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Jordan laid a hand beside my head, hovering over me and planting a kiss on my forehead while I rode out the last of my orgasm on her fingers.
When my body finally stilled, she rolled onto her back beside me and brought her fingers to her lips. “If this is what your pussy tastes like, your blood must be ambrosia.”
“I’m flattered.” My erratic breathing made it difficult to speak.
I lay splayed out across the bed, my head spinning. I had no clue how things had escalated so quickly, but that was a conversation best left for the morning. Spent and satiated, fatigue set in quickly and my eyes fluttered shut.
Jordan settled beside me, trailing a finger along my slicked inner thigh. “By the way, we’re having a party next week. Needless to say, you are invited.”
“What?”
Chapter 9
JORDAN
AragingpartyatHunter’s penthouse may not have been the smartest move considering the loose vampire who wanted me dead. But High Stakes had just reached its fifth birthday and Maxine had insisted that a celebration was in order. That is how over fifty vampires congregated for a rooftop party and cracked open far too many bottles of the finest flavored blood.
Upon arrival, Sky had immediately been whisked away by a blood-drunk Maxine who introduced her to a cluster of coworkers. I kept an eye on her from a safe distance, hanging around the indoor bar with Hunter at my elbow.
I trusted the High Stakes team more than most, but a human with a particularly enticing scent amongst a crowd of lively vampires was asking for trouble. The incident at the coven gathering had left me skittish, and I refused to take my eyes off the willowy blonde for more than a few seconds.
“You’re usually the life of the party. Why so stoic tonight?” Hunter knocked her glass against mine, sloshing red liquid over the brim. “Does this mean my tables are safe?”
I sipped my drink and watched Max coax Sky into dancing, the pulsing strobe lights igniting her hair in a fluorescent green glow. “It’s still early.”
Hunter followed my gaze, chuckling at the sight of a drunken Maxine stumbling over her feet, only to be saved by Sky before her face hit the floor.
“Early for you. One more drink and Max is going to be hurling her innards all over the dance floor.”
I grimaced at the mental picture. “It serves her right. She told me this would be a small gathering. She’s invited half of the vampire population.”
There were a few other humans present too, men and women who had entered into contracts with my various coworkers. Already, I had watched pairs and trios slink off to the pool or the bathroom to make good on those contracts. Some were even engaging openly, lounging on sofas and stairways while sipping from their ecstatic human partners.
Alcohol doesn’t have much effect on vampires, save for some bad stomach pain and a burning throat. Pure human blood does the trick, though. Back before the 20th century, vampires would get “drunk” by gorging themselves on whatever poor human they could get their hands on and drinking more than they needed to.
These days, animal blood works just fine—processed in factories, bottled, and even chemically altered to enhance the intoxicating effect. Much to the disgust of many highborn aristocrats.
Some vampires still prefer the old fashioned route, albeit consensually. The act of drinking blood is almost always erotic in nature and brings about a kind of daze that has a significant effect on both parties.
Watching those party goers interact as they did, fluttering eyes and lazy smiles, sharp teeth and soft touches, I wondered what it would feel like to do it with Sky. I wondered if she thought about it too.
As if she could hear my thoughts, Sky caught my eye across the room and waved sheepishly. I smiled in response, dropping my eyes to the drink in my hand when I caught Hunter eyeing me with a pained expression. Something about that look told me I was in for a lecture.
“So you really like this woman?” Hunter kept her tone flat, but her brow furrowed as she turned toward me. “She’s human. You know how this ends.”
I had to strain to hear her over the booming music.
“I don’t justlikeher, Hunter.” I gripped my glass in both hands, swirling the liquid around. “She’s my mate, I can feel it.”
“I know how that feels.” There was a touch of longing in Hunter’s words and her eyes focused on some faraway point. “And I know how it feels to lose that.”
Hunter sipped her drink, her mind replaying memories that I couldn’t see.
A moment later, she shook the glazed look from her eyes. “Just be careful, Jordan. She may act like she’s okay with all of this. But she’s still human. They fear us for a reason.”
I had no response to that. A small part of me was afraid she was right. I had been shamefully derelict in my duty to protect Sky thus far, too busy falling in love to realize the danger snapping at our heels. How long until the supernatural world proved too much for her?
Sky caught my attention again, mouthing a cry for help as she struggled to keep Max upright. The drunken vampire lolled in Sky’s arms, a blissful smile on her face as she wiggled her fingers in our direction.
