by Amy Boyles
I was applying the last touches of mascara when the doorbell rang. Crap. I still had to fix my hair.
Voices drifted up from downstairs. I cringed. I hated the idea that Thorne was talking to my mother and aunt. I’m sure Rose was batting her lashes while Mama dug into his actual feelings about me.
What are your intentions toward my daughter?
Thorne’s answer would probably be something like, To stop her from getting on my nerves.
If you put one fang where it doesn’t belong, I’ll curse you. Oh wait, my magic has been drained from me by Rots Smythe. Never mind. Instead of cursing you, I’ll set one hundred witches on you.
Send them, Thorne would say. I’ll take them down no problem.
Yep, I probably needed to get downstairs. I pulled my caramel-colored hair into a messy chignon and wiped a smudge of mascara out from under my lashes.
Wow. My eyes looked particularly violet tonight. Great. Maybe Thorne would be so entranced by them he wouldn’t mind that I was using him to talk to Dash and Kimberly.
I wiped a smear of lipstick from my teeth and headed downstairs.
Thorne’s eyes widened in appreciation when he saw me. Heat rose to my cheeks as my gaze darted away.
He looked nice, too. Wearing jeans and a button-down. Leather loafers peeked out under his cuffs. His dark hair was pulled back, away from his face.
“Hello, Charming,” he murmured.
“Hey, Thorne.” My foot touched the bottom step. The heady scent of vanilla and musk filled my nose. I stared at him. My breath hitched in the back of my throat. There Thorne stood, primal and manly—all vampire and truly a specimen of beauty.
Gosh, I could’ve slapped myself.
He offered his arm. “Ready?”
“Yes,” I said dumbly.
“You two kids have a good time,” Mama said.
“Be sure to do everything I would do,” Rose added.
I shot my great-aunt a dark look and then shifted my attention back to Thorne. We stepped outside. I glanced around, looking for his pickup, but didn’t see one.
“Where’s your truck?”
“I brought the car.”
My head tipped up to meet his gaze. He was so tall I’m surprised my neck didn’t break at the angle. “You have a car, too?”
He smiled wickedly. “Just for dates.”
Heat rose in my cheeks again. “This isn’t a date.”
“I know,” he said. “But if you wore a dress, I didn’t want you to have to climb into a truck. So I brought the car.”
The car was a Jaguar two-seater. It probably roared from zero to sixty in three seconds. I really wanted to test my theory.
Thorne opened the door for me, and I slid onto the buttery seat.
He winked. “Buckle your seat belt. This baby has some horsepower.”
I buckled up and readied myself for an unofficial date with a vampire.
Chapter 14
“So, do you want to tell me why we’re really here?”
I stared at Thorne. We sat at a table in the middle of the Old Witch Mill, which turned out to be a rather upscale steak house that served farm-to-table produce cooked Southern style—lots of battering in cornbread and frying in Crisco.
I picked at a pickled green tomato on my plate. “I’ll tell you if you tell me how you became a vampire.”
His eyes turned steely for a moment, and then Thorne laughed. “Oh no, we’re not going there tonight. But if you want to know a secret, there is one I will tell you.”
I quirked a brow. “Really?”
He nodded.
I had to admit our dinner was going well. Great, actually. Thorne asked all the right questions, said all the right things, and since he was off duty, he was almost fun.
He sort of reminded me of a much lower-key Gordon Ramsey. In the kitchen Gordon is a beast, but outside he seems like a pretty cool guy.
Thorne was sort of the same. And that’s where his resemblance to the celebrity chef ended.
“But you have to tell me a secret first.”
I groaned. “Not this again.”
He smiled. I spotted a dimple in his left cheek. How had I not seen that before?
“It’s only fair,” he explained. “You tell me something, and I’ll tell you something.”
“But I’m already going to tell you why we’re here.”
He nodded. “But that’s not a secret.”
I threw him a mockingly harsh glance. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”
He shook his head. “Nope, and to make sure you keep your side of the bargain, you have to go first.”
I held up a finger. “But wait. Before you get to ask me, you have to tell me what secret you’re going to share.”
He scratched his chin. “What would you like to know?”
I shot him a pointed look.
“Anything besides how I became a vampire.”
“Okay, then. Tell me about hunting.”
His face blanched. “Not that either.”
“Why not?”
Thorne palmed his silverware and studied me for a moment. “Because I don’t know you well enough to answer that. Those are personal things. Vampires don’t share details about their lives with just anyone.”
My gaze darted to my plate. I supposed I was properly chastened. “If you won’t tell me that, then how about you tell me about your family.”
His jaw clenched. “That’s off-limits, too.”
I shot him a harsh look. “You have to give me something.” I gestured around me. “We’re having dinner. People who break bread get to know each other.”
He sighed heavily. “Deal. But I’ll only tell you about my father. How’s that?”
I nodded. “Fair enough.”
“His name is Leo.”
“You told me that he is Lord of the Vampires.”
