Page 21 of Forever Touched

I flirted with the idea of doing it anyway, just to see what he would do. This scenario was playing out just like my dream this morning. A little strip tease in return for revealing his identity. If I couldn’t get him to drink my blood, I’d have to get creative.

Instead, I waved a hand dismissively and turned toward the kitchen. “Fine. If you’re not interested in me, I’m going to eat my dinner. I have a whole hour to kill.”

“Four.”

Confused, I peered at him over my shoulder. “Huh?”

“Four hours. I paid to spend the whole night with you.”

I blinked at him, trying to mask my shock. He’d donewhat?“Why would you do that?”

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees before answering. “I recognized one of the males you chose tonight. His name is Benjamin Osborne, and he’s very possessive with females. His impulse control is weak, and most of the females he feeds on wind up dead. Notcleandeaths either.”

I tried to suppress a shiver, but couldn’t quite manage it. To hide my reaction, I turned and opened the fridge to grab the sandwich I’d ordered earlier. “I know how to handle possessive males. It’s part of my job. You shouldn’t have stopped him from coming up here. I need new clients.”

“I paid triple. You’ll be compensated for the loss.”

I froze, staring blankly into the open fridge as I quickly did the math. He’d paid over a hundred thousand dollars to spend the night with me? Whowasthis vampire?

Straightening, I carefully closed the fridge and made sure to wipe all emotion from my face before turning toward him. He probably thought he’d done me a huge favor by buying me out for the night.Maybe even thought he’dsavedme. Not that my safety should matter to him. He’d made it abundantly clear that he loathed my kind.

Knowing that I’d never see a single cent of that money nearly brought tears to my eyes. I could barely hold them back, desperately wishing I could release them in a torrent and scream at the misguided vampire for ruining another day. Not only was that money out of my reach, but I’d probably lost two more clients as well.

I’d tried so hard today.So hard. But I’d failed again.

It was all I could do to keep a straight face while my world came crashing down. I was suddenly exhausted. My bones felt encased in lead, and I quickly sat at the table before I could collapse.

The vampire studied me for a moment, then said, “You don’t seem thrilled with the news.”

My lips tilted into a sardonic smile. “On the contrary. You’re my knight in shining armor, my lord.” I bit into my sandwich, chewing thoughtfully before adding, “Or is that title too informal? How about earl? Duke, maybe?”

No reaction.

Hmm . . .

“My employers won’t be pleased with this little arrangement,” I went on, gesturing between the two of us. “I’m not being paid to sit on my butt all night long. Myback, maybe, but—”

“Get to the point,” he interrupted, clearly annoyed with my little joke. Jeez. The guy needed to release some of that pent-up frustration. Not that he would letmehelp him.

“The point is, they’re expecting us to be intimate.”

“Not happening.”

I set my sandwich down with a huff. “You didn’t let me finish.”

“Don’t need to. You’re not coming anywhere near me.”

“Now hold on. You’re here for a reason, right? Something to dowith me?”

No reaction. He had a good poker face, I’d give him that. Almost as good as mine.

“Well, here’s the deal,” I went on, undeterred by his silence. “If we don’t get cozy soon, they’ll become suspicious. And when they get suspicious, they’ll ban you from their club. We’re talking forever. So if you don’t want to end up on their blacklist, then I suggest you let me join you on that couch.”

The faintest of sneers twisted his lips. I tried not to be offended.

After a long moment, he said, “How many are there?” At my confused look, he sighed impatiently and added, “Cameras.”

I licked my lips, trying not to look nervous. He knew we had cameras in here? They were well hidden. Likereallywell hidden.

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