The Vampyre Legal Chronicles - Marcus (6 page)

He'd have his
back.

Marcus
nodded.

"Fine by
me."

Meanwhile, in her room
Anais dressed with care.

There was
nothing quite like the delicious sensation of pure silk against
warm, scented flesh. The delicate fabric was like a salve on
oversensitive skin, a balm on emotions that were too raw, too near
the surface. Turning in front of a huge wall mirror, she checked
out the shocking plunge in the back, which dipped below her narrow
waist. The color was perfect. It suited her mood, blood red. Black
hair was pinned on the top of her head by two chopsticks made of
nine carat gold. They'd been designed specifically for hair
decoration, tiny strands of gold beads dangled at the ends.

The rail of
designer dresses in silks and chiffons, along with matching
accessories Marcus had sent to her room a few hours earlier, had
almost made her run and hide. They were universally sexy and
absolutely gorgeous. More suited for a date, or a hot romance
rather than a business dinner. Tonight, she reminded herself
firmly, was not a date. Tonight was about business colleagues
having simple dinner at a club. However, earlier she couldn't help
chewing on her bottom lip as she'd tried on dress after dress and
Anais realised she was deluding herself. Marcus was spookily
self-aware. Now she wondered if maybe he'd picked up the vibe that
she was attracted to him? The thought no sooner entered her head,
when she cast it aside as wishful thinking. No way would Marcus
Gillespie mix business with pleasure. Nope. Tonight was simply her
last chance to attempt to negotiate the terms for a future with the
firm.

Anais knew that
losing her temper with anyone, never mind Marcus, was unwise and
unprofessional. And she'd totally lost it with him today. But he'd
deserved it, talking to her in that tone of voice, looking at her
that way, burning holes in her with those amazing eyes. Now she
frowned and let the curl of annoyance burn nice and bright to light
the fire of battle in her belly. If he thought she was just going
to walk away from her career then Marcus Gillespie had another
think coming. From the moment she'd met him she'd known Marcus was
a dangerous man. Physically and intellectually he was too big, too
strong and too charismatic. Exactly the type of man Anais had taken
great care throughout her entire life to avoid. It had been tough,
very tough, but, no matter how devastatingly attractive the man
was, she'd managed to maintain a professional distance. Then today
she'd raised her voice to him, totally blowing that distance right
out of the water. There had been something in his eye, something
that told her he'd enjoyed watching her lose it. She knew he liked
to test her, liked to niggle her.

Bastard.

Well, she
wouldn't lose her cool with him again.

No way would
she let him win.

Tonight she was
on a mission to salvage her position.

Grabbing a
matching evening purse, she opened the door. Following the sound of
deep male voices she found James Gillespie looking as handsome as
ever in a pale grey lounge suit with a matching open neck shirt
that only emphasised wide shoulders and his dark coloring. He was
sipping what looked like a glass of scotch, the Gillespie brother's
favourite tipple. Then she turned to find Marcus watching her with
a dazed look in his eyes. Eyes of such a violent blue she went
absolutely still.

Desire hit him so hard
Marcus found it hard to breathe.

No one
moved.

"Drink?" James
offered into the stunned silence and gave his brother a sharp
look.

"Dry white
wine, thank you," Anais said without taking unsure eyes from
Marcus.

"What the hell
is that you're almost wearing?" Marcus growled, ignoring the way
his brother's brows shot into his hairline.

Looking
absolutely delighted with his reaction, and with herself, the
little devil gave him big eyes.

Anais spun in a
circle.

"Like it?"

"You're going
to drive men wild," he responded, churned up by the way his body
had gone too hard, too fast. Her smooth brow creased at the chill
in his voice. Marcus hoped she was bringing a coat or a wrap
because there was no way in hell she was going to walk through the
hotel lobby practically naked.

"Ignore him,"
said James as he poured her a glass of wine. He smiled as he handed
her the glass. "You look lovely."

