Chapter 10 Ciara
Ciara
Holy shit. I swallowed but it didn’t help to calm my sudden flutter of anxiety. Sweet Jesus in a dress and high heels. There was no denying the vampire was gorgeous. And the way he looked at me was enough to melt my panties right off.
If I didn’t simply step out of them first.
I shook my head slightly to try to clear it, but Jason’s jeans were so tight they should have been illegal, and his T-shirt clung across his shoulders and chest. I certainly didn’t need X-ray vision to know where his muscles were or to guess where I wanted to lick to claim ownership.
If I’d thought that suit from last night was all he should ever wear, I took it all back now. Fuck me… This Jason. In jeans. Then my gaze dropped against my will, and I looked directly at his crotch.
Trouser snake. Taylor’s voice whispered in my head, and I jerked my gaze away. Dammit. I couldn’t look there.
A memory of my shower last night flashed through my mind, and my cheeks grew warm. I looked somewhere over Jason’s shoulder as I squirmed in my suddenly damp panties.
No man had ever affected me like this. I wasn’t even an active shifter, and I wanted to pant like some sort of female in heat.
I cleared my throat as I waved a hand to indicate the room behind me. “Come in.”
He was already moving before I finished speaking and his nostrils flared as he brushed gently past me. My breasts tingled as my desire for him grew, and I tensed all of my muscles so I didn’t accidentally reach for him or touch him again. That handshake had been more than enough.
“Please take a seat.” I had to get control of myself and this meeting.
He did as he was told and sat down in the chair I gestured toward.
“You said something about a new contract?” I remained standing.
I needed the upper hand for as long as possible. Negotiating with the vampires always felt like a bit of a battle, although Conri assured me that Nicolas Dupont was a reasonable guy. That didn’t mean I was going to go easy on Jason, though.
So far, he hadn’t given me any indication that he was reasonable or even fair, and I had to pay attention to every little detail to ensure I did a good job and didn’t let Conri down.
He’d trusted me to get this right for him, and if that meant pissing a vamp off in the process…
Well, perhaps Jason Martin needed to get used to being pissed off.
A small smile curved my lips as I thought about getting under his skin the way he’d somehow managed to get under mine. Turnabout was definitely fair play.
He pushed the paperwork he’d been carrying across the table, and the movement released more of his scent into the air in this small room. Damn it all. I should have left the door open.
But this was really too private to risk just any shifter overhearing us.
I breathed deeply, not even pretending to myself that the citrus notes didn’t make my insides fizz with desire and give me the urge to press my nose into his T-shirt and fill my lungs again.
After a moment where I just looked at the paperwork like I already knew it was crap, I pulled my chair from underneath the table and sat down before glancing through the new deed.
I didn’t even finish reading before I laughed, the sound harsh. “Congratulations. You’ve done it again.” I slapped the papers back on the table.
“Done what?”
I frowned at his faux-innocence. “This isn’t the whole thing. You’re fucking with me on purpose.”
His eyes gleamed and turned a dull red. “Oh, you’d know,” he said.
“Know what?” For fuck’s sake. Now he was just being irritating.
“If I was fucking with you.” His voice was filled with slow, easy promise. “Especially on purpose.”
I dropped my gaze as my cheeks burned again. Damn vampire.
“Why are you being an ass about this?” I sounded flustered, and he chuckled.
“I mean…” I floundered but took a breath and got myself together.
“We’re meeting about business.” I stared at him, narrowing my eyes as I forced my voice harder trying to forget that the man in the room with me was suddenly like catnip to me.
He was pure sex on a stick. “We were promised land. Your king promised us very specific land. We should have that already and I don’t see that land here. ” I pressed my forefinger to the deed.
Jason blew out a sigh then sucked in a breath but I spoke again. I wasn’t about to let him charm or confuse me out of my point.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were deliberately dragging this out.
You must have looked at these papers. Yet you still brought them to me knowing they weren’t right.
Unless you’re deliberately dicking a wolf shifter pack around, it’s not like we have a connection forming, so how long do you plan to keep this up?
I’m part of this pack, and you’re a vampire.
Let’s just conduct our business and part ways, please.
” My heart beat wildly like my request as truly the last thing I wanted, but my body lied.
