I locked the deadbolt behind me, set the cookies on the stairs, and took off my boots. Light shone from the kitchen, but before I could head in, Fane appeared at the top of the stairs. I could barely make him out in the dark. I picked up the plate and held it up in one hand.
“Girl Scout delivery,” I sang out sweetly.
Fane’s chuckle drifted down the stairs. He took one step at a time. As he neared, I set the cookies on the floor because I could see I needed to free up my hands.
Fane was dressed in snug black jeans and an even tighter gray-and-black-striped long-sleeved tee. The top was so skintight I could see the outline of his abs. Saliva gathered in my throat.
“What’s this?” I asked, waving a hand along the length of his body. “Throwback Thursday? Denali High days revisited?” Wow, did my fingers itch to touch the thin layer of fabric covering him. I grabbed Fane and pressed myself against him. “I almost forgot how hot you look when you go goth.”
Fane gave a throaty laugh then cleared his throat. “Let’s move this to the living room, shall we?”
I leaned back and wet my lips. “Ohhh, the living room. Is the bedroom too far away?” I wiggled my eyebrows and Fane chuckled. He took a step back, then another, and another, backing his way up toward the darkened living room.
A grin spread up his narrow cheekbones. “Follow me,” he said.
Said the Pied Piper to the enthralled she-vamp. Fane had no need of a magic pipe, his lips were enticement enough. He kept backing up, affording me a mesmerizing view of his tight abs and lissome thighs. I’d like to see those black jeans around his ankles.
My heart rate picked up as I stalked after Fane into the living room. Light from the kitchen spilled into the hallway, fading with every step. Fane stopped in front of the couch, a dark and limber silhouette. We were two shadows about to become one.
I wasn’t the type to bring work home with me. Once I stepped outside of agency headquarters, it all stayed behind, locked away like a rabid vampire in a cage. The agency had messed with my life enough. They didn’t get to take up space in my brain when I was spending quality time with Fane.
I paused a few feet away from Fane and brushed my thumb carelessly across the top button of my jeans. His eyes drifted to my hips. We grinned at each other like star-struck, lust-crazed fools.
Enough with the prologue, I was ready to get this show on the road, and by road, I meant couch, preferably with Fane’s pants off. His shirt was optional. Usually I preferred it off to feel his skin against mine, but with it so tight, it was pretty damn hot as is.
I sauntered over to Fane and ran my nails across his chest. “My dark prince,” I murmured as my fingers slipped down to his groin. He stiffened in response.
Fane swallowed. “On second thought, we should really ditch the living room and go upstairs . . . right now . . . before anyone can stop us.”
I leaned back and squinted at him. “Stop us?” I asked in confusion.
Fane turned sideways and glanced at the couch just before Noel, Dante, and Selene popped up from behind the cushions and shouted, “Surprise! Happy belated birthday!”
A jolt of surprise went through me. I nearly went into a defensive crouch, sucking air in through my teeth.
“Nice try, Dark Prince,” Noel said with a laugh, skirting the couch and elbowing Fane playfully in the ribs. “Better keep your sword sheathed.”
Joss didn’t jump out so much as appear from the hallway, like he’d just stumbled upon the group at the right time. Dante folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, but at least he didn’t leap over the couch and try to tackle Fane. Good thing I hadn’t tackled him. An audience wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.
They were all dressed up, but it was Noel who caught my eye first in her bright pink baby-doll dress with ruffled sleeves and a lace collar. She wore a thin white headband and platform, open-toed sandals that looked better suited for summer than the dead of winter. Then again, Noel had mastered the whole impervious-to-cold mind shift. Her sense of fashion was an entirely different matter.
I looked around the room slowly. “O-kay. Thanks, but it’s not like I’m getting any older.”
“Maybe not,” Noel said. “But that doesn’t stop the hands of time, and it’s getting late.” She clapped her hands. “Get dressed, we’re going out!”
