Page 12 of Forever Desired
Chapter Four
“Iwant to know everything about her. Where she grew up, who her parents are, how her childhood was,” Sorin snapped.
Devin shut the door behind her and stood staring at him.
He tipped back his goblet that was filled with warm AB blood. It was a sweeter blood type and was quenching his thirst for now.
“May I be so bold as to suggest that if she is the one for you, why don’t you just ask her and get to know her?” Devin shrugged.
Only because she was the best damn assistant around would he let her question his request. He gripped the stem to the glass tight. It had taken every ounce of his strength to not grab a hold of Athena and kiss her. It had taken even more strength, and he didn’t know where he’d got it from, to keep from tossing her over his shoulder and taking her straight to his bedroom.
Everything about Athena had him in knots. From her beauty to her curves, down to the bright-pink toenail polish. She was to be his, and he would stop at nothing to claim her.
“Researching her will allow me to get to know her,” he muttered.
“She’s not a job for you, Mr. Ludovici,” Devin retorted.
He swiveled his gaze to her.
She stood with her arms crossed in front of her chest. “She’s not a hotel for you to run or artwork for you to go find. She may not be a vampire, like us, but she’s a woman.”
“Even though she’s not like us, you’re playing the female card?”
“You’re damn straight I am. If you are to win her over, you have to discover the little things about her on your own.” Devin sighed. She walked over to the sofa across from his and plopped down on it. She kicked off her shoes and stared at him. “You’ve been searching for so long for her. You can’t mess it up.”
“That’s why I need to do my research.” He took another sip of his drink, closing his eyes and enjoying the thick, copper-tasting fluid. He couldn’t wait to get up close and personal with Athena. He’d spread her out on his bed and take his time discovering all the things that made her moan and scream. He opened his eyes and met the stubborn gaze of his assistant. “You really are not going to look up the things I want to know about her?”
“No.”
“Fine. We’ll do it your way. What would you suggest?”
“Now that’s for you to figure out. I just advise you on what not to do,” she said, barking a laugh.
Sorin stared at her and wondered if he truly could make it without Devin. She was a thorn in his side at times, but she was the best damn assistant he’d ever had. She ran his office with an iron fist. It would take too long to find someone to replace her, too.
“You’re an ass,” he muttered with a shake of his head. He tilted back the goblet and finished off the blood. Normally at this time of night, he could easily go out on the strip and find either a willing donor or an unknowing donor.
A series of beeps sounded, alerting the door of the penthouse opening. Sorin placed his empty goblet on the coffee table before him. He turned to find Linkin striding into the living room.
“We need to talk,” Linkin announced.
Sorin went on alert at the seriousness of his friend. He waved Linkin in to have a seat with him and Devin.
“I had wondered what was taking so long. Was there a problem?” Sorin asked.
“I wanted to do a sweep through of all of our security systems and analyze what has been going on in our absence.” Linkin sat in the high-back chair facing Sorin and Devin.
These two were the most trusted vampires that Sorin kept close to him.
“Was anything found?” Sorin asked. He leaned back and crossed his legs.
“A few things that need to be worked out. I wanted to come ask for your permission to upgrade the systems. There are a few upgrades out there now that I think will benefit not only the Turin, but the guests as well,” Linkin said.
Guest security was of the utmost importance. Once guests began losing their trust in a casino’s ability to keep their finances secured, the casino could go belly-up.
“How much will this upgrade cost?”
Devin snorted, standing from her seat, and disappeared into the kitchen. “This conversation is about to be too rich for my blood,” she called out.