Thorne smirked. “He’s not exactly lord, but he’s very powerful. Leo was turned during the yellow fever epidemic that hit Philadelphia in 1793. He’s very guarded with his history, so I don’t know many of the details, but I know that when he was turned, he was forced to abandon his family—a wife he loved and children he adored—because the lust for blood was too much for him.”
The agony Leo must’ve gone through. My heart hurt a little for this man I didn’t know.
“He was turned against his will, and that’s why my father is as strict about the rules as he is.”
“You mean why he sent you here.”
Thorne nodded. “I broke a law and Leo had to punish me, as I knew he would. There are few exceptions in our world—as vampires. Leopold Wharton does not make exception for much of anything. He is a complicated man who loves fiercely and is loyal to a fault. He only turned me because I was dying.”
My heart seized. Never had Thorne mentioned anything about how he was turned.
Not that we’d spent a lot of time together.
As soon as the words left his mouth, I realized the magic spell of his story faltered.
Thorne studied the fork in his hand. “But other than that, my father plays beautiful music and hired me to be his right-hand man once I was settled into my new life.”
“As a vampire?”
He nodded. “That’s right.” He inhaled deeply. “But now it’s your turn.”
I groaned. “Already?”
“So tell me—why’s a pretty girl like you not dating anyone?”
I dropped my fork. It clattered against the plate. People turned to look in our direction. I wanted to crawl under the table.
“Um. Well, I suppose because I’m so busy with work I don’t have time for dates.”
He cocked a brow. “Is that really the reason?”
“Um. Yes? Am I supposed to say something else?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t dated anyone since I became a vampire.”
I almost dropped my fork again. “You haven’t? Why haven’t you? I’m sure female vampires throw themselves at you all the time.”<
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He grinned and stared down at his plate. “I don’t like vampires as partners.”
“You don’t like witches, either.”
He hiked a shoulder. “I’d say they’re growing on me.”
My cheeks burned hotter.
His question had caught me off guard, but it was a decent one. I pushed food around on my plate. “Why aren’t I dating anyone? I guess because I haven’t met anyone who challenged me. A lot of men discover I have my own company and they run in the other direction. They think I’ll wear the pants in the relationship.”
“And you don’t?” he said, his voice mocking.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’ve never dated anyone long enough to find out.”
He winked. “Well, I can already tell that you want to wear the pants in a relationship.”
I shoved back the grin threatening to form on my lips. “And is there something wrong with that?”
“Something challenging, I’d say.”
I pointed to his plate that was still mostly full of food. “Why’d you agree to come if you’re not going to eat anything?”
“For the company.” Thorne glanced over his shoulder. “Has the reason we’re here arrived yet?”
I scanned the dining room and spotted Kimberly and Dash. I clicked my tongue. “Why yes, they have. And how’d you know I had to see someone?”
“You needed cover. Why else would you have invited me unless you were working?”
“To try to get you to look into Rots Smythe’s house, that’s why.”
Thorne scowled. “I’m not going in there.”
I leaned over the table. “My mother’s magic is gone. She touched that thing he’s working on, and now her power has vanished.”
Thorne scrubbed a hand down his cheek. “You know you’re not supposed to admit you broke into his house. This puts me in a bad position.”
“We didn’t break in. He left his door wide open.”
He rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t make a difference. Rots saw you come out. You’re lucky he hasn’t identified you.”
I clenched my fists. “If we’re just going to spend all night arguing, we might as well leave.”
Thorne winked. “You don’t enjoy our banter? I do.”
His words slammed into my chest. Enjoy our banter? I thought we hated each other. Like, seriously despised one another. Never for one minute did I think Thorne would enjoy talking to me.
But then fragmented memories of his behavior leeched into my brain.
The night he nursed my swollen hand when I first arrived in town, the roses he brought me the other night, and picking me up in a Jaguar—it all started to add up.
Holy cow.
The vampire wanted to drink my blood.
Kidding. But I didn’t exactly know what to do with this new information.
He hadn’t admitted it, but was Mama right? Did Thorne have some sort of vampire feelings for me?
To me, that was like a lizard loving its owner.
At least, that’s how I would’ve explained it a few months ago if you’d asked me if vampires had feelings.
But as I’d gotten to know Thorne and could somewhat read his expressions—or the variations of his scowl, as it were—I would have to say that it was entirely possible that the vampire did have something akin to feelings inside his heart.
I wasn’t sure if he was led by his longing to drink blood or if it could be shut down.
I cringed inwardly. Maybe I was being too hard on him. Perhaps I should just go with it and see what was truly happening between us, because otherwise I would never really know.
“Tell me about your father,” he said.
I blanched. “If you promise to investigate what Rots is doing—with a witch. You can’t just go in by yourself. You don’t have magic.”
He cocked a slightly crooked yet quite captivating brow. “Now how do you know I don’t have magic?”
I coughed into my hand. His words took me by surprise. A vampire with magic would be deadlier than deadly. A truly powerful creature.
Thorne’s hand darted out. He squeezed my shoulder gently. “I’m sorry. That joke was in poor taste. I don’t have magic. You don’t have to worry.”
I stopped coughing and returned to staring at my food. There was a way about the warm spread of the heat wafting from him, the way it washed down my arm and made my skin tingle.
