The Girl & the Vampire (The Embassy #1) Read Online Free Page B

you did when Emily left, I think I’m on to something here.”
    This time I didn’t mind admitting that he was right.
    “Why don’t we take this somewhere more private?” he suggested when I didn’t come up with another inane question. “Unless, of course, you have a thing for fucking in conference rooms. I hear sex standing up against a window is a turn-on for some people.”
    “I’m afraid of heights, so I’d rather not,” I admitted, unable to hide neither my smile or blush. “I think that whole getting bitten during sex is thrill enough for me.”
    “There’s also having sex with a virtual stranger,” he pointed out. “Hot one-night stand without consequences—who’d balk at the idea of that?”
    “People with commitment requirements?” I proposed, but didn’t protest when he offered me his hand again and pulled me to my feet.
    “Right, that might get a little weird for them. Not an issue here, right?”
    I shook my head, not sure how to reply, seeing as my mind was so very aware of his skin still touching mine, the soft scent of cologne teasing my nose.
    We left the room and retraced the path the receptionist had led me along earlier to the elevator banks. While I waited, he called the elevator, then punched the button for the top floor. There was a certain concerted ease to his motions that made me want to ask just how many times he’d been here before, but I’d sworn to myself that this was one question I wouldn’t pose. Some answers I neither needed nor wanted to have.
    As the elevator cabin ascended, I studied our reflections on the burnished doors in front of me—and yes, he had one, too. We looked so normal, just two people riding up together. I was maybe a tad overdressed, but the tall, dark, and handsome thing he had going on negated some of the casualness of his outfit. I certainly couldn’t wait to see what he was like underneath, and the very idea of touching him sent shivers down my spine.
    With a light “ding” the elevator doors slid open at the top floor, spilling us out into a wide, plush carpeted hallway. There were nine doors leading into rooms, four left, four right, and one straight ahead. He led me toward the third on the left and opened it with a key card that he withdrew from his jeans pocket after giving me a lopsided grin.
    “It’s all very regulated,” he whispered, close enough to make the hair at the nape of my neck stand up straight. “They make it seem like a hotel, but they have more gimmicks installed than most maximum security prisons.”
    That made me frown, and I instinctively looked around for cameras. I couldn’t make out any, but that didn’t mean anything.
    “Inside the rooms, too?”
    He gave a noncommittal shrug as he slung his arm across my lower back and gave me a gentle push through the door. The position put his mouth right next to my ear, turning his next words intimate as hell.
    “Does the idea that anyone but me will see you thrill or intimidate you?” He paused just long enough to let that sink in, then went on, his voice a little less sultry. “Besides, they can’t protect you if they can’t see what’s going on, right?”
    I wanted to protest that I hadn’t signed up for this, but then I remembered that one weirdly phrased clause in the contract that made me realize that yes, in fact, I had. For a moment, insecurity spread throughout me, but then leveled out when reason kicked in. Safety first; I would worry about the rest if it ever became an issue. Considering how much the Embassy valued discretion, I doubted that day would come.
    Once he’d led me into the main room of the suite, Lewis stepped away from me so I could look around on my own. The decor matched the color theme from downstairs, although with the carpet, sofa, and comforter all cream-colored, it looked a lot more friendly and inviting. The amenities seemed to include everything I guessed a luxury hotel would have—not that I knew firsthand—and only the thick