Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
SAM
In the words of Britney Spears, I was not that innocent.
The Unseelie Prince may have been Unseelie but he was a he. Species aside, it turned out a male was a male. If there was one thing I knew how to do, it was using the good looks I was blessed with to get a man to do what I wanted.
Then again, I guess I now know why . . . Lilith’s granddaughter HAS to be a succubus.
Concentrate, Sam. Operation ‘Seduce Prince’s name out of him’ requires all of your focus or he might just eat you.
You’re not getting his name for Sweyn or Lilith. You’re getting it for The Coven.
For Everest.
Butterflies danced in my stomach. I was nervous, sure, but I’d have been lying to myself if I acted like I wasn’t a little excited.
My mind had finally caught up with the fact my body had known instantly: I wanted him.
Without this task I never would have dared try, out of fear for my safety, but the reward for success was far too high to not risk.
I’d toyed with many a male heart the last few years, after all.
That was what college was for. If I was as successful as I was with my human male conquests, then tonight was about to be huge for my side of the war.
I hadn’t let myself stall once the plan was made.
I’d hurried to my room and changed into something more .
. . appropriate for the occasion. Which meant I’d put on that white silk dress I bought in New Orleans that was intended to be a shirt on a taller female.
Being petite came in handy sometimes. The material looked like water on my body and felt nearly the same.
It had a deep plunging neckline that I all but fell out of when I moved.
The straps tied in a little bow at the nape of my neck, and that was the only material on my back until it draped over my ass.
The dress was indecently short. There would be no sitting down or bending over .
. . or stretching . . . or leaning . . .
Basically I had to stand upright unless I wanted to flash everyone.
The three-inch slits on each hip were the only reason I hadn’t flashed people as I walked down the hall.
And they were looking.
The strappy, white patent leather stiletto heels I wore clicked and clacked against the marble tile with every step.
I knew the questioning looks in their eyes as I approached were wondering if I was wearing undergarments—and the gasps as I passed told me they’d gotten their answer.
This was by far, hands down, the sluttiest garment I’d ever worn, but this was also the sluttiest moment of my life. This was business.
No, this was war.
And I intended to win this battle.
Sweyn’s court was avoiding her this evening, not that I blamed them.
Her emotions had gotten unstable and volatile since Everest’s betrayal.
No one wanted to be in her warpath, so everyone had gathered out on the back terrace to socialize.
As I pushed through the double wooden castle doors and stepped outside, I wondered if Avolire was ever not covered in snow and ice.
Luckily, vampires didn’t feel the cold like mortals did.
So while the temperature had to be in the negatives, to my body it felt no colder than the lower sixties.
Someone cleared their throat to my left. “Lady Sam?”
I turned my head toward the voice to find a blond, male vampire I hadn’t met before. I smiled and batted my eyelashes at him. “Yes, handsome?”
His cheeks flushed the exact same shade of red as his eyes. The soft blue color and red was a stunning combination for eyes. He licked his lips, giving me the briefest glimpse at the tips of his fangs. He inclined his head and held up a glass of champagne. “For you?”
“Oh, how thoughtful.” I grinned and took the glass from him, making sure to let my fingers brush against his in the process. “What’s your name?”
“It’s A-a-an-dr-drew, my lady.”
“Thank you, Andrew,” I spoke softly as I leaned in to kiss his cheek. “You’re a doll.”
A little strangled gasp left his lips.
I winked and strutted away with my new glass of liquid courage.
By now, this interaction had gotten everyone’s attention.
Their gazes burned lasers into my bare skin.
Chin up and tits out, Sam. It’s game time.
I brought the glass up to my lips and tossed the champagne back, swallowing it faster than I could even taste it.
“May I refill your glass, my lady?”
I stopped and met the heated brown and red stare of another male vampire who also held a glass of champagne out to me. “Oh my—”
“Please, my lady, allow me to trade with you—”
“I was here first, Matthew.”
