Page 43 of Tempting the Dhampir

“That’s really kind of you, but I’m not going to bother you on your time off.” Sadie lifts her hands in a friendly dismissal.

“It is no problem, Ms—Sadie,” he corrects himself as he pushes the card into her hand.

She gives him a grateful smile.

The interaction between them makes my heart swell with contentment. Sadie is quickly becoming important to me, and to have her getting along with the people in my life just feels right.

“Mr. Ülavere, if you have a moment, I’d like to chat with you about some whales that came in last night,” Pierce says, snapping me back to reality.

Daydreams of a life with Sadie evaporate with the sound of his deep voice.

Sadie looks at me, confusion dancing in her eyes as she mouths, “Whales?”

I grin at how odd that must sound to her. “It means high rollers,” I explain. “A casino term you’ll get used to.” Turning back to Pierce, I ask, “Can you send an email with the information? Once I’m back in the suite, I’ll attend to it.”

“I will do that, sir. Um…” Pierce hesitates to speak, alerting me to the seriousness of what he wants to say.

“You can speak freely, Pierce. I’ve got nothing to hide from Sadie,” I say, confused about what’s got him so uncharacteristically stressed.

“Alexandra has been seen on the premises again. Security has been alerted and has eyes on her. It seems that she is moving toward the high-rollers area,” he reports, confirming a theory about Alexandra that’s been building in the back of my mind.

“Thanks, Pierce. I’ll call you later to discuss this further. Please keep monitoring the situation.”

Pierce gives me a stiff nod, and we say our goodbyes. I take Sadie by the elbow and steer her away.

We make a couple more rounds where I introduce her to some of the floor staff. Then I give her a quick tour around the casino.

When I try to take her to the shopping area, she digs her heels in and shakes her head. “Nope. Not going in that direction.”

“Why not? Don’t you like to shop?” I ask, confused.

I thought I had a pretty good read on her and her love for clothes.

“I love it, but the temptation would be too much. It’s better if I just go back upstairs now.”

Temptation? Is she worried about the cost of clothing?

Thinking I’ve figured out why she doesn’t want to shop, I say brightly, “Choose something. It’s on me.” I think some of the clothes here would suit her really well. She seems to like the Vegas style, and I’d love to treat her.

Sadie crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m not a charity case.”

“It’s not charity. It’s a gift. Maybe something sparkly,” I try, making spirit fingers to indicate sparkles.

Sadie’s eyes dart around as if searching for the right answer before shaking her head. “Thanks for the thought, but not today. This evening has been wonderful, and I don’t want to ruin it with feelings of obligation.”

The smile she shoots me is lackluster, the sheen in her eye from earlier now absent.

“Sadie, I’m sorry if I said the wrong thing. I just wanted to spoil you with something nice,” I explain, unsure of what I said to offend her.

“It’s really sweet of you, though I don’t need anything.” Her tone brightens as she rallies herself. “Let’s go figure out this distance limit thing. I’m too full to be trying on clothes anyway.”

She takes my hand and leads me back to the private elevator. Usually, I enjoy being the one leading her around, but I find myself not minding her taking charge. In fact, it intrigues me.

Would she want to take charge in the bedroom too? I bet she’d love having me at her mercy. I think I’d like putting my pleasure in her promising hands.

Chapter twenty-four

Everett

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