Page 39 of Crimson Shifter
But who was I to really know?
We hadn't known each other that long, and she was a brilliant, cunning vampire. Her reaction to my lack of trust yesterday put something in perspective though. Shifted something in me. She’d been so desperate for somebody,anybody, to trust her, that she’d asked if she needed to have the king rifle through her mind, if she needed to open herself up to him completely, to give him access to every horrible memory she’d shared with me in confidence in order to earn my trust.
It was a sad statement, a terrible offer that she should never have had to make.
And I hated myself for not being able to open myself up that last bit with her.
Especially when she'd been so understanding after I explained why I had trust issues, not just from a life of living with aristocratic families like her origins, but because of Samuel.
Because of what Samuel continued to do and how if any one of us would’ve taken a better look at him, if we hadn'ttrustedhim so blindly, we could’ve saved thousands of innocent lives.
“Yes of course that's aC”, Cassandra’s mother spoke harshly into her phone, the sound of her voice stopping me before I rounded a corner where she’d left the study door open.
She sat behind the grand desk in the corner, looking like she was ready to chop somebody's head off.
“It's not my fault that you’re incompetent and mistook my writing. I don't care what happened as a result of your mistake. It was aC. As in Candor.”
My ears pricked at the surname I vaguely recognized. Hadn't there been a Candor on the list of foster home kids that Grace had saved not long ago?
“I don't appreciate your tone,” she said with deadly quiet. “Would you like me to take this up with Edward? I'm sure he would love to hear every detail about how you're treating his mother over something that could have easily been remedied with a phone call before you took action.”
She sat up a little straighter in her chair, arrogance and satisfaction rippling over her features.
“I thought not,” she continued. “But just so you know, he will be visiting soon and I’ll be informing him about this situation. Perhaps you can try to get back on my good side before he arrives. See that you do,” she said after a small pause before punching something on the screen of her phone and dropping it on the desk with a little huff.
I waited a few moments before silently turning around and heading back to Cassandra’s chambers, ensuring the door was locked before I shifted back into my vampire form. The last thing I wanted to do was interrupt some much-needed rejuvenation time, but I also knew that she’d be livid with me if I withheld mission-critical information from her longer than necessary.
I knocked on the closed bathroom door.
She laughed softly. “It’s unlocked, Talon. Honestly, since when are you worried about modesty? You’ve seen me naked more times than I can count.”
I opened the door and shut it behind me, every instinct in my body magnifying in a desperate way when I spotted her in her giant claw-foot tub.
She was exquisite, every inch of her body soaking wet, just peeks of her creamy skin evident beneath the array of bubbles that floated atop the water. The room was filled with a perfumed steam that was downright intoxicating, and my fangs punched out at the thought of drinking her in that bathtub.
“Are you just going to stand there or did you have a mind to join me?” she asked after I remained still and silent for too long.
“I heard information,” I ground out the words.
“And? Why do you look like you're struggling right now?”
“I'm battling two courses of action,” I practically growled the words, every muscle in my body tensing.
“And they are?” she asked.
“One, I tell you about this information and we spend the next few hours strategizing and coming up with different plans. Two, I get into that tub with you and worship you for a few hours before we get back to business.”
A bolt of desire laced the smell of her blood, making her scent heady as it reached my nostrils. I didn't move even though every fiber of my being begged me to.
“Is it urgent? The information?”
I could only shake my head.
Cassandra smirked, her lips shaping into a grin that was filled with power and desire and pure fun.
“I'm guessing you've never struggled with this before,” she said, enjoying her position of power. She shifted in the water slightly, just enough that a few of the bubbles moved to show me what was beneath.
What I’d seen many times now but couldn’t stopwantingto see more of. She was beautiful every single time and I wanted her more and more every time too.