AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I need to pack.”
She headed toward the door, her thoughts a tangled mess.
“Peri,” Maya called out. “You didn’t tell me how things went tonight.”
Peri grudgingly halted and glanced over her shoulder. “Just as we planned. You can expect Elias Mitchell bright and early on Monday morning.”
Maya arched a brow. “Nothing else?”
With shocking speed the image of Valen’s fiercely beautiful face blazed through her brain. And just as swiftly, Peri was squashing the memory of his icy power wrapping around her like a caress.
She had enough problems. She wasn’t adding a fascination with the lethal predator to the list.
“Nothing worth discussing.”
Maya narrowed her eyes, easily sensing she wasn’t being entirely honest, but it was Skye who responded.
“Be careful, Peri.”
Peri’s lips twisted. “I hear that a lot.”
“And you never listen,” Maya muttered.
The older woman wasn’t wrong, and Peri didn’t try to argue. Instead, she turned and headed to her room on the upper floor. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep, but she could at least pace the floor in peace.
Chapter 3
Valen detached his fangs from the delicate wrist that he cradled in his hands and licked the bleeding wounds to ensure they were sealed. The female fairy moaned in pleasure, swaying toward him in blatant invitation. Valen dropped her arm and grasped her shoulder, keeping her at a distance. Not every vampire made the experience pleasant, but he preferred a willing donor.
Stepping back, he touched the light switch to allow a soft glow to chase away the shadows and reveal the elegant details of the room. The décor matched the rest of the lavish penthouse. Sleek furniture in soft grays with charcoal accents. This space, however, was carefully devoid of any personal items. The books on the shelves that consumed one wall had been chosen at random, as had the framed pictures on the wall. Even the marble chessboard arranged on the coffee table had been bought by a servant.
Valen rarely allowed visitors to trespass beyond this formal salon. The less anyone knew of his personal life, the less opportunity they had to discover a weakness. He hadn’t lived two thousand years by being careless.
The fairy tossed her reddish curls with a sultry expression. But with impeccable timing, Renee Newark pushed open the door and stepped inside.
His secretary was a diminutive female with short hair that she bleached to a silver-blond and dark gold eyes. Her features were delicate enough to give the impression of fragility, but her aura pulsed a deep green, revealing the power of her ancient fey blood.
It wasn’t her fairy magic, however, that made her the perfect servant. It was her discretion, her military-grade skill in organization, and her uncanny ability to sense his needs.
And, of course, her ruthless loyalty.
“Thank you, Lily,” Valen said.
“My pleasure.” Her lips parted, as if urging him to kiss her. When he simply gazed down at her, she sent him a small pout. “Same time same place next week?”
Valen didn’t answer. Lily was a lovely female, but she was unfortunately becoming emotionally invested in the feedings. It was time to find a new donor. As if reading his mind, Renee crossed the room and wrapped her arm around the female’s shoulders.
“I’ll show you out.” With a smooth ease she forced the reluctant fairy from the room. She paused at the door to glance back at Valen. “You have a call. I put it through to your private office.”
Valen arched a brow. He was wearing a black silk robe that he used during his feedings. After he finished his meal it was his routine to head to his shower to scrub off the scent of his donor before preparing for the night. Renee would have taken a message if the call wasn’t important.
Crossing to the back of the room, Valen placed his hand on the edge of the bookcase. There was a faint click before the shelves slid inward and Valen stepped into his private office.
It was an impressive room, with glass cases displaying rare Ottoman artifacts and daggers from Roman generals. Most of them he’d been given as gifts. A few he’d taken as spoils of war. Another wall was lined with high-tech monitors that displayed images of his various clubs, spread from Boston to Washington, DC. He had managers he trusted—as much as he trusted any demon—but he was very much a hands-on leader. There was nothing that slipped past his notice. No matter how trivial.
He closed the hidden door behind him and headed toward the massive desk. Once seated, he allowed a satisfied smile to curve his lips. From this angle, he had a stunning view of the park through the window that stretched from one end of the office to the other. He smiled. This view was the reason he’d purchased the building. Why create an empire without having the means to survey his territory?
Flipping open the laptop on his desk, Valen pressed a button on the keyboard to connect the video call. A second later an image flickered on the monitor and he was staring into the face of Gabriel Lyon.
