Seduce(6)

Behind him walked the immense male vampire that she knew from the performances. Victor. His normally thick dark hair was gone, shaved to his scalp to reveal thin scar lines in places, giving him a menacing air as he followed Antoine, dressed in a tight black t-shirt and jeans.

Were they just passing through?

Her heart started again at a pace.

Please, God, say they were just passing through.

Antoine shoved his fingers through his deep brown hair, the action screaming of irritation as much as his scent on her senses. He was annoyed about something. Was he angry with Victor for some reason?

Sera moved aside, keeping her back to the stage so they could easily pass her and go about their business. She tried to keep her eyes downcast but they refused to do as she ordered and snuck to Antoine, meeting his icy gaze. The warm lights from the stage lit his face, chasing the shadows away, and she had her first real glimpse of him. He was so handsome regardless of the darkness he emanated and the coldness in his eyes. He looked like an aristocrat, princely with his straight nose, defined jaw and perfect bone structure. Did he resemble his brother, Snow? She couldn’t imagine the devastating effect the two together would have on the female aristocrats at social gatherings.

Her heart did a flip in her chest.

Antoine alone had a devastating effect on her. She could be strong, had taken to life as a vampire with surprising ease according to her sire, and had a flair for luring male prey that she still couldn’t quite believe. She wanted to be that confident, sexy, attractive woman around this man, but whenever she set eyes on him, her heart trembled like a timid thing in her throat, her palms turned clammy, and she wanted to bolt. It was only the deep pounding need he stirred in her, the intense inferno of arousal that flooded her veins like liquid fire whenever she was near him, that kept her feet in place. She wanted this man.

It went beyond natural desire, or at least what she had experienced in the past. No man had ever had such a startling effect on her. It was soul-deep, more than just a carnal longing. It was as though her very happiness depended on her being in this man’s strong arms.

He stopped right in front of her.

“Sera, I presume?” he said and her bones melted at the sound of his deep voice pronouncing her name.

She nodded and held out her hand. He raised a dark eyebrow in her direction and didn’t take it. She lowered it again, feeling like a fool for thinking he would touch her, a turned human, and for the first time since she could remember, her gaze didn’t want anything to do with him. She stared at the red carpet beneath her feet. What in God’s name was she doing here? This was all going to go horribly wrong. She was going to end up getting her heart smashed by this man.

Confidence.

Elizabeth had pounded that one word into her head more than any other. Sera was beautiful, alluring, sexy, smart and funny, and more than that, she was warm and caring. She was a confident woman. She was. Sera clung to her sire’s words about her, trying to believe in them. They ran around her mind and she felt their effect, felt the confidence begin to flow through her.

Sera managed to convince her eyes to shift up. They didn’t make it to his face. They stuck on his tie. Shiny black paisley contrasted against the matt black of the rest of the tie. It was fascinating. Truly. That was the only reason she was looking at it and not resolutely into his eyes as she had planned.

He huffed.

“Well, let’s get on with this. I have other matters that require my attention and the night is not growing any younger.” He sat down in one of the front row seats.

Sera glanced at Victor, and then at Antoine. This change required a whole rethink of her plan. She had expected Callum to be the one interviewing her, not Antoine, and she still wasn’t sure why Victor was present. Was he here because, in the absence of Callum, the elite vampire she had met last night and who Elizabeth had told her dealt with sourcing performers, Antoine needed someone more intimate with performers to help him?

Victor peeled off his tight black t-shirt to reveal the ropes of hard muscle that lined his stomach and the twin slabs of granite that formed his chest.

Sera’s cheeks flushed.

Oh. Lord have mercy. Victor wasn’t here to help with the interview.

This wasn’t an interview at all.

It was an audition.

Her heart thundered. Her limbs shook.

Panic prickled down her spine.

“Is there a problem?” Antoine frowned, his annoyance turning his scent bitter. She knew he could sense all of her feelings and smell her fear, and she tried to get a grip on her emotions, but they bombarded her.

Was there a problem? Was there ever. She hadn’t expected she would have to perform with someone and she definitely hadn’t anticipated that such a performance would take place in front of the man who was her reason for doing this whole crazy thing in the first place.