by Dannika Dark
People drifted through the open doorways located on each main wall. The larger one straight ahead led into the main house.
A waiter glided by with a tray of champagne. I snatched a flute and guzzled down the bubbly drink before setting the empty glass back on his tray so he could silently judge me behind his mechanical smile.
Viktor cut through the crowd, looking dapper in a grey vest and matching slacks. “Raven, my dear. So good to see you.” He kissed both my cheeks, expensive cologne wafting off him.
I shied away since Viktor had never kissed me that way. He must have been concerned about my state of mind and well-being after my abrupt exit.
“What’s the emergency?”
He checked a button on his cuff. “Because of recent developments, there has been a changing of the guard among the officials. It is our duty to make their acquaintance. The host of this affair wanted in particular to meet with Keystone, and it would be remiss of me not to include you. How are things?”
“Good.”
“And is there anything you need of me?”
“Nope,” I said, hoping my succinct answers would hint that I didn’t want to get into the details. Not in the middle of a party anyhow.
“And did you bring your father? Now that we know he is a trusted human, I would very much like to meet him.”
“No, this isn’t his scene. And I’d rather not mix him up in my world.”
Viktor nodded sympathetically. “I hope you and I can have more time to catch up. I am interested in hearing about your time away.”
My time watching television on the sofa while eating Pop-Tarts? No, Viktor didn’t really want to hear about my time away. I’d be embarrassed if he knew that I’d gone out in public just the day before in sweatpants with spaghetti stains on them. I had devolved from a ruthless killer to a couch potato in a matter of weeks.
“I came with a date,” I said. “Hope that’s okay, but it felt weird to come here alone and then leave alone.”
He turned down his mouth and waved his hand, signaling it wasn’t a big deal. That was how most of these functions worked anyhow. All the invitations came with a plus one, but none of us ever had someone extra to bring. Well, except for Gem.
And look how that turned out.
Maybe bringing Switch wasn’t such a good idea.
Viktor searched the room. “There are so many people here tonight that I’m afraid I’ll lose track of you. I want you to meet our host.”
“Go on and mingle, Viktor. I’ll find you before I leave, and you can introduce us then.”
He turned in a circle before crossing the room and entering the next. I strolled to the center and then found myself drawn to a painting on one of the walls. As I neared, the vivid landscape of purple flowers over rolling hills became so detailed that it was as if I could smell the flowers and feel the summer wind in my hair.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a woman asked.
I glanced at a tall, slim blonde in a gold dress. The luxurious material draped down her body like morning sunlight, just a thin veil of shimmering beauty.
“I adore the color purple,” she went on, studying the painting with me. “I used to want to build a house in a field of lavender.”
“I used to want a hot tub. I thought only people who’d really made it in life had one of those.”
She bubbled with quiet laughter. “Some dreams are best kept locked in our minds. The reality is never quite as magical. I’m Lenore Parrish.”
“Raven Black.” I turned to face her, noticing how her skin had an ethereal glow, as if every pore held a miniature fleck of gold. Even her blond hair absorbed the light in the room.
She glanced down, and I grimaced, hoping that obnoxious tan line around my knees wasn’t showing. “You have an interesting look.”
Uncertain how to take that, I replied, “Thanks.” I clasped my hands behind my back, hiding my chipped nail polish. Viktor hadn’t given me enough advance notice to really get myself ready.
Her gaze latched on to my necklace, and she reached out to touch it. “May I?” Without waiting for an answer, she let it roll between her fingertips. Her black eyes were difficult to read, yet being so close to a female Vampire was fascinating. I’d never seen one up close, and now I knew the rumors I’d heard about them were true. They were goddesses. Vampires must have chosen only the most beautiful women.
“It’s sublime. Where in the world did you find such an exquisite treasure?”
I leaned back until it slipped from her fingers. “It’s nothing special. Just a trinket someone gave me.”
When she tilted her head to the side, a smile graced her lips. “Men can be so difficult.”
“I object to that remark,” Switch protested, swaggering up beside me. “In fact, I think we’re a hell of a lot easier than women.”
Switch had his hair tied at the nape, and he smelled like leather and man. How was it that guys could make jeans and a charcoal T-shirt look so stylish by adding a black sports jacket and leather shoes? Women went through so much effort to look beautiful, and all men had to do was dig in the closet for a jacket.
Lenore slyly winked at me before offering her hand to him, knuckles up. “Lenore Parrish.”
Switch took her hand and kissed it. “Switch.”
She cast him a fervent glance and withdrew her hand. “I adore men who only require one name. It implies a strong personality, and a man’s reputation should precede him. If you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to mingling, but I’ll seek you two out later.” She gave me a polite nod before turning away and dazzling Switch with her sultry walk.
I looked down at my dress. Maybe I needed to make more of an effort when dressing up for social events. The way Switch regarded Lenore made me realize she was the type of woman that all men desired. Hers was the face that launched a thousand ships, and she dressed the part. I preferred tattered clothes because I wanted to be comfortable, but maybe I needed to show that I too was a flower who deserved a little fucking admiration.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
I twisted my mouth to the side. “Do you think I look all right?”
