“Good,” I said. “Because I don’t think he’d be nearly as successful at weaseling info out of Tarasios as you.”
Dave nodded so sharply it reminded me of a salute. “As soon as he wakes up I’m going to become his very good buddy. See what I can find out. In the meantime, you and Vayl should check out Hamon’s room. Remember he said he had some idea how to get in? We’ve got to find out who this Octavia bimbo is and why Disa thinks she needs to be fed.”
“What about the mutt?” I asked. Ziel had finally calmed beneath Vayl’s gentle hands and soft murmurs and, after giving him a couple of final sniffs, trotted off to check out the blood and the unconscious guy next to it.
“I’ll watch him,” Dave said. “We’ve still got that steak we stole from the kitchen when we brought him in, so maybe I’ll give him some of that. He looks like he could use a snack.”
That took care of my excuses. Which made me wonder why I kept looking for more. Did Hamon’s secrets worry me that much?
Or was it the idea of being alone with a vampire I had no clue how to befriend?
“What do you say, Vayl?” I asked. “Wanna do some breaking and entering?”
The dimple in his cheek told me I might’ve just made a good start.
Hamon Eryx’s room stood at the end of a wide hall lined with six glass cases, each of which held a single item.
“What are these?” I asked Vayl as we passed a black glove, a brown leather shoe, a tan fedora, a dangly pearl earring, a pair of round-lensed sunglasses, and a white lace corset.
“Artifacts from former Deyrars.”
“Whatever happened to presidential portraits?”
Vayl’s eyebrows rose just enough to let me know he saw the humor. He glanced at the cameras that covered the area. The slight narrowing of his eyes told me what he wanted. I reached for my gun.
Overkill, he mouthed.
Party pooper, I replied in the same manner. Instead I pulled my phone out of my back pocket. Bergman had programmed the Monises to obey simple commands sent from them, including those that would shut down cameras within a twenty-foot radius. You never know when you’re not going to want an audience. But in the CIA, you’re always pretty sure the time will come.
I could’ve done the same job directly from the Monise as well. But this way, whoever was monitoring us would think I was just pulling a typical American stunt that involved my cell. Especially when I provided audio to go along with it.
“Cole’s been sending me text messages,” I said as I activated the code. “This hat reminded me of one I just got.” I held the phone up for Vayl to see and he nodded with interest as we both watched the screen until it blinked the words we were waiting for: Video Feed Deactivated.
I returned the phone to my pocket as Vayl swept his hand across one of the artifact containers. “Can you feel their power?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“As I suspected, the glass is as much for containment as it is for protection.” He looked the boxes over. “No discernible locks.” He slammed his fist into the glass. It shivered, but didn’t break.
“Wow, vamp-proof. I’m impressed,” I said.
The corners of Vayl’s mouth turned up even farther. “Wait until you see this.”
He positioned his hands on either side of the box and raised his power so swiftly that even I shivered in the rush of its increase. Clouds appeared inside the glass. Which turned into sparkles of ice. And then suddenly the bottom popped out of the case. I lunged forward to catch it, barely snagging it before it hit the floor.
“Geez! You could’ve warned me!”
He shrugged. “I thought the top would come off.” I picked up the glove. “Put it on,” he said. “It obviously belonged to a woman.”
I didn’t want to. With its powers unmasked, the glove felt like a beating heart to me, something alive that had no business being anywhere near my skin. But my boss had given me an order, so I obeyed, sliding the black silk over my tingling palm. It was too long, its tips hanging nearly an inch from where my fingers stopped.
He pulled the same stunt with the other five boxes. By the time we were finished, he wore the shoe, sunglasses, and fedora, which made him resemble a muscular Johnny Depp cast as a gangster for his next big film.
I’d clipped on the earring and Vayl had tied the corset over my sweater.
“You look incredible in this,” he murmured as he stood back to admire his handiwork.
I peeked down. “You mean my rack looks great, don’t you?” Frankly, I had to agree. I’d never thought there was much you could do with average. But, by golly, someone had hunkered down and come up with a pretty spectacular idea.
When I looked up it was to meet sparkling green eyes, twin jewels in a face taut with desire. “Jasmine.” The way he said my name, drawing out the syllables so it sounded like Yaz-meena, made me shiver. I ran my tongue across my lips, drawing his gaze.
“We, uh, didn’t we have a plan? You know, for you to settle your past and for us to learn to be friends? Because I suck at that?”
“Do friends ever kiss?”
“Um.”
He took it as a yes, pulling me to him so quickly that my hands slapped against his shoulders as our bodies met. “Just one,” he murmured, more to himself than to me. “Just a taste to help me through the rest of this interminable day.” And then his lips came down on mine.
Sometime later he whispered, “How can it be that your kisses sustain me?”
“Dunno.” Honest, I just wasn’t capable of any reply more intelligent than that. Also, I’d forgotten how to inhale by that time, so I’d probably experienced some level of brain damage.
He took a deep breath. Not because he needed to. Maybe to clear his head. “I usually have better restraint than this. Perhaps it is the power of the artifacts combined with Disa’s binding pulsing through me. Or the feeling of the sun shining bright outside these walls. I truly meant to give us more time. I will.” He dropped his arms, his lips tightening with remorse.
“Don’t you dare feel bad about stealing a smooch here and there. I haven’t studied the friends-to-lovers credo lately, but I’m sure it’s allowable under certain conditions, including the ones we have right here.” Plus, if he stopped, I’d probably end up doing something unladylike. Several examples came immediately to mind. As usual, my top picks were taking an African hunting trip wherein I got to kill all the poachers I could locate, and eating an entire chocolate cream pie while drinking brandy-laced coffee and watching every Jason Bourne movie ever made.
Vayl was smiling now. “So you like it when I kiss you?”
“I’m panting, aren’t I?”
“But you agree we should get to know each other better.”
“We have a pretty thorough professional knowledge of each other. But, yeah, I guess personally there are a few [huge!] gaps.”
“Which we never seem to have the time to fill.” He glanced at Hamon’s door, which was blocked by a second, iron-barred gate. “For instance, we have already used precious minutes that should have been spent trying to enter this place. Someone could come past at any moment and ruin our plan.”
“Yeah, although according to my Monise they’re sticking pretty close to their chosen vamps’ rooms. Maybe because Disa’s pissed us off so much she’s afraid we’re going to come hunting her while she sleeps.” I stopped, gave myself a second to fantasize. “You’re right though. Let’s get inside if we can. I guess we’ll just have to keep stealing moments for ourselves until—”
“Until you agree to visit my diamond mines with me.” He’d turned away, so he didn’t see my jaw drop. But maybe he sensed it, because he chuckled. “No, I have not forgotten your promise. And I know you have vacation time coming. A month at least.” He slanted a look over his shoulder. Sly, brilliant vampire. “If we kill Samos, perhaps then—”