It was like setting eyes on a solar eclipse; not impossible, but it burned. His square jaw clenched with visible tension. Vengeful eyes burned with golden fire, and his muscular build filled out the suit he wore. His movements were liquid, unnatural. The only sign he was human was the dark scruff perfectly framing his full lips.
“It’s the devil.” Chad’s whisper came out hoarse. I hadn’t realized I’d let him go, but he remained frozen in place, staring at the approaching creature with abject horror and dread. “He’s finally come for my soul.”
The man oozed power. In his presence, I was a mere ant. He would smush me without any regard.
He’s just a man,I told myself, swallowing hard.
As if hearing my thoughts, the man’s face flickered. I got glimpses of what I guessed to be his true form—a skull with eye holes of black, sucking darkness that threatened to drag me in and swallow me whole. Looking at him was like meeting with the end of everything.
Based on Chad’s reaction, you didn’t have to be supernatural to see this guy had major mojo. More importantly, the dude looked seriously pissed.
Chad stumbled away from me, and I didn’t try to stop him.
Maybe because I knew I was in the last two seconds of my undead life.
The powerful being paid no attention to my hard-won mark, making a beeline for me.
Shit shit shit. What do I do
A hand reached for me. My instincts kicked in as I dodged his grasp, then grabbed his arm and did the only thing I could do.
I bit his hand.
He stopped cold.
“What the hell are you doing?” he growled, and a shiver rippled down my body before sweeping back up through my stomach. Fear and…lust?
Great, whoever I really was, I was also dumb.
My lips still wrapped around the side of his palm, I said with a full mouth, “Biting you?”
His look of incredulous disgust would have reduced any other human being into a puddle of regret at having ever been born.
It was then that I realized my fangs had retracted, and I was gnawing on him like a toddler. Releasing him, backing up a few steps, I put my hands up in the air. “I was just trying to defend myself. It was clear you were coming at me with a lot of heat.”
Examining the dull teeth imprints on his hand, then me, the god said, “And you thought you could…”
“Bite you?” I winced at my lack of conviction. I didn’t know what tall, dark, and scary’s deal was, but I was pretty sure being a vampire who couldn’t bite was a pretty epic failing. Was I this big of a loser in my last life? Vampires only did the one thing, right? Bite people and drink blood?
Who was I supposed to see about revoking my V-card?
Oh right, V did not stand for vampire in that instance.
The god wiped the back of his hand against his very expensive-looking pants. He gave me a strange look.
The squeal of tires filled the air. Chad had made off like a bat out of hell. I dropped my hands, slapping one knee in frustration. “Seriously? Now I have to track his ass all over again. I barely had the money to bribe his buddy to lure him out the first time.” I held out a hand expectantly to the god. “You owe me two hundred and fifty bucks.”
After all, I’d stolen that money in a crumbling, smoke-filled casino fair and square. I’d been trying to pick a mark to steal from when I heard a man, rooted to a poker table, make a lewd suggestion as he slapped a cocktail waitress on her ass. She bit her lip instead of responding, probably not wanting to ruin her chances of a tip. He’d had a lucky day, judging by his chips. As he leered at her retreating form, I’d activated my super speed mode to nab his neat, colorful stack. I made sure to drop half of them on the waitress’s tray when she was looking the other way. I was like the Robin Hood of vampires. But I wasn’t so good that I’d let this beastly hot man get away without paying me back what I’d rightfully stolen.
Clearly taken aback, the god looked at my outstretched hand as if it were the hand of a leper’s.
This time when he reached for me, he succeeded in wrapping his fingers around my throat. My feet lifted off the ground several feet, like I’d done to Chad only minutes ago.
Seriously, what kind of karma had I racked up in my previous life?
Despite not needing to breathe, I felt the instinctual danger that he wanted to rip my head off. In the list of methods I had tried on myself to see if the vampire myths held true or not, I was fairly certain that he would take me out.
I clawed at his hand, but he didn’t release his grip.
