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Alexei grew emboldened by my drawled words. His white smile stretched across the perfect planes of his face, displaying thin, needle-like fangs. Fangs thatdefinitelydidn’t make my mind whirl with forbidden fantasies.
Keep it together, Jade, damn!
“Not to mention our penchant for drinking blood,” he crooned. His sensual coffee and crimson eyes twinkled as his pale form approached my desk. “Finished with the spectacles already? That may be your newest record, though the corrupted magick within isn’t the strongest in my collection by far.”
“Of course. I am the strongest witch in my Coven, after all,” I said with a false smile, not forgetting the hours of failed attempts before guiltily adorning the amulet to finish the job.
Without a thought to the carefully laid out piles of scribbled notes detailing my experiments, he reclined onto my desk, sending a waft of his seductive scent towards me. He smelled of sinful nights tangled in silk sheets with a hint of rosewood and an unmistakable spiciness I wanted to taste on my tongue.
He lifted the half-opened jar of healing balm to his nose knowingly.
I fought an embarrassed flush at being caught. The spectacles possessed a weak curse, yet I still struggled to break it without the Amulet of Davorina. Strongest witch? More like I was the most deluded.
“You’re certainly the most alluring witch I’ve ever met.” His look smoldered, nearly burning me to ash. He tapped a finger against his lip with a mere hint of his usual arrogant grin. “Makes me long for that night when you found yourself in my bed, spread across my impressively nude body.”
Horror suffused me at the sudden reminder of one of my most humiliating memories from this past year.
“I thought we agreed to never mention that unfortunate accident again,” I said peevishly, before I handed him the frames with a twisted grimace. “Now, if that’s all, I’d like to get home at a decent hour.”
“Actually it’s not, I’m afraid. But I’ll make this quick considering your busy schedule.” He grinned with thinly veiled humor and from his suit jacket pocket revealed the snipped stem of a deep burgundy tulip from his gardens. Pressing it to his nose, he said, “Silas got word that an altercation occurred this evening between a shifter from Boudreaux’s pack and a vampire from my Court. According to an eyewitness, they were fighting over a game of cards gone awry. As my mystical guide, your presence is needed to settle the dispute and help clean up the fallout.”
I paused my meticulous organizing at his words.Mystical guide. What a joke.
After the disastrous Samhain festival last year and the resulting blowup with Grandmother, Alexei found me at my weakest and offered me a way out. It was only after I had cut ties with Grandmother as the once High Priestess-in-training that he revealed talismans loaded with forbidden dark magick lurking within his vault.
“Anyone hurt?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“No,” he bit out, voice dark. “And I could usually deal with a mangy pup with impulse control issues on my own, but there were many creatures in attendance. I figured you would want to keep up your charade.”
I nearly banged my head against the desk at the memories of my past interludes as the mediator between vampires’ and other creatures’ petty disputes. Beneath my irritation, a current of panic stabbed through me imagining Grandmother discovering my work with the talismans.
“Too right. Where are they, and how long will this take?” I sighed, hiding my unease. “I have things to do other than toil away in your Court, you know.”
Alexei snorted, raising the flower petals to my cheek as he brushed a lock of hair back over my shoulder. I swatted him away too slowly to truly get the message across.
He smirked. “I know you would much rather hide in that big house of yours in a fluffy robe with a bottle of red wine, like the elderly female you secretly are, but unfortunately you need to abandon your senile tendencies for a night.”
Sputtering with outrage at his painfully honest assessment of my social calendar, I dragged my gaze away from his hypnotizing stare and bared my blunt teeth in retaliation. “Technically, I’m off the clock, vamp. Unless you plan on finding another spirit witch who doesn’t mind giving up all their evenings to do your dirty business, I would urge you to lay off the insults.”
“You mean one of your sisters?” He quirked a brow. “Perhaps firecracker Ember would be more likely to handle creature conflicts, considering her wild track record. Maybe I’ll call her and ask her to be my mystical guide instead.”
A snarl came from my lips, my eyes no doubt flickering silver with rage. “Stay the fuck away from Ember. Besides, she’s too busy taking over as High Priestess-in-training to bother dealing with your shit. Killian would love the opportunity to gut you for involving her in this.” I paused, tapping my lower lip thoughtfully. “In fact, maybe youshouldask her.”
His eyes seemed to stick to my lips, a hungry look crossing his face. “Very humorous, darling, but sarcasm is beneath you. Now, are you ready, or did you want to argue with me some more?”
“After you, vamp. And don’t call me darling.”
“Then do not call mevamp.” He curled his lip and dropped the tulip into my tote.
I gathered the bag, holding it against my body like a convict harboring forbidden goods. Well, that and maybe a shield. “Not a chance.”
With the turn of a key, I locked my office and wandered back through the long, finely decorated hallways of Alexei’s Court manor home, avoiding the stares sent our way from disapproving vampires who congregated in the city. Richly colored paintings depicting Alexei’s bloodline of vampires from the royal seat in Slovenia lined the walls, while the furnishings dripped with luxury. Not that the vampires seemed to utilize the vintage settees or cushions, choosing instead to stalk around menacingly.
Alexei made a low growling sound and the nearby vampires scattered, leaving us alone once more.
“Afteryou, darling.” He grinned crookedly as he held open the heavy door for me, looking every bit the entitled prince who had never once been rejected in his life.
The warm, humid air hit my face as we stepped outside into the muggy street full of tourists, and I already wished I had worn better footwear for our trek through the city. “Where are we headed?”
