by Vivian Wood
Be on your front steps in an hour, it said.
Biting her lip, she hurried to get ready, trying to put the Aurora issue out of her mind.
An hour later, she was standing on the street in her blood-red heels, brimming with curiosity. After a moment a sleek white town car pulled up, and Kirael emerged.
He was in a neatly-fitted tux, his dark hair slicked back. He looked like the hottest James Bond imaginable, right down to the black silk bowtie and tall, dark silhouette.
“Holy shit,” Vesper mumbled, her eyes widening as she stared at him.
Her body responded immediately, warming and tightening in a way that she found acutely embarrassing. Luckily, he seemed too interested in checking her out to notice.
“You look…” he said, his eyes traveling up and down her body several times. “Wow. I knew this dress would suit you, but…” he tapered off, biting his lower lip for a second in a way that made Vesper’s blood go hot. “You should wear evening gowns more often.”
She blushed, more from the heat of his gaze than from his lackluster compliment. Kirael handed her into the car, every inch the gentleman, and she settled in for the ride.
Still, she could feel his gaze on her body throughout the ride, making her flush all over. To her surprise, she was a little thrilled by Kirael’s sudden and apparent interest.
A ridiculously sexy immortal found her alluring? She’d take that compliment in a heartbeat.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“To a wedding reception,” he said. “Have you heard of Jack Darren?”
An image instantly came to mind, a handsome dark-skinned man with a shaved head, always wearing a somber dark suit and a gleaming platinum Rolex.
“I—” Vesper started, then stopped. “The Jack Darren? The one who represents all the mages and wizards in the Southeastern states, that Jack Darren?”
“The very one.”
“Yeah, well… he’s only the face of the Kith community. He’s on the city council, he advises the Mayor, the Governor, AND the President. Of course I’ve heard of him,” Vesper said.
“But no personal encounters, I hope?” Kirael asked, glancing out the window.
“Ummm... no…” Vesper said.
“Good! His daughter Ammerie got married tonight, and we’re going to celebrate.”
Vesper didn’t quite know what to say for a moment. “How did you get an invitation?”
“Mere Marie loaned us hers, on the promise that we wouldn’t cause too much trouble tonight.”
“I’m afraid to ask what trouble we’d be getting into,” Vesper said.
“The last time I broke into Hell, which you’ll remember as the time you followed me through, then stalked and stabbed me,” Kirael said, giving her a look that made her flush. “Mere Marie got me through with a spell, but it was one-time-use. The ingredients are no longer available to us.”
“And what does that have to do with Jack Darren?”
“He’s got some vials of the essence of la fleur de morte… a flower that only grows in the darkest, coldest parts of Hell. It’s nearly impossible to harvest, too.”
“And… that’s one of the ingredients we need to break into Hell?” Vesper guessed.
“Correct.”
“And the wedding…” Vesper said, fidgeting with the skirt of her dress.
“Is at his house,” Kirael said. “So it’s our best chance. Mere Marie is chasing down some dragon’s blood for us, says she ‘knows a guy’. Whatever that means. So we need to procure these vials. Then we have to obtain the cross of a true believer, which is easier to come by.”
“Yeah, I bet in New Orleans that’s not too hard. This is a seriously Catholic city,” Vesper said, closing her eyes for a moment. “Is this going to be dangerous?”
“Not if we’re good thieves,” Kirael said as the car rolled to a stop. “Here we are…”
He got out first, then helped Vesper climb out before a huge, pristine Victorian mansion. They were in the Garden District, one of the wealthiest parts of town, and on a street famous for towering, perfectly-preserved old houses.
Of course, most of the houses belonged to foundations, or had been cut up into dozens of apartments. Single family-mansions were certainly few and far between in the modern era.
Wrought iron wrapped around the whole property, securing the robin’s egg-tinged. three story house. The party was already in full swing, light and laughter filtering up from the house’s large side yard.
