Page 7 of The Biting Bargain

Maybe it’s because of the residual adrenaline from earlier this evening when the long-awaited admission letter came and caused me to actually jump out of my office chair.

TheSocieta Vergiliiis something of a holy grail of gentlemen's clubs for vampires. Only the most powerful and noble of nocturnal bloodsuckers are admitted. And only under the best of circumstances. I have tried for literal centuries to get in, to no avail. My family, tainted as our reputation is, has never had a chance at admission.

Until now.

"Your membership will be granted on a probationary basis for the time being,"the parchment read that Aidan had handed me almost reverently, and the seal of which I had barely dared to break."We are honored to welcome The Most Noble House of Renard back into our illustrious circle."

That last sentence has been echoing in my head on a loop until the very second I stepped into this room and her ass and pink panties threw me off kilter.

"I'm fucking this up, aren't I?" she groans.

I blink, while she’s clenching her hands into tiny fists. "I'm sorry, I'm horrible with small talk. Grandma is probably right, you know, I need to work on my conversational skills if I want to get anywhere in life, but what are you supposed to say in a situation like this? Hi, my name is Polly and I destroyed a million dollar piece of art on my first day on the job, pleased to meet you, oh, and you're here to suck my blood, I hear? How interesting!"

She actually giggles, her nerves betraying her, and I stare perplexed, while the corner of my mouth is twitching upward — again!

Polly. What a silly name. I’m sure it’s made up, as drones aren’t supposed to reveal real names. But it suits her. After all, she's babbling like a parrot.

"Or should we talk about the weather instead?" She kneads her hands on her lap, squeezing her knees together. "They sent me a few suggestions for conversation topics with the onboarding email. But you don’t strike me as a dude who’s talking about cloud formations or atmospheric lows, are you?"

I shake my head, wondering when someone last called me dude.

"Not really."

She shakes her head, blushing again. Damn, I like that. More than it should.

"See? I fuck it up," she groans, hiding her face in her hands.

Before I can stop myself, I reach out, catching her fingers with my hand. The next mistake. The touch sends another electric surge through me. She sucks in a halting breath. I also flinch briefly. She stares at me as I slide her hands down from her face, then inch back my hands, breaking contact with her.

"Apologies," I say, though there is nothing to apologize for at all. I amsupposedto touch her. That's why she's here. That’s why I am here. Yet I feel as if I’ve just invaded her personal space.

As if I've crossed an invisible line.

"No need." She smiles nervously, which is even more disarming, and adds as if she has guessed my thoughts. "How are you supposed to bite me without touching me? That would make for some weird gymnastics, right?"

I nod curtly, trying to regain my composure. A silent alarm starts wailing in the back of my mind. That I should hurry up and see that I get out of here.

That this girl is dangerous.

Which is bullshit. This girl is as dangerous as a sparrow.

"We should probably get started," she says, making me realize I've been saying nothing again. And staring. For a suspicious amount of time now.

"Started?" I ask, that daunting feeling of alarm still wailing on in the back of my mind.

"With biting," she says with just a hint of impatience. "I don’t suppose this is your first day here as well and you have no idea how this is going to work?"

My mouth twists into another smile. What the hell?

Get a grip, moron. Wrap this up. Bite her. Dab your mouth with a napkin, then get the hell out of here and back to your corporate empire. I’ve been here for too long already as it is.

"Give me your arm."

Now she’s the one blinking at me. "What?"

Now it's my turn to be slightly annoyed. "For us to get started with the transaction we are both here for, I would need your arm."

She shrinks back, pressing her hands closer to her chest. "Why would you need my arm?"

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