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  I felt my blood boil at seeing her touch him like that. Seeing her touch anyone was enough to set my body aflame with rage.

  “Claudia!” I growled out loudly.

  She finally jumped in surprise and drew her lips from his neck. His head lulled to the side without her keeping it up.

  She smiled drunkenly at me. Her plump, red lips had blood dripping from the corners, and her fangs gleamed in the glowing light of the room.

  “Abraham. Come to command me to do something else? Was once not enough?” She giggled wickedly and licked her lips. She was completely wasted on both alcohol and blood. I could smell both on her breath from here.

  My anger grew at her for doing this. This wasn’t like my Claudia. “Release the human, Claudia.” I said sharply, leaving no room for argument.

  Her smile died, and she bolted to her feet. “I guess once wasn’t enough,” she sneered at me. She turned towards the human and patted his face. “Get up, sugar. You’re done for the night.”

  The human blinked his eyes open and smiled up at her, but his smile faded when he saw the leer I focused in his direction. I watched him closely as he quickly stumbled to his feet and rushed from the room. I was surprised he managed to do that without face planting into the floor with how weak he was from blood loss.

  I turned back to Claudia and closed the door behind me, then stalked towards her. She only watched me defiantly as I grabbed her arms and made her look me in the eyes. “What do you think you’re doing? You know better than to use these rooms, Claudia!”

  “I think I was doing what I wanted. It was only a matter of time before you came back to give me another command, so I figured why waste an opportunity to do something that made me feel good?” She tried to pry her arms from my grasp, but I held on.

  “I commanded you for your own good. I am not ready to discuss with you what has been going on in my head. I doubt I ever will be, but that is no excuse to do the one thing I asked of you not to do!”

  She finally ripped her arms away from me, then shoved me hard in the chest. The surprise of her shove made me fall backwards onto the half-circle velvet bench. I stared up at her in shock as she slowly stepped towards me.

  “You not being ready to talk is no excuse for commanding me. You not wanting to confide in me something that troubles you, is no excuse to touch me like you did then push me away!” She hollered.

  Suddenly, she was straddling me. Her fingers raked through my hair and her hips ground into mine. I was beyond stunned by what she was doing, and suddenly couldn’t think to stop her. Her body over me like this made the bond between us tighten and cloud my mind. I could think of nothing but how she felt there. How she smelled. How she looked in this sexy lingerie. It brought back so many blissful memories that I’d clung onto like a fantasy. My hands glided up the tops of her thighs as if they had a mind of their own. Her legs felt so good where they were.

  “You touched me in a way that I’d been dreaming you would since the moment you turned me, Abraham,” she whispered huskily as her hands slid down from my head and to my chest. “You made me feel like I was finally going to have you as I always wished I could. And I was so ready for it; I thought my body would combust from need.” Her fingers undid some of the buttons from my shirt. Gently, she slipped her hands inside and ran them along my chest.

  I felt myself stiffen with lust for her. The amount of bliss I felt at having her hands on me like this again was undoing me. My control unraveled faster than I could keep up. Why had I not touched her like this before? I couldn’t remember. Not with her hands unbuttoning more of my shirt and skimming further down to touch the sensitive flesh of my sides and stomach. I hissed through my teeth and leaned my head back with the euphoria of it all. I felt her lips come down and slide against my throat. I’d give anything for her to feed from me like this. She’d only ever done it from my wrist when it was an emergency. How I longed for her teeth to pierce my neck. To feel her tongue stroking against it as she licked away my blood.

  “You made me want to beg you to fuck me against the wall of the shower. You made me want for nothing else but your touch the moment I felt your naked, wet body against mine... “ she continued; her voice grew softer as her lips came to my ear. “And then you ripped it all away when you made me leave. You hurt me in a way I never thought you could. And I’m not ready to forgive you for it.”

  She pulled away. I lifted my head and watched as her eyes shut tightly as if in pain, then she shook her head. I was about to ask if she was okay. Before I could though, she jumped from my lap and stormed from the room.