“What do you mean?”
“Out. Off base. Chilkoot Charlie’s. You can’t leave Alaska if you’ve never been to Koots. It would be like living in Paris all your life and never stepping foot inside the Louvre.”
Joss coughed, which made the laugh that had been building inside me burst out. I grabbed my side. What had I said earlier about Joss and Noel? Total opposites. Joss needed to find himself another introverted intellectual type, not a feisty, foul-mouthed little party ninja.
I coughed back the last of my laughter. “Sure, Noel. Koots is totally on par with the Louvre.”
“Not really,” Noel said, flicking her hair back. “There’s no drinking or dancing inside the Louvre, not unless you want to get thrown out—or so I imagine.” She walked over to me and put her hands on my shoulders. “This is our night out. You’ve earned it. No assignments and no worries. Just ear-shattering music, plenty of drinking, and dancing.” She raised her arms in the air and swayed her hips.
I caught Joss staring at Noel’s gyrating hips before his eyes darted away. Maybe there really was a hot-blooded male somewhere inside that husk of a vampire.
Noel lowered her arms and stepped back, grinning.
“When you say drinking—” I said, a devious grin spreading across my face.
Noel smirked. “I like the way you think, but I’m talking alcohol. Let’s have an old-fashioned night out.”
Dante gave a whoop of approval. “Let the good times roll.” He relaxed his arms and planted his palms on the couch’s backrest.
I didn’t point out I’d never had an old-fashioned night out in my life—human, undead, or otherwise. The only parties I’d been to had been fanged affairs where a good time meant managing not to get drugged or kidnapped—or having to kill. Always on the clock . . . until tonight.
I glanced at Fane. “Is it safe?”
“I’ve arranged for two undercover bodyguards to meet us at the club and keep watch.”
“Melcher and Pearlman approved this?” I asked dubiously.
Fane’s chest expanded. “I did. The men are my own.”
Noel elbowed me in the side. “Our very own muscle. Cool, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Why not?”
“That’s the spirit,” Dante said.
I had to admit it was nice to see him looking more like his old self than the uptight trainer. Basecamp had a way of getting under his skin—all our skins. Getting away for a few hours would probably do us all some good.
I flashed the group a smile and headed out of the living room. “Be back down in five minutes.”
“Er, ten,” Fane said, starting to follow.
“I don’t think so,” Dante said. “We were promised a night out. Five minutes, Sky, or I’ll come up and drag your ass back down myself.”
Noel snorted.
“I’d like to see you try,” Fane said.
As amusing as this conversation was, I had an outfit to assemble. If I could kill a vampire in less than fifteen minutes for boot camp, I could certainly change in a third of the time. I sprinted up the stairs and switched my boot-cut jeans for a pair of dark skinny jeans and a black long-sleeved top that settled off the shoulders. Brushing the tangles that had formed in my long black hair during the day took longer than undressing, but I was dressed, refreshed, and downstairs within five minutes. I sat on the bottom stair and laced up my black boots.
Noel drifted into the landing. She stopped and wrinkled her nose.
“Not you too.”
I kept lacing my boot as I looked up. “What do you mean?”
“With all the black,” she said, waving one arm up and down.
&n
bsp; I snorted. “Look who’s talking. It’s the only color you used to wear. Now you look like Bubble Gum Barbie. What’s with that? Want to make sure people know you’re a girl?”
Noel burst into laughter. Once she reined it in, she smirked and said, “Looking girly works for me. And, as you know, the only reason for the goth look was because it’s what Agents Melcher and Crist wanted.” Noel leaned her back against the wall. “I remember you used to be the preppy-looking one in your short pleated skirts and white blouses.”
“That was like, one time, and I was having a bad day,” I said, finishing up the first boot and moving to the second.
Selene swept over to join us. She wore a red sheath dress with an asymmetrical neckline. The fabric hugged her curves. Her nails gleamed red over the gold-toned clutch she held against her upper hip. Out of the three of us, she was the only one who pulled off both sexy and feminine at the same time.
