41
Savannah
My head buzzing with champagne, I moved through the dizzying crowd. I could still feel Jaxson’s gaze burning into my spine as I wound through the huddles of ritzy guests.
I was desperate to put some distance between us so that I could peruse the goods for sale in peace and quiet without having to bask in the jealous glow of an overly possessive wolf.
Greek statues, mosaic panels with erotic scenes, what I assumed was Renaissance artwork, and clusters of ancient objects…perhaps plundered artifacts?
I tried to memorize the more suspicious objects, as well as the faces of the people bidding on them, to take back to Neve.
My third glass of champagne didn’t help, and I decided I’d better slow down.
The most bizarre part of the auction was the people. Alejandro had somehow acquired various artists and performers who were dispersed throughout the garden on display. A violinist with a current bid of thirty-seven grand was playing in the corner of the room.
As I stepped onto the portico, I glanced over my shoulder. Jaxson was surrounded by women, as if he were on auction. A beautiful brunette in a cream corset dress had sidled up to his side—the same one I’d seen earlier hanging on Alejandro up on the balcony.
She dragged her manicured finger over Jaxson’s chest, a sly grin tugging at her painted lips. Jaxson was smiling and talking to her like she was an old acquaintance.
Is he trying to get a meeting with Alejandro or sampling the wares?
A flicker of jealousy burned through my chest, stopping me in my tracks as my claws slipped out. I dug my fingers into my palms to hide my transformation.
I knew it was irrational.
Hell, I’d left him standing there because he’d made it obnoxiously clear that I was his, whether either of us liked it or not.
Even so, anger and irritation blazed through me like a wildfire. My eyes locked on a woman beside me who was all but drooling over him.
“See anything you like?” I hissed.
She gave me a wicked smile. “As a matter of fact, yes.”
I showed her my fangs, and she immediately scurried to the other side of the room.
Rather than watch the feeding frenzy, I hurried back to the main hall.
Alejandro was still on his balcony, watching the proceedings intently. Business was brisk, and I suspected that at least a dozen pieces of art had already been sold, as they’d been taken down.
Hoping to clear my head, I strolled over to a painter who was seated in front of an easel near the central fountain.
The silver tablet I’d been given glowed when I stepped near, and the artist’s starting bid pulsed across the screen: fifty thousand dollars. I wasn’t sure I was ready to contemplate the implications of that.
The artist was middle-aged, dressed in a green linen tunic and pants, and seated on an ornately carved stool with a canvas bag full of art supplies propped next to it.
He dragged a sweeping stroke of shimmering blue paint across the white canvas. The paint soaked into the material, and then, like water seeping through a cracked landscape, the color snaked across the painting, moving in animated rivers. Picking up another brush, he dipped the tip in a deep red paint and touched the edge of the canvas. The color wrapped around the blue, spreading across the page like blood seeping from an open wound…
“How do you do that?” I blurted, in awe of the beauty.
The artist turned and looked me up and down slowly. “I don’t think you’d appreciate the finer points.”
“Try me,” I growled, and he sat back in surprise.
“Steady on, Savannah,” Damian chuckled from behind.
I turned and brushed aside my hair. “Hey. Any luck?”
He passed me a note. “Unfortunately, no. It seems Alejandro is not coming down tonight, nor is he interested in speaking with us.”
I unfolded the note to reveal a message scrawled in red ink. Dear Damian, please, visit us again next month. Perhaps we can talk then. Bring Nevaeh. I’m sure she’d be interested in many of the items on offer.
My stomach sank. It was a put-on. Alejandro was having a laugh.
“Jaxson is speaking with some of the shifters here to see if they have any connections, but I’m not hopeful. Vampires and shifters tend to be a combustible combination.”
We didn’t have time to wait a month to speak to Alejandro, if it was even a real invitation. Dragan was out there, and only the fates knew what he was up to.
The low pulse of panic began to throb in my veins. “So what do we do?”
Damian pitched his voice low, sending vibrations along my skin. “I’m afraid we might have to go with plan B. You stay and mingle, and I’m going to have a look around the grounds to see if I can find the access point to his vaults.”
With that, Damian moved off quickly into the crowd.
Shit.