distance away. With the noise in the room, even a lion would be pressed to hear us. I let him do it because I couldn’t stop him without a fight. Digging in would have given Luke an excuse to escalate the violence. What surprised me most was that Luke let him do it. Maybe he was one of those men who didn’t need to prove himself at every turn. It was a refreshing change of pace.
“What are you about, Destiny?” Marcus hissed close to my ear. “This is the last place you should be, especially withhim .”
“What’s wrong with him? I needed someone to watch my back and he was both available and willing.” I didn’t mean for it to be suggestive. Marcus read into it.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
“As would I have been, if you had bothered to mention this was on your agenda.”
“You were mad at me.” It sounded petty. The sting from the way he’d stormed out of my house roared back to the forefront. “Besides, I didn’t know I was going to be here when you left. It was a last-minute lead.”
“You came here following a lead from your missing-person case?”
“Yes. I received a tip that our photogenic vampire would be here tonight just waiting to be questioned.”
Marcus’s face darkened. He understood the significance. The case now involved two of his places in addition to being centered on a vampire. A less trusting woman would have suspected he might be involved. Maybe I was a fool, but Marcus’s honor was the one thing I would bet my life on. In this case, I wagered both Betsy Vincent’s and mine. The lion could fend for himself.
“Was he able to help?” Marcus asked in a neutral tone.
“Casanova can’t remember his own name much less the woman in question. Since you’re here, maybe you can talk some sense into him. Care to give me a hand?”
At the wordhand , Marcus’s gaze flickered toward Luke. With a snarl, he stepped past me to make his way to the table. “You’re so right. Let’s deal with the business so we can turn to more important matters.”
Even with vampire hearing, his voice was low enough that only those in our immediate circle heard him, but I felt the blush bleeding up from my chest. Hewould put our personal issues above a woman’s life. Of course, he also knew me well enough to understand I wasn’t going to be turned aside until I had what I had come in here for—information.
Magic, strong and furious, poured out of him and washed over us even though it was directed at the man in the booth. Luke responded with a noise deep in his chest. I didn’t know anyone could sound like that in human form. As discreetly as I could, I jammed my elbow into his ribs and barely caught the small grunt of pain at the impact. He stopped, though. I’d hurt myself more than him, but he’d gotten the point.
Abruptly, the magic pulled back and Marcus straightened. With a sharp nod to Peter, he stepped away from the table with a terse order. “Bring him.”
Marcus turned and had my elbow in his hand before I even felt the movement. He started toward the door leaving me the choice of digging in my heels and making more of a scene, or allowing him to sweep me along. Since I had already met my quota for embarrassment for the night, I followed his lead, hoping Luke would too without any noble gestures. If I managed to get both of them out of the room minus bloodshed, I was willing to call the night a success without finding the elusive Ms. Betsy Vincent. The thought didn’t make me feel any better about myself.
Marcus let his temper get the better of him during my moment of distraction. Without breaking stride, we swept through the doorway a kind vampire had jumped up to open. It sealed behind us and the sudden silence was deafening. The sound of my boots on the hardwood steps seemed so much louder than the vampires’ or Luke’s, but then men’s shoes aren’t made the same. Even the shoe industry was sexist.
We barely cleared the
“What are you about, Destiny?” Marcus hissed close to my ear. “This is the last place you should be, especially withhim .”
“What’s wrong with him? I needed someone to watch my back and he was both available and willing.” I didn’t mean for it to be suggestive. Marcus read into it.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
“As would I have been, if you had bothered to mention this was on your agenda.”
“You were mad at me.” It sounded petty. The sting from the way he’d stormed out of my house roared back to the forefront. “Besides, I didn’t know I was going to be here when you left. It was a last-minute lead.”
“You came here following a lead from your missing-person case?”
“Yes. I received a tip that our photogenic vampire would be here tonight just waiting to be questioned.”
Marcus’s face darkened. He understood the significance. The case now involved two of his places in addition to being centered on a vampire. A less trusting woman would have suspected he might be involved. Maybe I was a fool, but Marcus’s honor was the one thing I would bet my life on. In this case, I wagered both Betsy Vincent’s and mine. The lion could fend for himself.
“Was he able to help?” Marcus asked in a neutral tone.
“Casanova can’t remember his own name much less the woman in question. Since you’re here, maybe you can talk some sense into him. Care to give me a hand?”
At the wordhand , Marcus’s gaze flickered toward Luke. With a snarl, he stepped past me to make his way to the table. “You’re so right. Let’s deal with the business so we can turn to more important matters.”
Even with vampire hearing, his voice was low enough that only those in our immediate circle heard him, but I felt the blush bleeding up from my chest. Hewould put our personal issues above a woman’s life. Of course, he also knew me well enough to understand I wasn’t going to be turned aside until I had what I had come in here for—information.
Magic, strong and furious, poured out of him and washed over us even though it was directed at the man in the booth. Luke responded with a noise deep in his chest. I didn’t know anyone could sound like that in human form. As discreetly as I could, I jammed my elbow into his ribs and barely caught the small grunt of pain at the impact. He stopped, though. I’d hurt myself more than him, but he’d gotten the point.
Abruptly, the magic pulled back and Marcus straightened. With a sharp nod to Peter, he stepped away from the table with a terse order. “Bring him.”
Marcus turned and had my elbow in his hand before I even felt the movement. He started toward the door leaving me the choice of digging in my heels and making more of a scene, or allowing him to sweep me along. Since I had already met my quota for embarrassment for the night, I followed his lead, hoping Luke would too without any noble gestures. If I managed to get both of them out of the room minus bloodshed, I was willing to call the night a success without finding the elusive Ms. Betsy Vincent. The thought didn’t make me feel any better about myself.
Marcus let his temper get the better of him during my moment of distraction. Without breaking stride, we swept through the doorway a kind vampire had jumped up to open. It sealed behind us and the sudden silence was deafening. The sound of my boots on the hardwood steps seemed so much louder than the vampires’ or Luke’s, but then men’s shoes aren’t made the same. Even the shoe industry was sexist.
We barely cleared the
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