who is still relaxed around me, his fingers still tracing senseless patterns over the satin of my dress along my side and down to my hip.
“I’ve taken a great risk to meet with you so publicly, Ambrose—”
“Let me stop you there,” Ambrose says, his voice indifferent as he reaches for his wine glass. He brings it to my lips, and I take a long sip, my iron will softens against the gold of his gaze. When he lowers the glass, his eyes turn threatening as he directs his attention back to Michael. Michael, to his credit, shuts up and his irritation gives way to hesitation and worry. “You need me, Mr. Garner. While your offer was enough to get me to agree to this meeting, it is simply not enough to be worth my time and money. There is one thing I want from you, and as long as you hold up your side, you will have my support when it comes to your election to the Newgate council.”