With a
provocative smile for his brother. "Cheers." She took a little
sip.

Her dark eyes
lingered in what looked like approval on Marcus's charcoal suit of
a fine wool and silk mix, with a silk shirt. Then those eyes spent
a single beat too long staring at his crotch.

"You two scrub
up well," she said in a breathy little voice.

The scent of
her yearning filled the room.

For the first
time Marcus wondered if James was right.

Maybe going out
this evening with Anais in this state was not a good idea?

But he'd made
the decision, even booked the table.

Anais was
dressed to kill and enjoying herself.

No way was he
going to back out of a promise to take her out and disappoint
her.

It was about
time they had a break from work. And more importantly, it was about
time he made his move.

He picked up
the black velvet box from the table.

"Wear this, it
will go beautifully with your dress."

Moving to stand
in front of her he opened the lid.

Those almond
shaped eyes went huge when she saw the necklace.

They flew to
his and he read a wary surprise.

Her hand rose
and her fingertip touched a stone the size of her thumbnail.

"It's
beautiful, Marcus. What is it?"

Marcus picked
up the gold chain, opened the clasp.

"It's called a
bloodstone. Turn around," he ordered.

For a moment
she hesitated and then she turned and gave him a bird's eye view of
her beautiful naked back. The scent of her, flowers, clean warm
woman, along with her desire for him, swum around his already
enhanced senses. His whole system went on red alert. This was
dangerous.

In his mind his
vampyre gave a low growl as his swollen erection pressed hard
against his zipper.

As he placed
the chain around her slim neck the stone fell just above the V of
her breasts and Anais held the unexpected weight of it in her
fist.

The way she
bent her head to study the stone made the vulnerable curve of the
back of her neck terribly enticing. Especially to an aroused and
ravenous vampyre.

No matter how
hard he tried, Marcus couldn't drag his eyes from the hectic pulse
rabbiting in her neck.

"It's
beautiful. But I can't accept..."

She went
utterly still as his hands brushed the delicate skin on her neck to
make the clasp safe. His fingertip followed the path of her
vertebrae down, down to where her dress hugged her tight little
bottom. The way she trembled thrilled him and made him press his
body closer.

His breath
caressed her hot cheek as he inhaled her mind-blowing scent before
he spoke,

"Call it a
bonus. And do me a favour." He bent his head, pressed the whisper
of a kiss on her cheek. "
Do not
remove it," he said in a
tone that meant business.

Her inward
breath was pleasingly shaky.

"Okay."

Anais was used to
travelling in the limousine with Marcus.

But he'd never
held her hand before. And at the moment he was refusing to let it
go.

James was
sitting at the front with the driver.

Now she was
tucked up in the corner of the back seat with Marcus all but
surrounding her while her mind was spinning. He'd given her a gift
and whispered a kiss across her cheek. The flesh where his lips had
settled for a second still burned. The pulse in her neck fluttered
madly.

Omigod.

Was this a real
date?

She was on a
date
with Marcus Gillespie?

Her heart took
a leap into her throat.

"Your heart is
beating too fast," he murmured in her ear. The tone was friendly
mixed with a gentle amusement that made her eyes go wide. That
amusement was seasoned with a cutting edge that stroked like a
steel blade across her skin.

She turned her
head to look at him.

His face was...
perfect, even gorgeous.

She'd be wise
to remember that Marcus loved to play with her, even though the
knowledge infuriated her.

"No it isn't,"
she lied straight to his face.

The amusement
turned into a grin that lit up his whole face and changed him from
gorgeous to beautiful.

Transfixed, she
watched him.

My God, who on
earth was this man?

"It is. I can
see it. I can hear it."

Her brows met
as her eyes held his.

"Only if you
have the ears of a bat."

In an instant
the smile changed, it didn't reach his eyes.

This smile
reminded her forcibly of a killer shark.

"Vampire...
bats, have incredible hearing," he said in a low voice. A voice
that did terrible things to the liquid heat low in her belly as his
eyes held hers.

