Blade Song by J.C. Daniels

that came over his face when he was talking to My Lady . Shit. That title was enough to turn my stomach.
    There was both an upside and a downside to these conversations. He’d be taciturn and quiet for hours. Awesome. The downside? He’d be even more of an asshole after the silence passed.
    Not so awesome.
    Pushing open the front door, I leaned against the doorjamb as he carried on his conversation behind me. Reports being checked, had investigated a number of possible areas in East Orlando where he might have gone—no luck at this point.
    Yes, yes, My Lady—I’m so very sorry …
    I tuned him out. I didn’t need to worry about the asshole behind me because there was a problem in front of me. Walking toward me with a small smile on his pretty face.
    The rays of the setting gilded his features. Golden hair, made silver by the bright light. Long, lean easy grace. Lovely green eyes.
    There he was…Jude in the flesh. Out in the bright light of the evening sun.
    But why now?
    “ You keep refusing to come when I call. So I do as you said to Evangeline. I came to you ,” he murmured into my mind.
    I tensed, mentally going on retreat, but it didn’t help. He was still a presence crowding into my skull, one I couldn’t shut out no matter how hard I tried.
    As he came to a stop in front of me, I tried not to gape at him. Tried not to glare.
    I also, to my disgust, had to try not to drool.
    Jude was a sexy, sexy work of art, one that got better with age, but I didn’t want to think about that. Didn’t want to think about him at all, really.
    “I wish to hire you,” he said quietly, keeping his voice low.
    That didn’t stop Damon from hearing him.
    I heard the shifter’s voice trip over the phone, then steady. Yes, yes, My Lady, everything is well …
    I stepped aside and gestured. The small, inner office was spelled—work by some of Colleen’s fellow witches. It would work well enough.
    And hello …I could piss Damon off.
    He came off the couch the second he saw Jude.
    I waggled my fingers at him.
    “I assure you, we are making progress, My Lady. Ruling things out is part of the process,” Damon said, his voice calm and easy even as he swiped out a hand for me.
    Jude blocked it, summarily shoving me forward.
    Good grief. I stumbled into my office just in time for Jude to slip in behind me and shut the door.
    That was all it took to activate the spelling.
    I’d have to open it for anybody to enter. Unless somebody busted the wards. A witch could do it. Weaker shifters couldn’t. Vamps were incapable—wards were earth magic, living magic. Vampires couldn’t break them if they tried. Sadly, Damon was a strong shifter. Give him enough time and I knew he could break the damn ward.
    “Well, well, little warrior,” Jude murmured, turning to face me. “You pick unusual company these days. That’s Annette’s most favorite toy. How did you get so lucky? She doesn’t like to share her toys.”
    Annette. The cat-bitch’s name was Annette. It didn’t suit her. Kitty-cat Barbie was so much more fun.
    I sneered at him and dropped down into one of the chairs.
    “He’s not a toy I’m interested in playing with,” I muttered. Then I mentally cringed, knowing exactly how Jude would take it.
    Yep. Seconds later, his hand stroked over my cheek. “I’m glad to hear it, little warrior. I’m not particularly good at sharing myself…and I’d hate to have to share you with that.”
    I batted his hand away. “Newsflash, vamp. I’m not yours.”
    “So you keep insisting.” He snagged the only other piece of furniture in the room, another chair, and swung it around. He straddled it and stared at me as he rested his arms on the back. “Why are you working with cats?”
    “A job. Money. Same reason I take any job.”
    His gaze flickered down to my throat. “It’s a job that’s gotten you in trouble already. Is it paying well?”
    “Not well enough,” I muttered.
    A fist slammed against the door and I groaned as I