“You look hot.”
My shoulders sagged. So much for classy and sophisticated. “That’s what I thought.” I cut through the room in search of more champagne.
Switch followed after me. “Did I say something wrong? Fine. You look fucking hot.”
I lifted a flute and spun around. “Stop while you’re behind.”
I could still see the dreamy look in his eyes from meeting Lenore. Though I wanted to confront him on it and get his take from a male perspective, I had to remind myself that Lenore was a Vampire with impeccable hearing, so we needed to keep our conversations polite. Even if he didn’t like Vamps, it looked like he would have made an exception for her. I wondered if he would have given me the same hungry look had I been the one wearing that dress.
I gulped down the champagne and belched.
Probably not.
CHRISTIAN RAISED HIS GLASS, thoroughly amused by Wyatt’s T-shirt. “That’s my favorite of them all.”
Wyatt opened his blazer and waggled his brows, showing off a skeleton’s hand giving the finger. Below it read: GIVE UP THE GHOST.
It basically translated to feck off and die.
“I think Viktor gave up trying to change me,” Wyatt bragged. “I still have to wear the jacket, but I gotta be me, right?”
Christian glanced down at Wyatt’s black cowboy boots. “Aye. No one else wants the job.”
“Speaking of which, why are you all dressed up?”
Christian had intentionally pulled out the old vest suit that Raven liked so much, the one he’d worn on the night they shagged in an alleyway under the moonlight. He remembered how she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Kira had stitched a few buttons back onto his trousers, and he’d bought a new white button-up to wear beneath the charcoal vest. The ladies in the room appreciated the view, and he’d garnered a few salacious star
es. Usually the immortals at these functions wore long jackets that covered their loose pants, but this ensemble fit him in all the right places. He’d even made an effort to trim up his beard a little. Not the hairs on his neck, just the rogue ones that had sprouted longer than the rest. Viktor mentioned he’d sent Raven an invitation, and that made Christian nervous. He hadn’t heard from her since their argument, so he didn’t know if she was still vexed. Jaysus help them all if she’d brought her father along. Christian had never felt more rattled in all his life, and if he were a human, he’d be sweating bullets.
Wyatt continued flirting with a brunette across the room. When she crooked her finger at him, his back went ramrod straight. “I’ll be over yonder if you need me.” He patted Christian on the chest and leaned in. “Do me a favor: don’t need me.”
Christian watched Wyatt swagger off, imagining him in one of those ten-gallon hats. Wyatt was born in Tennessee back in the 1800s, and Christian wasn’t sure if people in that state had worn the Western hats he saw on television. But he’d bet his life savings that Wyatt Blessing had lived in a pair of overalls in his formative years. He’d done a fine job of no longer speaking in the vernacular. It slipped out now and again—mostly intentionally—but most immortals moved from place to place, and the only way to blend in was to acclimate to their surroundings like a chameleon. Christian had stopped using archaic words and phrases, but he’d carry the accent of Ireland to the grave. It was natural, elegant, and its rhythm expressed more than the words themselves.
Through the open doorway, Christian glimpsed Raven strutting by in the next room. He weaved around a bevy of aristocrats until he found a spot by the door where he could spy. In a house this busy, he usually kept his hearing switched on low volume so the noise didn’t drive him mad. Otherwise he might have heard her.
While drinking her in, all he could think about was running his hands around her tight black dress, the one that hugged her form and showed off her long and glorious legs as well as her supple breasts. And her arse… Jaysus wept.
Raven sampled a few hors d’oeuvres off a tray and disappeared out of sight. When he attempted to move through the doorway, Lenore appeared with a Cheshire grin on her face.
“Miss me already, Chrissy?”
He backed up against a statue of a naked goddess.
Lenore looked like someone had dipped her in gold, her dress so paper-thin that it did little to conceal her revered figure. Her breasts defied gravity. They were slightly large for her frame, and the nipples were dark enough that he could see their shadow through the dress.
“Like what you see?” she purred. “It seems little has changed in your taste.” Lenore stood next to him and took his arm. “Viktor briefly explained the dynamics of your team, and I have to say I’m intrigued by the idea of partners. I never imagined that Christian Poe would work well with others. I haven’t met yours, but I’m so looking forward to meeting him.”
“Don’t you have other guests to devour?”
“Not everyone here is a stranger, but I haven’t found my tribe yet. As it turns out, not all the officials on the panel are as seasoned as I’d hoped. One of them is only a hundred years old. That’s like putting an infant in charge.”
“Perhaps you should put him in a coffin.”
She simpered and rested her head on his shoulder for an uncomfortable beat. “I’ve missed your humor. I don’t think I appreciated it as much then as I do now, but perhaps I’m jaded about the times we live in. Just look at how some of these people are dressed. They don’t take balls seriously anymore.”
“On the contrary, my balls get more attention than they used to.”