  I sat there stunned. Had she just...? She had played me. Just as it probably felt I played her in the shower tonight. I looked at my hands, still able to feel her legs beneath my palms.

  How the hell had I managed to lose all control like that? Never in over a thousand years of my life, have I ever lost my control quite like that. Every reason for why I kept my distance from her crumbled the moment I felt her against me dressed as she was. Just as I had lost my resolve in the shower.

  She had stolen my control, and now, I wasn’t sure I could continue not being intimate with her.

  I’d ruined all chances of keeping her at arm’s length the moment I lost my cool and grabbed her earlier. Three years of protecting her went down the drain. And it would be all my fault when the memories came flooding back into her mind. Now, I worried they already were.

  The very thing that I was trying to avoid by not telling her the truth, was happening anyways.

  Fuck!

  Chapter Five

  Claudia

  I was in so much trouble with Abraham when I got home later.

  I knew it was childish to give back what he’d done to me earlier. It just felt so damn good to see him being the one to lose his shit. At least, that was what my drunken mind told me. My victory over it was short lived when pain sliced through my head and a flash of déjà vu kicked in. I had to get out of there quick. Something about what I was doing with him felt familiar, yet I’d never touched Brahm that way. So, why did it feel like we’d done that a hundred times?

  I whipped out my phone and dialed Lucy as I slipped on my coat. When I went to walk out, I spotted a small bottle of Bloody Jim Bean and shoved it into my coat to drink on the way. There was no way I was going home until I got some answers. I knew I would need to keep the buzz going if I was going to be able to handle what answers I was given. It felt foreboding thinking of the secrecy behind Brahm’s behavior; like the answers would break me somehow.

  If Hollis wouldn’t give me what I wanted out of respect for Abraham, then I was getting them from someone who would face down my maker without hesitation because he wanted to talk to me that badly. And I knew Lucy would tell me anything I needed to know. I’d bet my favorite bag of Rainbow Dash scented glitter that she knew where this other agent lived.

  “Claude! How’s it going, babe? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in days!” She answered excitedly. I was glad her vamp-bride from hell persona was on the outs tonight.

  “It’s only been one day.” I giggled and began walking along the sidewalk towards home. I stumbled as I stepped to the curb. Stupid curb. I heard several cat calls being sent my way, but ignored them.

  “Oh, well, yeah. Whatever. Anyways, what’s up?” She asked. I could hear Sloan and Vex arguing over something in the background. Seriously? A yo-yo? Those two always fought over stupid stuff. At least, I couldn’t hear Hollis. Maybe luck was shining down on me, and he was still at work.

  This meant I could be a sneaky vampy and get the info I needed from my bestie. Score for Claudia! I giggled again and high-fived myself, earning a concerned look from another vampire walking by. I just glared at him in return. I’ll high-five myself if I want to!

  “I need to ask you a flavor… I mean favor,” I muttered to Lucy. “But you can’t tell your stuffy agent fiancé what I’m asking for. He’ll get angry at the mischief I’m going to cause by asking.”

 
She laughed at my word stumble. “Hmm. Okay. I’m game for causing mischief behind Hollis’ back. Whatcha need?” She asked without hesitation. I knew I loved her for a reason.

  “The agent that you met when Vex took you to that compound. What was his name and where does he live?”

  “Oh! Is this a booty call? I’m totally okay with this. His name is Diego Brody, and he is the shit. Well, when he’s not being grouchy because of work; which is mostly all the time. He has redeeming qualities, though.”

  That was his name! Diego. I kept picturing that cartoon character Dora the Explorer for some reason every time I tried to remember his name. Now, I understood why.

  I bit my lip, wondering if I should tell her the truth or just let her believe that this was a booty call. Then again, a booty call sounded kind of nice at this point. I was still turned on from my payback against Brahm, and I did remember Diego being kind of hot. Shush, Claudia! Focus!