Thorne’s touch electrified me.
“Um. My father. He was a scholar. Taught at Magic University.”
Thorne arched a brow. “What did he teach?”
“Witch History. He started with magic in the early days, going all the way back to Egypt. The Egyptian magicians were his favorite.”
Thorne nodded in appreciation. “I’m sure he loved you very much.”
I nodded. “I believe he did. Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember because it all happened when I was so young, but I know my father loved me.”
A knot tightened in my chest. It usually did when I spoke of him. The sadness must’ve shown on my face because Thorne reached. His hand covered mine. My hand, I would say, was normal sized. Thorne’s, in all his grand manliness, gloved mine easily.
Heat pricked my cheeks. Suddenly the night at the Old Witch Mill had turned very, very intimate.
Thoughts and feelings started to surge through me. I cleared my throat and gazed across the restaurant.
My sights snagged on Kimberly and Dash. Without thinking, I rose.
I slid my hand from under Thorne’s. “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t get into trouble.”
I scowled and was about to say something when I noted the obvious twinkle in his eyes. Thorne was joking. He’d said that either to rile me up or to frustrate me.
Both worked, actually.
I shot him a teasing look and went on.
“Kimberly, so good to see you here.” I draped myself over an empty chair at their table. “How’re y’all doing?”
Kimberly smiled widely. Her blonde hair fell in thick, smooth waves over her shoulders. She wore a red dress that accented her trim body, and her simple touches of jewelry were impeccable.
“I’m so great, Charming. You remember Dash.”
They were truly a perfectly handsome couple.
Dash smiled so wide I swear his teeth sparkled in the lamplight. His oiled pompadour glistened, and a handkerchief peeked out from his suit pocket. The two truly looked classy and debonair.
“I do remember Charming,” he said in a deep voice filled to the brim with graciousness. “How’re you doing?”
“I’m doing great. Just having dinner, saw y’all over here and wanted to say hello.”
I waited for Dash to extend his hand, but he didn’t. Looked like I’d have to make the first move.
A thought occurred to me. “Dash, you were on the train the other day.”
“That’s right.”
“Did you happen to notice Corley, the woman who was murdered?”
His brows stitched in thought. “I saw her on the train once or twice. She was always talking to that young woman, the one who roomed with her, but I don’t know what they were talking about.”
He scratched dark stubble on his chin. “The conductor may have overhead what they were saying. He spoke to them at length.” Dash shot me a thousand-watt smile. “Sorry I can’t be of more help.”
I shook my head. “Oh no. That’s perfect. What you’ve told me is great. Thank you.”
I gave Kimberly a smile as she jerked her head toward Dash. She wanted me to touch him. I knew that. A hand was the best and easiest way to do it.
“Well, I don’t want to keep y’all. I’m just over there having dinner and thought I’d pop by.”
Kimberly craned her neck in the direction I’d pointed. “Who’re you with?”
Oh crap. Should I tell her? I had the feeling if Kimberly discovered I’d broken bread with Thorne, that it would be all over town.
So I decided to ignore h
er question. I extended my hand to Dash. “Great seeing y’all. Enjoy your night.”
Dash reached for me as a voice broke through the peaceful surroundings.
“That’s her! That’s the woman who broke into my house.”
I yanked my head around to see Rots Smythe hovering in the center of the dining room, an accusatory finger pointing straight to my chest.
“Chief,” he directed to Thorne, who’d risen, “I want her arrested right now!”
Dash dropped his hand. My chance had vanished. I shot Thorne a pleading look. He strolled up to me and took me by the arm.
“Evening,” he greeted Kimberly and Dash. Thorne then murmured in my ear, “I asked you not to get into trouble. Looks like our date is over.”
He said it just loudly enough for Kimberly to hear. Her eyes peeled wide as this nugget of information pinged in her brain.
“Come on,” Thorne said. “Let’s go talk to Rots.”
My heart sank. It did, indeed, look like my peaceful night had burst into flames.
Chapter 15
“I’m telling you, Chief, it was her.”
Thorne had taken me to the Flying Hickory Stick, a bar in town that also happened to house the jail.
Weird, I know.
Rots, wearing his fur coat, glared at me from across a table. “That woman was at my house. I want her arrested.”
“Do you have proof?” Thorne asked, his voice thick with patience.
Rots hesitated. “Well, no. I don’t actually have proof.” He shoved his finger toward my nose. “But I know it was her. I can feel it. She aimed that chicken at me.”
“See?” Rots pointed to a rip in the seam. “That’s what the vile creature did to my beautiful coat. It’ll cost me a fortune to have it repaired.”
“You could just use magic,” I murmured, “unless you can’t for some reason.”
Thorne gave me a scathing look. He didn’t want me talking about the machine.
“Miss Calhoun,” Thorne said.
I batted my lashes innocently. “Yes?”
“Where were you last night when Mr. Smythe accuses you of breaking into his home?”
“Chief Blackwood, I was watching Hocus Pocus with my mom and great-aunt. We love that movie. It’s so funny. Have you seen it?”