Ignoring him, she scrutinized the crowd. “These insipid immortals can’t even be bothered with showing a little glamour. What have we evolved into?”
He patted her hand and pivoted to face her. “Narcissistic do-nothings who lie on a beach and forget the world is still here? You’re hardly one to judge.”
“I’ll have you know that mine hasn’t been a life of leisure.”
“Well, isn’t that astonishing?”
“I’ve helped many individuals amass a small fortune. In return, I have their loyalty.”
“And favors, I’m sure.”
She reached out and tugged on his beard. “Did you forget how to shave, or are you trying to repel women on purpose?”
“Perhaps next time you should bury me with a razor.”
Her lips thinned, but her smiling eyes belied her contempt. “I don’t want to quarrel on such a festive night, and my skin is a lot thicker than it used to be.”
“Perhaps you should have used sunscreen.”
“You have strong features, Chrissy. You shouldn’t hide them behind all that hair.”
He bristled at her use of the pet name she’d given him long ago. There was a time when having a special name meant something, but now it just felt like talons pricking at his heart.
When Raven entered the room, time stopped. Her quickened heartbeat filled his ears like a lullaby, and the way her different-colored eyes captured the light was breathtaking. Her gaze could pierce a man’s soul, and it reminded him of the first time he laid eyes on her. The men in that bar had turned her away, put off by her scavenging. But they were fools not to have seen what Christian could see—a ravishing woman with a dark soul and tempestuous heart.
Lenore followed his gaze.
But he forgot everything when he caught sight of the attractive man walking alongside Raven, the one who had taken her arm. He smiled down at her, and they looked comfortable together. Too comfortable. Like they knew each other.
Intimately.
Christian could only do one thing—turn away.
CHAPTER 9
As much as I hated the snobbery of elitist parties, I was fascinated by how the other half lived. Whoever owned this place was not only loaded but had exquisite taste in architecture and décor. It was dreamlike, and I felt like a princess in a palace as Switch took my arm and led me into the next room. This one had several nude statues that should have belonged in a museum in Rome.
“This place is huge,” he said quietly.
“Maybe we should leave bread crumbs to find our way out.”
He grinned at me and squeezed my arm a little.
Viktor appeared at my right, dazzling me with a charismatic smile. “Ah, Raven. Here you are.”
“This is Switch.” I tugged Switch’s arm to steer his attention away from a snack cart. “Switch, this is my boss, the incomparable Viktor Kazan.”
Both men bowed their heads at each other in greeting.
“There is someone I would like to introduce you to.” Viktor took my hand and pulled me away. He led me a short distance near a statue, and I recognized the lady from earlier. “Raven Black, I would like you to meet our most gracious hostess and new official for the higher authority, Lenore Parrish. Lenore…”
She gave me a playful smile. “We’ve met.”
The man beside her turned around, and I should have recognized his ass in those trousers. Christian offered a crooked smile and quickly collected a champagne flute from a tray before averting his eyes.
Viktor looked between Lenore and me. “I did not realize you two knew each other.”
“We met just briefly,” she explained. “She was admiring one of my favorite paintings.”
“This is a nice place you’ve got,” I chimed in, deciding that was the understatement of the year. At least I hadn’t said anything insulting when we were talking just moments ago.
Viktor gestured to me. “Raven is one of my people. She is Christian’s partner.”
Lenore’s delicate eyebrows arched high. “Is that so? When you introduced me to the others individually, you didn’t mention who was with whom. I hadn’t the faintest idea that you paired opposite genders. How fascinating.”
Viktor nodded. “We have rules to keep it civilized, but I am very proud of the people I have chosen to work under my leadership. Should you ever n
eed us to investigate a crime or track someone down, I have the utmost confidence in my team. I’m sure if you speak with others, you will hear many good things. We have received high praise from your peers, and we take our job very seriously.”
Viktor was obviously positioning us above other teams in the city that did similar work.
Lenore glided toward me. “I heard all about the recent blackout. Is it true you stabbed some of the officials with a stunner?”
I twirled a lock of hair around my finger. “I see my reputation precedes me.”
“You make quite the impression.” Lenore gave Viktor an unwavering smile. “Where others might be incredulous that a woman can be so cunning and fearless, I know firsthand that those traits are the very reason women like myself have survived so long in this male-dominated world. I’m eager to know more about you, Raven. We should get together soon for tea. Viktor, don’t you dare keep this one all to yourself.”
When Switch’s arm slipped around my waist, I tensed. I hadn’t brought Switch to make Christian jealous, only to keep me company. And I had little control over Switch’s territorial wolf behavior. Christian shifted his stance and took another sip of champagne but said nothing. His apathy wasn’t surprising but left me unsure of how to act. This wasn’t the time or place to invite drama, so in a way I was relieved he was behaving.
Hell, I was relieved I was behaving.
After all, I’d spent the past two weeks imagining the things I wanted to say the next time we ran into each other.
An awkward silence befell us.
Lenore captured Viktor’s arm. “Introduce me to the Chitah you were speaking to earlier. What was his name?”