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Stepping away from the pool table, I meandered closer, sliding my empty pint glass onto a table. I leaned closer to Jade, smelling her fresh floral scent spiked deliciously with fury.
“Bothering? We’ve become fast friends after hearing about her honey-filled escapades. Looking at the flush marring your pretty cheeks, I can see that you have missed me as well. You’re practically glowing with excitement at my presence, and I desire you even more for it.”
Jade’s body radiated tension as a gaggle of witches joined us, no longer content watching the show from afar. Having heard the end of my remarks, Tabitha’s shoulders stiffened, her eyes shifting from me to Jade with an uneasy grimace.
“I almost forgot what you’ve been doing all year, Jade,” she muttered darkly. “Mystical guide, is it?”
“Yes, as I’ve told you before, Tabitha,” she replied snarkily before she turned her ire on me. “And vamp, I’m sure the emotion you’re detecting is wrath. Not desire.”
I fought a victorious grin at her fluttering heartbeat.
She sipped from her glass of cider. “I thought creatures didn’t come within town limits. At least, that’s what I overheard today at the cafe.”
“I think what you heard is we only allow aselect fewto enter our borders. We can’t be too careful about letting just anyone into our town,” a witch with an unreasonable mass of fiery curls and a coquettish smile said from behind Jade. She sauntered closer to me, lifting a hand in greeting. “My name’s Sara, and I’ll tell you now, weadorevampires so long as they comply with whatever we say.”
I took her hand and laid a brief kiss on the top of it, merely to watch the flush of jealousy burn Jade’s cheeks. “The pleasure is all mine. My name is Alexei Vasyliev, Prince of the Vampires and leader of the New Orleans Court. I hope my presence here won’t be too much of an inconvenience.”
“Aprince?” Sara’s excitement turned hungry. “Jade, you never said you possessed so many handsome and rich friends back home. And it’s no inconvenience at all, Alexei. So long as you keep to the same rules Henry follows regarding blood drinking, we won’t have any issues with your visit.”
“Is that your call to make?” Jade glared.
Liliane winked at Henry, and the two wound their arms together like conspirators, returning to the bar for refills.
My hand lifted to my chest in mock sorrow. “How you wound me, Jade. After all our long, sensual evenings together within my Court or at my nightclub, you still don’t trust me?”
“Trusting you would be a monumental mistake.”
The sharp sincerity ringing in her voice cut to my core. Though I viewed our vitriolic rapport as mere foreplay, Jade couldn’t disguise the loathing beneath her barbs. In her regard, I would always remain the Prince of Pleasure.
“Your bite is as sharp as my fangs, darling,” I said, turning away from her to watch the dart game. “Though I can’t deny the wisdom in distrusting me. Or any vampire, really.”
Sara and the other witches tittered as if I had said something humorous rather than painfully true, but I grew weary of this charade.
“Come, Henry,” I shouted over the music. “We’ve terrorized the witches enough for one night.”
With a bow, my hand lifted to Jade’s hair and tucked a loose strand behind her ear. I pressed a chaste kiss against her cheek, hastily backing away before she could slap me. “Good night, darling. Until next time.”
At my low, heated tone, something flickered in her gaze.
Waltzing through the restaurant and back onto the wharf, I was pleased to discover the mortals had vacated the outdoor patio to give me a moment of peace. I kicked at a metal chair, sending it flying towards the railing with a clang.
How could I have expected anything to change away from New Orleans?
My hopes for a chance to prove my worth to Jade dwindled as swiftly as a temperamental Atlantic storm.
“That went well.” Henry’s sarcastic retort felt like a slap as he led me away from the wharf. He shook his head with disbelief as he watched me run an anxious hand through my hair, staring back at the restaurant once more with regret. “Nettling witches is beneath you, Alexei.”
Before I could reply, Jade stormed past the restaurant door with me in her sights. Silver sparkled in her eyes as her hair whipped around her ominously, the air itself crackling with her anger like Artemis in battle.
It was a sight to behold, one that made me stiffen with longing.
“What was that, Alexei?” she seethed, her finger raised in accusation. “Haven’t you heard of a phone call or a text or a fucking carrier pigeon? Literally any other form of communication to reach me would have been preferable to that ridiculous scene inside. You could have given me some warning!”
Henry’s eyebrows shot up, and a slow smile spread across his face.
She turned on him with a glower that would unsettle even the fiercest warrior. “What’s it to you—?”
“Henry Thompson,” he replied smoothly, offering his hand.
