Free 2 Sean Hayden by Sean Hayden Page B

Santiago," I said.
    "Ramon, please, Agent Ashlyn. We are all friends here," he replied, bowing his head.
    I smiled and took my seat with Marcel sitting on my left. Santiago sat at the head of the table with Strozzini taking the seat opposite Marcel. I gave a shy smile to the beautiful vampire sitting next to me and blushed. When she entered the room, I thought she'd dressed herself in a silk dress of the darkest green I had ever seen. Her modesty impressed me. Sitting next to her, I saw my mistake. While the gossamer gown looked modest from a distance, from a foot away with the light of the overhead candles radiating on it, I realized it didn't hide anything. It looked like it'd been spun from spider webs and then dyed green. I could see every slope and curve of her breast and every ridge and bump of her nipple. I didn't dare glance down to her slightly parted thighs. I began to doubt if this evening would ever end.
    "May I introduce myself, mistress?" The sultry dancer's timid English accent came from somewhere very close to my ear. I hoped she didn't hear my audible gulp of air.
    "Hi, I'm Ashlyn," I said formally and held out my hand for her to shake. She didn't. She very gently took my hand and turned it knuckles up and brought them to her lips. Her fingertips gently caressed the palm of my hand as she sensuously parted her lips and pulled my knuckle between them with just the slightest amount of suction. I gasped as her tongue darted out and gently lick the skin of my hand. I barely stifled the moan threatening to escape my throat before she pulled my hand from her mouth.
    "I'm Victoria," she said and didn't release my hand. Her skin felt cool in mine and I sighed, trying to relax. I'd always dreamt of holding hands romantically for the first time, I just never would have thought it would be with another woman. I stopped to think if it bothered me and I realized it truly didn't. She might not be a guy, but I knew how looking at her made me feel. I gave her hand a tentative squeeze and she returned it. My smile waned just a tad when I thought how hard it would be not to make her my next meal. I definitely needed to start carrying a little extra lycanthrope blood in the back of my vehicles.
    I glanced to my left and saw Santiago conversing with Strozzini about happenings with The Council. I looked at Marcel and expected him to be engrossed in the conversation as well, but he stared at my hand, in Victoria's, with a curious smile on his face. I gave him a little eyebrow raise and his smile got a little bigger. He probably would have laughed, but Santiago stood and clapped his hands once. The sound echoed in the cavern like a gunshot.
    " Mi familia ," he began. "Tonight we have honored guests. Let us make them feel welcome into our home and shower them with our hospitality."
    The vampires at the table with us gave a round of applause that seemed genuine. I guess they didn't get much company. Even Victoria released my hand to join in the applause. I quickly lifted my hand above the table before anyone besides Marcel noticed. I probably should have left it there. When she finished clapping she brought her hand back down and gingerly placed it on my thigh and gave me a private smile that brought a flush of blood up to my ears.
    The round of applause must have been a cue for somebody to bring in dinner. A line of twenty wide-eyed and excited humans entered the room. This wasn't good. I assumed they were the patrons of the club upstairs brought down to feed the vampires, but a mix of males and females. I'd been one of the few females in the club not dancing, so they must have been brought in from somewhere else. Maybe one of Santiago's other businesses. Either way, the humans knew they'd been brought here to be dinner, and they liked it.
    They spread out and fanned around us, stepping in between the seated vampires to sit on the table. Some disrobed as they sat, not exposing themselves completely, but rather exposing as much flesh