Page 19

Cosia belonged to Sysmus. The grovelling bastard had practically begged for the dinner to be held there, Baelin had told Aidan earlier.

Rae made an approving noise as she took in the venue, and he slid an arm around her waist and paused.

“I might need to do more than just put an arm around you tonight.”

“You old romantic, you.” She looked up at him and winked. “Are you asking for my consent?”

Aidan held her stare as he waited. The slightest blush crept into her cheeks, and she dipped her chin an almost imperceptible amount.

A steward opened the doors, but Aidan ignored them as he positioned Rae in front of him, his body flush against hers, one hand splaying possessively across her ribs.

If they were going to sell this, he needed to treat her like a Vampire Odalik, and that meant putting her first in every part of the night ahead.

He’d had her round ass pressed up against him back in the cell, but now the backs of her thick thighs pressed against his, her full figure soft and warm beneath his touch.

“That had better not be your dick, Vale,” she murmured over her shoulder, her chin tilting up so her gaze met his.

The corner of her mouth quirked as if she were fighting back a smile, and her pulse ticked in her throat.

He answered by wrapping her hair around his fist in silent warning, easing her head back an inch further.

Rae didn’t resist, and he saw the challenge in her eyes, the opportunity to screw this up before they’d even set foot inside the venue.

The steward cleared her throat at the door.

“Just a little harmless role play,” Rae explained without taking her eyes off Aidan. “He lets me pretend I’m the one with all the power and then I let him fuck me senseless. Win-win.”

The steward paled as she disappeared through the doors, babbling over her intention to announce their arrival, and Aidan forced down his rising temper as Rae eased her hair from his fist, a smile tugging at her lips.

“What? That’s what they all want to hear, isn’t it?

Now she’ll go and tell her colleagues and they’ll all tell their bosses, and your entire council will know in about three seconds how great our sex life is.

” She smoothed her hair but didn’t step away from him, and he knew she was going to be pushing his buttons all fucking night.

The doors swung open before Aidan could reply, Lia’s PAD gripped tightly in her hand as her attention fell on Rae.

“My lord,” the Provident said flatly, dipping into an awkward curtsey. Fuck.

“Thadlia,” Aidan said, a quiet warning in his tone. “This is Rae Farren. My Odalik.”

Lia rose, her attention fixed on Rae. “Blessings.” She took a step closer, then hesitated. “I’ll be just a moment; Sysmus and the others are waiting for you.” A heartbeat too long passed before she added, “My lord.”

Rae’s shoulders rose and fell in a deep exhale where they pressed against his chest. “Let’s get this over with.

” She didn’t hesitate, just made her way up the stairs to the doors that swung open at her approach, and Aidan kept pace, close enough to still feel the heat from her body, wishing she’d let him into her fucking head so he could make sure she didn’t fuck this up for the both of them.

As if she knew, Rae paused, reached back for his hand, and laced her fingers through his as she tilted her head up to say something. Aidan leaned in and Rae practically melted into him, her free hand reaching up to tug at his hair, her lips on his before he realised what she was doing.

“Play nice,” she whispered against his mouth before she pulled away.

He was so fucked.

When Rae turned away from him and he licked the taste of her from his lips, canines fighting to extend against his best intentions, three of his kind stood waiting.

A little gasp from Rae. “I’m so embarrassed, I didn’t see you all there,” the human said with more coyness than he thought her capable of uttering, the hand she’d laced through his squeezing his fingers once.

Aidan felt the corner of his mouth twitch as he took in the other Vampires’ surprised faces.

“My lord,” Sysmus said at the head of the group.

“My Odalik addressed you.” Aidan tilted his head to one side, sliding his hand around Rae’s waist and lowering his mouth to her ear. “What shall I do with him?”

Sysmus paled, but Rae merely clicked her tongue. “You know violence before dinner ruins my appetite.” A pat of her hand against his. “Shall we?”

“I’ve had the staff prepare a little of everything for you, Miss Farren,” Sysmus explained as he led the way to their table. The venue was booked out exclusively for this. Candles and white draping blooms covered almost every surface. If Rae was impressed, she was hiding it well.

“Your Vampire staff?” she asked all too casually.

Sysmus choked on his words as he fought to explain. “They’re excellent cooks, trained with human chefs in the Southern Quarter.”

“I’m only teasing. Smells delicious.”

Lorsan and Kuron, Lorsan’s Ascendant, shared a look beside Sysmus, and Aidan resisted the urge to press a palm to his face. Instead, he made brief introductions as they passed an ice sculpture almost as tall as Rae, five sirens tangled together with arms and fins and mouths.

Sysmus had always had a penchant for needlessly extravagant displays of wealth, and this time, Aidan felt Rae’s disapproval. Food shortages occurred sometimes amongst the humans, and an ice sculpture was a waste of money no matter what angle you looked at it from.

Mercifully, Lia was already at the table as they approached, which meant she’d left via the front door before entirely on purpose, as Aidan had suspected.

At least she didn’t intend to show him up further by returning to the table after he’d introduced Rae.

The insult would have been too severe not to punish before the other council members.

Rae played along as he made brief introductions to some of the guests—over forty Vampires were in attendance—but she was gracious with each of his council members and their Ascendants, witty with some, eliciting a laugh from the table on more than one occasion as stewards and restaurant staff moved around them.

Baelin usually sat to his right, but tonight Aidan had opted to position his Ascendant on the other side of Rae as a buffer.

Quinn sat at Baelin’s elbow, just behind his and Rae’s chairs, and Rae had let out a squeal of delight the moment she’d seen the beast. That had seemed to satisfy Baelin, and the pair of them were quickly laughing and murmuring between them as Aidan answered questions from his councillors.

If she leaves this table , he started to tell Baelin when Sysmus had been talking for far too long.

I know, I know. I won’t let her out of my sight, but honestly, she’s been the perfect Odalik. I imagine being sat at a table full of Providents with excellent hearing and excellent mental abilities might be a little alarming for the head of Omnia, but she’s taking it in her stride.

Aidan shot his Ascendant a glance, but he met Rae’s eyes instead. That’s precisely the part that concerns me.

Rae gave him another dazzling smile as she laughed at something Baelin had said, one hand sliding back to drop a piece of meat on the floor for Quinn. Barely thirty minutes into their meal and she had them both wrapped around her little finger. At least part of this night was going well.

Further down the table, Lia tapped a knife against her wine glass, her chair scraping across the floor as she rose to make a toast.

Shit. He took it back. Of course she wasn’t going to let the evening pass without making a scene.

Aidan held his breath as the Provident began her speech.