"No, on ticking off your brothers. As for the seducing part… I must not be doing a very good job if you need to ask." He chuckled and she really liked his laugh, along with everything else. Darn him for being so charming.
She didn't move as he brushed her hair behind her ear. "We should get back to work," he told her.
"Huh?" She didn't want to work now. "You shouldn't have kissed me then." She didn't wait for him to respond. She didn't want to talk. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close as she did a little kissing of her own. Her mind kept telling her she needed to slow down, but her body didn't want to listen.
She broke the kiss and stared into his eyes, those beautiful hypnotic eyes that said he'd like to do a lot more than kiss her. Her breathing hitched and her heart pounded a few beats faster at the thought. "I think we should–"
"Stop," he finished.
"Yes," she agreed, but her gaze lingered on his lips.
"If you keep looking at me like that…"
"Like what?" she asked and met his gaze once more.
"Like you want me to take you. I can only remain a gentleman for so long."
She shook her head with a chuckle. "Then stop looking at me like you want to devour me."
This time he laughed, a deep rumble from the chest and his dimple dented his cheek with his wide grin. "I will do my best to curve my appetite."
A few seconds ticked by or maybe time just stood still as they tried to slow down their breathing.
"All three," she broke the silence.
"All three?" he asked in confusion.
"All three of my brothers will come after you if they believe you're using me." She tilted her head as she stared at him. "Are you, Mr. Green? Are you using me?"
"Tremayne," he corrected. "And no, I'm not using you. I like you. I think you like me."
That was an understatement. "So?"
"How about we finish this assignment and see where this goes?" He brushed a finger over her lips and she had the urge to take it into her mouth and suckled it like a babe.
This was so not like her. She should tell him no. They lived on the opposite sides of the country. Long distance relationships never lasted, but then who said it had to be a forever kind of romance? She'd go with her brother Wade's motto on this one. When it came to his girlfriends, he lived in the moment. Never know when it will be your last hoorah, he would say. Have fun. Kiss. Make love. Then say your goodbyes.
"It's a date, Mr. Green…Tremayne," she said and that won her another huge grin. She could just kiss him senseless. "Oh heck, why not?" she voiced out loud. Before he could ask her what she meant, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her for a searing kiss. His hands went to her waist and she could tell he was itching to do more, but held back. Darn him. She wouldn't force the issue, but she wouldn't stop him if he decided to take it further.
He broke the kiss and took a deep breath. It was good to know he wasn't the only one rattled.
Her phone buzzed on the table.
"You better answer it," Tremayne said. "Or your brother will be on the next flight out."
She retrieved her phone. "I'm here," she told Derek.
"Check your email," Derek said. I have what you need."
"Thanks. Will do."
"And Cass…"
"Uh-huh," she said, but she was more interested in Tremayne's lips and how she wanted to kiss them again.
"Be careful," Derek told her, drawing her attention. She had a hunch his warning had nothing to do with going after the Lamia.
"I will." She ended the call and pulled up her email on the laptop. She looked at Tremayne. "This is what we need."
How she managed to stay focused as they went over the plan, she'll never know, but they had to have it right. Their lives would depend on it.
"It's almost sunrise," Tremayne said as he gestured at the time on the laptop's right hand corner of the screen. "You should get some sleep. We both should," he added. "We'll meet at Eternal Bliss later tonight, and then we'll head over together to make our move."
She closed the laptop and glanced at him. "Sounds like a plan." She thought he would go, but he just sat there. "Oh yeah." She felt stupid. Of course he just sat there. She'd driven him here. He didn't have a car to go home in. Had that been his plan all along? She shrugged. She could get onboard with that. "Do you want to–"
"Don't say it," Tremayne interrupted her. "I won't say no if you ask me to stay. And we both know it wouldn't be a good idea. We both need sleep, and I assure you if I stay, sleep will not be an option." His gaze wavered to the bed with meaning.
Heat burned her cheeks. "I'd like to argue with you about the sleep option, but you're right. Just for the record," she added, "I hate it that you're right." She grabbed her car keys and strode to the door and opened it. The rain had stopped but the smell of damp earth and concrete still scented the night. "After you." She waved her hand in front of her.
He stood to his full height, all long lean and muscular. She could tell him she didn't care. Tell him he should just stay, but she didn't want their time together just to be a tumble into bed. She realized she wanted much more from this man. She wanted to unravel the mystery surrounding him, and know him better, before she loved him senseless. She was shocked at where her thoughts had taken her, but there it was, and she planned on pursuing her desires as soon as they took down the Lamia. Duty first. Fun later. Lots of fun later.
Tremayne stood in front of her now, and he reached for her, touching her lips with the pad of his thumb, before he caressed her cheek. "You are a temptation difficult to resist, Cassandra Hayes."
Why did those words make her legs turn to jelly? Before she could regain her composure, he strode out the door.
* * * * *
Back from delivering Tremayne safe and sound at his pub, she received another call from Derek. "Yes?" she answered.
"Are you alone?"
"What if I wasn't?" she countered.
"Jeez, yes or no?" he insisted.
"I'm alone," she said as she plopped onto the bed.
