were up. Anything that could get through our wards wouldn’t be stopped by a bit of wood.
“Have you eaten?” I asked, removing my head from the fridge. I set my ingredients on the counter. Jacq, looking as alluring as ever in her now unbuttoned vest, was back in her usual chair. Had she been staring at my ass? Must be my imagination, because her eyes were fixed on the range top.
“No.”
Uh-oh, one word answers were never good. Her expression was remote, but I detected a hopeful glint in her eyes. Poor woman. She was probably starving after traipsing all over The Burg.
“Would you like some dinner? I’m just putting together a quick salad. Nothing fancy.” I pointed to the chicken left from lunch. My Grams would rise from her grave and beat me with her cane if I didn’t offer food to a dinnertime guest. Jacq smiled at the offer. She thought I was being solicitous. She had no idea. It was purely self-preservation.
“You’d cook for me?” Her Cajun accent was stronger than usual.
My head tilted slightly. She sounded a bit smug, as if I’d just offered her all my worldly possessions. Maybe I had. Some of the more obscure species had some pretty strange practices.
“Well, cook might be an exaggeration. I’m simply reheating the chicken and putting everything in a bowl.” I moved about the kitchen, throwing the chicken and a splash of water on the electric grill before piling the greens in two big bowls, topping them with nuts, berries, feta, and the now steaming chicken, finally drizzling everything with balsamic. I put the bowls down, turning to face her.
“Would you like to watch a movie with me?” Where had that come from? “I mean, we can talk over the case while we eat…” I stammered, unable to meet her eyes. “I’d planned to watch a movie, a dark comedy. Join me?”
Jacq smiled fully, that elusive dimple peeking out. “I’d love to.” Her response was low, husky.
I shivered. It was good that I was done talking, because her smile left me suddenly breathless. I sucked in a much-needed breath, helpless to stop my own smile as we picked up our salads and moved into the other room. What can I say? I was easily pleased and, apparently, so was Jacq.
I was still smiling later as we finished talking business and put on the movie, Army of Darkness . Drinks in hand, we sat side by side on the couch, our bare feet propped up on the old trunk and a big bowl of popcorn between us. I’d known this woman for less than twenty-four hours and was now treating her like a long-lost friend. As we laughed at the main character’s cheesy one-liners, I couldn’t help but think that if crazy is as crazy does, then I might better check into an asylum. It wasn’t the fact that I seemed to be going insane that worried me. It was that I really didn’t care to stop.
* * *
Carlisle shivered in the dark. Already dead and coldblooded, it wasn’t from the temperature. He’d never liked these clandestine meetings. He was a politician, not some military type to slither along in the shadows. To add insult, the demon lord’s earthbound contact was always late. Nicodemus, as he called himself, liked to make an entrance. Although an abandoned building probably wasn’t his preferred setting nor Carlisle and a few rodents his preferred audience. Concessions had to be made in the name of secrecy. But that would all end soon.
“Report!”
Carlisle jumped at Nicodemus’s booming voice. He was an Immortal, for pity’s sake, high-ranking in the house of Louisiana’s Vampire King. But Carlisle’s status didn’t matter to Nicodemus. He and his distortion charm always got a sadistic enjoyment out of making everyone in his presence cower. Even with Carlisle’s supernatural eyesight, he could barely discern the shadow passing through an outside streetlamp’s glow. The spell was the best he’d ever seen, even hiding Nicodemus’s body heat. Carlisle whirled to face the shadow, cringing at the two sets of red eyes
“Have you eaten?” I asked, removing my head from the fridge. I set my ingredients on the counter. Jacq, looking as alluring as ever in her now unbuttoned vest, was back in her usual chair. Had she been staring at my ass? Must be my imagination, because her eyes were fixed on the range top.
“No.”
Uh-oh, one word answers were never good. Her expression was remote, but I detected a hopeful glint in her eyes. Poor woman. She was probably starving after traipsing all over The Burg.
“Would you like some dinner? I’m just putting together a quick salad. Nothing fancy.” I pointed to the chicken left from lunch. My Grams would rise from her grave and beat me with her cane if I didn’t offer food to a dinnertime guest. Jacq smiled at the offer. She thought I was being solicitous. She had no idea. It was purely self-preservation.
“You’d cook for me?” Her Cajun accent was stronger than usual.
My head tilted slightly. She sounded a bit smug, as if I’d just offered her all my worldly possessions. Maybe I had. Some of the more obscure species had some pretty strange practices.
“Well, cook might be an exaggeration. I’m simply reheating the chicken and putting everything in a bowl.” I moved about the kitchen, throwing the chicken and a splash of water on the electric grill before piling the greens in two big bowls, topping them with nuts, berries, feta, and the now steaming chicken, finally drizzling everything with balsamic. I put the bowls down, turning to face her.
“Would you like to watch a movie with me?” Where had that come from? “I mean, we can talk over the case while we eat…” I stammered, unable to meet her eyes. “I’d planned to watch a movie, a dark comedy. Join me?”
Jacq smiled fully, that elusive dimple peeking out. “I’d love to.” Her response was low, husky.
I shivered. It was good that I was done talking, because her smile left me suddenly breathless. I sucked in a much-needed breath, helpless to stop my own smile as we picked up our salads and moved into the other room. What can I say? I was easily pleased and, apparently, so was Jacq.
I was still smiling later as we finished talking business and put on the movie, Army of Darkness . Drinks in hand, we sat side by side on the couch, our bare feet propped up on the old trunk and a big bowl of popcorn between us. I’d known this woman for less than twenty-four hours and was now treating her like a long-lost friend. As we laughed at the main character’s cheesy one-liners, I couldn’t help but think that if crazy is as crazy does, then I might better check into an asylum. It wasn’t the fact that I seemed to be going insane that worried me. It was that I really didn’t care to stop.
* * *
Carlisle shivered in the dark. Already dead and coldblooded, it wasn’t from the temperature. He’d never liked these clandestine meetings. He was a politician, not some military type to slither along in the shadows. To add insult, the demon lord’s earthbound contact was always late. Nicodemus, as he called himself, liked to make an entrance. Although an abandoned building probably wasn’t his preferred setting nor Carlisle and a few rodents his preferred audience. Concessions had to be made in the name of secrecy. But that would all end soon.
“Report!”
Carlisle jumped at Nicodemus’s booming voice. He was an Immortal, for pity’s sake, high-ranking in the house of Louisiana’s Vampire King. But Carlisle’s status didn’t matter to Nicodemus. He and his distortion charm always got a sadistic enjoyment out of making everyone in his presence cower. Even with Carlisle’s supernatural eyesight, he could barely discern the shadow passing through an outside streetlamp’s glow. The spell was the best he’d ever seen, even hiding Nicodemus’s body heat. Carlisle whirled to face the shadow, cringing at the two sets of red eyes
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