She couldn't
look away.

The way he said
it had every single one of her fight or flight senses along with
her heart go crazy, and Anais felt like a deer unable to move,
paralysed by panic, in the headlights of a fast approaching
car.

"Vampires," he
continued in a silky voice that had goose flesh rise across her
skin, "can recognise the unique rhythm of a specific heart beat
among the beating hearts of hundreds, if not thousands, and are
able to differentiate the scented breath of a potential... food
source."

She wanted to
look away, wanted to think.

For some reason
the ability to do both had deserted her.

Danger!

Danger!

Alarms rang too
loud in her brain.

The feeling of
being cornered, ensnared even, utterly terrified her.

The limousine
stopped and the driver got out and opened the door.

But still Anais
couldn't tear her eyes from his.

Then she
blinked.

His eyes
released hers, and the horrible sensation of being in terrible
danger simply bled away.

In a smooth
move Marcus got out and still holding her trembling hand in his,
helped her out of the vehicle and led her up the stairs and into
the entrance of the club.

Situated in front of a
wall of mirrors, the winding bar of the
Pepper
club ran like
a glossy river of black marble through the vast room.

They'd lost
James to a business associate he'd spotted as they arrived.

As Marcus sat
Anais on a stool at the bar, he used the reflection of the room the
mirror provided, to take a careful note of the clientele. There was
the usual mix of businessmen and people out just to have fun, both
western and Chinese, and human and...vampyre.

Busy place.

He ordered
drinks while they studied the dinner menu and he noted Anais
appeared incredibly flustered.

Her nerves
around him charmed him. The gold chopsticks edged with glittering
beads, a nod to China, that pinned the hair to the top of her head
fascinated him, too. He looked forward to removing those chopsticks
one by one, to watch the waterfall of shiny hair cascade down her
bare back.

Dark eyes,
careful eyes, rose to meet his in the mirror and Marcus stayed
behind her stool and bent his head to press a chaste kiss to her
flushed cheek. The scent of her flesh, her arousal, was
mouth-watering, like honey, a light floral perfume and warm and
willing woman.

His renowned
patience was fraying a little bit around the edges. The sharp teeth
of a brutal arousal made his vampyre stir again in his mind.

She is
mine
.

Yes.

Soon.

Very soon.

"You look
stunningly beautiful," he whispered in her ear. The little shudder
along with goose bumps that rose along the fine hair on her slim
arms made him smile. She was so terribly responsive to him. And he
couldn't wait to test that response in his bed. "Let us move to our
table, it will be more comfortable than sitting here."

She nodded in
agreement and rose as a waiter placed their drinks on a silver tray
and led the way.

In one of the
many wall mirrors, Marcus permitted his eyes again to scan the
area. And found what he was looking for. He sent a narrow-eyed
warning to the vampyres watching him and feasting hungry eyes on
Anais from the dark recesses of the room
.
Using telepathy to
convey his deep displeasure, he roared,
'MINE.'

The way the
vampyres dipped their head and melted back into darkness made his
mouth curve.

The word would
spread fast that prince Marcus Gillespie had found his woman and no
one would dare touch a single hair on her beautiful head.

Everything was
good.

Everything was
fine.

And Marcus was
in control.

Anais, to her surprise,
found she was hugely enjoying herself.

Unlike the bar,
the ambiance in the restaurant was subdued. The room was lit by low
up-lights and many thick candles placed in vast jars of crystal
clear glass. Their table overlooked a breath-taking night-time view
over Shanghai. The sky was black lit by a fat moon surrounded by
dazzling constellations. And the murmur of guests, low tones, easy
laughter added to the mellow atmosphere. The light scent of fresh
flowers arranged in vast goldfish bowls mixed with the aroma of
exotic food and candle wax. With the soporific effect of fine wine
buzzing pleasantly in her mind, Anais permitted all the cares and
worries of the day to simply slip away.