Nighttime, though? That’s when all the freaks came out. Vampires, shifters, fae, me. Not that humans would notice or care, but Luna’s was situated on an energy vortex and served as a 24/7 safe zone—neutral territory for all. No fighting. No killing. No magic.
And the coffee was pretty damn good, too.
“Venti vanilla cappuccino, extra foam,” I told the barista, a cute and bubbly fox shifter named Ella who’d been working there a few months now.
“Gray!” She smiled, dimples showing. “Must be your lucky night. I’ve got two of those chocolate macadamia cookies behind the counter. Interested?”
“When am I not interested in chocolate macadamia?”
Darius slid his credit card across the counter. “We’ll take them both. And a double espresso for me. Extra hot.”
“Thank you,” I said to him, the rich, warm scents of the café wrapping me in a much-needed hug. “This was actually areallygood idea.”
“Don’t sound so surprised, Gray. I’ve been known to have them at least once per century.”
We grabbed our order from the bar, then found a table at the back behind a bookshelf stuffed with tattered books and old board games. My gaze landed on Othello, and tears stung my eyes. Sophie loved playing that stupid game. I’d never once beaten her.
God, I wish I could talk to her about this. About Darius. Ronan. Everything going on inside me…
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I settled into the chair Darius had pulled out for me and reached for a cookie from the plate, putting my faith in the healing power of chocolate.
“Do all vampires like cookies?” I asked as he sat down next to me and reached for his.
“I suppose not.” Darius brought the cookie to his lips, but he didn’t take a bite. He seemed to be… appreciating it. “But they’re certainly one ofmymany vices.”
Is helickingthat?
“What are your other vices?” I asked, my thighs clenching involuntarily as I imagined his response.Sex. You. Long, slow sex on a Sunday, preferably with you…
“Cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries,” he said firmly, and finally took a bite, slow and deliberate.
Oh, to be that cookie…
My cheeks burned, a mixture of lust and embarrassment pumping through my blood.
One orgasm from the man, and now I’m jealous of a cookie?
“Are you alright, love? You look a bit flushed.”
“What? Great. I mean, good. I’mfine.” I broke off a big piece of my cookie and shoved it into my mouth.
When my breathing returned to normal—at least, as normal as it was going to get in the presence of Darius—I said, “Not to be a total buzzkill, but we need to talk about tonight.”
Darius smiled. “Why talk? Actions speak much louder than words, and after our date, we could go back to the car and—”
“Not that part of tonight, as tempting as that sounds.” I reached for his knee under the table, giving it a squeeze. “Tell me what you discovered. Before the vamps crashed our search party.”
His smile faltered. “Gray, it can wait. You don’t have to—”
“Idohave to,” I said softly. “Darius, I know things didn’t go as planned tonight, but Sophie was my best… She was…”
She was everything to me. Absolutely everything. And I’d let her down.
As much as I appreciated the chill café vibe, and the healing chocolate, and the unexpected sultry moments Darius and I had shared in the car, I was still on a mission, and I couldn’ttrulyrelax until we tracked down the monster who stole my beautiful friend from this world.
“I need to know,” I said. “Please.”
“Of course.” Darius leaned forward, his voice dropping to just above a whisper. “For starters, Alvarez was right about the vampire blood—I scented it on them almost immediately. Identical in each case.”
