He smiled, waiting until the maître d' had settled me before sitting down himself "They actually asked me to work a second shift tonight I said no way."
"I'm glad."
"So am I." He looked up as the table waiter approached "Would you like a drink? A white wine, perhaps?"
"Perfect."
And really, the wine, the food, and the company were all that and more We chatted about everything and anything, teasing and flirting and generally having a good time. I liked him—liked his sense of humor, the way he effortlessly moved the conversation from one topic to another. Even the brief silences were comfortable. I kept putting off questioning him until the desserts were cleared and I could delay no longer.
"So," I said, swirling the wine around gently in my glass. I'd probably had a little more than I should have—I could feel the warm buzz running through my veins. Or maybe that was just the excited hum of my hormones. "Tell me, what do you actually do for a living?"
As I asked the question, I lowered my shields and reached out with my mind, carefully feeling for his thoughts. But I hit a protective wall as strong as anything I'd come across in the past—only it didn't feel like the natural shields of a psychic.
Oddly enough, it didn't feel like a nanowire, either. The nanowires were the latest development in nanotechnology and protected the wearer against psychic intrusion. I didn't know how they actually worked, but I did know that they were somehow powered by the heat of the body and offered up an extremely faint electronic tingle when in use.
So if his shields weren't natural and weren't technological, what were they? What else was there?
I didn't know, but I sure as hell intended to find out.
In the meantime, I'd have to uncover my information the old-fashioned way—through sex and snooping—because there hadn't been anything more useful than a home address listed on his Cattle Club personnel file. Even a full search had revealed little more than the fact he had no criminal record, and had studied psychology at a local university.
Of course, it was only five months ago that I'd been so determined not to fuck the enemy for the Directorate. And yet here I was, ready and willing to do that very thing. Though it did help that he was cute. And that I was getting no reading on him along the psychic lines. If he'd looked good but felt bad, it would have been a different story.
Maybe.
He raised his eyebrows. "Is there something wrong with bartending for a living?"
I smiled. "No. But you just don't look like a man who'd be satisfied with a lifetime of bartending."
"Ah." He hesitated a moment, then shrugged. "I'm floating at the moment, doing a bit of this and that. I did the whole college thing, then couldn't be bothered going into the field I trained for."
"So you have other part-time jobs as well?"
"I work at the Hunter's Club." He looked at me like I was supposed to know it. "It's a health club in the city. Runs yoga, pilates, massage, spa therapies, gym. Stuff like that."
A smile teased my lips. "Don't tell me—you double as a masseuse, just to feel up all the pretty girls?"
He reached across the table, picking up my hand and turning it over. He ran a gentle finger from my palm to my wrist and back again, sending little shivers of delight scampering up my arm. "Only the very special ladies get my attention. I normally work in the gym area, as one of the fitness trainers. Did a course in one of my floating years."
"So the ring is a Hunter Club ring?"
"Not really." His grip tightened on my hand, crushing my fingers a little. It was an odd combination—the heated caress of his finger and the wispy ache of pain—and it had a slight tremble running through my limbs. As if I was on the verge of discovering something new. Which was weird, because there wasn't much that was new to me when it came to the realms of basic sex. "Would you like to order coffee here, or would you prefer somewhere more intimate?"
He met my eyes as he said it, and in those warm brown depths I saw desire, barely controlled. And yet I couldn't help noticing the change of subject. He didn't want to talk about the ring—not in detail, anyway. Which was interesting considering he used it as an icebreaker. I raised a teasing eyebrow. "And just where is this 'somewhere more intimate'?"
His smile was slow and sexy, and my ever-ready hormones did their usual little shuffle. "My place. It's actually only a block away."
"Ah, well." I paused, pretending to consider it. "I have no idea whether this 'coffee' will be worth the race through the rain."
"Then perhaps you would like a teaser taste?" He pulled back on my hand as he said it, gently forcing me to lean across the table.
"Love to," I murmured, a heartbeat before his lips met mine. Our kiss was slow and tender, an explorative type of kiss shared by strangers who intended to soon be a whole lot more. Neither of us were breathing very steadily by the time we'd finished.
"So," he said, his breath warm against my lips, "do I pass the test?"
I licked my lips, drawing his taste, his breath, into my mouth. "I think you could."
"Then we'll leave immediately." He released me and motioned to the waiter for the bill. Once we'd paid, he helped me into my coat then guided me out, his hand resting in the middle of my back. Warmth pooled where his fingers rested, even through the thickness of the coat.
It still rained outside, but the pelting force of earlier had at least eased to a fine drizzle. The night was still bitter, but between the amount of alcohol I'd consumed and Jin's heated presence, I certainly wasn't feeling it.
But we'd barely walked half a block when a familiar chill made me realize we were not alone.
Vampires stalked us.
Great. Just great. How was I supposed to deal with them without giving the game away to Jin?
I stopped and took off a shoe, shaking it lightly as I tried to pinpoint the location of the vamps. They were across the street, keeping the shadows wrapped around them as they hurried to get ahead of us. Their hunger mingled with their scent, stealing like a thief across the night, filling my nostrils and sending chills scampering across my skin. Their smell was of the freshly dead. Baby vamps, not mature ones.
So, were they the same ones who'd left the mauled body Rhoan had been sent to investigate, or two completely different ones? And who was making all these vamps and then setting them free?
For no real reason, Gautier's image flashed through my thoughts. It actually made a sick sort of sense for him to be doing this. He knew the Directorate was short staffed. He knew it'd stretch us to the limit and therefore cut down our ability to hunt him.
Jin swung around, his gaze searching the night before coming back to mine. "What's wrong?"
"Stone in my—"
I didn't get the chance to finish, because the two vampires shook off the shadows and attacked. Jin made a sound low in his throat, then pushed me out of the way. I staggered backward for several steps, then caught my balance and ducked under the fist of one of the vamps. He chuckled softly, an amused sound that grated against my nerves. As the vamp came at me a second time, I kicked off my other shoe, caught it midair, then whirled around and smacked the wooden heel of the stiletto across his chin. Flames trailed where the wood touched flesh, and the smell of burned skin caressed the air. He frowned and glanced down at the shoes I held in surprise.
Obviously, he didn't realize the heels were wood, and I didn't give him the time to work it out. I kicked him, with all the force I could muster, in the goolies. Air left his lungs in a whoosh of sound that was all agony, and as he hunched forward, I swung a fist, hitting his chin hard and knocking him out cold.
I whirled around to help Jin, only to stop in shock. The other baby vamp lay at his feet, moaning in agony, his legs and arms bent at odd angles. Jin was barely even breathing fast, but as I watched he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if the scent of the baby vamp's pain was somehow fueling his body.