“Wow, Jack Darren lives here? How rich do you have to be to own a home on St. Charles?” she marveled.
“No idea,” Kirael said. “I never really thought much about money until I defected from Hell. Now I’m glad to work for Mere Marie, because I wouldn’t know how to go about getting a job.”
Vesper snorted. “You, in an office? Nah. You’d have to be a hitman or something.”
Kirael stiffened, his jaw going tense. He pointed toward the side of the house, indicating that they should walk around the cobblestone path and enter the party through the side gate rather than walk through the house.
“What?” Vesper asked. “What’d I say?”
“Nothing,” Kirael said, then cleared his throat. “Well, I should say, that was one of my jobs for the Fallen. Wet work, they called it.”
Assassin, more like, she thought. Killer.
“It was wrong,” he said, his expression hardening. “I thought I was righteous, but… now I know otherwise. I can’t undo all that I did, though.”
Vesper glanced away from him, shocked by his admission. It took her a full minute to recover herself, and by then they were walking up to a clipboard-holding bouncer.
Vesper was perfectly happy to stay behind Kirael, though she kept catching herself staring at his ass, wondering if he wore boxers or briefs.
Or maybe nothing? she thought, then immediately wished she could wash her brain out with soap. Why can’t I get my mind out of the gutter tonight?
“Invitation?” the suited bouncer asked, glancing at them.
Vesper ignored the bouncer, sticking with her own thoughts. Maybe it was the fact that Kirael had shaved his five o’clock shadow, and the result was… jaw-dropping.
She wanted to lick the sharp lines of his jaw, and then…
Stop! she screamed at herself. Get your head in the game, Vesper!
Kirael produced the cream-colored invite and handed it over. After double checking the invite to the list, then giving Kirael and Vesper another once over, the bouncer pulled open the wrought iron gate and ushered them into the backyard.
The whole affair was stunningly lavish. Elegantly-dressed guests standing under a tall white tent, sipping champagne and smiling as a live band played Zydeco music. Couples were already dancing on the floor that’d been laid at one end. Tuxedoed waiters circled with silver trays of drinks and food.
Most of all, strings of lights were absolutely everywhere, twinkling softly and making it seem as if the whole party was illuminated by enchanted fairy lights.
Vesper whistled, her awkward moment with Kirael forgotten. Kirael caught her hand, bringing it up to rest in the crook of his elbow, and led her forward.
They entered the party, apparently having missed the toasts and the first dance, at least.
“Now what?” Vesper asked, snagging some champagne from a passing waiter.
“Mmmm…” Kirael said, accepting a glass from her and taking a sip. “Let’s make a couple circuits, see if we can figure out how we’re going to get inside.”
Vesper followed him, downing a couple more glasses of champagne. All around them were the city’s most powerful people, both human and Kith. To her relief, there were few Vampyres. Lots of witches and mages, though.
Thankfully at the moment, the event was less about magic and more about wedding bells; the attention was all focused on the dozen or so bridesmaids in frothy pink dresses, their matching groomsmen, and of course the bride in her enormous white ball gown and radiant smile.
Vesper watched Kirael, trying to figure out what he was thinking without being too obvious about it. She saw him take notice of a table of powerful-looking shifters, each with a beautiful woman at his side.
They were familiar-looking, though it took Vesper a minute to put the pieces together.
“You know them?” Kirael asked.
“Not personally, but I think those are the Alpha Guardians,” Vesper said. “The twin Faerie princes give it away.”
“Interesting,” Kirael said.
“Yeah?”
“I think Mere Marie deals with them in somewhat the same manner she deals with me. They might be helpful, if things go south here.”
Vesper glanced at the table again, and noticed that several of the Guardians seemed to be watching Kirael very closely.
“Y’all need a cool nickname like Alpha Guardians,” she said.
“I don’t think so,” Kirael said, rolling his eyes.
“Yeah. Oh, I got a good one. How about the Sainted Sinners,” she said, giving him a wink.
