"Why do I think he's a threat?" Theresa sounded incredulous. "Maybe because your mom was here for two hours this afternoon freaking out because Satan had told her that someone dangerous was after Mona?" Theresa's butt slid off the bed, and she scrambled back on it, adjusting to try to fit better.
"Yes, true." Justine grimaced. "But she got tipped off by Satan." She couldn’t believe her life now involved taking survival tips from the leader of hell. "Since when did he become trustworthy? Maybe Derek is actually Satan's mortal enemy, and we're being thrust into the middle of a testosterone battle that has nothing to do with Mona." Yes. She liked that idea. It would mean tonight could just be a nice evening with a hot guy…
Dammit. The thought of Derek being a date made her start to panic again.
"Nice try, but that's a fail." Theresa curled her tail around her butt, like she was a lap dog preparing for an afternoon nap. "Derek already knew all about Mona and dragons when he arrived here."
Justine sighed as she slid a diamond stud into her ear. "Yes, this is true." It should make her feel better that Derek wanted to kill her, because she knew how to deal with that, but it didn't. He made her want to be a normal woman, who could just go out for dinner with an interesting guy and not have to think about murder.
"Honestly, the fact he knows we exist means he needs to die." Theresa carefully patted out a small fire on Justine's bedspread. "You know that."
She did know that, but she didn't like it. She frowned as she put the second earring in. "I feel like that's maybe a bit of an overreaction. Knowledge doesn't necessarily vilify him—"
"What? Of course it does!" Theresa smacked the bed with her tail in visible disagreement. "What's wrong with you?"
Justine bit her lip as she slid the back on the earring. "Nothing's wrong with me—"
"Yes, there is!" Theresa sat up. "Holy shit. You're trying to avoid killing Derek!"
Justine grimaced. "I’m not—"
"You are!" Theresa gave her a stern look. "Hey, I'm all about the men, sex, and dating, as you know. No judgments on the fact you noticed Derek's hot. But I'm a little worried about your ability to make sound decisions right now. I mean, look, your self-imposed twenty-four-hour deadline to vacate New York has passed, despite the fact that Zeke hasn't come up with anything yet. We're still here, all because Mr. Assassin offered to buy you dinner."
"You heard my mom." Justine tried another boob adjustment, but it made part of her nipple show, so yeah, not doing that. "We have to stay here and solve this thing."
"Yeah, because Satan told her that. You literally just said he wasn't a trustworthy source of Guardian advice. Plus, she also said you have to kill Derek, and you aren't jumping onto that bandwagon. So, are you listening to your mom or not? Do you even have a strategy for tonight?"
Justine gave her breasts a final lift skyward, sighing when they dropped right back down into place. That was where she was keeping them, so they'd have to distract Derek from that location. "I'm fully prepared to kill Derek if I need to. And I'm going to dinner to get information from him, not to lust after him." At Theresa's raised eyebrows, Justine grimaced. "Okay, fine, I might lust after him a little bit, before I kill him."
"Damn, girl, you definitely have the hots for him." Theresa shook her head in evident dismay. "After two hundred years of celibacy, when you finally decide to notice a guy, you have to pick the man who, as we speak, is planning your demise? I feel that there's something so pathetic about that. It makes me sad for you."
"I know, right? It's ridiculous." Justine spritzed a quick shot of gloss on her hair, satisfaction thrumming through her as the auburn highlights glistened. "But he does it for me. What can I say?"
"I hear ya, babe. The heart chooses for us."
"The heart?" Justine glanced over at Theresa, surprised by the dragon's choice of words. "Don't you mean hormones? Since when do you talk about love?"
"Love?" Theresa blinked her golden eyes far too innocently. "I wasn't talking about love. Hey, is that dagger sharp enough? You should probably make sure."
"Yeah, I should, shouldn't I?" Grinning at Theresa's change of subject, Justine tested the edge of a collapsible dagger, making sure it was sharp before she slipped it inside her slim black clutch. "Speaking of love and lust, how goes it with Zeke? Is he making any progress on gold auras?"
