Some vampires used their ability to mesmerize humans to enrich themselves. But it was never money or gold that Aden wanted. He had plenty of both and could always get more. No, what he desired was sexual surrender. And he was a master at getting what he wanted.

Take Sidonie, for example. She wanted something from him and was willing to use her sexuality to get it. She probably had no intention of following through on her seductive advances. No doubt she was used to confusing men into giving her what she wanted and then dancing away without ever having to deliver. She and Aden were alike in their use of seduction, except that Aden always delivered. That was half the fun, after all.

She dropped her coat onto the sofa and turned with a polite smile. The dress was a dark green that flattered her hair and accented the pink hue of her pale skin, especially along the curve of her breasts which were showcased by the curved neckline. She wasn’t quite comfortable with the dress. He could tell by her frequent, aborted attempts to tug the neckline higher. He smiled in amusement at her modesty, especially when contrasted with the fuck-me heels she was wearing.

He didn’t say anything, just watched and waited, as an embarrassed flush crept up over her neck and face.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, managing to stop her hand halfway to another tug at her neckline.

“I don’t know,” he said smoothly. “Is there?”

She tried to cover her irritation, but two little crease lines appeared between her brows.

“Where did you go last night, Sidonie?” he asked. “After you left here.”

The crease lines deepened into a scowl. “I went home. Why, what’d you do?” she demanded.

Aden’s lips curved into a slight smile as he strolled over to face her. She stared up at him with wide eyes and started to take step back. But then she squared her shoulders and glared, her lips flattened defiantly.

“Sidonie,” he purred and smoothed the back of his fingers down her silken cheek.

She blinked rapidly, her clear blue eyes meeting his, her heart pounding so loudly in his ears that she had to be hearing it herself. She swallowed and whispered, “Yes?”

“Oh, don’t say yes too quickly, sweetheart,” he murmured, letting his fingers continue downward, over the curve of her elegant neck, and down even farther to skim the swell of her breasts. He leaned forward until his lips were nearly touching her ear. “I like the dress even better than the sweater,” he whispered.

She sucked in a startled breath, and he was standing so close that her breasts brushed against his chest. But rather than backing away, as a gentleman might have done, he stepped even closer and rested one hand on her hip.

“Have you ever been bitten, Sidonie?” he asked, his mouth hovering above hers as he slid his hand around to caress her lower back, just above the curve of her ass. It was a light touch, but enough to hold her in place, enough to let her know she was his to control.

She shook her head, her eyes wide, pupils dilated with desire. “No.”

“Would you like to be? Is that why you’re here?”

She seemed to have trouble coming up with an answer for that. Did she think she could lie to him? Impossible. A vampire of his power could detect all of the subtle changes that affected humans when they lied. But maybe she didn’t know that. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

“That’s not—” She drew a deep breath, her breasts once again brushing against his chest, even more so this time. He was holding her so closely that he felt the scrape of her erect nipples and heard the soft hitch in her breath that she probably hadn’t intended him to hear.

Aden’s lip curled in pleasure. She wanted to feel the kiss of his fangs, but she didn’t want to want it. This was what he loved. This was what made him hard. His cock swelled, thick and hot beneath the fine wool of his slacks, and he shifted slightly, letting her feel it.

She sucked in a breath. Her hand came up to press against his chest, her fingers curled slightly, as if she couldn’t decide whether to stop him or drag him closer.

Aden dipped his head and drew in the scent of her, her arousal, her blood so close to the surface, rushing through the big vein beneath her ear, thick and warm. He trailed his tongue along the path of her jugular, then lifted his head and blew softly on the wet skin.

Sidonie shivered and made a little sound of pleasure, and Aden smiled.

“Where did you go last night?” he whispered.

She stiffened. “What?”

SID LAID HER HAND on Aden’s chest and sighed with pleasure. He was so big, the muscles beneath her fingers like iron. And she was going to do this thing. He’d started in on her almost the minute she walked through the door tonight, crooning at her in that low, sexy, voice, his dark eyes caressing every curve of her body, every inhaled breath that plumped her breasts over the low-cut neckline. Maybe he was hungry, maybe whatever had happened last night had drained him, and he needed blood. Maybe that was why he was doing the full-court press right off the starting line. The part of her brain that was a writer chided her for the mixed metaphor, but she told it to shut the fuck up.

