Annie Nicholas - Bait

“How did you find me, my little surprise?”

I placed a hand against his chest, reluctant to keep him from closing the gap. “I wasn’t looking for you.” No breaths or heartbeat moved against my hand. Only warmth radiated from beneath his shirt. He must have fed. “I’m sore from running last night. I wanted to soak in a hot bath.” His heart may not be beating but mine drummed.

“So you knocked to come in?”

I chuckled, feeling the heat of color rising to my cheeks. “Well ... I was, actually, banging my head in frustration. It didn’t occur to me to knock.”

He stepped forward to touch my frizzed out ponytail. His proximity caused me to step back against the door, closing it. “Scary hair.”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Such frustration should not be left unfulfilled, especially if it will lead you to bang your pretty head.” He pulled me from the door and stepped in behind me.

A middle-aged, plump woman watched us from across the room. She wore her dark, gray streaked hair pulled back into a tight bun. She wasn’t much taller than me. The bulk under her dress gave me the impression she could wrestle me down and tie me into a pretzel without breaking a sweat.

He spoke Hungarian to her, then to me in English. “Pembe will bring you to the bathing room.”

“Rurik, I’ll come back in the morning. That way I can get a massage afterward.” I reached around him for the doorknob but it wouldn’t budge. He’d locked it.

I didn’t want to stay. Rurik stirred up desires I thought dead. It mixed with conflicted emotions from my job and lost loved ones only to make me miserable. For once, I needed to feel good. Not happy, I don’t remember happy, but tranquil, like at the church yesterday. That one of the walking dead could raise lust or more from me made me cringe.

It wasn’t a recipe for a relaxing night.

“Pembe is an excellent masseuse. Please, I see you’re sore and feel responsible for your pains. You have my protection, once again, while in this bathhouse.”

I’m such a sucker for a pair of pretty eyes. He batted his thick lashes at me and my resolve to leave crumbled. Good thing he wasn’t human, I’d probably throw myself at his feet. Oh yeah, I already did.

Pembe snapped her fingers at me then pointed at a hallway entrance. “Follow,” she ordered in a thick Hungarian accent.

I walked through the reception area and glanced back at Rurik. “Quick,” She snapped and made me jump.

His amused smile curled even more.

Pembe led me down a hall and handed me a canvas slip she pulled out of a basket. The changing area consisted of curtained off cubicles, each with a small cot for resting after the bath and massage.

I changed into the slip. It came down to my knees, one of the advantages of being short. I carried out my folded clothes but she took them from me, scolding as she placed them back in the cubicle. Maybe she thought the louder she spoke the better I’d understand.

She led me into a little slice of heaven.

Inside the main bathing area, green marble columns supported a low dome. It rose above an octagonal pool at the room’s center. Each step through the dimly lit roseate granite hall swallowed me deeper into a steamy fog. Cut into the dome overhead were small hexagons, plugged with blue, yellow, and red stained glass.

These people knew how to live. The grin spreading across my face made my split lip ache. Bet Colby and the boys weren’t having half the fun I planned on having.

The air cleared a little around us so I could see that we weren’t alone. Others soaked in the pool. The daylight-challenged kind of people, I assumed.

Pembe stood next to me. She waved to the pool. “Go?”

I needed to express to this Hungarian speaking, assertive woman there was no freaking way she could get me into a pool full of vampires.

I pointed to the pool. “Too many people.”

She shook her head, not understanding.

I placed two of my fingers by my own teeth like make shift fangs.

Her eyes widened before the room boomed with her laughter. She thumped me on the shoulder in good-natured way but nearly knocked me off my bare feet. Maybe she didn’t know. Then she either thought I tried to joke, or I needed to be placed in a crazy-house.

I glanced around looking for inspiration on how to explain what I wanted. My communication skills lay back in my suitcase, in the form of a Hungarian/English dictionary. We needed a translator. “Rurik?”

Pembe glanced at the pool then at me then raised an eyebrow.

“Rurik?” I repeated.

She shrugged and led me to a secluded sitting area.

I sat there alone in my canvas slip, disappointed in the turn of events. It never occurred to me there would be other vampires here. Rurik offered me protection but how did that work when he wasn’t around? Either way, I didn’t come to socialize. It would be in everyone’s interest if I just hunted down my clothes and escaped.

Pembe peaked around the corner and ordered, “Follow.”

She brought me further into the bathhouse and led me to a room with individual marble tubs. Hot, steaming water brimmed to their edges and a drain in the middle of the floor took care of the excess water if it should spill. Warm mist filled the air. We were alone.

This was what I wanted.

I smiled gratefully. “Koszonom.” Thank you.

She nodded and gestured for me to use the center tub. “Towel.” Then she left.

I hoped she meant to go get me one. All this wonderful, steam filled luxury caused my muscles to cramp in anticipation. I couldn’t wait to dive in. The canvas slip pooled at my feet then I hurried to the hot water. I eased into the tub and experienced what a lobster must feel when sliding into a pot.

Once immersed in the tingling water I stared at the colored glass set into the ceiling until I entered a blissful trance.

The door opened behind me. Someone passed me to place towels on a table by the tubs. I turned to thank Pembe.

Rurik stood there instead with a stack of fluffy white towels folded nicely in his arms, wearing nothing but a smile. Strong, muscular arms set the towels down. A lean, long waist met the rise of his firm ass.

I shut my mouth before I caught flies and checked for drool.

He glanced a shy look over his shoulder but the shy was pretend. “May I join you?”

Rurik’s voice dripped with enticement. Delight twinkled in his eyes as I continued to watch, forgetting to answer. He gave a purely masculine laugh that conveyed his pleasure more than words ever could.

He strode to the tub next to mine and stepped in. Water sloshed over the edges as he made himself comfortable. He rested his head back against the edge and he gazed across at me. The heat of his stare reminded me of my own nudity. There was only a sheet of water covering me and I ducked down further, thankful it was deep.

“Ask me a question, Rabbit.” His voice caressed me like the steam, warm and moist.

“Why?”

“I make you uncomfortable. Ask me a question, it’ll make conversation easier.”

I didn’t need to think too hard on what I wanted to ask—it tugged at my mind all day. “Why did you drug me?” It’s one of the things that kept me from believing his innocence—that horrid act and giving me to Dragos.

He made a rude noise. “You’re so subtle.” His grin softened his sarcasm. “I am trying to lighten the mood, and instead you make me uncomfortable, too.” Rurik’s quiet chuckle echoed off the tiled walls. His broad shoulders hunched slightly and his chin dipped to his chest as he avoided my direct look. “It is regrettable but I had no choice in the matter. Dragos is traditional in his rule. His people insisted on a gift and I am not powerful enough to deny him anything. When he commented about your presence at the hot springs I knew you’d be perfect. I noticed you myself a few nights ago at the concert.” Finally he met my gaze. “I wouldn’t have let him kill you.”