CHAPTER THREE

A ri stared at the gorgeous young woman.

She was fertile as hell—the predator in him could sense it, which was ironic given he likely wasn’t—and there was a fire in her eyes which was doing a pretty good job of masking her fear.

Unless you were an ancient predator.

Which he was.

An ancient predator.

One of the oldest on the planet—if not the eldest.

Ari had left the royal family after losing his identity as a Moretti. No, fuck it, he had been one of the original Moretti’s. Eventually he’d created The Institute where he trained the best warriors on the planet.

Vampire warriors.

As vampires, they were already more powerful than humans, but the difference was, his males had him.

Ari had been born in 500AD and trained in the Roman army before becoming a vampire. He had fifteen hundred years of research in perfecting the art of war and every weapon known to man or vampire. He’d studied the vampire body and learned how to optimize its strength and performance.

It had been important he find a purpose when it became clear his role in the Moretti family was not what it should be. Looking back, Ari knew he should have disagreed with Geo’s request he remain invisible as a Moretti to strengthen his role as king.

Hindsight was a wonderful thing. He’d believed he was supporting his brother and doing the right thing to create their race and strengthen their future.

The only thing he’d done was diminish his own.

Year after year, century after century, he’d lost himself.

For years, after he’d left, he had rebuilt himself and created an incredible world while keeping an eye on his relatives from a distance.

Now Ari was ready to make decisions.

That was why he’d revealed himself to his nephews, King Vincent, and Prince Brayden, in Italy last month.

The question on their mind, of course, now they knew he still existed, was the same their father and grandfather had had all those many years before. Would he, if he mated, create his own line of vampires?

The million-dollar question.

Actually it wasn’t.

The question was if he would mate, and he’d been asking that one for over fifteen hundred years. Talk about having faith. Sure, he hadn’t created any vision boards, lit candles on a full moon, or prayed to God, but now, Ari was done.

He’d lost hope.

Maybe it was a glitch in the matrix? Who the fuck knew?

But he was done. At some point, you had to let go of the insanity and accept there was no one for you.

No one could say he hadn’t given it time.

He was tired.

Not physically—his energy never faded. He was tired of being alone, tired of hiding who he was, tired of putting others first.

It didn’t matter now because Ari had decided he was ready to hang up his hat.

The timing depended on how long it took them to destroy the humans and their scientific labs—the same ones responsible for the experiments on his race. Xander Tomassi, the man at the top of this sordid food chain, had slipped through their fingers once again, so Ari and his team at The Institute were collaborating with the Moretti royal army to get the job done.

Ari was committed to leaving his family, which included the entire race because it was his Moretti blood that ran through every vampire’s veins, in a solid good place before he left.

After that, he would choose a time and place, then step out into the sun. The sun he hadn’t felt on his skin for over fifteen hundred long years.

Until then, Ari was going to enjoy the fruits of this world, including the gorgeous woman with all her wild hair if she would allow it. He had rather broad tastes when it came to sexual pleasures. Men, women, groups, hard, edgy, and occasionally he enjoyed something soft and innocent looking.

Like any predator.

And he was a predator—the most powerful on the planet. Not that he’d gone head-to-head with a lion or rhino, and it wasn’t on his bucket list either, but for argument’s sake, vampires were faster and more powerful than anything else on earth.

And this little sweet thing was about to be his latest snack.

“Sage,” she replied, reaching across the table to shake his hand. Ari blinked at the shiver up his arm as they connected. Interesting. “Sage Roberts.”

Ari felt the faint tremor through her palm.

“Do I make you nervous?” he asked, releasing her hand.

She wiped it on her dress and his eyes followed her every movement, including the moment she swallowed.

“Oh, um, yes, probably. I’m not good at this sort of thing,” she replied.

He tilted his head, enjoying her discomfort. “This sort of thing?”

Her cheeks flushed pink, and his dick hardened.

“Oh God, see, I totally have no clue. Sorry, I read this all wrong.”

No, sweetheart, you didn’t. I just want you all soft and pliable.

He smiled darkly, his fingers eager to touch her again. Her dress revealed just a peek of blushing pink cleavage and her lips were plump and red. She was a small-framed human with slim arms but miles of wild auburn hair.

She chewed her lip and began to look down.

“You didn’t read anything wrong, Sage,” he said, placing his forearms on the table. “I’m not here to ask you to marry me. Today or any other day.” Her lips parted at his brashness, but he continued. “But I would like to take you home.”

Her eyes widened and eyebrows shot up. “Are you joking?”

“No.” Ari smiled.

“You’re very direct,” she said. The bar had gotten busier, and she was clearly concerned about someone hearing their conversation if her darting eyes were anything to go by.

Ari couldn’t give a fuck who overheard them. Sage was a gorgeous woman and he’d be a fool to walk out of here without her.

He wouldn’t walk out of here without her.

“Yes. I’ve found in life, it’s better to just ask for what you want.” Ari smirked. “And Sage, I’d quite like you.”

I will have you.

In his experience, which was a lot, he knew this was where a woman would either bolt or stay. Now unless she was a sex worker, a woman wouldn’t just hand herself to a man, she would make him work for her. Usually, that started with a question. To show they weren’t completely rolling over and spreading their legs.

What would Sage do?

When she began to chew her bottom lip, Ari’s cock hardened. Fuck, he hoped she had a question or two for him. Those lips of hers would be perfect for so many damn things.

Her eyes roamed his face hungrily and his cock twitched again. He’d been drawn to her beauty but also the hunger in her eyes from across the room. Not just for him, but also for Oliver.

That had intrigued him.

“Why?” she asked, and he grinned at the question falling from her lips.

