“So he’s blood-bonded. To a human or a vampire?”
“You learn fast. He has a human mate, Nina. She’s one hell of a woman.” He smiled. “A lot like you. Blond. Lots of spunk. And she’s got Amaury wrapped around her little finger so tightly the poor guy has no chance of ever denying her anything.”
Lilo looked over her shoulder. “He doesn’t look like a pushover to me.”
Blake chuckled. “As I said earlier: tame lambs.”
She turned her head back to him and rolled her eyes, but her lips quirked into the beginnings of a warm smile.
25
Lilo stopped at the open door to the conference room, Blake next to her.
She knew exactly what he was doing: he was making small talk to put her at ease. She had to admit that it was working. Blake’s sudden willingness to answer all of her questions, not just with a perfunctory yes or no, but with a full explanation helping her understand the vampire species better, helped calm her nerves.
Despite the fact that she was now in the lion’s den, or the vampire’s lair, if that’s what they called it, she felt oddly safe. The building they were in looked like an ordinary office building, and this almost sterile environment helped give the impression that Scanguards was truly just another security company.
So far none of the people they’d encountered on their short walk to the conference room showed any outward signs of being vampires: no fangs, no glaring red eyes, no claws instead of fingers. Everybody looked… civilized.
She peered into the conference room. By her estimate it could hold around thirty people, and it was currently half full.
“Ready?” Blake whispered from next to her.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
She felt his hand at the small of her back, gently guiding her forward. The touch wasn’t unpleasant, just as it hadn’t been unpleasant when he’d taken her hand earlier. Even though she’d seen what his hands could turn into, right now she could only feel the softness of his fingertips as he ushered her to an empty seat around the oval table.
“Here, take a seat. I need to have a quick word with Wes.” He pointed to one corner of the room where Wes stood talking to another man.
Instinctively she reached for his arm. “I don’t know anybody else here.”
“I’ll be just a moment.” He bent closer, dipping his face to her ear. “I’ll let you in on a secret: a vampire is the fastest animal on this planet. It would take me only a second to rush to your side if you needed me.”
Her heart suddenly hammered out of control. Could he hear it? Was the legend true that a vampire had more sensitive hearing than a human?
“Okay.”
She watched Blake walk to Wes and pat him on the shoulder. They exchanged a few words, and Wes looked in her direction, lifting his hand in greeting. She nodded to acknowledge him, then looked around the room once more. She couldn’t help but catch the furtive stares the men and women in the room gave her, though nobody approached her to confront her about her presence here.
More people entered the room, taking up more of the empty seats, while others continued to stand. Amaury was now coming in. He spotted her and walked toward her. Instinctively, she froze. He let himself fall into the chair next to her.
Nervously, she clasped her hands in her lap.
“So Blake told you about us,” he started without preamble.
Her throat was suddenly as dry as the Sahara. “He did.”
“Did he explain to you that we won’t tolerate anybody spreading our secrets?”
She lifted her chin. “He didn’t have to. I got that when he showed me his fangs and his claws.”
“Ah, you got a demonstration. Did you like it?”
“What are you doing, Amaury?”
She took a relieved breath at the sound of Blake’s voice behind her.
“Just chatting with your girlfriend,” he said casually.
“She’s not my—”
“I’m not his girlfriend,” Lilo ground out.
“—girlfriend,” Blake finished.
“Whoa!” Amaury lifted his hands in a show of surrender and got up. “My nose hasn’t betrayed me yet. And it sure isn’t lying now either.” He grinned triumphantly and turned away.
Lilo swiveled in her chair and faced Blake, who now sat down in the chair on her other side. “What did he mean by that?”
Blake ran his hand through his dark hair, an expression of embarrassment on his face. “A vampire’s sense of smell is ten times better than that of a dog. Amaury could smell me on you, and you on me. He knows we had sex.”
Lilo felt like sinking into the floor. “Oh, crap!”