She shivered as Aden bent closer, his wet tongue gliding over the skin beneath her ear, his breath warm, just as she’d imagined it would be. She couldn’t stop the tiny sound of pleasure that escaped her lips. Hadn’t she known all along it would come to this? Hadn’t she dressed this way to seduce him, to have his teeth on her neck? And what could it hurt? It was just a little bit of blood, after all.

“Where did you go last night?” he whispered.

Sid blinked, the unexpected question like a slap in the face. “What?” she asked, and shoved at his chest to no effect.

Aden straightened and stared down at her, every inch of him cold and arrogant, the seductive lover gone. “For whom are you working?”

She shoved harder and stumbled slightly on her spike heels when he abruptly let her go. “I’m not working for anyone, you ass,” she snapped. “I’ve been trying to tell you for days why I’m here, but you’ve been so busy being Mr. Important that you haven’t taken the time to listen.”

Aden closed the space between them again, looming over her, his size suddenly more threatening than sexy. “What did you hear last night? And whom did you tell?”

Sidonie had grown up with two older brothers. She’d been dealing with bigger males all of her life. She rammed her shoulder against Aden’s chest, trying to force him to move, but he only laughed, and she felt her anger boiling up. Most people never saw it, but she had a temper. She didn’t hold grudges and she couldn’t hold a mad for long, but when her anger finally bubbled to the surface, it came up hot.

“Move,” she demanded.

He gave her a gloating smile and said, “No.”

With a shriek of anger, Sidonie swung her hand back in a fist aimed at his smug face, just as she would have one of her brothers. But Aden caught her hand and glared down at her.

“You don’t want to do that.”

“Then let go of me.”

“Who’d you talk to last night?”

“No one, damn it. I live alone. There’s no one . . .” Her voice trailed off.

“What?” he demanded, correctly interpreting her hesitation.

Sid’s thoughts were racing. Professor Dresner. It had to be. She remembered Dresner’s reaction as soon as she’d mentioned Aden leaving, how she’d pumped Sid for information, then almost immediately cut off the conversation.

“What happened last night?” she whispered, looking up at him. “Did somebody die?”

He frowned, and she thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, “A lot of vampires died. None of them were mine.”

Sid nearly choked on the guilt clogging her throat. Had those vampires died because of her? “What about Silas?” she asked.

Aden’s gaze narrowed dangerously. “What do you know about Silas?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I heard the name when I was leaving last night. Bastien was on the phone.”

“And you told someone. Who was it?”

Sid didn’t want to say. Surely she owed Professor Dresner that much. They weren’t exactly friends, and it sounded as if she’d betrayed Sid’s trust, but they were both human. Didn’t that count for something? Some shred of loyalty?

“Someone warned Silas last night,” Aden growled. “You want to know who’s really responsible for all those dead vampires? Look to your friend who sent word that we were coming, and to Silas who ran, knowing what I would do to the vampires left behind.”

Sid nodded faintly. Somehow everything had gotten turned around. She’d started this to save lives, and now it seemed she’d cost them instead. Or Dresner had. But wasn’t she responsible, too?

“I’ve been working with someone,” she whispered. Aden’s hand gripped her hip once more, his fingers tight. “She’s sort of an expert on vampire behavior.”

“A human?”

“Yes. She’s a professor at the university. She’s the one who told me about that bar where I met Travis.”

“Her name?”

Sid frowned up at him worriedly. “What are you going to do if I tell you?”

“I’m going to talk to her.”

“That’s all?”

“Depends, doesn’t it? What would you humans do to someone who’d set up an ambush that resulted in several deaths?”

“I guess she’d go to jail, conspiracy to murder or something.”

Aden shrugged. “Vampire justice is somewhat less ambiguous.”

“I’ll tell you who she is, but only if you take me with you when you go talk to her.”

“You’re hardly in a position to make demands,” he growled, tugging her closer until she was flush with his hard body. And he was hard . . . all over. Damn it.