“Same to you, Hans. Pleased to meet you, Katherine.”
“Pleased to meet you,” I replied, but didn’t get the chance to say more before Hans gestured to another aristocratic man off to the right.
“This is Joseph.”
Joseph looked younger and had gorgeous shoulder-length red hair. I would have placed him as in his early twenties.
“I wish.” Joseph laughed and gave me a flash of perfect white teeth as he kissed my hand. “I’m four hundred and seventy three years old.”
“You don’t quite act like it, though.” Hans smirked and Joseph raised his hands.
“I like to play young.”
With that I heard some raucous laughter from another cluster of chairs in the room.
“Just not as young as those rascals,” Joseph added with a chuckle.
I looked across at the group responsible for the laughter, and it looked as though the guys there were even younger than him. They weren’t in tuxedos, just tight black jeans and shirts, several of them with leather jackets over the top.
“We call them the blood boys,” Hans told me. “They’re a little more rowdy than the most of us. Characters, all of them.”
I felt quite drawn to their energy. I could smell the leather of their jackets from here. One of them flashed me a grin, and nudged one of his friends to look in my direction. Both of them were blond.
“The twins,” Hans said. “And those two guys behind them are kids they knew from school. They were in a rock band when they were younger. Groupies were easy prey.”
The four of them were like magnets to me. I had to force my gaze away from them and give my attention back to the vampires closer.
“Have you had any experience of blood play?” Edwin asked me, and I knew my cheeks were burning.
“Only with Hans.”
“She’s a very new player,” Hans told him, and a look passed between them.
Lady Jane seemed to catch sight of it.
“I’m guessing she’s going to be a spectator, then?”
Hans tipped his head. His smile was divine.
“We’ll see. Certainly initially.”
“That’s a shame,” she said, and switched her gaze to me. Her eyes were just as bright as Hans’ were. “I’d love to sink my teeth right into you, you pretty little thing.”
She put a hand on Hans’ arm.
“Have you introduced her to the dirty bite, yet?”
“Not quite,” he said, and she tutted.
“Shame on you. If you don’t do it tonight, please give me the honour.”
“Or me.” Edwin grinned. “Get in there, Hans, before the blood boys beat you to it. You know they’ll be slinking in there before any of us.”
With so many vampire eyes fixed on me, I felt like a true victim, but it was a good thing. I could have torn my dress from my body and offered them my flesh right there and then. That’s what I wanted. What Ineeded.
I needed bites and heady pain. And the stretch of Hans’ veiny cock…
“Steady,” Hans whispered. “You’re getting pain drunk before we’ve even started. At least let us get you to a room upstairs before we begin the games.”