The Red Lily (Vampire Blood #2)(18)

"Aye!" shouted Evan, usually the quiet one. He threw a fist in the air, facing the crowd. "And I will fight and bleed with my brothers and sisters of the Black Lily until the tyranny of Queen Morgrid is no more. I will not sit by and die a slave. I will stand and fight as a man."

A clamor of excited shouting ensued. A few men punched their fists into the air as well. Ivan grinned at Sienna and winked. "Come forward if you mean to join the Black Lily," he said, jumping down from the crates.

The crowd rushed forward, shouting over one another. The three men of the Masonry Guild pulled Evan to the side, nodding and whispering urgently. Nikolai remained where he was, Colette now reasserting herself, pressing her breasts against him, and saying heaven knew what, her mouth mere inches from his.

Sienna balled her fists at her sides and leapt down from the crate. She pushed through the horde, bumping one then another before coming out of the crush to find the woman's hand sliding past his belt and going lower. Nikolai caught her by the wrist and said something Sienna couldn't hear. 

She marched up to him and cleared her throat rather noisily. Both she and Nikolai swiveled their attention to her, the woman still glued to his side, her cleavage spilling out for his pleasure.

"Pardon me, Lieutenant Nikolai, but may I have a word?" She realized the tone of her voice was bordering on shrill, but she could hardly contain the anger humming through her body. "Alone," she emphasized when neither replied.

Nikolai turned to the damnable woman and said in his low, soft voice that Sienna had begun to believe was held in reserve only for her. "Colette, will you please give my associate and me a moment alone?"

She let her hand graze his crotch as she leaned off of his body. Certainly not an accident. "Don't be too long, my lieutenant."

Her lieutenant? Sienna inhaled and exhaled out of her nose, willing her blood to stop boiling.

"What can I do for you?" he asked so casually that Sienna felt her pulse pound even faster.

"Are you utterly mad?"

"Sweetheart, you will have to come right out and tell me what has made you so furious."

"Lieutenant, she could be a spy for the queen."

"Who? Colette?" Nikolai's perfect mouth slid into a salacious grin, his canines sharp and ready. "Highly doubtful. Colette is motivated by other means."

"You're a fool to fall into such a woman's trap."

His smile faded. "Am I?" He edged closer, standing straight. "And what trap is that?"

"She's just using you." Unable to bite back her tongue, Sienna continued on. "She's a … a blood whore."

He corralled her till her back hit the wall. "Oh, she most definitely is that."

"You've been with her before, haven't you?"

"A vampire must feed." He braced one hand above her head, his gaze intent and watchful. "And I am very hungry, sweetheart. The voyage from Cutters Cove was over a week on the ocean, and I haven't fed since we set on land. I came directly to find you, my primary objective." His voice dropped two octaves when he said the last, his body inching closer. "You do not like Colette? Fine then. Choose another for me, and I'll proposition her."

"Proposition?"

"A vampire must pay for his services. Either in coin. Or pleasure."

Her breath came rapidly as she remained transfixed on his vampire eyes, glowing a supernatural blue. "Which did you offer Colette? For her services?"

"Ah, well, Colette is one of those women who pretends to be a bleeder for the money and the hardships she must overcome in life." He swept a long lock of Sienna's hair over her shoulder, one finger trailing across her collarbone and shoulder. She tried to hide her shiver but failed. "But what she really wants is the pleasure. If Colette upsets you, I will certainly choose another. There are at least two more in the room who would be willing."

Sienna's mouth fell open in shock. "How do you know that?" she asked, darting a glance to the side but seeing no one. The crowd still hovered close to the Barrow brothers, and Nikolai effectively blocked out the world, forcing her attention only on him.

He grazed a finger along her jaw, sliding it down her neck to where her pulse beat rapidly in her throat. She thought his canines grew even longer right before her eyes, but it must've been a trick of the light.

"I know, because I have been alive over a century. And in that time I have studied the mannerisms of mankind. I know all the tells a woman makes when she wants me. The furtive glance. The parted mouth. The rapid heartbeat. The light sheen of sweat on her skin as she pretends I cannot tell it is all for me."