CHAPTER 3

Andrei Romanov may be the most beautiful man to walk the planet but Loretta Simpson wasn't the most stupid woman to, she knew exactly what he was. Her eyes stayed locked on his for a fraction of a second longer and then she clinked the glasses in her hand and moved into the room.

"Hey asshole," she drawled smoothly, her lips twitching in a little smile as his widened even as one of his eyebrows quirked up at her greeting.

"Hey Rose," he answered, finding her irresponsive strangely refreshing. He wasn't used to blatant disrespect. In truth, he'd be tempted to kill anyone foolish enough to address him as she had just done, but the little she wolf somehow managed to get away with it without sparking his ire. "You look much improved on our last meeting."

She set the glasses and bottle of wine down on the desk in front of him, coolly opening the bottle and pouring out two healthy glasses before she responded. "Vamp blood sure tastes like shit but it does wonders for a girl's complexion," she retorted with a little laugh, taking her glass of wine and sitting calmly down in the leather chair before him. She tipped her glass in his direction before taking a sip from it.

Andrei threw his head back and laughed loudly at her sass. Yes, she really was quite refreshing, as long as she didn't let it go to her head too much.

Loretta watched him with bated breath. She had thought long and hard on how to approach him on the way over. She had sensed that he responded to strong personalities on their first meeting. She tried to measure her inner strength whilst trying to appeal to his baser side with the skimpy dress. That she had also managed to appeal to his sense of humour was a bonus. She would live a little longer, maybe long enough to find out what she needed to know and make it back to the pack.

His laughter trailed off as he picked up his glass of wine and tipped it in her direction. "I'd say you had balls, Loretta, but that wouldn't be anatomically correct," he smiled softly. He took a healthy slug of his drink, enjoying the deep, full bloodied wine as it slid down his throat. His mouth watered slightly as his eyes dropped to the pulsing beat at the side of her neck. Her blood would taste so much better than the wine he was drinking.

He stiffened imperceptively at the errant thought. He had tasted her blood before when he had healed her back, his tongue lapping up her bright red succulent essence as he'd waited for her to heal. He knew what she tasted like, had remembered the sweetness of her taste many a night since then, almost craved it. But he could never taste her again and he knew it. If he ever bit into her tender skin he would kill her instantly. He couldn't stop his venom from releasing the moment he bit, it was a physical impossibility and vampire venom was instantly lethal to a Were.

"As much as I find your wit mildly amusing, I assume you are not here for a social call?" he finally said, dragging his eyes away from her neck and meeting her gaze head on. She looked wary, most probably having worked out just where his thoughts had been going just then. He liked seeing her knocked off balance. It appealed to the predator in him and let him see that she wasn't nearly as confident as her arrogant entrance implied.

"My Alpha needs to know what's happening with The Council," she said quietly, a thumb lazily stroking over the bowl of her wine glass as she kept her gaze locked with his. She watched him frown, a flash of irritation appear in his eyes along with something else. Wariness? Did he have something to hide? Something pertinent to the pack's survival? She instantly became more alert, searching his beautiful face for some answers but finding none as he closed down his expression expertly, a blank mask settling over his features.

"And you came to me why?" Andrei's voice was cold and hard, his eyes narrowing intently. Had Caleb told the Alpha? If the other vampire had he was going to have to do something, find a way to counter his interference. He couldn't allow the Ancient to run around telling all his secrets, especially to non-Vampires. He didn't think Caleb would have said anything. He had said he didn't want to be involved in Council politics. Maybe he was reading more into the she wolf's words than were really there?

Loretta wasn't unaware of the sudden tension in the room or the way Andrei's big body was suddenly coiled tightly as if ready to spring. She wondered what she had said that had suddenly sent him into such a feral state. She couldn't counter the slight shiver of trepidation which coursed through her body. She had to be very careful with what she said next or they might be her last words.

"You're the only one available to ask," she said carefully. "Caleb and Annie are in Europe. No one knows where Demetri whisked Mara off to but they are definitely out of the country. We know your brother is too and has been for months now. So that just leaves you, Andrei." She let out a slow breath when she saw him relax, his hard expression melting slightly and a hint of amusement coming back into his eyes.

Andrei willed his anger to subside, scenting her fear and not liking the acrid scent it gave off. It interfered with her wonderful spicy scent of hot cinnamon which he particularly enjoyed. Her explanation seemed plausible enough. If the other vampires weren't around and the pack really were concerned about what was happening in the Council, they would send a representative to him if he were the only 'friendly' vampire available.

"Why you?" he asked curiously taking another drink of wine as he relaxed more fully. He watched a slight flush of colour tinge her cheeks as she twisted slightly in her chair.

"I volunteered," she answered after a short pause, taking a little Dutch courage from her glass before speaking. "It seemed imprudent for the Alpha to come himself given the uncertainty of our welcome, plus his mate has recently given birth and he doesn't like to be away from her. A Beta seemed the logical choice to send."

He watched her silently for another long moment. "Why you?" he growled softly, repeating his question and smiling slightly when she flushed with colour again. She really did look cute when she was all flustered and knocked off balance. He was enjoying her discomfort immensely.

Loretta sighed and met his gaze, knowing he wasn't going to give her any information until she answered what he wanted to know. "I argued that there was less of a possibility of you killing me than any of the others," she admitted truthfully. "You had your opportunity to do so and didn't take it. I figured that gave me a fighting chance of walking out of here alive."

Her honesty surprised him. He wouldn't have harmed any other member of the pack if they'd come but she wasn't to know that. He had no need to harm them, not unless they attempted to hurt him in some way. While he had no great love for the dogs, they were under Ancient protection; at least until the Council came to a decision on what, if any, retribution was to be inflicted because of the war.

Her bravery amused him and he felt a little flicker of pride in her which surprised him. She constantly surprised him, engaging him on so many different levels. The little she wolf intrigued him greatly as did his own reaction to her. He was finding this meeting with her was more than he had imagined their next meeting would be.