A Dangerous Game Interlude: Small Victories
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine.
Author’s Notes- This takes directly after “Seduce Me” and again, thanks goes to Lizeboredom for talking it out with me. Thank you to everyone who commented on Seduce Me and how it reminded them that Adam isn’t the charming romantic hero he presents himself as. This expands on that and gives a look into the monster’s head, but also the dynamic between Adrian and Adam, which will be crucial to the second half of “A Dangerous Game”.
Rating- M
Pairing- Adam Vega/MC
Summary- Adrian confronts Adam about the events of their meeting.
Words- 1298
(Series Timeline can be found here)
“Adrian,” Adam said cordially as he greeted the other man, “what brings you back so soon? More concerns about the Baron?”
It had only been two days since their last meeting, surely things hadn’t escalated in that time. Though, really Adam was sure he knew why Adrian had come to visit and it had nothing do with the Baron.
“Can we go somewhere private?” Adrian asked coolly.
“Of course,” Adam said pleasantly, motioning for Adrian to follow him to his private office, back to the scene of the crime. “You picked a good night for a spontaneous visit, Lilith is out with Lily.”
“I know,” Adrian answered as soon as the door closed, “that’s why I’m here.” He paused, obviously trying to control his temper. “What the fuck are you thinking, Adam?”
“Would you care to elaborate?” Adam asked, letting the charm die away. It wouldn’t work on Adrian anyway. They knew each other too well for that.
“I know your arrangement is just that but she deserves better than humiliation,” Adrian said angrily.
Adam fought the urge to smirk, just like he had expected, Adrian had made the special trip just to call him out on his behavior from the other night. So very moral for a vampire. It was tedious.
“I still don’t know why she agreed to your ludicrous proposal,” Adrian continued disdainfully, “and maybe she expected this, but you know people talk. If you keep having women here, in her home, during business meetings, it’s going to get out and ruin that image you’ve crafted oh so carefully.”
It took a moment for Adrian’s words to sink in and, for once, Adam had a hard time controlling his emotions, so he didn’t try. Instead, he burst out laughing. Of course, Adrian had jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Because for Adrian it would be easier to imagine that Adam was cheating on his wife, picking up random humans for his amusement, than for him to picture sweet Lilith on her knees for her evil, manipulative husband.
“It’s not funny,” Adrian told him, his face set in a hard mask.
“Of course it is,” Adam rebutted, “since you are so incredibly wrong. I have not been with a woman other than my wife since we made our agreement.”
“There was a human in here,” Adrian said slowly, “I smelled her blood and…” Her arousal, but of course Adrian was too polite to say that.
“Yes,” Adam confirmed with a smirk, “That would be my wife.”
Adrian’s mask slipped into a look of stunned horror. “It was Lilith?” He asked, disbelief oozing out of his voice. “God, what kind of a monster are you?”
“A civilized one,” Adam answered, “and before you accuse me of anything, it was my sweet wife who made the suggestion. She was the one who stripped down to her underwear and crawled under my desk, though I will admit she didn’t know it was you I was meeting with.”
Adam’s voice took on a wicked note as he continued, “That made her angry, but it didn’t last, and it wasn’t long before she bent over that desk right there, begging me to fuck her hard.”
“I don’t believe you,” Adrian told him, his jaw clenched.
Adam laughed. “I don’t lie, Adrian, you know that. I never have too.”
He firmly believed that there was no need for lies when you could make the truth whatever you wanted it to be. It all came down to how you chose to present that truth.
“You think of her as this sweet innocent girl, corrupted by the big bad vampire,” he continued, “and you can’t handle the idea that she was perfectly content to go on her knees for me or to bend over my desk and let me fuck her until she couldn’t even walk. At which point I carried her to our bed where she fell asleep in my arms.”
Adrian was silent, but Adam could feel his anger. Good, it was what he wanted. He wanted to make Adrian uncomfortable but also wanted to make sure that he knew this time he had lost and Adam had won.
“She’s mine,” He said smugly, “legally, physically, and emotionally.” He smirked. “She’s falling in love with me.”
Though his actions the other night had been a miscalculation and she’d been wary. Luckily, a bout of tender morning lovemaking and an effort to be more considerate than usual throughout the day seemed to have settled the lingering anger. “She just hasn’t realized it yet.”
Adam knew that she wouldn’t welcome the information, but he was prepared for the inevitable resistance and he was confident that in time she’d be his completely and not only that, she’d welcome it.
“And what about you?” Adrian challenged, his disgust evident, “how do you feel about her? I know you, Adam, I know your opinion of humans.”
It was an uncomfortable question. How did he feel about his lovely human wife?
She intrigued him, she had from the moment they met, which was why he’d chosen her in the first place. Paul had been the one to suggest the wife angle, one that Adam had resisted at first because of his general disdain for humans and then he’d met Lilith and he’d decided that the idea wasn’t so bad if he could have that particular human.
But why did she intrigue him? It wasn’t a subject he liked to give too much thought to and he certainly wasn’t to discuss it with Adrian of all people.
Adam shrugged. “This one is special, you of all people should know that. She has so much potential, it’s hard not to be drawn to her. Besides, I don’t need to love her, I just need to value her and I do. She is my treasure and I treat her like one.”
“So she’s just another possession?” Adrian asked scornfully, “and what happens when you get bored of her, are you just going to discard her?”
“We have an arrangement,” Adam said coolly, “for the next ten years, her mortal life is secure and after that, it’s her choice.”
“You intend to Turn her,” Adrian realized, “once your term in office is done.”
“Yes,” Adam answered, seeing no point in denying it, “with her consent, of course, I’d never break the pact.”
“Of course not,” Adrian said sarcastically. “And if she says no, then you’ll just let her go?” There was an oddly hopeful not in Adrian’s voice.
“I will,” Adam assured him and then grinned cruelly, “but she won’t say no. In three months I’ve made it so that she will get down on her knees for me while I entertain a colleague, you think after ten years of care and attention, she’ll turn down the promise of an eternity of that kind of treatment?”
Adrian was silent, but that tight mask was back on his face.
“As I said, she’s mine,” Adam repeated, “and that’s never going to change, no matter how much you might will it otherwise.” He smirked. “Are we done here? My wife will be home soon and I intend to take her straight to our bed, which means I have some paperwork to finish before then.”
“We’re done,” Adrian announced, turning toward the door and then he paused. “You’re smart, Vega, I’ll give you that and you’ve always been a charmer, but charm doesn’t last forever and as you said, ten years is a long time. Long enough for Lilith to see you for what you really are and when she does, well I’ll be there to help her get away from you.”
With that Adrian was gone.
Adam sat down in his desk chair, contemplating the conversation, smirking with satisfaction at the memory of Adrian’s anger and ignoring the comments and questions that had hit too close to home.
No, he was calling this meeting a win, which was good because he liked to win.
- End