“That’s terrible.”
“Pfft. You have no taste.”
“I want to get closer to the house,” was Kirael’s only response.
“The dance floor kind of borders the side entrance to the house, over there,” Vesper said, inclining her head. A steady stream of waiters and guests were filtering up and down a set of stately slate steps that led up to the wraparound porch.
“Mmm,” Kirael said. Before Vesper realized his intent, he’d slid his arm around her waist and was leading her to the dance floor.
“I meant we could go observe,” she said, her brows knitting.
“I think, if we want to go inside, we’re going to need a plausible reason,” he said, turning her in his arms and pulling her close as the music slowed, turning from a fast two-step to a slower, more sultry rhythm.
“Uh huh,” Vesper said, feeling her face begin to heat.
“I mean to say, we ought to pretend to be a couple. That way if we get caught inside, we just pretend to be in a lovers’ embrace,” he said.
She couldn’t be sure, but Vesper thought she saw an amused sparkle in his eye. Like he knew she was feeling awkward, and he was enjoying every second of it.
Kirael took her hand, his steps sure and easy as he guided her across the floor. The sheer closeness of him was a little too much to take in all at once. She caught a whiff of his aftershave, spicy yet clean.
When she glanced up at him, she realized that he was still a good four inches taller than she was, even in her heels. Something about that fact made her stomach flip-flop and made her melt just a little inside.
Just admit it, you’re hot for him, she thought, blushing even harder.
Kirael’s gaze was intent on her face, a flicker of something like curiosity evident in his expression.
“You’re doing a fine job,” he said.
“Hmm?” she asked, feeling a little ditzy.
“Just… I think an outsider might think that you’re quite taken with me,” he said, his voice a low rumble in his chest.
“Oh. Well… acting, you know. I took a drama class in high school,” Vesper said, her lips tipping up into a smile.
“Is that right?”
“Yep. I was in a production of My Fair Lady. I played Ms. Higgins,” she said, suppressing a laugh.
“I don’t know what that means, but I will assume that you were spectacular in it,” Kirael said. “Being such a talented actress, and all.”
Subtly, he guided her toward the house, little by little.
They swayed to the music, and after a moment, Kirael spoke again.
“Can I ask a very personal question?”
Vesper blinked. “Um… sure. Shoot.”
“You’re doing all of this because of your sister, right?”
Vesper stiffened a little, already knowing where this was going.
“Yeah. Mercy, her name’s Mercy.”
“What’s the story there? Why is she… where she is, and you’re… very much not?” he asked. “Sorry, I don’t know a better way to phrase that.”
Vesper’s heart twisted a little, but she shook her head. “It’s fine.”
“You don’t have to tell me, of course. I’m just curious how you came to be a murderous bounty hunter, and she… didn’t.”
“Well… Mercy and I didn’t have it great, growing up. Our dad died when we were young, our mom was heartbroken. She drank, had men around…” Vesper stopped herself, censoring. “Mercy took a lot of the bad shit on herself, to protect me. Drew attention to herself, sort of, so that no one looked my way.”
“Sounds like she was a good older sister,” Kirael said, watching her intently.
“She was, she really was. But… well, no need to go into details. Suffice to say that all that bad shit, it eventually started to weigh on her. Later, after we were already out of the house. She just never really recovered from it. So she started to drink. And we would fight about that, me and her. So she’d go off on her own, leave for days. And I was this dopey librarian, wearing pastels and thinking the world was fine, that she’d be fine.”
Vesper had to stop and clear her throat. To her relief, Kirael turned the subject away from Mercy.
“So how did you get from pastel skirts to black leather?” he asked. “That’s quite a career change, you know.”
“Yeah. When I first discovered the Kith world, all I knew about were the Vampyres, the ones Mercy hung around. I hated them, from the first. When Mercy dropped off the grid, I got mad. And then I got even… after a good bit of training, of course.”
