Page 15 of Taken By The Vampire King

My plantation home was everything hers should have been…could have been. Fucking would have been if her father hadn’t spent all the family money on drink and gambling. If he’d been fucking man enough to earn some himself.

A sliver of guilt sliced through me at how many days I’d allowed him to prop up at a poker or blackjack table at La Petite Mort. But I pushed it away. I ran a business. The people who gave me their money were of no concern to me—especially when they were willing to part with such valuable things as Jean Boucher apparently was.

Almost made me want to believe in fate.

“We’ve arrived at La Petite Mort, sir.” Jenkins’s voice was tinny, his announcement unnecessary as it crackled through the car’s audio system.

“It won’t be a late night today, Jenkins. We’ll be collecting Leia Boucher to take her to my home with me.” I opened the door and got out before he replied, my head already occupied with thoughts of Leia and the way her scent wove right through me, drumming up a thirst like I’d never known.

As soon as I entered my office, I cleared my schedule for the rest of the afternoon and spent my time on the phone to my housekeeper. “Prepare the east wing, please Mrs. Ames, I’m expecting a guest.”

“Wonderful, Mr. Dupont.” There was a smile in her voice as she spoke. “Do I know the…” She paused. “Gentleman?”

I grinned at her clumsy attempt to get the information she wanted.

“Her name is Leia Boucher, and she’s to have anything she wants while she’s with us. Food, entertainment, the ability to roam at her will.” I paused and rethought. “But of course, no access to my private quarters.”

“Of course, Mr. Dupont. And this really is wonderful news. I’ll see to the preparations myself, and I’m sure Chef will want to come up with an entirely new menu.” She already sounded flustered, but she’d worked for me for a long time, and I knew she had everything in hand.

“Excellent. She’ll arrive home with me this evening.” Sudden excitement zinged through me at seeing Leia again, smelling Leia again, but I tamped it down. I needed her to ensure I’d cement my true place, and I couldn’t allow anything to interfere with that—especially not the sloppiness of emotion. Plus she was human, and no human was worth this degree of excitement, in my experience.

This situation required the ultimate control. But I wasn’t like my siblings. I could control myself, and had for years. I used donor bags of blood for feeding so I’d never lose myself to blood lust—no one could ever lust after the disgusting taste of this blood—and I could absolutely claim a virgin for her power without giving in to the baser mating instincts of my kind. It could perhaps be the ultimate business arrangement.

My entire life was a lesson in control—tempting others to lose theirs while honing my own.

All I had to do with Leia was make her comfortable enough to accept me… To offer herself to me within one month, and my entire future was secured.

Yes, that was all.

But the words true mate lingered in my thoughts before I had a chance to dismiss them.

Chapter 5

Leia

If Nicolas Dupont thought I was just gonna stay home and wait around for him like some weird prom date pick-up, he could think again. That was absolute crap. No guy told me what to do. No guy had even tried since I started running The Pour House. Well, maybe some had tried, but I’d ignored them all.

Like I was ignoring Dupont now as I sorted some of the files in the office behind the kitchen at the bar and changed the combination on the safe out of sheer habit—however much that action was a day late and way the hell more than a dollar short.

But I was used to being my own boss, and just handing the business over to someone else for a month wasn’t something I was happy to do. I wanted to meet this guy Dupont was installing, make sure he knew how to run things, that he got on with my regulars. I really didn’t want to come back to no business because it had been left in the hands of someone who had no clue how to run a bar.

I’d brought Dad with me, too—I didn’t trust him enough to leave him at home by himself. He probably couldn’t do anything, but the man seemed to open lines of credit for himself as easy as breathing, so it was better not to take chances. He was up front propped between Harry and Pierre, and they were probably sick of babysitting duty already.

I slammed the top drawer closed—that one had been sticky as long as I could remember—and walked through the kitchen then stopped as I caught sight of a man I’d never met making himself at home behind my bar.

From the back, he reminded me of Nicolas Dupont—he was tall and his shoulders were broad, and something about the strength in his muscles made me think of the other man—but when he turned in my direction, there was nothing secretive or stormy about his almost aqua eyes, and his ready smile was a welcome change to the more predatory one Dupont seemed to favor.

I shuddered just thinking about Dupont’s smile…his mouth. Except it wasn’t really a shudder; it was more of a shiver of anticipation—and an unwelcome one, too. Damn horny, traitorous body.

Well, I’d make my way back here as soon as I could. The more I pondered my situation, the more I considered the contract, the more I decided there was probably a loophole. All contracts had them. I just had to find this one. That would put a stop to my body wanting to do its own thing.

I just had to bide my time while I figured my way out.

“Can I help you?” I approached the stranger—I had a fair idea why this guy was here, but I folded my arms as I looked him over. “Customers don’t usually make their own drinks at my bar.”

His smile widened as he stepped forward. “What? You don’t believe in the honor system?” His lips formed a small pout as I slowly shook my head. Then he was back to grinning. “I believe you were expecting me? I’m Benedict Rousseau, temporary bar manager at your service.”

He swept a small bow, and I bit back an unexpected chuckle. Without missing a beat, he turned and served a customer, even recommending the beer he thought the guy should try.

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