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No, not now,she sent the thought.

Silence, but he was there. Her forehead was still warm.

What happened? Why did Blackmore leave?Dmitri asked a few seconds later in a carefully modulated tone, as though he’d taken the time to calm down after her epic failure.

Leah took a shuddering breath. No more crying, if only her body would listen. The first thing she would do after leaving the Organization was to take out this stupid chip, even if she had to be in medical debt for the rest of her life. Too bad she’d forgotten to put that into her deal with Dmitri.

I don’t think my seduction skills are up to par with what Blackmore is used to.

This is the closest you’ve gotten. You’re running out of time.Like she needed the reminder.

I know. Unless you have some other bright ideas, I’d like to be alone.

Why don’t you go after him now?

She could, except she had no idea where Blackmore was. Tristan would know. But that wasn’t what made her hesitate.

No, she wasn’t in the right emotional state for a repeat of earlier. The memories, the fear, were all too fresh in her mind. If she chased Julian now and fell apart again, it would make things worse.

No, not tonight. Tomorrow.

Even if you fail to ensnare Blackmore, you can still come back to us. Our other deal still stands.

Did he think the thought of returning to his bed would cheer her up? The usual helpless fury exploded inside her, and she wiped away the last bit of tear with impatience.

I won’t fail.

Chapter Twelve

Aroundduskthenextday, Leah was sitting in her office with Lucy, trying to resolve some last- minute room assignments. The Prime Minister of Japan didn’t want to be in the same building as the President of the Philippines. The South Korean delegation protested the assignment of only one floor to them while both China and Japan’s delegations occupied two stories.

“Come in,” she said absentmindedly when she heard a knock on the door.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

It was the voice that first caught her attention. Smooth as silk, it promised hidden pleasures in the darkest hours of the night. Its magnetism elicited a responding need in her that she suppressed on reflex. Working with vampires for the last few weeks, she’d become an expert at controlling her reactions.

Except those sparked by one particular vampire.

But it wasn’t Julian at her door, as much as she wished. She’d spent a restless night dreaming of him, but the dreams were interspersed with her times at the Compound. At four, she’d woken up in a cold sweat and had given up on sleep.

Before her thoughts wandered into the bitter past, she looked up and swallowed at the sight that greeted her.

Standing before her was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Tousled midnight locks framed an angelic face God himself must have carved. Two deep-set green eyes met hers with amusement. Pouty lips that were a woman’s dream curved up in a flirtatious smile. Beside her, Lucy’s mouth dropped.

The vampire leaned against the doorway, waiting expectantly. Dressed in dark blue jeans that encased his long legs and a button-down shirt that hugged his fit frame, he was a woman’s fantasy come true.

After her initial shock, Leah felt the power vibrating about him. His harmless posture and smile deceived no one. Like Julian, he was the embodiment of suppressed power, which wrapped around him like a second skin.

Clearing her throat that had gone dry, she asked, “Can I help you?”

“Ah, you must be Julian’s woman.”

Leah’s cheeks heated. Who was he? And what did Julian tell him?

As if reading her mind, the vampire’s grin widened. “Don’t worry. Julian didn’t say a thing. His scent is all over you.”

Her jaw went slack. Did all the other vampires think she was Julian’s woman? Was that why everybody had been so accommodating? Leah’s hand tightened on her pen. If she were a vampire, she’d have broken it into two.