  “I just need to know for a reason I’m not even sure about. Can you help?” Evasive truth seemed like a safe route to go.

  “I mean, sure. He doesn’t live that far from you. I’ll text you the address. You okay, Claude?” She asked me, an edge of concern in her voice.

  “Peachy, babe. I just need to ask him something is all. And thank you. Remember; don’t tell Hollis.”

  She mimicked a zipping sound. “Secret is safe with me. Make Diego bring you home before the sun comes up. Tell him I said so.”

  I quickly told her I loved her and hung up. When she texted the address, I was happy to see she was right. He only lived two blocks from me. I looked at the clock on my phone. I had two hours until sunrise. Plenty of time to get what I wanted. I pulled out the bottle from my coat and starting drinking as I made my way towards his place. The walk wouldn’t take me long. At least, I thought it wouldn’t. Stupid Abraham. Why’d he have to be like this? This was just not my night.

  I missed steps a few times and plowed into a few people in my haste to get there. My buzz was in full effect, so whatever. I was feeling all toasty and glittery right now.

  When I finally made it to the apartments and up the stairs, I wavered on my feet a little. Maybe drinking more had been a bad idea. I stumbled forward and knocked loudly. Unfortunately, I knocked too loud and had to cover my own ears. Shit! How hard had I hit that damn door?

  “Coming! Damn!” I heard a male voice yell.

  The door swung open and revealed a vampire that was much hotter than I remembered.

  Diego was shirtless with his badge hanging from a chain around his neck. His pants hung loosely around his hips with his belt undone, showing off the deep V in his hips. He tipped back a bottle of Sanguine Slammers beer in one hand, then took a puff of a cigarette from the other. His thick, dark brow was arched in aggravation when he first opened the door, but immediately both flew upwards at seeing me.

  He was a fucking masterpiece.

  Diego wasn’t as tall as Abraham was, but his build was broader and much more defined. His pale skin was darker than I was used to seeing on vampires, and his dark hair was shaved almost to the scalp. His chiseled chest and abs were on display, showing off a tattoo of a Día de Los Muertos girl’s face and her upper shoulders on his left side. His right arm had tribal designs interwoven between skulls and roses flowing from his shoulder to his elbow in a half sleeve. Two realistic pistols were on either side of the V in his hips pointing downwards. I tried not to drool as I pondered whether he had more tattoos hiding elsewhere on his body.

  “You have questions, and I have answers!” I blurted out with my finger pointing at him in accusation. Wait... no. That was the wrong order. Wasn’t it? I tried again as he stared at me in confusion. “I mean... You have answers to my questions!”

  “Claudia? What are you doing here?” He asked with a hint of an accent. Yep, he was definitely Hispanic.

  I went to tell him why I was here, but stopped. “I thought I just told you why I was here... “ Did I? Fuck! I can’t remember now. I’d been too damn distracted by all the muscles and tattoos. “Shit. You’re hot.” Seriously, Claudia?

  He reached over and put out his cigarette in an ashtray then opened his door wider. “Uh, thanks. Get inside, otherwise your maker will kill me if he finds out you came to see me wearing that. If he doesn’t kill me first for you coming here at all. How’d you find out where I lived anyways?”

  As I went to go inside, I stumbled gracelessly into him in the process. His hand went to my waist to steady me. Smooth, Claudia. At least, you’re fucking sparkly. “Lucy,” I replied huskily with my hand splayed across his naked chest.

  Diego cleared his throat, then gently pushed me away from him. “Figures.” He walked around me and drained his beer before going to the fridge in the little kitchen and grabbing a new one.

  My body felt flushed being so close to him and touching his smooth skin. I shook my head of the daze and gazed around his apartment. It was relatively small and smelled of smoke and cologne. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant. I wasn’t a smoker, but I was used to the smell because of the club. It wasn’t like smoking could kill us vampires. We were technically already dead.

