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“Duly noted.” He smiled.
“Well, what about sunlight?”
“What about it?”
“Aren’t you worried about it, staying in the hotel? I mean, I know you’re fine with indirect exposure but is it safe for you to be there?”
“Your concern is touching, but you needn’t worry. The hotel is vampire friendly. One of my companies helped build it actually. I had UV filters and blackout drapes installed in all of the luxury suites. Vampires are well known for enjoying the finer things in life you know.”
“Um, yeah I’ve noticed.” I said. “When do you think the bar will reopen?”
“The police said they will let me know. Hopefully by Sunday at the latest. It is not good for the books to be closed for any length of time, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
Okay, I had to ask while I had the chance. “It seems like you and Vance know each other. When did you two meet?”
“Wow, you’re beautiful and astute. Impressive.” He paused. “Vance and I go back many years. You could say we had some common ……interests back in the day. Perhaps he’ll tell you about it sometime. Now, as much as I’m enjoying your company, I’m guessing your detective is getting a little anxious by now. Excuse me, the detective. I’ll walk you back to him if you’d like.”
“Um, okay.” Wow, just call me Miss Articulate!
Leo opened the door and gestured for me to pass. Vance was standing right outside looking really pissed off. Leo grabbed my hand, turned it over and placed his lips on the inside of my wrist. My eyes rolled back involuntarily when the tip of his fangs touched my skin. “It’s been a pleasure, dear one. Until next time.”
I looked at Vance and saw a muscle twitching under his eye as he squared his jaw; He reminded me of an angry cartoon character with steam coming out of its ears. Leo went back into his office and shut the door. Vance grabbed my arm and starting yanking me towards the back door. “What was that all about?” He growled.
“It was no big deal.” I replied. “Geez! Will you loosen your grip please? He just wanted to tell me that he’ll be spending time at Pixie Dust. He reserved a room at the hotel, said it was a business thing. He wanted to ensure his employee’s safety. Yada, yada, yada.”
He released my arm as we left the building. Hoping to lighten his mood and desperate for a change in subject I asked, “Did the truth spell worked on Chad?”
Clenching his jaw even tighter he replied, “Yeah, he was being completely honest with every word. I have no idea what you ever saw in that asshole.”
Okay, well so much for my change the subject idea. “Hey, he wasn’t like that when we were together.”
He dangled the crystal in front of me. “Lie.” Fuck, I forgot about that damn thing!
I blushed. “Okay, maybe he was a little like that when we were together. But in my defense, he was much better at hiding it.”
“Yeah, I bet.” He said.
When we got to his car, he opened my door and held it out for me. I stumbled a little bit and plowed right into his unyielding chest. He stead
ied me while I took a moment to catch my bearings. We stood there, barely inches apart just staring at each other for who knows how long? The anger drained from his face as he started moving in for a kiss. I thought putting on one show for the evening was more than enough so I ducked inside before he had a chance. Besides, this whole hot and cold thing he had going on was really starting to bother me.
We drove in silence almost the entire way. Right before pulling into my parking lot he said, “Look Karli, I think we should talk about what happened between us earlier.”
Ugh! I was so not in the mood for this. First we start talking about getting it on in public, and then what? Oh yeah, maybe some “Hey Karli, I know you’re a fairy so let’s talk about that too!” No thank you!
“Vance, I’m really not in the mood to talk about anything right now.” I said firmly. “I’ve had a long night and a lot to drink. I think it would be best if we just called it a night. I really want to go inside and get some sleep.”
He pulled the car in front of my building and got out to open my door. “Would you like me to walk you to your door?” He asked.
“No, I think it would be best if we said goodbye here.” Trying to avoid yet another awkward moment, I reached up and lightly kissed him on the cheek. “Goodnight Vance. I’ll see you soon.”
I walked into my building without looking back. My body was fighting me every step of the way, desperately wanting more contact with his. If I risked a glance, I may have asked him to come in and I really couldn’t afford to go there right now. I unlocked my door, threw my keys on the counter, and kicked off my boots. I took a few aspirin to fight off the inevitable hangover and staggered into bed.
Chapter 8
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I woke the next morning to the sound of my phone ringing. I fumbled around until I found it and pressed the talk button. “Hello?” I said in a scratchy voice. God my head hurts!