"Good. I tried to do a little more digging about your Mr. Green."
"Give it a break, Derek."
"I'm getting the feeling you're into this guy. Correct me if I'm wrong?"
"And what if I am?" Really her brother needed to back off.
"You're missing the point. I tried to find out information, meaning the agencies' files about him are encrypted. I can't break the code. Doesn't that make you curious?"
She sat up in bed. Derek could hack into anything. If he was admitting he couldn't, she'd better not dismiss his concerns.
As much as she trusted Tremayne, she also felt like he was keeping something from her. What in the world could her partner be hiding? Did it have to do with his involvement with preternatural beings? His contact was a vampire. He admitted it to her and the way he spoke about the vampire, she'd bet the guy was a friend, someone he talked to often, someone he trusted. She frowned at the thought. Hunters could not be friends with vampires. It just wasn't done.
"Maybe he knows someone high up in the agency that is covering for him," she offered an explanation.
"But for what?" he asked. "I'll keep digging, but I think someone has tampered with his file. You just be careful, Cassandra," Derek said. "I don't trust people who have secrets."
"I'll be careful," she told him before she ended the call. She didn't bother mentioning how she kissed Tremayne and made a date with him as soon as they finished this assignment. No, Derek, didn't need to know what she had planned. She could take care of herself.
Darn it. She wished Derek hadn't planted the seed of doubt. "You're a walking contradiction," she murmured about her partner. Or maybe it was her own hang up hampering all this. Maybe she couldn't accept Tremayne's friendship with the Otherworldly creatures and Derek's suspicions just added to it?
She changed for bed, opting for her favorite T-shirt and sweatpants, both comfy and practical. She crawled into bed and t
urned off the light. She tried to clear her mind, but she kept returning to Tremayne as she rehashed the entire evening before she thought kissing him had been a good idea.
Gunthorn's comment earlier weighed heavy on her mind? Tremayne's reaction when Gunthorn said Lorelei didn't like him. Gunthorn stated it like the Lamia knew Tremayne on a personal level.
Also when she'd first contacted Tremayne, he told her he knew who had kidnapped the young men. He was going to confront the culprit at Eternal Bliss. Only when she arrived at the pub, Tremayne acted as if he didn't know what the vamp looked like. Things didn't add up. Then again, it could be he wanted this job for himself and hadn't wanted her in the way, and just made up the contact, hoping she'd think he could handle the assignment alone.
Heck, she'd wanted to do the same thing. Still…she liked things to make sense. Once she and Tremayne took down the Lamia and managed to recapture Gunthorn, she'd stick around and take Tremayne up on that date he promised her. This way she could find out more about him and his operation here. Staying had nothing to do with the way he kissed. Yep, right.
She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Finally, sleep found her, and her dreams weren't about vampires or sea creatures, but of tantalizing kisses with a promise for more.
Chapter Seventeen
As Tremayne entered through the Employees Only entrance facing the alleyway, he nodded hello to Georgina, who was busy untangling Christmas lights. It was that time a year again, and his employees liked to decorate the pub.
"Hi." Georgina looked up with a smile. "How in the world do these get so tangled just sitting in a box?"
"Don't rightly know," he said. "I have confidence you'll manage though." He headed up front.
Morris manned the bar when Tremayne couldn't. He was a good and reliable employee, and was also acutely aware of the preternatural world. Tremayne often wondered if Morris didn't have some Fae in his bloodline. He had a sixth sense when it came to the supernatural.
Morris inclined his head in greeting. "Hey, Boss."
"Good evening, Morris. A fine one it would seem." He nodded toward the crowd near the bandstand and seated at the tables. The buzz of activity told him it would only get better. Tonight's local band, the Firecrackers, was on stage. Not a great name, but their talent as musicians earned them a return visit to the pub.
As Tremayne took a couples' order of two bottles of imported beer, he thought about Cassandra. She'd been occupying his mind for the last few days. It was like the hunter had cast a spell on him. Or perhaps it was only wishful thinking on his part. Then he'd have a good excuse why he couldn't resist her. He wanted her, wanted to kiss her senseless, and he wanted to take her to bed.
Last night had been pure torture to sit beside her, while they made their plans to take down Lorelei. As much as he wanted to take down the Lamia, he had difficulty concentrating on the plan. He kept imagining Cassandra on the bed – naked. He didn't know how he managed to hold back from making the fantasy a reality.
He thought kissing her would help, but then she kissed him back, and almost put him over the edge where reason didn't exist.
He'd played with fire last night, knew it and didn't give a damn. Maybe because he knew she desired him too. Sure, there was a chance she wouldn't be so keen on the idea if she found out he wasn't a hunter. Scratch the above, if she knew he was a vampire, she would stake him rather than kiss him. Knowing all this, he still longed for her.
He liked her sense of humor, her commitment to her job, her bravery, and he liked how she felt in his arms. Sheerin believed him smitten. Maybe he had it right. Why else would he suggest they date after the assignment was finished? His infatuation for the hunter would prove detrimental for both of them, and that's why when this was all over, he had to let her go. She didn’t belong in his world and he certainly didn't belong in hers.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. Cassandra would be walking through the doors to his pub any time now. He glanced at Morris. "I need to ask a favor of you."
