SeduceMe Read Free Page A

felt the way she did, why she was so reclusive. They had no idea what
had happened to her to make her abruptly leave a world-renowned orchestra and
emerge a year later as an entirely different person with a completely different
identity. All of his late-night research and constant digging had not provided
him these answers.
    Granted, he wanted to solve the puzzle that was Shana White.
But what would be the outcome? The consequences of his and Jane’s actions could
be devastating to the three people involved in this unexpected scenario.
    For him, the reality of the situation was glaring and
unsettling. Were Shana to discover his and Jane’s true natures, they’d have to
close shop and disappear for a while. A long while.
    Drake wasn’t inclined to pull up stakes just yet. He liked
the club and the few human acquaintances he’d made here and trusted, like
body-paint artist Finn Griffith and his girlfriend, Yvette Samson. Not
“trusted” in the sense of believing he could reveal his real identity to them,
but he could have a cocktail with them on occasion. Plus he admired Finn’s
steadfast rule to donate to charity a portion of the proceeds from the sale of
his commissioned murals following the real-life displays in the club.
    But the fact still remained that no one at Body Scenes aside
from Jane knew he was a vampire. Even his staff had no idea. His existence was
fairly easy to maintain given his detachment and the fact that he only opened
the club’s doors once a month. He didn’t run with the secret society of demons,
nor did he try to infiltrate the human world more than he did with Body Scenes
and his limited human connections.
    For centuries, he’d flown under the radar no matter where he
was. If he were to take his attraction to Shana to a more intimate level. That
could prove hazardous to both his business and his lifestyle.
    Yet he simply couldn’t bring himself to tell Jane to let the
whole thing lie. To leave Shana alone. To let her enjoy her night at the club
without knowing anything about his or Jane’s existence.
    His silence spoke volumes.
    Without another word on the touchy subject, Jane crossed to
her desk and picked up the phone. “Michael, this is Miss Van Kamp. You’ve just
let Shana White into the club. Would you please escort her backstage? Mr.
Halston would like to give her a private tour.”
    Despite his mounting reservations, Drake said, “Clever
tactic, love.”
    Jane replaced the receiver. “Our artists use models of all
body types. There’s no way Shana can feel self-conscious with the provocative
figures parading around backstage. Not to mention all those naked bodies being
painted—and knowing the shagging that goes on before and after each curtain rises
and falls on a mural—serves as a potent aphrodisiac. It might help to open her
up a bit and let loose of some of her insecurities.”
    He wasn’t at all comfortable with this new course of action,
particularly when he was wound so tight and the woman of his dreams was about
to be in very close proximity to him. But he had to concede. He honestly
couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend time with Shana this evening, even
knowing it was dangerous.
    “You have a point,” he said to Jane. “There’s definitely an
air of eroticism backstage that seems to make people less inhibited.” In fact,
he had a steadfast rule that Jane wasn’t allowed to spy on the models when they
were positioning themselves behind the curtains of their respective stages—or
peek in on them after the curtain dropped. He knew what went on down there and
privacy was a professional courtesy he extended his artists and their subjects,
much to Jane’s dismay.
    And of course he wanted to meet Shana in person, there was
no denying it. Seeing her reaction to the artwork and how it all came about
intrigued him as well. So he went against his better judgment, caving not only
to Jane’s will, but to his own.
    He strode over to the wet bar and retrieved a