I glared at him before staring back down at the piles of paper that were strewn unceremoniously over the red sheets of silk. "Ever heard of knocking?"
"Not when I own the room," he said pushing off the frame to come further into the room. His long strides bringing him easily to where I sat in gym shorts and a tank top that said "Try me" across the front of it. "They found another body."
My eyes locked with his. "Why are we talking then? We should be looking for clues before it blows up."
"Not likely Synthia, you have come close to death twice now in less than two days. I won't chance a third, we're going to go talk to the Vampires tomorrow night. See if they have had any unexplained murders, or if they have committed any and tried to cover it up."
"You have no sway over the Vampires, they could get seriously pissed if we go there asking questions."
"Not if we enter someone in one of the many contests they run over at the Nightshade it's a club that Vlad runs."
"Uh, Vlad…as in Vlad freaking Tepesh. As in freaking Dracula himself. Great idea, good luck with that." I wasn’t an idiot. Vlad loved to bite and I wasn’t into it. I had also heard he was skilled in the art of killing anyone with a beating pulse which I had.
"He won't kill you. Not if you leave the necklace on while you take everything else…off." His eyes slid down my body slowly, covering each inch with leisure. I could feel heat in every inch he took in, as if his hands were caressing my skin instead of only his eyes.
"Stop looking at me like that!" I blurted before I could think better of it.
"Why? Does it make you uncomfortable Synthia? Make you ache in certain places?" He smiled wickedly. "Good."
"You're looking at me like I'm a freaking Scooby Snack."
His lips twitched as he held in a laugh. I wanted to hear him laugh and it shocked me more than it should have. Maybe a dunk in a cold pool wasn’t such a bad idea after all, but then I'd be intruding in whatever the two love birds were indulging in.
"You buried your heart with your lover?" His change of subject was giving me whiplash today.
"Love is for idiots, it's just something people think they need." I griped fed up with hearing about Adrian.
"Love is, but souls meeting and connecting isn't. I wonder Pet…did he touch your soul?"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.
"It means did he look inside your blue eyes and touch you inside. Love is more than just feeling something Syn, it's the connection of two souls that intertwine and cannot be without the other. It's not just saying you love someone, its showing them with every fucking breath you take, every look. It just is, simple as that. That kind of love doesn't die. It withers the soul without the other to keep it alive. Eventually, it turns you bitter and cynical."
"You tell that to all the girls?" I snapped. His words made a lump form in my throat; I wanted that kind of love. But I’d be damned if I admitted it to him.
His teeth flashed as his smile faltered. "Destiny doesn’t ask you if you want it Syn, it just forces it into your lap and you deal with it. In the meantime, you should find something to wear to impress Vladimir, he's into tight bodies and blondes with spunk. So naturally, you get to strip your clothes for the Undead King, unless you want me to send Larissa in?"
"You know this could go very wrong in so many ways Ryder."
He nodded his dark head before sitting in the chair and throwing his feet up on the bed and crossing them low at the ankles in a lazy pose as his hands covered over his lap. He was once again wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and casual jeans which made him look almost human if you could get past those devastating eyes.
I gave him a questioning look as he watched me. "Practice time, find something sexy and short."
"As if, I am not taking my clothes off in front of you!" I bellowed coming up to my knees on the bed as I started to scoot backwards off of it.
"So change in the bathroom, I need to approve of the outfit. You have yet to abide by any of the terms inside the contract besides sleeping where I want you. It's time to prove how willing you are to get out of this contract you hate so much."
I wanted to wipe that self-assured smirk off his lips, with my fist. Instead I got up and stopped abruptly. "I don’t own anything short, besides actual shorts and I can only hold the full glamour for a few hours or so before it drains me too much…it’s an illusion you can feel, but if I have to strip it’ll be useless.”
"Are you asking for money to buy clothes, Synthia?" He inquired smiling still, amused by my outrage.
"Nope, we can leave the tags on it and return it when we're done," I smiled back. No way in hell was I owing him more than I could pay back with my measly paycheck.