“A lady as spectacular as Lady Sam is not merely a first come, first serve—”
“Boys, boys, boys . . .” I chuckled and took each of their chins between my fingers. “I can take both.”
They gasped and their fangs stabbed their own bottom lips.
On the inside, I rolled my eyes at how easy men were to fire up.
On the outside, I merely gave them my most flirtatious wink, then took both of their glasses and sashayed away from them.
A legitimate romantic interest was not on the agenda.
In fact, none of the male vampires were on my agenda.
They were simply a tool to lure my target onto the playing field. Every actress needed a good prop.
Over the course of the next five minutes, I’d been handed drinks and bite-sized snacks from at least a dozen of the male vampires of the court.
The older they were, the creepier their approach was.
The baby vampires were adorable in their blushing and stuttering.
The human hadn’t been sucked from their souls yet.
Everything was lining up to my advantage.
After all, it wasn’t like the court knew I was planning to seduce the Unseelie Prince when they chose the terrace just below his bedroom window to socialize.
Nor did they know I’d chosen this dress to get his attention or that I kept swishing my hair around in every breeze to torture him.
I had no idea why he liked to smell my hair, and I doubted he did either, but that wouldn’t stop me from using it as a tool.
His cluelessness over his attraction to me was going to be fun to play with.
I'd intentionally not looked toward his window, but I knew he was watching.
I felt the electric sharpness of his gaze sliding down my spine.
That and every other male who approached wound up doing a double take over my shoulder toward his window before promptly excusing themselves.
“The Prince” was whispered through the crowd. My wicked game was working already.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a chocolate fondue station set up with trays full of strawberries and cheese ready for dipping. I ran my hands over my hips, pretending to fidget with the hem of my dress as I made my way toward the snacks.
The real me hiding beneath the succubus wanted to bend over and stick my whole head under the melted hot chocolate dripping like water on a fountain. But I resisted. Barely. The Prince would be turned off by human behavior. I had to act like Lilith’s evil granddaughter for this to work.
I needed to make him want me sitting on the throne at his side before the sun rose.
Two males beat me to the fondue station, each of them dipping a different food into the chocolate before I even stopped in front of them. The moment my feet stopped, they held their treats out to me.
My mouth watered. I loved chocolate fondue.
In fact, for many of my birthdays I went to the Melting Pot restaurant for that purpose alone.
This was a true testament to my self-control, and even I was surprised by my resistance.
I had a game to play, and the faster the better.
It gave the Prince less time to think and me less time to chicken out.
I pursed my lips and gave a sultry little pout. “I don’t like cheese—”
“Try the strawberry then, my lady.”
I went to reach for it, then snatched my hand back and shook my head. “I hate all those little pits getting stuck between my teeth.”
Their faces fell.
The one with the strawberry tossed his over his shoulder, then dove for a new one. “I’ll pick the pits out for you first then, my lady.”
The other one ate his piece of chocolate and cheese. “I’m sure we can find something else you’d like to dip in chocolate . . .”
He hadn’t meant that as an innuendo. Not with that innocence in his eyes and the way he looked with panic at the table. Part of me hated how easily this role I’d chosen was coming to me, but that was an issue for future-me to handle in therapy after Lilith was dead.
Both males returned with new snacks for me to try, both seeking approval of their selection before dipping them into the waterfall.
I could have just let them feed me, hell, I’d gotten more than one boyfriend that way in the past, but the Prince wasn’t some drunk frat boy who couldn’t control his emotions, so I had to up my game.
I needed him down by my side. I reached for both treats at the same time, except instead of taking them, I gripped their pointer fingers and forced them to turn toward the fondue station.
The party was deafeningly silent behind us.
I dipped both males’ fingers into the chocolate, then pulled them out. Before they had time to react, I brought both of their hands to my mouth and sucked the chocolate off their fingers at the same time.
Gasps echoed behind me, followed by several cleared throats. Mr. Strawberry literally drooled while Mr. Cheese stared at the finger I’d just had in my mouth like he’d never seen it before.