Of all the breeds littering the city, cat shifters were the ones she cared for least. Once they had been of a great use to mage vampires, who used them as familiars, but that was before the world changed, became technologically advanced, and feline shifters decided they no longer needed protection from the hunters searching for them. Automatic weapons, large bodyguards and a deity known as an Omega provided their safe haven from harm.
The door to the bar opened and, just like that, there Trey was, standing across from her in all his glory.
Over the course of her obsession, she’d often ventured to Trey’s favorite hideaways, anxious for a glance or a wispy breeze that allowed her to bask in his scent. On occasion she took it a sinful step further, touching him while veiled, allowing her fingertips to travel along his skin. He seemed to luxuriate in the caresses until he realized what he was doing. Afterward she always moved away to give him space, to whisper in his mind like a fucking ghost.
Smell but don’t taste. Look but don’t touch.
As she watched his jerky motions now, her instincts told her something big was going down. Something she would have noticed if she hadn’t been so fixated on the sexy slice of man who haunted her dreams. Trey’s sublime face was heavily shadowed and his whiskey-colored irises were bright in the dark. He adjusted the leather jacket around his shoulders, slid his hand into an inside pocket and retrieved his phone.
If she moved a bit closer, she could see who he was contacting. It was just a matter of keeping her hands to herself.
She pushed away from the glass and walked to the edge of the sidewalk, separated from him by a few measly yards, and stopped.
Damn it, I shouldn’t be here. If he sees past my shielding spell, he’ll mark me immediately. All it’ll take is one good sniff and I’m fucked.
While she didn’t do so often, it wasn’t difficult to get the information she needed in another way. Concentrating, she focused on his thoughts and froze when she plucked a name from his mind.
Aldon Frost.
Trey kept his voice low but she clung to every syllable she could hear. “We need to talk.”
Trey paused for a moment to listen, nodded instead of speaking and snapped the phone closed. Then he lifted his head, flared his nostrils and stared directly at her.
Panic kept her from moving, freezing her in place for a split second. Then the world sped up and she came to her senses. Sure he was looking in her direction but there was no way he could see her. Her veil was impossible to break unless she willed it or she was injured. Thus was the power of vampires.
Vampires.
She was tempted to laugh. For her, the implication behind the terminology was all wrong. Her kind weren’t corpses from the grave or fanged harpies who stole children from their beds at night. That didn’t mean her ancestors and relatives weren’t a form of evil—their very existence came to being when a witch and a demon procreated and created the first of her race—but rather, their role was to keep the peace and protect the innocent from those who embraced the darkness within, corroding the streets with tainted blood drinkers and aberrations.
Without her kindred, shifters would soon learn exactly how bad vampires could be.
Trey sniffed the air again and appeared to stare directly at her, seeming to catch her eyes. The pain that arose from her desire to make it so was one she was familiar with but, as there was nothing to be done about it, she forced her wants into an invisible box and closed the lid.
She couldn’t have Trey Veznor. No matter how much she yearned for him. He was the forbidden fruit that would bring about her destruction, the proverbial apple that sent Adam and Eve from Eden.
A frown etched into Trey’s face as he pocketed the cell, turned on his heel and started walking down the street. She waited until the last limo drove away before she crossed the road, keeping a safe distance as she trailed him.
Due to an unexpected shift in events, Trey Veznor was the least of her concerns. He was going to see Aldon, which meant that now it wasn’t personal.
This was all business.
After Diskant left to return to the bar, Ava soaked in the large, swirling hot tub. The warm jets soothed her aching muscles as well as the sore, throbbing flesh between her legs. She’d meant what she’d told Diskant. It did feel as if he’d left her branded, but only in the most fantastic way imaginable.
Who could have known just how damn good it could be to meet a gorgeous, insatiable man, share the best sex in this world and find out in a matter of hours that he not only wanted to keep you forever, but he would love you for the rest of your life?
Pretty damn good, if she was being honest.
Once she climbed out from the tub she quickly toweled herself dry before getting dressed. As exhausted as she was, she was still coasting on too much adrenaline and excitement to sleep. She took her time exploring the space, starting in the bedroom and moving to the living room and kitchen. The furniture was entirely masculine, various hues of dark brown and cream, with splashes of red inside the throw pillows, matching the curtains. It screamed affluence without being stuffy or uptight. A perfect lair for a man like Diskant.
A muffled sound drew her back to the bedroom and she stopped inside the doorway. She eyed her duffel, placed the sound and groaned.
Damn. She’d been sure her cell would be deader than a doornail by now.
There were a handful of people who could be calling her, the most obvious being Brett and Thomas. Her boss and friend, understandably, because she left his place of business without an explanation and he was probably worried, and Thomas because he wanted to harass her about what he considered a “sneaky loophole” in her parents’ will which allowed her to purchase the cabin at half the price.
The sound died only to start right back up again. It was either shut the damn thing off or answer. After she managed to pull the annoying device from her bag she scowled when she saw unknown caller flashing in time with the abrasive ring. Bracing herself for anything, she pressed the tiny green button to the left and placed the speaker to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Ava,” Craig said, his voice as silky and smooth as butter.
“How did you get this number?” Her tone, understandably, was not as cordial. She’d told Craig never to contact her again. Yet here he was, overstepping boundaries as if they never existed.
“You of all people should know that for someone like me obtaining a phone number is as easy as asking.”
“I’ve already told you to keep the locket. Put the damn thing on display if it makes you happy. Just leave me the hell alone.”
She heard him tsk through the line. “You’ve never been one to make hasty decisions without hearing someone out. I see running with shifters has brought out the worst in you.”
A huge and extremely powerful surge of protectiveness arose. So Craig knew about her and Diskant. She wasn’t surprised. He had his eyes and ears posted all over the city.
“Listen to me, you smug son of a bitch. I don’t care if you hold the secret to the location of the Holy Grail and can offer me an unending supply of money and eternal life. Don’t call this number again. You’re right, I don’t make hasty decisions. It takes almost getting killed to help me decide what kind of company I do and don’t want. FYI, you rank somewhere in the latter category.”
“Even if it could benefit your new family?” He posed the question as if he were discussing something simple, like what color to paint his bathroom. The tone pissed her off but the words managed to cool her temper.