Ensnared: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance by Michelle Fox, Rebecca Rivard

taste.”
    She waved an airy hand. “Be my guest.”
    That was all the invitation I needed.
    * * *
    The call from Paris came the following afternoon. I
had just woken up when my phone buzzed.
    I glanced at the screen. It was from one of my top people in
France—my third in command.
    “ Oui ?”
    He informed me that all hell had broken out in Paris, with
vampires attacking other vampires.
    Worse, my second, a vampire named Germain, was part of it.
    I’d have to go home before I lost half my clan.
    I bit out a curse that made the man on the other end stutter
an apology. “I—I’m sorry, monsieur le comte , but there was nothing I
could do. Germain—he’s too strong—”
    “Yes, yes,” I said impatiently. “You did the right thing in
calling me. I’ll be there by tomorrow morning.”
    My next call was to Malik. “Get in touch with Jean-Michel.”
He was the pilot of my private jet. “Tell him we’ll be leaving for Paris in
two—no, three hours.”
    He nodded, and I shut the door and went to tell Star.
    I found her in the dining room staring out at the harbor. It
was late afternoon, and golden sunlight danced over the dark green water. She had
a palm pressed to the window as if trying to absorb the life and light in the
scene below. I was reminded of that shooting star tattoo on her hip.
    I scowled. Did she have to act like she was in a goddamn prison?
I’d done everything I could to make her happy.
    But this wasn’t her world. She was young, full of energy. A
sunflower kind of woman…
    God, I was a bastard for forcing this on her. Lord help me
if she ever found out the truth.
    Guilt made my tone abrupt. “I have to leave for Paris in a
few hours.”
    “Paris, France?” She turned around. When I nodded, she
grinned. “Awesome. I’ve always wanted to go—”
    “You’re not coming.”
    Her face fell. “You’re leaving me here?”
    I wasn’t used to explaining myself to anyone, but I found
myself saying, “It’s for two or three days only. My clan—there is a…situation
in Paris. Business—you’d only be bored.”
    “In Paris? Are you kidding? How could I be bored?”
    I blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, but I must say no.”
    “Okay.” She shrugged, and I sensed her hurt, but I wasn’t
going to budge on this. It was for her own safety. The last thing I wanted to
do was take a soft, innocent human like her into a nest of warring vampires.
    “You can stay at the hotel. Order anything you like—do some
shopping, perhaps. How does that sound?”
    She moved a shoulder. Then she brightened. “I know, I’ll go
back to the apartment. I have some things I need to do any—”
    My stomach iced. “Absolutely not.” There was no way in hell
I was letting her out of my protection. She was a marked woman, whether she
knew it or not.
    She folded her arms over her chest. “Why not?”
    “Your apartment—it’s not safe.”
    “Hey, I know it’s not in a pricey neighborhood like this,
but it’s not like I’m not used to it.”
    I growled. “Damn it woman. This is not up for argument. You
will stay here in the hotel.”
    She glared at me. “And if I leave?”
    I stepped closer. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”
    Our gazes locked but I wasn’t going to back down. Not on
this.
    “You will stay in the hotel,” I said, my voice dark
with compulsion, “until I return.” She swallowed and I relented enough to say,
“Damn it, Star. This is for your own safety. Allow me to take care of you.
Please.”
    Her chest heaved. “Why would you want to? I’m just a paid
body for you to fuck—and feed from.”
    “Perhaps,” I growled back. “But for this month, you’re my body. My woman. And you will let me protect you.”
    I increased the force of the compulsion.
    “Stop it.” She smacked my chest. “You bastard, don’t you
dare try to force me.”
    “Then don’t be foolish. I am a count, ruler of a vast clan
of vampires. My enemies would love to feed on my woman, but they can’t touch
you