“Serial killers tend to have a type. Do you recognize any of them?”
“Oh yes, Kelsey.” He ran a long finger across the screen. “I’ve fed from all of them at one time or another. I’ve had sex with some of them as well.”
I stared openly at him.
“Don’t judge me, little one.” He cocked a dark eyebrow and let his cheek rest against his right hand. “I’m a vampire. I feed off blood and sexual energy. It’s my nature. Have you ever been bitten?”
“No.” I hoped I wasn’t blushing. The intimate atmosphere of the room did nothing to take away from his attractiveness. The soft light seemed to cocoon us and his accent was so melodic I wondered if there wasn’t some magic behind it.
I really wondered what it would feel like to feed Marcus Vorenus.
“Well, it’s difficult to feed one appetite and not the other.” Vorenus explained even the most salacious acts with a simplicity that made it seem normal. He was practical and forgiving of even his own foibles. It made him easy to talk to. “In order to not harm our partners, it’s necessary to use a bit of magic to pull them in. This makes the bite intense and pleasurable. It’s only natural to follow the taking of blood with the taking of the body. The orgasm is much sharper after a feed. When the connection is right, I’ve found a bond can be formed. Only a vampire with a disciplined mind is capable of feeding without sexual intercourse. It’s an instinct.”
“You said you fed from all of them, but you only had sex with a few,” I pointed out.
“Let me correct myself then. Only a disciplined vampire or one who is terribly bored with it all can walk away,” Marcus said. “I have no mistress currently. I haven’t had one for a long time. When I have no feelings for the woman beneath me I prefer that she have no feelings for me, either. For me, especially, the bond can be intense. I do not wish to form such an intimate connection with a woman I might not like on a fundamental level. For me, there must be an intellectual liking as much as a physical draw. I use the prostitutes because there is nothing there but an exchange. At times, the instinct is too much and I must take a woman, but I make sure she gets something out of it as well.”
“Cash.”
“Yes,” he replied. “It’s what they need.”
The door to the office opened and Quinn walked in preceded by two subdued boys. The boys stopped and stared at us, but Quinn was having none of it.
“You two, march, both of you,” Quinn barked at his sons, pointing at the elevator at the back of the office. “You get in that elevator and be glad that I’m more terrified of what your mother would say than I am angry with you. You’re grounded. I’ll come up with some less dangerous reason why to explain the grounding to your mother.”
The one with the brown eyes looked sullen and like he wasn’t going to take being grounded well. There was rebellion in that one’s eyes. The green-eyed boy, who must be Rhys, seemed untouched by his father’s anger. His T-shirt was covered in black stuff and I wondered if he’d been rolling around in gun oil. He simply smiled and waved at me as his father punched the button for the elevator.
“Hello,” he said. “You’re pretty. I’m Rhys.”
“Hi,” I said, unable to not smile back.
“Are you going to kiss my Uncle Marcus?” Rhys asked. I heard Marcus sigh beside me and knew this wasn’t the first time Rhys had embarrassed his “uncle” in front of a woman.
“I…”
Lee rolled his eyes. “No, dummy, Uncle Marcus wants to kiss mommy, but he’s too late.”
Rhys nodded wisely, and he shoved his thick black hair out of his eyes. “Yes, it’s sad. Girls are only allowed two husbands and they should only kiss their husbands. Do you already have two husbands?”
“I don’t have any.” I wondered what surreal world I’d fallen into.
“Then you can kiss Uncle Marcus. I would say you should wait for me and Lee because you’re really pretty, but Lee’s gonna marry Mia and he says he doesn’t want for Mia to kiss anyone but him.” Rhys leaned over and whispered loudly. “He’s weird.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
“Hey, you could kiss my Uncle Declan.” Rhys’s small face was completely open and he smiled like that was the best idea in the whole world. “He’s from Faery and he’s gonna be king, so he can have two wives. He says he wants his next wife to be the kind of girl who doesn’t shove a hot poker up his ass every time he opens his mouth.”
“Rhys!” Quinn shouted.