“Anyway, this works for you,” Noel said, sweeping an arm in my direction. “I swear you and Fane were made for each other. Born generations apart, destined to meet in the twenty-first century.” She sighed. “It’s so romantic.”
“We’re fortunate to be vampires,” Selene said softly. “It can take centuries to find a soulmate. Most people don’t have that luxury.”
Noel placed a pink polished nail on her lower lip. “So, you’re telling me if I wait long enough I’ll find that special someone?” She grinned and winked.
“And if you’re really lucky he’ll be a vampire, too,” I said. “Otherwise, that would be plain cruel.”
Noel laughed her agreement, not that it was really funny, come to think of it. My thoughts drifted to Fane. He’d had his suspicions about me early on, but in the very beginning he’d thought me human and he’d still been willing to take a chance, put his heart on the line, to be with me however long we had. Bet he never thought it would only be two weeks—our first time around, anyway.
Nice try, Valerie.
Despite her best efforts to break us apart, we’d wound up together and would stay together as long as we both breathed. Talk about making a commitment. It didn’t scare me. In fact, our love was about the only thing in this world that I was sure of. A life without love was far more frightening.
In the end I got the guy . . . and Valerie got Jared. Extra scoop of eww with anchovies on top.
Dante joined us next. He stared at me and opened his mouth to speak. Before he did, his gaze dropped to the floor. “Are those cookies?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, looking down, remembering them. “Reinhardt and Gunter made them.”
“And you left them on the floor?” Dante scooped up the plate and looked up. “Do you mind?”
I rolled my eyes. “Go for it.”
Dante began unwrapping the plate. “Jeez, did they use an entire roll of Saran Wrap on this plate?”
“I suppose they were keeping me busy,” I said. It made sense now. Noel not coming into the agency that day. Joss leaving early. All the texting. Fane must have been coordinating the surprise party with everyone. Were Reinhardt and Gunter forced to bake cookies just as an excuse to call me over and keep me occupied while Fane changed and checked that everyone was in place? If they had been ordered to, I didn’t feel bad. They looked like they were enjoying themselves way too much.
Dante set the wad of Saran Wrap on a stair and held the plate out to me, Noel, and Selene. One by one we shook our heads. Dante shrugged. “More for me.” He snatched up a gingerbread man and bit off his head.
“I thought you were dressing up,” he said, looking me up and down, chewing as he spoke.
“I am. This is an off-the-shoulders top.” I turned side to side, showing off my pale shoulders.
“I was expecting more something like this.” Dante waved half a cookie at Selene.
Noel planted both hands on her hips. “Not like me?”
Dante looked sideways at Noel and huffed. “You are so getting carded, Minnie Mouse.”
“Good thing I have a fake ID.” Noel looked at me. “You still have yours, don’t you?”
“Yep,” I said, patting my pocket. I hadn’t gotten much mileage out of it. Underage drinking didn’t hold the same kind of allure as what I really loved. Blood.
“What about Spaghetti Boy and his gloomy sidekick?” Dante asked, lowering his voice. He glanced over his shoulder then back. “Do they have any kind of ID?”
“Of course they do. Fane has his driver’s license, and he told me that Joss is a registered voter.”
Dante sniffed and shrugged. “Oh, well, I didn’t realize that three hundred AD was an acceptable date of birth.”
I huffed. “Three hundred AD, really?”
Dante finished his cookie, swallowed, and held a hand to his chest. “I’m sorry. Was it BC?”
“Hey!” Noel said, grabbing our attention. “We’ve all been gifted eternal youth, so let’s go party!”
“Yes,” Selene said. “I think Noel has the right idea.”
Dante tapped his foot against the floor. “Hey, tell that to the two geezers taking their sweet time getting from the living room to the front door. You don’t need to tell me twice.”