“I’ve seen you with swords, you’re no joke,” Kirael said, his eyes twinkling.
“Yeah, well. It took a year of really hard work. Being a puny little human, I have to move faster, hit harder, or some demon will smoosh me.”
Kirael laughed, and Vesper smiled too.
“Thanks for telling me,” he said after a minute.
“No problem,” she said, making face.
“Well, I can see that you’re not much for chit chat,” he said.
“What? I’m… fine… at it,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Kirael snorted, then did a fancy move, stepping back to spin her in a circle. When she came back into his arms, he had a mischievous look in his eyes.
“Don’t panic,” he said.
“What? Why would I—” she said, her words cut off when Kirael leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.
Her hands clenched the lapels of his tux, her eyes going wide at the warm, firm touch of Kirael’s lips. He broke the kiss, pulling back.
“A little more convincing than that, Vesper,” he said, giving her a look.
“Right,” she said, licking her lower lip, trying not to sound too breathless. “Of course.”
This time, Kirael slid his hand up to cup the back of her head, his fingers sliding through the dark, silky mass of her hair. He even leaned her back a little, leaning in to brush a soft kiss against her lips.
She let her eyes drift shut, slipping her arms around his neck. Pushing up onto her tiptoes, she met his next kiss more eagerly, shivering when the tip of his tongue brushed her lips.
One of his big hands slid up her hip, his fingers stopping just under her breast, stirring a lazy kind of heat low in her body. Vesper tipped her head back, feeling her long hair shift against her bare skin.
This is dangerous, she thought. Breaking the kiss, she opened her eyes to gaze up at Kirael. His expression was something like curiosity or surprise, his eyes gone a little dark at the undeniable moment.
Heat, tension. A spark.
Vesper couldn’t help the image that popped into her head: Kirael, naked in her bed, beckoning for her to join him. Those ocean-blue eyes telling her all she needed to know, telling her that he would fulfill her every desire.
Vesper had a flash of intuition… going down this path would bring her a world of trouble.
The question was… would flirting
with Kirael be worth it?
More importantly, did she have the guts to find out?
13
Vesper
She stared up at Kirael, her thoughts beginning to overwhelm her desire.
Kirael couldn’t even let her have that, though… the bastard was just too perfect for that.
“You’re blushing,” Kirael said, one corner of his mouth tipping upward. “Why’s that?”
“Um…” Vesper started, unsure if she could formulate a good lie. Kirael was so close to her, and she was half-drunk on champagne and the sweetness of his kiss.
Tell him you want him, a little voice in her head urged. What’s the worst that could happen?
She opened her mouth, wondering if it would be too bold to invite him to her bed for a single night. The music quieted, as if the universe was preparing for Vesper to say—
“Hello everyone,” a woman said into a microphone, which resonated across the whole party. Everyone stopped and turned, Vesper and Kirael included.
The moment between them, whatever it was, vanished like so much ash in the wind. The woman with the microphone, perhaps a family member or the wedding planner, continued on.
“Just wanted you all to know that we’re going to do the cake now. Bride and groom, y’all wanna come up here and get started?”
Light applause from the wedding guests. Four waiters wheeled out a silver tray bearing an elaborately-iced white cake with no less than twelve tiers, plus a miniature bride and groom standing on top.
“I think this might be a good moment,” Vesper whispered.
Kirael nodded, watching the bride and groom approach, beaming with joy. Kirael surprised Vesper by taking her hand, then he turned and led her toward the house.
Vesper opened her mouth to ask him if he knew where Jack Darren was at the moment, but Kirael stopped her with a meaningful look, giving her hand a squeeze.
Right. You’re undercover, she reminded herself. You’re not here to drink champagne and make eyes at Kirael. You’re here on a mission.
Straightening her spine a little, she followed Kirael up the steps into the house, which was every bit as beautiful within as without. All done in a surprisingly simplistic, modern style, the open-concept ground floor was mainly taken up by kitchen and entertainment areas.