D. Reynolds - Aden

“We’re alone,” Aden said, accurately reading her concerns. “Bastien’s in the lobby by now. He started down when you started up.”

“How did you . . . Kage,” she realized. “He must have called you from the car.”

“Must have,” he said. “Did you fuck Englehart?”

Sid glared at him. “You know what? Go to hell. And how did you get in here anyway? I thought you guys needed an invitation, like at Dresner’s house the other day.”

“Your doorman let me in.”

Sid scowled. “Why would he do that?”

“I persuaded him you were missing. He was very concerned and invited me to search your condo.”

“I thought you needed my permission.”

“Not really, just an invitation from someone with the right of entry. Your doorman has that.”

“Not for long. And I’m going to hang garlic over the threshold.”

Aden laughed. “That won’t do anything but smell up your home, and I don’t like the scent. Don’t do it.”

“Stop giving me orders.”

“Then tell me the truth. Did you fuck Will Englehart?”

Sid was on the verge of telling him to go hell again, but she saw something in his eyes, a hint of vulnerability in that otherwise tightly-controlled face. Too many people bought into Aden’s hard-ass exterior and never looked beneath the surface, probably because he didn’t let them. But for some reason, after a long lifetime of protecting himself, he’d let her in. He’d trusted her, and she couldn’t imagine what it must have cost him to do so. She wouldn’t betray that.

“No,” she admitted softly. “Will and I dated, but we haven’t been lovers in years. Our families are close, and he’s a very old friend, but that’s it.” She flattened her palm against his chest, feeling his muscles bunch beneath her fingers. “I haven’t fucked anyone but you lately.”

“Define lately.”

“Jesus, you’re a pain in the ass.”

“Answer the question.”

“No, you answer the question. How long’s it been since you fucked someone?”

“Other than you?”

She gave him an impatient look.

“A couple of weeks,” he admitted. “Not since I came to Chicago for the challenge.”

Sid’s breath ran out in a rush. A couple of weeks?

“They meant nothing, Sidonie,” he murmured, cupping her cheek in his warm hand.

Weren’t vampires supposed to be cold? Aden never was. Wait. They?

“They?” she said out loud.

He shrugged carelessly. “Until you, I never bothered to stick with anyone.”

Well, that was sweet in a man-slutty sort of way. “But you told Bastien—” she started, but couldn’t finish. She didn’t want to sound like a clingy, needy woman .

His eyes lit with understanding. “So that’s what this is all about. You eavesdropped, and as is often the case when one listens to a conversation that is none of one’s business, you misunderstood.”

“What you said was pretty clear, Aden,” she said, wondering if he enjoyed his little lectures as much as she hated them.

“I’m sure it was, but it had absolutely nothing to do with you.”

“If not me, then who? Who’s the woman who’s getting in the way of your grand plans?”

He gave her a quizzical look, as if there was some obvious truth she was missing. “Silas, of course,” he said.

Sid stared at him. “Silas is a woman?”

“To be accurate, Silas is a female vampire.”

“I just assumed—”

“You assumed she was male,” he tsked. “Not terribly liberated, Sidonie.”

“Hey, most of you guys are . . . well, guys .”

“Silas is most assuredly not a guy. She’s quite beautiful if one cares for the type.”

“What type?” Sid asked, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

“The type who will cut off your balls without remorse if the mood strikes her. And I’m not speaking figuratively.”

Sid stared at him. “You mean she’s actually—”

“I’m told she has a collection.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That’s disgusting. You should definitely kill her.”

“I plan on it, but not in search of some cosmic justice for males everywhere. She’s in my way, so she has to go.”

His hand, which had been stroking her cheek, dropped to her neck and grabbed a handful of hair, tugging her head back so she had to look up at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving town?”

“I didn’t think you’d care. Besides, you knew anyway. Your cover was pretty much blown when Kage rescued me at the train station. Thank you for that, by the way.”

Aden’s hand clenched almost painfully in her hair, and he went preternaturally still, his eyes gleaming as if lit from behind. “Rescued you from what?”

“Some guy,” Sid told him. “He sat near me on the train, but I brushed him off. I thought that was it, but then in the station he got really pushy about giving me a ride. Kage showed up just in time.”

“What did he look like?” he demanded.

But before she could answer, there was a knock on her door. Aden glanced down the hallway, and the next thing she knew her front door lock was gliding open, and Bastien was standing at the entrance to her living room, his dark hair slicked back and shining in the moonlight, his eyes fixed on Aden.

“Kage just reported in,” Bastien said. “Sidonie was approached this evening.”

“I just heard,” Aden agreed. “Did Kage know him?”

“No, my lord. But the assailant most definitely knew Kage.”

Aden drew Sid against him in a protective gesture, even though there was no one in the room except Bastien. He cupped her chin, tilting her head back until she was looking at him.

“What did he look like, Sidonie?”

She took his hand and turned in his embrace, leaning against his side with his arm heavy over her shoulders. “Nothing about him stood out. He was a little bit taller than I am, brown hair, brown eyes, fit, but on the slender side. He said his name was Vasco.”

Aden spoke over her head, addressing Bastien. “Sound familiar?”

“Was he human?” Bastien asked, his eyes eerily intent as his gaze cut to her.

“I think so. It was after dark when I got on the train, but he’d have to be human, wouldn’t he? I mean, I didn’t go to my parents’ place until this morning, so how could he have . . .”

Her voice trailed off, because neither vampire was paying any attention to her.

“Silas, you think, my lord? The description could fit Balderas.”

“Who’s Balderas?” Sid asked.

“Silas’s daylight security chief,” Aden growled. “One of two.”

“She has two security chiefs?”

“ Daylight security. And Silas likes to surround herself with men, especially human men. They’re her favorite food source. Unfortunately for them, her idea of post-coital relations all too frequently resembles that of a black widow spider. Balderas must not be her type, because he’s been around long enough to be noticeable. What did he say to you?”

Sid hadn’t paid much attention to what he’d said. Her focus had been on getting rid of him. “ If it was Balderas,” she qualified, then paused when Bastien shoved a cell phone under her nose with a picture of . . . “Okay, fine. That’s him. Mostly he talked about himself and commodities trading. What kind of security chief is hung up on commodities trading?”

“One who was a trader before he was convicted of fraud and did a stint in federal prison.”

“Oh. He was a little intense.”

Aden took her by the shoulders and turned her in the direction of her bedroom. “Pack some things. You’re coming home with me.”

She spun back around. “What? Why?”