Toxic

Chapter 4

LUCIAN AND DR. Shephard followed me quietly up the staircase, toward the bedroom chambers. I knew that the doctor was disappointed about how the meeting had gone down, but I knew that Lucian had to be seething inside. This project meant everything to him and he’d put so much time and effort into getting me the job with the notorious Aiden Rylan. Sure, I’d passed the interview and had given an award-winning performance as an aspiring Research Analyst, but he’d set it all up. To have it fail so easily wasn’t something he was going to accept. From the look he’d given me in the conference room, I knew that he was already blaming me.

“This is your room, Dr. Shephard,” I said, opening up the chamber door. “They’ve already brought in your overnight bag from the limo.”

“Thank you,” he answered, moving around me to go inside. “Oh, there’s a fire. Splendid.”

“I’ll have your soup brought up when it’s ready,” I told him.

“Thank you,” he replied, turning to look at us. “We’ll that didn’t go well, did it?”

“Not to worry,” said Lucian in a low voice. “As far as I’m concerned, our business here is not finished.”

“You have a plan?” he whispered.

“Of course I have a plan,” he replied.

Dr. Shephard nodded. “Good. We also need to find females for the experiments. Have you been working on that, too?”

“Of course. We’ll have some lined up by the time we return to the states,” said Lucian.

“Good. Do you think they bought the part about the money being for them?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t it?” I asked, surprised. From what I understood, the girls undergoing the experiments were paid handsomely.

Lucian turned to me. “Don’t worry, they’re rewarded with the gift of eternal life.”

“But, they receive no money?” I asked.

“We need the funds for other things,” said Lucian. “Like the new facility in London. That’s not yet paid for.”

“Why didn’t you tell them the truth then?” I asked.

“Because if Rylan knew the truth, not only would he say ‘no’ to the project, he’d try and stop it. He can’t ever find out the truth,” he said, staring down at me as if I was dense.

“What is the truth?” I asked, although I already knew the answer – the girls were being charmed into the experiments.

“I’ll leave it up to you to explain,” said Dr. Shephard, closing the door on us. “I need to lie down.”

Lucian’s eyes bore into mine and he smirked. “You’ve already figured it out. Now,” he said, grabbing me by the elbow. “Show me to my room. You and I have some of our own business to discuss.”

“It’s down the hallway,” I said, still troubled. The fact that the girls were basically being hypnotized into becoming vampires didn’t sit well with me. They didn’t have a choice in the matter, which truthfully, I hadn’t either. But, it had saved my life. This was totally different.

“Which one?” asked Lucian.

I pointed to the one farthest down the hallway, next to mine, and he guided me there, his hand holding me firmly as if he was afraid I’d fly away. After we entered the chamber, he locked the door and then turned to me, his face a mask of anger.

“I know you’re angry,” I started, smiling up at him nervously. “I’m sure we can-”

“You’re sure?!” he interrupted. “Just like you were sure that we’d have him eating out of our hands?”

“I never said that,” I protested. “I said that he seemed interested in the idea and that I thought we’d have a good shot at getting him on board.”

“Obviously he’s not,” snapped Lucian, rubbing his jaw. “So, we’re going to have to go with plan ‘B’.”

“What’s that?” I asked, not having heard of any other plans.

“You’re going to have to do whatever it takes to convince him to change his mind.”

“Okay, I’ll do my best. I’m sure if I talk to him about it, when he’s not with his brother or Slade, he might be more open-minded.”

“No, you’re going to do more than that. Tonight, you’re going to seduce Mr. Aiden Rylan into signing on with us.”

I gasped. “What? Seduce him?”

He smiled darkly. “It’s your time to shine, my lovely Vanessa. If you can do this, you can do anything.”

“You know how I feel about one of them touching me,” I hissed, angry that he was asking me to use s*x once again.

“I know you hate the Lycan, as do I, but you need to take another one for the team,” he answered, his eyes begging me to do it. “It will be worth it in the long run. I promise you.”

I closed my eyes and let out a ragged breath. I could never say no to Lucian. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“It will if you use the vampire charm when he lets his guard down during sex.”

“Does that really work?” I asked. Normally Lycan were immune to it.

“Lycan are able to resist our lure because they anticipate it and usually keep their guard up. Aiden’s guard will be down in the throes of passion. Once it is, you will have the power to get him to do whatever you want.”

I frowned. “Are you sure about this?”

“I once overheard two Lycan discussing it, many years ago. They were making jokes, but it was something they weren’t proud of. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Lycan are very much attracted to the scent of female vampires, so getting him to sleep with you shouldn’t be too difficult. Besides the fact that you’re a beautiful woman.”

“I haven’t heard you say that in a while, Lucian. Are you sure that’s how you see me?”

He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me against his hips. “Does this leave any kind of doubt in your mind?”

His hard manhood pressed against my stomach through his trousers, making me ache for him. “I’ve missed you so much,” I whispered, as his mouth drew closer to mine.

“Show me.”

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