Theresa's face softened at the mention of her cyber lover. "No, but he's still working on it. It's sort of tricky, because he needs more details and, well, I figured sharing the whole Goblet of Eternal Youth thing with him wasn't really appropriate."
"Yeah, I agree. No need to add another guy to our kill list."
Theresa shot to her feet. "We aren't killing Zeke!"
Justine held up her hands, unable to keep from laughing at her friend's strong reaction. "Relax. No one is going to kill him, but wow, that was a telling reaction."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Theresa sat back down and picked up Mona, hugging the espresso machine to her chest.
"Yeah, you do." Justine smiled. "Honestly, it's kind of amazing that you're still able to form a coherent thought after all the cybersex with him." She ducked as Theresa threw a pillow at her head, then turned away to check her makeup in the mirror again.
She frowned as she studied herself. Her eyes looked smoky and seductive. The muted lipstick made her mouth look…kissable. God. Had she really just thought that? Kissable? She swallowed. "Do I look okay?"
"You're nervous, huh?" Theresa said softly.
Justine bit her lip and turned to face her roommate. "Honestly, I'm terrified. I have no idea how to go on a date, especially one in this century. I know it's not an official date, but it's dinner with a man. I don't know how to do that. I don't even know how to flirt."
Theresa nodded. "I get it. You'll be fine. Just be you."
"Just be me? That would involve talking about dragons, Mona, and rules against dating. I don't have any other identity anymore."
"Yeah, true." Theresa frowned. "So, maybe, scratch that advice."
Justine set her hands on her hips, anxiety building inside her. "Then what should I do? You're the dating queen."
"I don't date. I have cybersex. It's completely different."
"Well, that's more than I do! Give me something tangible I can use tonight—"
Their buzzer rang, and she froze, her heart leaping in her chest as she stared at Theresa.
"That's Xavier," Theresa pointed out, when Justine didn't move to answer it. "Derek must be here."
"I'm not ready!" Panic started to close in on her, and she gripped the edge of the dresser. "I can't do this."
"Yes, you can. Go answer Xavier."
"I can't—"
"Just answer the intercom!"
Justine took a deep breath and then walked across the room and hit the talk button. "Hello?"
Xavier's voice boomed through the loft. "Your attorney is here again. He says you have a date. Shall I correct him?"
Her attorney. She'd forgotten Derek had lied to meet her. It was impressive, and, at the same time, sort of nerve-wracking to know that he'd do whatever it took to meet her. Which meant, she couldn't trust him. Not even for a second.
Right. She'd almost forgotten that. Relief settled in her. She knew how to deal with men she couldn’t trust.
"Justine?" Xavier's voice boomed again.
She cleared her throat. "Yes, we do have a date. I'll be right down." She disconnected, but couldn't quite wipe the grin off her face.
Theresa studied her. "Why the happy face? You were terrified a minute ago."
"That was before I remembered that I can't trust him."
"And that makes you happy?"
"Yep." Justine hiked up her dress, and then slipped her dagger into the sheath nestled at the curve of her lower back. "Because that made me remember that this really isn't a date. It's a negotiation to see who gets to live past tonight. I know how to deal with a guy who wants to kill me. That makes me feel powerful, you know?"
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"Yeah, totally." Theresa grinned. "Just a reminder, though, it's not actually a negotiation. You're going to have to kill him, and that's that."
"I know." She grinned, feeling better by the moment. "I like the fact that it won't be easy to kill him. He even has an infinitesimal chance of defeating me." She shrugged. "It makes life interesting, you know?"
"I sure do." Theresa grinned at her. "As a dragon, I fully support any joy you may experience in wreaking havoc and destruction on those around you. I love you, my warped human bestie."
"I love you, too, my fire-breathing bestie." Justine checked the security of her thigh holster, then stood up. "Do I look harmless?"
"Not at all." Theresa beamed with satisfaction. "If looks could kill, he'd be dead the moment you step out of the elevator. You're seriously badass hotness right there."
