Chapter Eleven

NASH

If I had stayed smashed up against the wall with Erin’s perfect ass pressed against me a minute longer, I would have exploded. Or moaned, because the hard-on I’d been desperately trying to suppress hurt like hell with nowhere to go.

My dragon grumbled something about knowing exactly where it ought to go.

I ignored it. But, damn. Maybe it was time for me to get out of town. Every time I’d brushed up against Erin at work over the past few days, the little embers she’d kindled inside me on day one flared into a full-fledged fire.

On the plus side, it was good to feel alive after months of senses so muted, I was less man than machine . At first, I thought Sedona might be stimulating my mind back toward pleasantly aware . But maybe that wasn’t Sedona. Maybe it was Erin.

Definitely Erin, my dragon breathed.

One thing was for sure. The physical attraction was getting harder and harder to ignore.

Like now. Really, really hard.

Literally, my dragon grumbled.

A damn good thing I had enough space to turn sideways and hide the bulge in my jeans.

Maybe Erin doesn’t want it hidden, my dragon whispered. Maybe she wants this as much as we do.

I shook my head. There was no this . She hated me, and I wasn’t interested in her. I wasn’t interested in anything , and I hadn’t been for months.

Until now. Being with Erin was the highlight of my day, every day. And since we finished work at about eight in the morning, the rest of the day was pretty much all downhill.

“The coast is clear,” she whispered, stepping out from behind the curtain.

I took a few deep breaths before following her, still coaxing away that hard-on. Even then, I made sure not to look at the desk, though my dragon insisted on imagining her there with her long, toned legs wrapped around me — Erin, not Candy.

Hell no, my dragon huffed.

I cleared my throat, trying to get back to business.

“You need to get out of here,” I said, picking up where we’d left off before.

“I’m the one with the invitation. You’re the one who needs to get away before someone sounds the alarm.”

“Like you?”

“Believe me, I’m tempted.”

“Harlon is the bad guy here, not me.”

She crossed her arms. “I know Harlon is the bad guy. It’s you I’m still deciding about.”

Ha. Me, a bad guy? I worked for the Agency for the Detection and Monitoring of Supernatural Activity. I was the one who hunted down bad guys.

Then I remembered, and my dragon murmured sadly, Not any more.

I swallowed hard, trying to concentrate.

“I’m on your side, Erin.”

She looked deep into my eyes. Deeper than I thought the view in there could go. Then she jutted her chin. “Prove it.”

I would love to, but I had to coax her out of Harlon’s lair first.

I pointed toward the hallway. “All right. You make a quick exit out the front door. Tell Harlon you’re tired…sick…whatever. Then we’ll meet.”

“Meet? Where?” She narrowed her eyes, and I nearly sighed. Did she think I was planning to lure her to some dark, quiet alley and murder her?

“Back on the main road. The first big intersection with a light. There’s a quad rental place there.”

Her eyes flickered with recognition, but she didn’t agree — yet.

“We’ll talk there,” I promised. “You tell me what you know, and I’ll tell you what I know.”

She shook her head. “The other way around.”

“Fine. Just go.” I shooed her toward the door.

She made a face but finally edged out of the office and into the bathroom, then out the far door, murmuring, “Easier said than done.”

I looked over her shoulder. The bathroom opened on a side hallway, but it was close enough to the mezzanine that someone at the party could see her if they glanced up at the right time. Even if she snuck out unnoticed, she couldn’t just saunter down the stairs. How would she explain where she’d been?

I cursed the young lovers who’d made us waste so much time.

“Maybe that way?” I pointed the other way down the hall.

Erin shook her head, thinking. Then she pulled out her phone, squared her shoulders, and stepped boldly out into the hall. Without bothering to conceal herself, she paced to the mezzanine and back, holding her phone to her ear.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

“Taking a very important call away from the noise of the party, of course,” she muttered before pacing back to the mezzanine. She stood in plain view, intent on her fictional call, then paced to a window and gestured as if in conversation.

She pulled off the charade perfectly, even waving to someone downstairs. Harlon?

So sorry, the gesture said. I’ll be down in a minute.

Smart woman, my dragon hummed.

Beautiful woman, I couldn’t help thinking. At work, she wore jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a thick flannel shirt over that. A down-to-earth, what you see is what you get look that fit her perfectly. But wow. That yellow dress brought out her beauty in a whole different way.

Downstairs, someone tapped a spoon against a glass, and the guests quieted.

Erin mouthed something to her imaginary caller. Something like, I have to go now.

