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She merely stared at it with distaste until he dropped his arm back to his side with a chuckle.
“Henry is an old friend. I would trust him with my life, including matters regarding the staff,” I assured her with a wince. “Henry, this hellcat is Jade. My…” I trailed off as she bared her teeth in a vicious smile.
“Your employee, your accomplice, the bane of your existence? Take your pick. I’ve certainly chosen my stance on our relationship. And it’s purely professional.”
“Is that so?” I challenged, my throat vibrating with the thunderous emotions swirling through me. “Then why did you come to my bed four months ago?”
She gasped, taking a subconscious step forward until her luscious scent surrounded me. “Take that back, vamp! It was a miscommunication byyourvampire fledgling, by the way.”
My boots brushed against hers as I leaned forward as if to steal a kiss. “Don’t pretend you didn’t want me so badly, your shrew-like tendencies fled, leaving behind the woman beneath who hungers for me. Even now, your words lie, while your body responds to me so sweetly.”
“I hunger for your head on a spike,” she spat.
My grin turned feral with delight.
“Good gods, Silas was right about the two of you,” Henry groaned, both with impatience and a tinge of amusement. “Five minutes in your company and I’m thoroughly exhausted. And strangely titillated. There’s a lot of suppressed sexual tension here, so I’ll leave you to your war of words. Or tongues. At this point, it’s a toss-up.”
His words conjured images of the two of us scratching and fighting our way through a dark, silken bedroom as we tore off clothes and sought to dominate each other, even in our fiery fucking. The heady fantasy burned into my brain and made me thicken with arousal.
“That won’t be necessary,” Jade managed through her tight smile. “I’m not staying long. Just wanted to get the message across loud and clear that you are not to approach me in front of the Coven again. We may be unwilling partners for this mission, but I don’t need you sullying my reputation with the Coven.”
“Sully?” I snarled, all good humor fading.
“Speaking of Trystan,” she continued, ignoring my outburst. “Is there a plan regarding him? I’m assuming we’ll have to search his Court and anywhere he would hide the staff. Once I’ve figured out how to better track the talismans, we’ll need a way into the dark recesses of his world.”
Henry whistled low. “You talk a big game for a witch who knows nothing about Trystan Dubois or vampire laws. His stealth and political undermining are legendary in our world. He won’t have the staff easily accessible. If hewasthe person to steal it.”
His tone questioned Trystan’s involvement at all.
“Revenge and hatred have blinded him,” I countered with an icy glare. “He’s grown sloppy in his years in the States, away from my father. With no true adversaries worth his time, he’s become complacent.”
“And how do you know this after nearly a decade in New Orleans?” Henry wondered, suspicion glinting in his eyes.
“Silas’s skills are also legendary. Don’t be too offended, Henry. His spies investigated your background minimally and only as it related to this curse.”
Henry let out a slew of profanities. “You Vasylievs and your constant meddling!”
I couldn’t deny our family’s reach. Nor the lengths I would go to keep Jade safe.
“What can I say?” I feigned a humorous glint. “I’m just that good at my job.”
Jade rolled her eyes, her lashes fluttering prettily in the moonlight. “If you two are done, the Coven will head to the cemetery at any moment now.”
As if her words conjured them, the witches fell through the restaurant doors, their barks of laughter and conversation cutting through the quiet night.
Before she turned away, Jade hissed, “I have a phone, Alexei. Call or text the next time you plan on ambushing me. And at least try to do so a little less likeyou. Diplomacy, vamp. Learn it.”
Liliane’s arms wrapped snugly around Willa Ward. The High Priestess sent Henry another wink before disappearing down the road, calling over her shoulder, “Don’t dawdle, Jade. I want you and Tabitha to experience the full show.”
Jade practically leaped away from me. “Coming, Liliane!”
Sara and her two friends brushed past me with mischievous grins, coming to stand with Jade. The red-haired witch smiled impishly, suggesting, “You should come to the exorcism tonight. Liliane already invited Henry, and I think you would enjoy watching us in action.”
“He’s busy,” Jade bit out, looking wild and furious.
An evil smile spread across my cheeks. “Actually, Henry and I are amenable to a change in plans. Lead the way, Sara. I wouldloveto watch your Coven’s exorcism. You may have heard, but we had an incident at my Court last weekend, and now I find myself riveted by the subject.”
Jade stared daggers at me before spinning on her heel and following behind Tabitha, her boots thundering on the deck.
