“Hello, are you alright?” His thick voice waved through Alana with a sweet, calming sensation. She tried to open her mouth to form a reply, but no sound came out.

“Are you alright?” Bending down to pick up her materials, he asked again. His beautiful eyes danced around her figure.

“Uh... Yeah! Yeah, I’m alright. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think that anyone was inside...” Alana replied, giggling nervously.

He then grinned. Alana almost let out a gasp again at how his face transformed when he smiled. He was too beautiful. His skin had this unnaturally white shine to it, like he bleached it or something, but she knew it was probably natural. His lips were so dark, a sinful dark red like he’d been drinking a whole pool of blood. He was tall, so tall that she had to crank up her head just to get a good look at his perfectly chiseled face.

“Alright. Here,” he handed her the papers and the pen, then shifted slightly to give space.

“Take care, pretty Alana,” he said briefly, smiling once more at her ridiculously blushing face before walking off. Alana walked into the restroom and stared at her face in the mirror.

She looked unbelievably flushed and shaken. Get it together, Al! He might be inhumanly handsome, but he’s still just a man!

But something inside Alana’s heart knew he wasn’t just a man. He looked special somehow. Alana couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something about him; she could practically feel the aura, the power shimmering around him. She knew it had rubbed off on her, too, because she’d been captivated by him. She’d been speechless. She didn’t know how that was possible or why it was like that, but she knew she wasn’t imagining things.

“I didn’t even get to know his name,” she muttered disappointedly to herself. Maybe it was for the best. Men that looked like that would steer trouble everywhere they went, even if it wasn’t his intention. He was a little too perfect. Alana sighed exasperatingly.

Just then, from the corner of her eyes, something caught her attention, and she turned. She moved a bit closer and bent down to study it.

On the sink, there were a few drops of what looked like blood. She turned back to where the man had been standing a moment ago.

Was he injured? He hadn’t had a single stain on his clothes. Or maybe he had, but Alana had just been too distracted by his beautiful face to notice it.

She instinctively brought her hand down and touched the bloodstain on the sink. It was thicker. Thicker than blood should’ve been. She gently brought the finger to her nose. She sniffed a little.

The blood smelled... Pleasant. It didn’t smell like normal blood. There was that coppery scent, but something else too. She didn’t know what it was, but she was suspicious.

The man had definitely been injured. That was why she had heard the strange sounds in the first place.

“Dyson! What the hell are you doing here?!”

Alana turned, alarmed. It was Mrs. Suriya, and she didn’t look too happy. Scratch that. She looked livid.

She brought out the finger that she’d used to touch the blood.

“Um... Sorry, ma’am. I injured myself, and I just wanted to clean it before entering the conference room,” she explained.

Mrs. Suriya glared at her, but she wasn’t as angry as before. That was good.

“Well... Clean the wound and hurry up over here! I told you not to fuck me up! The Chairman is already there, but I am not. I need to impress him for the few minutes he’ll be there. If he’s not impressed, I promise you, you won’t have a job!” She shouted before walking out of the restroom.

“Oh geez,” Alana exhaled before washing her hands and running out of the restroom.

***

Lucious didn’t want to be here. He sat at the front of the conference table and studied everyone that entered with his senses.

He’d wanted to send Damon, his right-hand man, to oversee the meetings, but Damon had met with an unfortunate accident. Not the human kind of accident, though, because he was immune to that.

When Damon collapsed this morning, his men found out that Damon had been poisoned. He’d been poisoned by the enemy in a fight he had tried to settle. He’d been given woodworm, a very deadly substance used to subdue supernatural beings.

A woodworm could kill a vampire when taken regularly for weeks. But for a demon or monster, it was a straight, quick death once taken into their system.

The amount of woodworm in Damon’s body had been much, which had made him faint. But he was fine now, still receiving treatment.

So he was here, in place of his vice.

“Mr. Luke Heron! Welcome! I’m so sorry I wasn’t here earlier. I had to put some things in order. I’m Suriya Raj, the junior marketing manager. I’m pleased to finally meet you.”

Lucious smiled politely and nodded his head in greeting. “Please, it is only my company name that bears Luke. You may call me Lucious in person, Mrs...?”