From my angle, I could only see a handful of guests in one corner of the dining area below. No one stood out, but a cold, gnawing presence crept over my soul.

The hair on the back of my neck stood, and not just because Harlon stepped into the space I could see.

Flashing his perfect, I’m such a rich asshole smile, Harlon motioned someone closer to his side. A woman in a tight red dress appeared, showing off her too-thin figure and the elaborate twist in her jet-black hair.

Cold sweat broke out on my brow.

God, no. Not her. Not here. Not now, my dragon half growled, half whimpered.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining me here tonight,” Harlon announced. “I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce my business associate…”

I clutched the doorjamb. Please, no. Not Angelina.

“Angelina Saint James,” Harlon said.

Every syllable twisted a knife in my soul.

When Angelina smiled, her wine-red lips contrasted with the white blaze of her teeth. Well, her human teeth. Her pointy canines gave the barest hint at what lay hidden beneath.

Vampire.

She gave the guests a regal wave that said, I know I’m gorgeous, so don’t be shy about admiring me. I do it all the time.

She wasn’t gorgeous, though. She was far too pale and bony, and her eyes didn’t take in her surroundings so much as pick through them for potential prey. Still, her commanding air made up for that in a kind of I believe I’m gorgeous, so you will believe it too leap of logic.

Once upon a time, I really had believed. Now, I just felt sick.

Too late, I realized my heart was pounding, my blood rushing.

Angelina’s nose twitched as she surveyed the crowd.

“We’ll be announcing the details of our latest project soon. A mutually beneficial partnership of our unique talents, you might say.” Harlon chuckled.

A warlock and a vampire conspiring? Very bad news.

“But tonight, we’re all off the clock,” Harlon finished, making everyone laugh. Then he raised his glass. “Enjoy the party, everyone.”

A round of applause broke out, but all I heard was the pounding of my heart.

Angelina’s nostrils flared, and her eyes took on a predatory look.

Get away from the door, I screamed at my legs. Get away from here. Get away from her.

Harlon was bad news, but Angelina took evil to an entirely new level. And if she sensed I was here…

Not if . When . But despite my mind barking orders, my legs just wouldn’t obey.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Erin frown at me.

The alarms clanging in my ears were deafening, but I couldn’t move. Hell, I could scarcely think.

Angelina’s obsidian eyes bounced over the guests, then rose.

Erin! I wanted to scream. Run away. Hide.

Erin went stiff as Angelina’s eyes roved over, then past her. Luckily, she had the presence of mind not to glance in my direction and give me away.

But it was only a question of time. Angelina was a vampire, and once a vampire had tasted your blood, they could always hunt you down.

Always, her greedy eyes promised as they flitted toward the door I clutched.

Move! Hide! Step back! Erin’s voice sounded in my mind.

So maybe she didn’t hate me. Not enough to see me get sucked dry by a vampire, at least.

The thought wasn’t comforting, especially since it could be my last.

Then something metal clattered downstairs — loud enough for every guest to whip around and gasp. Another crash followed the first.

The sound wasn’t what distracted Angelina, though. It was a smell that made her spin around.

A smell that only reached me a moment later. Fresh blood.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry,” someone downstairs cried. “All the spare ribs…”

Angelina’s eyes practically glowed, totally focused there.

“Oh God. I hope I don’t lose my job…” that same someone fretted.

Still, I stood dumbly, practically begging Angelina to find me.

It was only Erin’s voice booming through my mind that finally shoved me into action.

Get back! Now!

With a lurch, I broke away and rushed to the balcony. It was time to exit this mansion the way I’d entered. Pronto. But, yikes. What the hell had just happened?

Angelina happened, my dragon sighed. Some klutz from catering saved your ass.

A catering klutz who looked strangely familiar, I decided, catching a glimpse of her through the ground-floor windows before I took off into the night. On foot, like a common criminal, because there was no way Harlon — or worse, Angelina — would miss the burst of energy that accompanied a shift.

…and you heard Erin’s thoughts, my dragon finished.

Unexpected, for sure. But it did confirm my hunch about her being a relic — or more. We not-quite-humans could communicate without speaking if we tried hard enough. Especially in extreme or urgent situations.

I sprinted away from the house, replaying it all in my mind.

A few steps later, I nearly stumbled, placing the caterer.

Whatshername, my dragon murmured in shock. Erin’s sister.

Pippa , I remembered.

I ran, keeping to the shadows. All this time, I’d been thinking Erin didn’t know much. But maybe she knew more than she let on.

We have to talk, my dragon grumbled. We definitely have to talk.