“Why not? You’re a beautiful woman. I felt you watching me, and I think we want the same thing.” Ari sipped his whisky. “Would I be right in assuming you want to touch me?”

Blush.

“It’s okay to say yes. I want to touch you too. Somewhere private,” he said.

Swallow.

Sage shook her head, and he could see she wasn’t comfortable with this. Which is exactly why he was doing it. Comfort zones never produced excitement and he knew Sage was looking for some, even if she’d never admit it to herself.

“Does this usually work for you? Picking up women like this?”

Ari leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Yes.”

She frowned, and he nearly laughed.

When she began to pack up, he did something he wouldn’t normally do in a human environment; he used vamp speed to grab her wrist.

“Stay,” he ordered and Sage’s gaze flew to his. “Let me make you feel beautiful. Let me pleasure you.” Ari’s voice was a hungry whisper. “One night, and I promise you will never forget it.”

If she resisted, he’d let her go.

There were a dozen other beautiful women in the bar who would be more willing, but for some reason Ari wanted this one.

More swallowing and lip biting.

No, he wasn’t going to let Sage go. She needed dominance from him, and God knew he was the most qualified male on the planet to give it to her.

He stood.

“Come,” Ari said, towering over her. “I will take you home and you can decide from there what you’d like to do.”

Without asking permission, he pulled her to her feet and began to pack her things. Like a deer in the headlights, she did as she was told, accepted her bag and placed it on her shoulder.

“Fine, but just so you know, I don’t usually do this.” Sage picked up her coat. Placing one hand in the small of her back, he guided her across the room with a small grin. But first, they had one stop.

If Sage wanted to quench the thirst he saw in her eyes, Ari was happy to provide that for her. Which meant he needed a few things. Well, one more thing.

“I need to clear my tab. I’ll be one minute.” Ari led her over to his team. He knew they were an intimidating group of males, so partially shielded her view with his powerful body.

“Well, hello there.” Oliver grinned as they approached.

“Oliver, Sage. Sage, this is Oliver.” Ari gave the male a glance he knew would be easily translated. Sure, he could have used telepathy, but it was unnecessary. Oliver knew the drill. He had two minutes to gain her trust, or he was out.

Ari wasn’t entirely confident Sage would be open to two men, even though he’d seen her watching them, but he was giving her the option. It was likely she was the type of woman to fantasize in the bedroom, but when offered all those naughty things in real life, she wouldn’t have the courage to follow through.

Which was fine. Humans lived such brief lives and if they wanted to spend it having average sex, then it had nothing to do with him.

At some point—a really long time ago—sex had gotten boring for him. Finding those to play and experiment with had been challenging. Over the centuries—and to begin with in Europe—humans and vampires had become more open-minded, even if it was behind closed doors offering him more options. Things had yo-yoed from era to era, but now he found enough bodies to keep him fulfilled when he wanted it.

“Nice to meet you.” Sage blushed, and Oliver’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“Now, how did Ari find such a pretty wee thing in a bar like this?” Oliver drawled.

Ari shook his head as Oliver emphasized his southern accent. Unlike many of his males, Oli had been born and raised in the United States. At only two hundred years old, he was one of the younger vampires at The Institute. He’d been in Seattle for a long time but every now and then, out came the slow prolongation of his syllables sending the ladies weak in the knees.

Ari could nearly hear Sage’s blush.

“You two are dangerous with all your charm and pick up lines,” Sage said, crossing her arms.

“You have no idea, darlin’,” Oliver replied, winking.

Ari suppressed a grin as he turned to Sage. “Do you live nearby?”

Sage nodded. “Just down the road. I walked down.”

“Were you working tonight?” Ari asked, referring to her laptop. “Isn’t it distracting with all the noise?”

“No. Well, yes.” She laughed, then screwed up her face. “My roommate now has a girlfriend, and it’s like living inside a Harlequin novel.”

Ari stared at her blankly, then turned to Oliver. “Do we know what Harlequin is?”

“They’re sexy novels,” Sage replied quickly, embarrassed.

Ari studied her more closely. She was clearly a well-educated woman by the way she was dressed and spoke but was lacking in confidence. Not much, but he suspected someone had hurt her and she’d never really recovered. She was young and smart—Ari was confident she would eventually pick herself up and move on. Still, he wondered what her story was—everyone had one.

He also wondered why on earth he was thinking about her background. Usually he focused on the outside package, not the inside.

It wasn’t like she was his mate.

None of them ever were.

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, I always say.” Oliver winked.

“God no. He’s not my type at all,” Sage replied and then froze. Ari saw the moment she realized what she’d confessed to, inadvertently. Sage had considered a threesome, or at least it was something she desired.

Oliver stood away from the bar and plunged his hands into his pockets, glancing at him and grinning.

“But does it interest you?” Oliver asked. “If the opportunity arose?”

After fish-mouthing for thirty seconds, Sage shook her head. “No. I mean, who hasn’t thought about it, right?”

“Right.” They both answered as soberly as they could, and Ari nearly burst out laughing.

Oliver drank a long draw of his beer. “Are you leaving?”

She nodded, looking uncomfortable. “Ari was going to walk me home, but I think I should just go.”

Sage hiked her bag on her shoulder.

“I’ll walk you,” Ari said, giving her a firm glance. She nodded.

“Do you mind if I walk with you both? I’m ready to head out,” Oliver said, then added, “We could share an Uber home from Sage’s.”

“Sure.” Ari knew very well they would teleport back to the mansion.

Sage watched them warily, then a buzzing in her bag distracted her. She stared at the screen and laughed.

“Yes!” Sage squealed. “I have the house to myself tonight. They’ve gone to stay at the girlfriends.”

Oliver tossed back his beer and banged it on the bar. “That is good news. Let’s get you home.”

Ari smirked.