“Suriya! Sir!” She replied all too excitedly. “Alright then, Lucious, it’s so good to see you after such a long time,” Suriya said with a wide smile on her face.

Then something happened. That smell. Lucious’s throat closed up as the scent assailed his senses. It was the girl he’d met in the restroom. He turned to the entrance and saw her.

An involuntary hiss escaped his lips. In all his years as a vampire, he’d never desired to kill someone on the spot as he wished to kill her. Lucious was known in the vampire world for his strength and self-control. He was always careful. But this, this was something else. It was beyond him.

He stared at her. She was also staring at him. Tension in their eyes as they seized each other up. Lucious knew that look all too well. It was the look every woman, even man, young and old, big and small, gave him. As a supernatural being, there was an excessive display of beauty and power surrounding him that drew in humans. They were always transfixed by him. And he had the power to sense that. He couldn’t read minds, but he had the ability to read people’s expressions. From the sound of their hearts to their nerves. He knew when someone was sad, happy, lying, or dying.

Lucious Heron was a vampire. A very old and rich vampire. And this girl, who he hadn’t met before, was his prey. He would find her and take her blood. Every drop of it.

“Who is she?” Lucious asked, pointing a finger at Alana.

“Oh, well... She’s... She’s just my assistant, nothing relevant.”

Lucious smiled slightly as he registered the woman’s expression. She didn’t like her assistant. Not one bit. She was probably jealous of her. Hmm. Women.

“So...” Suriya continued, moving closer to where he was seated. Out of the corner of his eyes, Lucious could see Alana walking over. He tensed as the scent of her blood filled his senses again. Dammit.

“I was thinking... Once we’ve wrapped up this boring meeting, we could grab something to eat?” Suriya leaned in, making sure to put her cleavage in front of his face.

“I’m afraid I can’t, Mrs. Suriya. I am very busy. Thanks for offering, though,” Lucious replied politely.

Her smile fell, and she looked disappointed as she walked back to her seat. Lucious returned his gaze to the girl. Alana was her name. He smiled at her.

Alana felt her pulse skyrocket as Mrs. Suriya walked away, and the man from the restroom, who happened to be the CEO of the company, smiled at her.

What was happening to her? She’d never been this intimated. Maybe because she’d clashed with the owner of the company!

As the meeting started, Alana tried her best to avoid his eyes. She felt his own on her, however, and it didn’t make it any easier.

“Hello, everyone. As you all know, I’m Lucious Heron. I’m here to overview the plan for the project that was assigned to you. Can we begin? Mr. Trump? Please start with the presentation.”

His voice commanded so much attention and respect. Alana was not surprised that the whole room quieted as he spoke.

As the meeting went on, Alana jotted down the important things and avoided his eyes.

After an hour, the meeting was done.

“Thank you, everyone. If that will be all, I’ll take my leave,” Mr. Heron said. He didn’t wait for a reply before he walked out. Alana held her breath as he stormed past her.

She didn’t know if she was happy or disappointed that he had left.

“Dyson?” Mrs. Suriya yelled out her name. Alana turned to face her. She was fuming.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Take these papers and submit them to HR on the second floor. Do it fast before I lose my patience, Dyson!”

Alana hurried up and left the meeting room. In the hallway, she stood in front of the elevator, waiting for it to open.

As soon as the door opened, she was about to step in when her heels caught a dent in the ground, making her topple over. She let out a loud scream while heading straight for the sharp, glassy handle that was definitely going to break her head into two.

She closed her eyes to brace herself against the brutal hit but was stopped before it could happen. She felt a hand grab her tiny waist in a firm grip, preventing her from falling.

“Careful there, beautiful.”

She gasped as she realized who owned that sweet, masculine voice.

“Are pretty girls usually this clumsy, or is it just you?”

In a second, Lucious spun her around to face him.

“Lucious Heron,” she softly whispered his name like a prayer.

“Flesh and blood,” he replied with a casual smirk, pulling her even closer to him. His sweet, manly smell filled her senses. “Alana, right? Are you okay? Or do you need me to kiss you to revive you?”

He was going to kiss her? Oh God... He was going to kiss her!