Zeke smiled at her and patted her hand. “Ihear that. Far too much time on my feet tonight, and it’s justgetting started.”
“Those gel inserts for your shoes help,” shetold him and lifted her foot. He leaned over to look at her blackboots. “Seriously, these things killed me before I discovered thoseinserts.”
“I’ll have to check them out.”
“Well, hello, Red,” a voice purred frombeside her.
Maggie glanced at the man who had walkedover to stand by her left elbow. She wasn’t in the mood to be hiton tonight, especially not by a vampire—which, judging by the wayhe glanced at her throat, he was. She somehow managed to keep herface blank as eyes the color of the sky stared back at her. Hisblond hair had been styled in the best way to enhance his extremelyhandsome features. She suspected it had taken him hours to get hishair to look as if he hadn’t done anything to it.
This vampire was more handsome than Aiden.He possessed the smooth, polished look of a GQ model, but unlikethe way Aiden made her feel, she didn’t experience the tiniestflutter in her belly when she looked at him.
Focusing on Zeke again, she ignored the vampas she continued their conversation. “I get them at Walmart foronly five bucks.”
Like Aiden, Zeke probably didn’t have tostress about paying for things, but he was a bartender, which meanthe worked for some reason. And from what she remembered of theincome she’d earned while tending bar when going through EMTschool, he might be looking for a deal like she always was.
“That’s my price range!” Zeke declared.
“Would you like a drink, Red?” the handsomevampire asked.
“Got one,” she replied and lifted the freshbeer Zeke had brought her.
“How about something stronger?”
Maggie turned on her stool to stare at him.“No, thank you.”
His smile faltered before he showed all hispearly whites again. “Come on, Red, I’m trying to be friendly.”
“Seriously, no. I’m not in the mood.”
Zeke straightened behind the bar as heglanced between her and the vamp. Then, he looked to where she’dlast seen Aiden. Her hackles rose when she saw this. With her backnow to him, she couldn’t see Aiden anymore, but she was quitecapable of taking care of herself.
“Red—”
“Blond guy,” she interrupted as she set herbeer down. “Let me give you a clue. One”—she lifted her indexfinger—“men who hit on women by calling them Red or Blondie areannoying. We know the color of our hair; no need to remind us. Doyourself and all women a favor, find a new line.
“Two”—she lifted her middle finger to holdit next to the other one—“when a woman tells you no, she meansno. Three, I have a drink.” She continued to lift herfingers as she counted off her points on them. “Four, when someoneis speaking to someone else, that is not an invitation for you toinsert yourself into their conversation. It’s rude and, once again,annoying.”
The smiled faded from handsome’s face beforeshe counted to two. Now his eyes glittered with malice. This manwas unaccustomed to hearing no, but more than that, he was the typewho expected her to be fawning all over him. She’d fended off hershare of unwanted male attention over the years. This was the firstone who could snap her neck between this breath and the next, andhe looked pissed enough to do it.
“Let me tell you something,” the vamp saidas he leaned so close she could smell the peppermint toothpaste onhis breath.
“Back off, Nigel, now,” Zeke stated in asteely tone that had replaced his casual air.
“First off,Red,” the vampsneered.
Maggie’s hand tightened on the neck of herbeer bottle in preparation of braining him with it if it becamenecessary. When his hand wrapped around a chunk of her hair,another hand shot out so fast in front of her that she didn’t seeit until it enclosed on Nigel’s fist gripping her hair.
“Let her go.”
The frigid tone of Aiden’s words sent ashiver down Maggie’s spine even as his body heat warmed her on theside he stood against. Nigel’s eyes shot past her. Maggie riskedthe tug on her hair to turn her head. When Nigel’s grip on itcaused her hair to pull taut, Aiden’s eyes flashed down to it, anda crackle of power radiated off him.
Maggie’s breath caught. The wrath emanatingfrom Aiden caused some of the other patrons to slink away fromthem. She glanced at Nigel to find he’d bared his fangs. Nigel waseither extremely brave or a flat-out fucking moron. She wasguessing the later.
She was trapped between two immortal,formidable beings, yet she felt no fear as Aiden steppedprotectively closer to her. Nigel could snap her neck in a second;Aiden could tear his throat out in less time than that.
“Easy, fellas,” Zeke advised. “Nigel, lether go.”
Nigel’s hand constricted on her hair. Maggiedidn’t make a sound; she feared if she cried out, Aiden would killhim. Then, Nigel gave a small tug on her hair, pulling her towardhim. Crimson bled through the green of Aiden’s eyes and the musclesin his forearm bulged until the veins stood out against hisskin.