"Perfect." She tucked her purse under her arm. Her heart was still racing, but it was more from knowing she was facing down an untrustworthy villain than a hot guy who was going to buy her dinner. "I'm heading out, then."
"One thing…" Theresa hesitated. "I don't want to do anything to discourage you from going out with Derek, but have you considered that this might be a farce to get you out of here so someone can slip in and try to steal Mona?"
Justine nodded. "Yep, but I'm not worried. I have my trusty and ruthless dragon sidekick guarding her, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Theresa pressed her lips together.
Justine's excitement faded. "What's wrong? You should be thrilled at the possible opportunity to turn someone into a crispy critter." She frowned. "Did you have a fight with Zeke?"
"No, he's fine." The dragon didn't look happy, though. "Honestly, talking about Derek trying to kill you kinda made me a little worried. We joke about needing to fight to the death, but Derek seems to be pretty resourceful. What if he's more of a threat than we're thinking? Your mom, well, she was pretty alarmed. And what about Satan's involvement? He's a serious badass, and suddenly we're on his radar. It just sounds off." She hesitated, then added, "And, well, to be honest, despite all your bravado, I'm not sure you'd be quick enough on the trigger if Derek came after you. I think you'd hesitate because he's gotten to you just enough to make it dangerous."
Justine considered that. She'd never really enjoyed that part of her job that required killing, but, well, should she really have allowed Derek to live after he'd made it clear he was a credible threat to Mona's safety? Was she avoiding doing what needed to be done because he interested her? She looked at her dress, her makeup, and her impractical shoes and realized it was possible. "I can see your points." She pointed to her shoes. "Ditch them?"
"Yeah, probably."
Justine sat down next to Theresa and quickly swapped out the super-sexy shoes for a pair of black leather ankle boots that were more practical, more comfortable, and much better for engaging in battles to the death. Plus, they made her feel like a sexy badass, so that was good, right?
"Can you focus on killing him quickly, and get out of there as soon as you can?"
Justine took a deep breath. Theresa was right. Tonight wasn't about perky breasts or hot guys. It had to be efficient Guardianship, no hesitation. "Fine. He won't survive the night, I promise."
Theresa looked relieved. "Great. Just make sure you sleep with him first. A pre-beheading quickie."
Justine burst out laughing. "God, you're impossible. I'm leaving."
"Take condoms!" Theresa yelled just as Justine shut the door behind her.
Chapter Thirteen
When Justine Bennett walked out of the elevator, Derek decided he'd better end her life as soon as possible.
If he didn't, he'd probably get down on his knees and beg her to make his last five days on this earth as heavenly as possible.
It was a veritable crime to look as good as she did in that dress. The dress clung to her like it was made for pure temptation. Every inch of her body was tantalizingly hinted at, in a subtle but electrifying way. Her arms rippled with muscle that was sexy as hell, and her hips had curves that were dangerous enough to derail any man's ability to think logically.
She took one look at his face, and broke into an amused grin. "You're already putty in my hands."
"Quite possibly." He ignored Xavier and held out his arm. "Shall we?"
She nodded, then frowned as she got closer. "What are the red marks on your neck?"
He shot a glare at Xavier, who grinned. "Let's just say I'm glad you answered the intercom as quickly as you did. Xavier didn't take too kindly to me showing up again. The man apparently has a propensity for strangling people who are intelligent enough to wear noise-cancelling headphones when they arrive in his lobby."
She frowned. "Headphones?"
"Private joke." He sucked in his breath as she slid her hand around his elbow, a simple move that was pure sin. "Thanks for telling him I was coming."
She raised her brows, not looking remotely repentant. "I wanted to test your manliness. See if you could get by him."
"It wasn't much of a challenge. It was all I could do to refrain from permanently disabling him." They both ignored Xavier's snort as Derek held the door for her.
She flashed him a smile that almost made him drop to his knees. It was pure sex, blatant desire, and lethal danger. "You're such a gentleman."