  Some clothes were strewn around the floor and there were some dirty dishes piled in the sink. His TV played a baseball game and the armchair was still rocking from where he’d been sitting. It was a basic bachelor pad. Strangely enough, I kind of liked it.

  “Are you going to stare at my messy place or are you going to explain to me why you’re here. I know you kind of tried, but I need specifics. And why are you dressed like that?”

  I looked down, completely confused why he kept talking about the way I was dressed. I had a coat on. Holy mother fuck! I hadn’t closed my jacket at all, which meant my lingerie was in full view. That explained why I kept getting whistled at on the walk over.

  Instead of covering myself up, I shrugged. My night was fucked anyway. What was one more thing?

  Again, I couldn’t remember why exactly I was here as I stared at him. After getting so turned on by just touching Brahm and then Diego just moments ago, it was no surprise that my arousal was at full capacity. The alcohol wasn’t helping, either. I could only think about what it would feel like to be touched by Diego more intimately. I was never one for one-night stands, but I couldn’t help the desire flowing through me to make him mine. Even for one night. It had been so long since I’d been touched in a way that was more than just a friendly hug.

  “Do you really want me to cover up?” I boldly asked him then giggled drunkenly.

  His eyes raked over me, flashing with just a hint of desire as they roved up and down my exposed body. “You should. Your maker would cut off my balls for even looking at you right now, Claudia.” His tone said no, but his eyes and tightly closed fists at his side said the opposite. He wanted me.

  I grabbed the edges of my coat and slipped them off my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor to pool around my feet. The bottle of whiskey in my coat clanked when it hit the floor. Diego leapt towards me and snatched my jacket from the floor.

  “Aye, que estas haciendo? Are you trying to get me killed?” He drew my coat around my shoulders and shut it tight.

  I did my best not to drool at hearing him speak Spanish. I didn’t even know what he said. It was so damn hot hearing him say it. “He doesn’t care. He won’t touch me no matter what I do. Am I not hot enough or something?” I laughed and tried to pry the coat back open, but he held firm.

  “Your beauty isn’t the issue. You came here for answers, not to have sex.”

  “How do you know it isn’t for sex? I came dressed for fun!” I tried again to pull the coat off. He was relentless in his hold.

  “Because you don’t know me. Besides, you didn’t even know you were exposing your… underwear until I pointed it out. Now, keep your coat on!”

  I pouted at him. “But I don’t want to.” I yanked it open with all my might and managed to pull it from his grasp.

  He growled. “That’s it.” He said, then
ripped the coat from my hands and swiftly slid it up my arms backwards. Before I could do anything about it, he came around behind me and buttoned it up out of my reach. “There. Good luck getting that off now.”

  I did my best to reach behind me, but it was no use. He had actually managed to button me completely into my jacket. “You’re no fun,” I grumbled. The coat was too tight around my arms to lift from the bottom either. I’d have to be unbuttoned to escape.

  “Never said I was fun in the first place, cariño.” He gave me a smug grin then sat down in his chair with a satisfied smirk and opened his new beer.

  I huffed and stood there awkwardly. “Since I’m sort of trapped in this coat now, would you mind at least getting my alcohol out of the inside pocket and handing it to me?”

  He sighed and stood, then walked over to reach through the front of the coat and wiggle the bottle out. “You really don’t need any more of this, but I don’t feel like hearing you complain if I don’t get it for you.” With a final tug, he pried it out of the tight fabric and handed it to me, then went back to sit in his chair.

  “You’re a real charmer. Not sure why I ever agreed to let you sleep with me,” I replied dryly and took a swig of my drink.

  He raised a brow and huffed. “I don’t remember agreeing to anything period. It was you who just tried to take your clothes off. Not me.”

  “Semantics. You want me.” I said with a grin as I pointed at him with my bottle.

  “No. I want answers from you, just as you want them from me,” he said with finality and chugged his beer. “So, why don’t you ask what you came here to ask?”