Noel winked at Dante before cupping her hands around her mouth. “Fane! Josslyn! Let’s go.”
“We’re taking two cars. We could meet them there,” Dante said. “Ladies?” He lifted his eyebrows and grinned.
“The three of you can go together,” I said. “I’ll ride with Fane and Joss.”
“Suit yourself. Mind if I take these?” Dante lifted the plate of cookies.
“They’re all yours,” I said as Fane and Joss joined us.
“Everyone ready?” Fane asked.
Dante headed outside in answer. Noel and Selene followed after him. Joss stepped outside and waited on the porch.
“See you there,” Noel called out as half our group headed across the street for Dante’s Jeep.
“See you,” Fane said, not looking at Noel, but at me. A smile curved up his lips. “Look at you all sexy in black.”
“Right back at you,” I said, eyelashes fluttering.
Fane rested one hand against the wall and leaned into me. “I guess we have some unfinished business to take care of later.”
I gave a soft laugh. “You and I always seem to have unfinished business.”
Fane retracted his hand. “For now, let’s just go have some fun with friends.”
“Fun? What’s that?”
Fane took my hand in his. “I’ll show you.”
We arrived at the club early enough to get a table together in the room with the live band. Selene ordered a cosmopolitan, Noel and I went for whisky sours, Dante ordered himself a beer, Fane asked for a Long Island iced tea, and, surprisingly, Joss went for a glass of wine. Good, because Koots wasn’t the kind of place where he could order Earl Grey without sounding like a complete douche.
Noel sucked down her whisky sour from a thin neon green straw. Dante had been right about the bouncer carding her. Then again, he’d carded all of us.
Still holding her drink below her lips, Noel looked at Fane and asked, “Which of these studs belongs to you?”
I made a quick scan of the room, trying to guess who among the club goers were Fane’s bodyguards. None of the guys sitting or standing around looked like hired professionals.
“That’s for me to know,” Fane said cryptically.
“I mean, what happens if I accidently flirt with one?” Noel asked.
“You won’t have any luck getting him to leave with you, I can tell you that much.”
Noel laughed. “Sounds like a challenge.”
Fane’s brows jumped. “We’re all going to have a fun, safe night.”
“I’m all for the fun part,” Noel said. She lifted her hand and caught the eye of a passing waitress. “Another round, please.”
Dante’s chin popped up. “Go ahead and bring me two beers this time,” he said.
The waitress nodded and turned toward the bar.
The seats around us filled quickly. Soon the club was jam packed and the music shrieking. Sweat shown on the lead singer’s forehead. His voice sounded like gravel whenever he pressed his lips to the microphone. It was sexy as hell and made me want to hit the dance floor.
I polished off my third whisky sour and pushed it aside.
“Anyone else want to dance?” I asked, looking around the table.
“Maybe after I finish this,” Noel said, indicating her tequila sunrise. She was on her fourth drink yet looked as sweet and sober as a Girl Scout.
“I want to dance with the birthday girl,” Selene said.
Dante rubbed his hands together. “Now we’re talking.”
What Dante had in mind was most likely entirely different than what I was thinking, which was dancing side by side, essentially solo near a friend.
I scooted my chair back and stood up. “I’m ready. Anyone else?”
I looked at Fane. He smiled up at me and said, “I’ll catch up with you soon.”
“I’m not the only one who wants to watch.” Dante coughed and mumbled beneath his breath. He cleared his throat and leaned over to Noel. “Figure out who the bodyguards are yet?”
“Still working on it, but I’ve got some theories.”
“Want to wager?”
“Definitely. It’s your money. My job is to observe people, remember?”
Noel’s and Dante’s voices were drowned out by the screech of a guitar as Selene and I strode over to the dance floor.
The base pulsed through me like a heartbeat. The volume drowned out my thoughts. Bodies crowded around us. I relished it all.
True North (Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, Vol. 6) Page 8