He grinned back at her. "I only hold the door for women who try to get me strangled before our first date."
"Does that happen often?"
"You'd be surprised." He let the door slide shut and rested his hand on her lower back to guide her toward his limo. "This dress is too fitted to hide the dagger back here." He rubbed his thumb over it. At least a six-inch blade. If she wasn't the Guardian, she was one highly prepared Girl Scout. Damn. Huh. If she was by his side when the Curse hit, together they might have a chance. He wondered briefly if she would be willing to team up with him, instead of declaring herself his enemy.
Huh. Interesting thought. Would it be an option to recruit her to fight the Curse, instead of beheading her and stealing the Goblet? And was it a risk he would be willing to take?
No. It wasn't. Death was too high a price to pay for being wrong.
"I'm wearing that knife because I thought you might want to go treasure hunting later," she informed him. "I figured I'd give you some goals."
He eyed her as his driver opened the limo door. "The dress would have to come off for either of us to get to that."
She gave him a wide-eyed look of pure innocence that he didn't believe for one second. "I know."
He cursed under his breath as she slid into the car. This was going to be some kind of night.
Chapter Fourteen
It was after they'd ordered, before the appetizers arrived, while they were sipping wine when Justine brought it up. She couldn't take the flirty chitchat anymore. Trying to charm him felt ridiculous given the anticipated ending to the evening. Her nerves had faded, replaced with a laser-focus need to just get the situation resolved, partly because he was so freaking attractive that if she didn't kill him soon, she knew she'd never do it.
So, she decided to stop shirking the point of the evening. "Are you planning to kill me?"
Derek grinned, pausing with his wineglass halfway to his mouth. "What happened to the first-date small talk?"
She frowned at his smile and how it made her belly go all jiggly. "I don't do small talk. It's an introvert thing. Small talk is a painful slow death for us. So, are you going to try to kill me or what?"
He raised one dark eyebrow, and his grin faded into something much subtler, and much more male. "Not as long as you look that good in that dress."
Heat oozed through her body, and she shifted in her chair, her fingers tightening around the stem of her wineglass.
Focus, Justine.
She thudded her glass down on the linen tablecloth, nearly spilling the wine. "Gawking at my body is not going to win me over. It's lecherous and rude when I've asked you a very specific question." She held up her han
d when he started to respond. "My mom said she heard you intend to end my life. I need to know."
He regarded her over the rim of his glass, looking way too relaxed given the topic. "Who's your mom?"
"She has connections."
"Is she the Guardian?"
A twinge of disappointment gutted her. She didn't want him to really be after Mona. "What do you know about the Guardian?"
He swirled the golden wine in his glass, watching it catch the light.
She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms over her chest, and let the silence sit between them.
"You look like you'd be difficult to kill," he observed.
"I am."
"So am I."
She watched his fingers lightly stroke the rim of the wineglass. Such a light touch. Delicate. Tender. Seductive.
Ahem. She shook her head and dragged her gaze back up to his face. "Are you immortal?"
He grinned, a new light gleaming in his eyes. "Nope. You?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Nice try." As if she was going to announce she was. That was equivalent to admitting she was the Guardian. Well, not entirely, as there were plenty of immortal beings running around, but the number of humans who were immortal was very small.
"If you weren't immortal, or familiar with such things, it wouldn't have occurred to you to ask," he pointed out.
Shit. He was right. Where was her brain? Years of training down the toilet just because her body couldn't stop noticing he was a man.
Damn the Guardian Oath that had made her celibate for so long. She should have expected this kind of reaction upon finally meeting a strong, handsome, intelligent, and worthy male. It was like going on a diet, and then tasting one corner of a brownie. That one taste after extreme deprivation was pretty much guaranteed to send a woman into a binge eating frenzy, and downing the entire pan of brownies in thirty seconds, and then attacking the freezer and inhaling every pint of ice cream until she passed out on the floor with ice cream glommed all over her face.
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