Morris looked at him. "Whatcha need, Boss?"
"I may need you to handle the bar for the next few days, meaning I need you to open and close up shop, too."
"No problem," Morris said. He wasn't one for long conversations or asking too many questions. He liked that about the lad.
"Thanks. As soon as the person I'm meeting here tonight arrives, we'll be heading out again."
"No problem," Morris said again with a nod toward the front door. "Is that your gal?"
Tremayne turned to see Cassandra maneuvering her way around couples who were chatting and carrying on as they enjoyed their evening night out. She brushed past a werewolf, who's eyes glowed as he assessed her attributes with a lick of his lips. The werewolf stood to go after her, but he must have sensed Tremayne's attention on him. His eyes darted toward the bar, and Tremayne growled low with a warning only a werewolf's keen hearing would pick up in a crowded bar. The werewolf glanced toward Cassandra one more time but then shrugged, clearly deciding he wouldn't pursue her and looked elsewhere for his night's entertainment.
"That would be her," Tremayne confirmed with a grumble, and then realized what Morris had said, but before he could correct his bartender about his assumption, the guy spoke again.
"She's one foxy lady," Morris said and his lips curved with appreciation.
Tremayne had the urge to wipe the silly grin off the man's face. What was with the males in this place? Hadn't they'd seen a good-looking woman before? He peered at Cassandra and the way she held her head up as she strode toward him with a purpose. Her dark mahogany hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing her fine bone features. She had the greenest eyes and the longest lashes he'd ever seen on a lass. And her figure in those tight black clothes… "Heaven above," he whispered on a hiss. No wonder his clientele, workers and himself included were slack-jawed when it came to Cassandra Hayes.
Morris thought she was his gal. He wished he could say she was, but a stolen few kisses didn't make it so, and he had no right to be tense and ready to rip the heads off those who glanced her way with interest.
Morris must have sensed his uptight stance and glanced his way with a lazy grin. "Don't worry, Boss. Just making an observation is all. She's all yours."
His frown deepened, but before he could say something to the contrary, Cassandra had stepped up to the bar.
"Can I use your printer?" she asked.
She'd text him earlier, telling him she wanted to print the info about the hotel. "Sure, follow me." It took her no more than a few minutes to access what she needed from his computer since she attached the document to her email.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked once the papers were in her hands. The woman was all business. No hint about what they shared last night or rather early this morning. Surely it couldn't have been all one sided.
"I'm ready," he told her, but when they headed up front, he caught sight of Sheerin sitting at one of the tables, near the back wall, the farthest from the band. His cousin waved to him in a discreet manor if there could be such a thing at six-four and hair so light it appeared unnatural. Towhead he once heard someone call a child's hair of the same shade.
Despite the oddities to make Sheerin standout like a wolf among sheep, his bookish charms seemed to tone down what would otherwise have appeared threatening.
"I'll be right behind you," he told Cassandra. "I'll meet you in the alley. I'll be but a moment."
"Sure she said, her head turning to follow his gaze, but before she could put her sights on Sheerin, he purposely stepped into her line of vision. Her right eyebrow arched high on her forehead, but she didn't pursue it. "Make it quick," she finally said. "We've already wasted enough time." With those parting words, she turned on her heel.
He waited until she slipped out the back door before he strode over to Sheerin to find out what he wanted.
"I see you've made it your mission to play second fiddle to the hunter," Sheerin said with amusement. "She tells you where to
go and how fast you should run to get there."
"Feck off, Sheerin. You know the reasons why I have to stay with her."
"Oh I know. Bram and I had a nice chat. You shouldn't have gotten so close to Cassandra Hayes. Taking vamps hostage, cavorting with a hunter, and taking a serum to walk in the sun. You're in over your head."
"I haven't taken a serum to walk in the sun, as you should well know." He didn’t bother denying the rest.
"No?" Sheerin frowned. "Oh aye. I haven't given it to you as yet." He fished into his coat pocket and took out a vial. He slid it over to him. "This is the serum. You need to take the liquid at least three minutes before you attempt to walk in the sun, but I warn you I have no idea how long it will last or if it will even work on you. It's all experimental at this point."
He picked up the vial and stared at the bluish-green liquid inside with renewed interest. "Have you tried it?"
"I have." Sheerin nodded, but didn't appear pleased with the results.
"And?"
Sheerin met his gaze with a long sigh. "I had a severe side affect. As it wore off, it hampered my vision and weakened me. In a sense I was as vulnerable as a human until the serum had run its course. So do not use it if you can avoid it. Especially if you're playing with a hunter."
He ignored Sheerin's warning and asked the most important question. "How long does it last?"
"Mind you, I'm the only one who has tried it. It could react differently with each of us." He pulled out his notebook from his coat pocket and flipped back a few pages. "Twelve hours, forty minutes and three seconds."
Tremayne rolled his eyes. An estimation would have sufficed, but that was Sheerin with his experiments and book worthy notations.
Stake and Dust (Stake and Dust series, Book I) Page 9