It was clearly just sick of being a virgin. I almost felt like I was holding myself back to prevent myself from sprawling over the table in offering to a vampire. Where that thought should have caused revulsion, only excitement thrummed through me.
I looked at the paperwork again to steady my thoughts.
“Okay. I have an idea.” Jason’s voice was warm and low. “Yes, there is land missing. Yes, I knew.” It was his turn to prevent me from speaking, and he held up his hand when I would have spoken. “But how about you let me drive you out there so I can show you why?”
I nodded. Anything to get him to stop talking. His voice did strange things to me—lifting goosebumps and making me watch the way his lips moved when he spoke. I imagined his kisses.
“Fine,” I said, standing abruptly. “Yes. Let’s go out there. But not now.” I’d have to prepare myself properly for that kind of outing. Steel my nerve or gird my loins, or something.
Buy a chastity belt. Hell, remove all sensory perception. I wasn’t sure what would work.
But he’d affected me enough today.
“I think that’s all the time I have for meeting today.” I made a show of checking my watch. “I’ll let you know when’s convenient for me to view the land.”
He lifted an eyebrow and a corner of his mouth as well. “I’ll be in touch about tomorrow.” The words were a promise.
At least, I hoped so. No, shit. I didn’t.
I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to be in the same room as him again.
And tomorrow was kinda soon, right? Barely enough time to invoke some anti-Jason magic.
A curse or a hex or a voodoo doll or some shit.
But I said none of that. Instead, I nodded and held my breath as he let himself out from the room.
“Bye, Ciara.”
Even the way he said my fucking name… “Bye.” It was the best response I could manage. No pleasantries. I just needed him gone while I could still control myself.
The door clicked softly closed behind him, and I relaxed at the quiet sound, bending over the table and muffling my groan.
Thank God he was gone. The entire room still smelled like him, and I still fought the urge to rip his clothes right of him, but holy crap…
he was gone. What the hell had gotten into me? Guys never affected me this way.
And suddenly all I could think of was being alone with him for a few hours tomorrow.
All of the excitement and desire I’d just succeeded in controlling in myself started back up again, the unfamiliar feelings almost painful.
The adrenaline made me want to fidget and expend excess energy. But I settled for daydreaming.
Jason’s mouth on mine, Jason’s hands in my hair…caressing my upper arms, on my waist. Jason’s hands elsewhere… What would being completely alone with him be like? Maybe it would leave me with the same tension as after the club last night.
Hopefully not. I mean, I’d relieved it, but…
Before my mind-wandering became truly X-rated, the door opened, and I glanced up.
“Hey.” Conri stepped into the room, and I wiped my thoughts of Jason and wandering hands—his or mine—as my brother provided the metaphorical bucket of cold water I needed just by existing in the same space as me and my imaginings.
“Hey,” I replied as he sat in the seat Jason had occupied only minutes before. “You here for a progress update?”
“Well, I just saw the vamp leave.” Conri grimaced. “So I figured maybe there actually is some progress to report?”
I grimaced as I pushed the paperwork in front of me, fanning the pages out. “Yes and no. They’re still trying to stiff us out of land, and Jason won’t say why.”
“Oh?” Conri raised an eyebrow. “A dishonest vampire. Imagine that.” But there was surprisingly little malice in tone for someone who had been so affected by vampires in his life.
I shrugged. “Yeah. I know. But he said he’ll drive me out to the parcel of land they keep missing off the deed and show me why, so maybe there’s something we haven’t considered.” I pressed my lips together.
Whatever else I said, I didn’t want it to sound so reasonable. Conri raised an eyebrow, although this time in surprise, rather than wry amusement like before.
“You sound very understanding today.”
“Meh.” I waved a hand. “Not intentionally. But I’ll be interested to see his excuse. It won’t be one I can’t talk my way around, anyway.” I waved my hand again, the gesture feeling ridiculously big rather than being light and airy.
He chuckled. “Now that I believe.” Then he leaned forward, kind of like he was about to ruffle my hair like I was still some kid, but I shoved it over my shoulder, and he seemed to think better of it, snatching his hand away before it landed anywhere near me.
“If anyone can get to the bottom of this deed business, it’s you.
You don’t put up with games, and you know how to get yourself out of a tight spot.
” He became thoughtful as he watched me.
“I’m sorry about some of the others,” he murmured.
“I know it doesn’t always look like I see, but… ”