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I
listened to Andreas’ proposal and tried not to let my surprise or apprehension
show.
He’d paid for my first class ticket to New
Orleans because he needed my services—not here in the States, but I was to
accompany him to Europe.
F*ck! What was it with the men in the South? At
least Sebastiaan had asked for my help, but there was none of that with
Andreas. He demanded my help, and it
wasn’t exactly an offer I could refuse.
“You should know that when Lena first came back
here to New Orleans, she pissed off a lot of powerful people. If her enemies
were only mortals then I would have no cause to be concerned, but some supes
were involved as well and you know
our kind, Angelika. You’ve met and conversed with Sebastiaan. What do you think
of him? It should go without saying I’m asking for your honest opinion and not
what you think it is I want to hear.”
“He’s a gentleman…despite his dubious standing
as the werewolf King of North America,” I began in a guarded fashion. “I never
felt any concern for my safety while in his presence. In fact, I believed he
would guard me with his life if he had to and that granted me a lot of comfort
around him. I can’t help but think behind all his bravado he’s truly a decent
person, even if he isn’t completely mortal.”
Andreas’ steel blue eyes glared at me before
they softened. “Your sister is right. You truly can see people for who they
are…and as you have made some very accurate observations about my half-brother,
he’s going to be the one who takes care of Lena while we are away.”
I stood from my comfortable chaise lounge across
from his desk. “Mr. Damgaard—”
“Andreas, please. No one calls me Mr. Damgaard
except for the help, and in my business circles, I am known as Mr. von
Wiesenheimer…my father’s human last name.”
“Are you saying Sebastiaan and you have the same
father?”
He continued to stare at me as he sipped from a
Baccarat glass filled with Hoodoo Hex. “Unfortunately. However, he slept with
my mother ages before he got desperate enough to fuck a Lycan bitch, even if
she is supposedly their royalty. I’m
the older of us by a little over three hundred years. Sebastiaan is no spring
chicken in human years but he is considered a young supernatural creature. Thanks
to our Sidhe blood, he appears to be in his early twenties. He won’t age for a
very long time to come.
“I should also tell you it is not uncommon for
the Lycan to seek out the same mate as their sibling. It’s like a territorial
pissing contest. Yes, I am aware that Sebastiaan has f*cked Lena but I have
told him to treat her with the utmost respect and he will. I will do the same
for you in turn, although I can see how attracted he is to you and the thought
of you sharing your body with him…well, it is not a pleasant thought for me.”
“Neither is it for me.” I made myself another
vodka over rocks before I sat down again across from him. “I didn’t mean to act
childish and I hope you will forgive me. I should be…flattered that you need my
help with anything and it is my job.
I don’t know if it is the heat or just being here in New Orleans again but it’s
been quite the adjustment for me. I usually show much more restraint.”
“No need to apologize. I can see why Lena kept
you away from me so long. You are
completely and utterly…exquisite.”
I sipped from my vodka for liquid courage. “You are kidding, right? You share a bed with
my sister every night and here you are, drooling after me as if you haven’t
gotten laid in ages. I assumed that is what you were doing upstairs, keeping Sebastiaan
and I waiting for such an indecent length of time.”
He smiled and it made his eyes glow, definitely
a Sidhe trait. “Yes, I was getting my rocks off so to speak but you know what
they say: ‘Show me a beautiful woman and I’ll show you a man who is tired of
f*cking her’. Your sister and I have been together for eighteen months. To a
vampire who is not in love, that is an eternity to f*ck the same old p*ssy. Not
to mention she’s addicted to my blood so I have entered territory which is
dangerous for both of us.”
My heart sank. I knew what this was and here was
the threat laid out in front of me. I had to accompany Andreas to Europe or he
would dump my sister on her ass. It was that cut and dried.
True, Lena was beautiful, but we both knew she had
hit the jackpot with Andreas and she would never be so lucky ever again. I
hated that my weakness was an older sister who should have been looking after
me, but I was compelled to look after her. I couldn’t see that happen to her.
If he would promise to keep his protection over my darling sister then I would
do whatever it took.
“I know a veiled threat when I hear one,
Andreas. If I don’t accompany you to Europe then you’ll toss my sister away
like yesterday’s trash. I can’t afford for that to happen. I mean, I make
enough money to take care of her but she won’t take my money and she’s
self-destructive by nature—it’s par for the course for the offspring of a Sidhe
and a shifter.”
“Perhaps.” He stood and walked over to me. His
hands touched my neck in the most intimate way, soft as silk. “And what about
you? Are you self destructive? I have to deal with Lena…I don’t want to have to
deal with another personality like her.”
I whipped around to face him. “You should know
by now my sister and I are nothing
alike. Lena has always used her beauty to get what she wanted and I know I’m
attractive but I don’t use it to my advantage. My skills have always kept me in
demand. Even if I was butt-ugly, I would still be filthy rich because of my abilities
and that suits me just fine.”
“Yes, I know. I didn’t realize being compared to
your sister would make you so touchy.”
I finished my drink and set the glass on the
cherry wood desk on the coaster provided. “Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but
now that I know this visit has nothing to do with my sister then please let me
know where we are going and what I will be doing for you. I think it is only
fair. Or am I overstepping some invisible line and being disrespectful to you?
You’re the most powerful vampire in Louisiana so my intention is not to
alienate you, believe me.”
Andreas knelt before me and his lips touched my
neck. I found this highly erotic although I was appalled by his gall at the
same time. I physically heard his fangs unsheathe in my ear and he ran his
sharpened eye-teeth against my vein. “What I wouldn’t do to taste your blood…”
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