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“Your friends are all watching us, Evan.”
He grinned. “My guess is they’ve bet on whether I crash and burn or not. They have money riding on the outcome, so we’re going to have an audience.”
“Friends or coworkers?” I asked.
“Little of both, but mostly the latter.” He leaned forward and put his hand on mine, on top of the table. Without even looking, I knew his greatest fear was someone taking over his mind, so he was their puppet. His second greatest fear was being controlled by sex. A jumble of fears were grouped behind those — minor claustrophobia he mostly had a handle on, failing his king, getting someone pregnant, and a surprising fear of bees and wasps, leftover from being stung and having a bad reaction as a small child.
I looked his friends over and chose the weakest one without a steady partner. I’d gone to the control room to look over the security feeds before I came, so I knew the basic details of everyone at his table. I’d also scanned everyone’s mind, to make sure they wouldn’t recognize me.
“Your green-shirted friend is my friend’s type. If we get them set up, you and I can take off together. I’m not a fan of having an audience.”
He grinned. “You’re a hell of a wingman.”
Ten minutes later, the sun had set and we were out the front door. I’d asked a bartender about him, knowing Evan’s eagle senses would hear the conversation.
“Ace, what do you know about the guy I’ve been talking to?”
“Evan? He’s okay. You thinkin’ of taking him home?”
“His place. He says he’s living in a hotel until he finds a house to buy.”
“Tell him I vouched for him.” Jayce knew the plan, too. He goes by Ace at the bar, but he’s an ancient vampire who’s taking it easy for a few decades.
“Thanks.”
Evan had asked how I knew Ace, and I’d just said, “He vouched for you. I assume I know him the same way you do — he’s a damned good bartender.”
Truth within a lie. Birds use microexpressions to know when someone’s lying. I can control my scent and my expressions, but playing human can be complicated.
Through it all, the slayer watched from a corner. I doubted Evan noticed him. I don’t think anyone did, except for me and the waitress assigned to his table. What would Ryan think of me playing human for an eagle?
Evan was in a suite, with the bedroom separate from the living area and kitchenette, but I ignored how nice it was. I needed to be able to say I hadn’t misled him or lied to him, once he found out he was with Marco’s Secundo. If I commented on how lavish the hotel is, or the size of his suite, the conversation would too easily lead onto territory that might blow my cover.
He’d played with my thigh all the way to the hotel, and I pulled my shirt off seconds after we were in the door. I hadn’t planned on doing anal, but if he was viscerally afraid of getting someone pregnant, he’d want to use a condom, and then I wouldn’t be able to claim I didn’t know he didn’t recognize me for being a vampire.
“Tell me you have lube, or at least some good cooking oil, and please tell me you aren’t squeamish about anal.”
“I got olive oil. You might want to take a look at what you’re playing with before you decide for sure.”
I reached for him and squeezed. He was thick, but Griffin had enjoyed hurting me and not letting me eat my own fear. I could take him.
“Oh, yum.” I unhooked my bra and tossed it in the general direction of my shirt. “You have too many clothes on.”
I was rapidly losing body heat and we needed to do this before he noticed. My original plan was to initiate sex once while he thought I was human, and then maybe he’d be comfortable having it again after he knew I was a vampire, since I hadn’t taken him over or done anything too weird the first time, but I was having doubts about that, based on how anxious he was about vampires. Had Marco not seen it?
“No prep, okay? Just lube. I want to feel every inch of you spreading me wide.”
“You play with safewords, Elisabeth?”
“Sometimes, but I prefer not to with someone new. If you need something to listen for, how about stop, no, wait, and ouch. I don’t expect there to be problems, but I’ll let you know if there is.”
I was undoing his jeans while I talked, and he stepped out of them along with his cowboy boots. A hand over his head, and he lost the shirt. I’d already divested myself of my jeans, but not my tiny little red thong undies. He grabbed the olive oil from his kitchenette and followed me to his bedroom.
I let him scent my arousal. Birds can’t scent as well as mammals, but they pick up a lot more than humans.
“How long has it been?” he asked.
“Long enough.” He didn’t like to be bossed around, so instead of ordering him to fuck me, I begged. “Please, Evan. Don’t tease. No foreplay, just please fuck me. I don’t want to be in control right now.”
