Page 21 of Lured

She needed to kill him and I needed him alive.

For a few minutes I simply enjoyed being beside her while I thought through the problem. She was skilled, talented and funny. And she was committed to her cause.

I had spent most of the evening watching her. She had played the room around her, managed to con a rich man into helping her, enchanted me and given off at least three different vibes almost flawlessly. And then she had still been so determined to complete her mission that she had stood in the middle of a ring of vampires and goaded the target.

Her concern for her safety was both non existent and secondary to her mission. She would be likely to take any option held out to her to have a chance to complete the mission.

And I wanted her. At my side and in my bed.

On top of that, I could use her to kill him. All I needed was to investigate him first. Which she could almost certainly help with. If I had her pretend to be my enthralled I could get her help to find out what he was up to, stop him and then make sure she killed him and completed her mission.

It was the perfect plan. But I still didn't utter it.

She was a vampire hunter and I would be asking her to not only appear addicted to being in my presence, but there was a good chance she would actually get addicted to the highs she'd get being fed on and mated with. Frequently.

Vampires were known for their appetites and their lack of restraint and all the stories about us in that regard were true. If this plan was going to work she would have to agree to let me do all sorts to her.

Not sure how I felt about asking that of her when she was at rock bottom, I held back. I would be taking advantage of her situation and there was a certain pride in not doing so. I didn't want her to say yes to this plan because she was desperate. If I was going to truly enjoy her, I wanted her to want it as well.

I needed her to want to be mine. Entirely mine.

“If you weren't a hunter and I'd offered you being mine earlier tonight, would you have accepted?” I asked, the words tumbling out of my mouth. “And I don't mean an enthralled. I mean... mine. Forever.”

“To let you turn me?” she replied, her eyes wide as she looked at me. Her breathing grew more rapid as she stared at me. I could smell her arousal, the scent growing.

“Not if you didn't want to. I could keep you alive far longer than you'd think.”

“That's not exactly forever.”

I shrugged, not entirely happy that she had picked holes in the question and not answered it. It gave me all the information I should have. She didn't want me. There was plenty of lust, but any regard between us was one sided.

Sighing, I got up again and put some distance between us. I couldn't think so close to her.

“Yes, I think there's a chance I would have,” she said only a fraction of a second later. “If I'd never been a hunter and I didn't feel as if I couldn't, I might have considered it. But you have to understand. I do not have that luxury and there is no way to know for sure.”

Although it wasn't the perfect answer, I nodded. I understood what she was saying and why she was saying it. It mattered more that she was being honest, no matter how I felt about her words. She had been nothing but honest with me, and I liked that. More than anything else about her.

If only she hadn't been a hunter.

“I might be able to help you,” I said after another pause to screw up the courage. As I spoke I leaned back against the dresser and sat on my hands. “There are two options.”

She swallowed but nodded.

“What?” I asked, surprised that she was reacting already.

“Two options? I didn't think there was even going to be one. If you've thought of two and you're presenting them as if I'm not going to like either, they've got to be really crazy.” She smiled despite her words and it helped me relax around her. She was still somehow cracking jokes and willing to hear me out.

“Option one. You stop being a hunter, don't worry about Ludis and I really do take care of you. You're... different and I have more money than I need. I could make it so you didn't have to consider money ever again.” The words tumbled out of my mouth and I knew that it was ridiculous as soon as I said it, but I had to finish what I was saying.

She frowned, almost stunned by it. “And what would you get out of that, other than having someone spending your money?”

I tilted my head to the side, surprised she was taking the idea seriously enough to ask for more details. Maybe I wasn't as much of an idiot as I thought I was. But I needed to answer her question.

“There are lots of things I could ask, but in truth, I don't know the exact answer to that. I don't want to force anything, but I think there is something special about you and if I can have that in my life, then I will.” I shrugged. “Can I think about that option and what I'd want?”

She nodded, waiting for me to either think about it or carry on. Again I had to pause and appreciate that she was giving me her attention and letting me make a decent offer. It encouraged me to be sensible with what I offered and consider her needs as well.

“Option two is that you work with me. My mission is to find out what Ludis is up to and stop him from harming my vampire clan. He is up to something, but we're not sure what. I'm not supposed to kill him and he's already a little suspicious of me after today. If you helped me find out what he was up to and stop him then I would help you kill him.”

---