Lured Read Online Free

vampire—she could get herself into some serious mischief for the first time in years.
    But she found neither. Rather, Cass stood alone in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by hundreds of people, all indulging their fantasies and fetishes.
    She was flanked by men in leather, some wearing studded collars. The women wore skintight minidresses or lingerie, a number of them carrying whips, all of them confidently moving about in heels that looked to be an inch taller than Cass’. The music was loud and crazed, a driving beat that reverberated inside her as she scanned the immediate area. Her gaze landed on the costumed figures crowding the dance floor. Couples moved as one in suggestive ways that should be reserved for the privacy of a bedroom. They gave all-new meaning to the term “dirty dancing”.
    How long had it been since she’d danced like that? With a man’s hands on her ass, their bodies melded together, their pelvises grinding against each other. Maybe she’d never danced like that. Not quite so provocatively, at any rate.
    God, she’d become a hellacious bore.
    But she refused to give in to that thought tonight. Instead, she searched the crowd for the vampire, wondering which shadow he’d blended into.
    Neon lights flickered and shiny disco balls cast shimmering, glittery rays over the crowd, but left the perimeter of the party in inky blackness. For a moment, Cass simply soaked in the sexually charged atmosphere, remembering how great it was to hear the resonant sound of a bass pulse deep inside her and watch nearly naked bodies gyrate to a raucous beat.
    The hedonistic hurrah sparked a primal instinct within her. Cass wanted to feel the exhilaration that came with instant physical attraction. The first touch, the first kiss. The electrifying current that arced between two people, each impulsively and inexplicitly drawn to the other. She craved that intense physical pull that resulted in erotically delicious sensations pumping through her body. All of which kept her on the lookout for the man she’d come here to meet, but also the one who’d intrigued her when she’d arrived.
    Finally making her way to the bar, she stood in the long line. When it was her turn, she ordered a martini. Drink in hand, she worked her way through the throng of people, smiling back at the men who smiled at her. She felt an unfamiliar rush of adrenaline as she contemplated the possibilities, yet she still sought something elusive, something just beyond her grasp.
    She sipped her cocktail and declined several offers to dance. Darien had sent her a VIP ticket, so she made her way into that exclusive lounge, suspecting she’d find her Grim Reaper there. She passed through the thick red velvet curtains and was immediately, unexpectedly tackled by a large body. She fell onto a sofa, a mammoth of a man partially covering her. She gripped her martini glass, but the cocktail spilled onto the floor.
    Cass cried out, more so in shock than in pain, although she did feel a pinprick on her right shoulder.
    “Ah, Jesus,” the man on top of her said. “Christ, I’m sorry. You’re not the person I was expecting. I was messing around with a buddy—a little swashbuckling, you know?” He grinned at her and she found herself grinning back. He was blond and not the least bit displeasing to the eye. Dressed as a pirate, he looked formidable, though not quite as dangerously sexy as her vampire. He stared at her a moment, then said, “Damn, you’re pretty.”
    “Um, thanks.” Her smile widened.
    “You’re not here alone, are you?” the pirate asked. Not giving her a chance to answer, he let out a chuckle and said, “No, of course you’re not alone. You’re too damn hot to be here alone.”
    Cass studied him a moment. She tried to think of him as a plausible alternative to the other two men she’d been thinking about from the moment she’d arrived. She had yet to see Darien—perhaps he’d changed his mind and had stood her up? But