True. The Rains were off-limits, a fact which Kennedy had frequently taken advantage of in high school. “Are you sure the vampire is stalking her, or is she helping the unsanctioned?”
“We made sure she would not attempt that again,” Jared said. “Besides, she rarely returns to The Rain.”
Nora had heard the same about Kennedy’s infrequent trips home, but the human had once had an idealistic view of The Rain’s role in the paranormal world. Nora wasn’t entirely sure she had accepted reality. She wouldn’t be surprised if Kennedy was still trying to smuggle wolves and vampires into the hotel’s void of magic.
“Do you need help?” Nora asked.
Another long pause. Of course he didn’t need help, but maybe he would want it.
“I will not be able to see you tonight,” he said.
She would not be disappointed.
“That’s fine.” She crossed the breezeway that lay between the garage and the back door of her home. “I have things I need to do.”
“Meet me tomorrow.”
She took the keys out of her pocket. “This is becoming too regular.”
“It is,” he said. She couldn’t tell if that was a question or if he was agreeing with her. “Come to Swirl or I will come to your place.”
“You’re not coming here again.” She needed to end this—the phone call, the sex, the everything. “I’ll see you the next time I stop by.”
“Nora.”
The way he said her name stopped her from ending the call. There was a softness in his tone, a reverence too, like he held the moon in his palm and was mesmerized by its glow.
That ridiculous flutter went through her stomach again, only this time it wasn’t contained. It spread to her chest, her fingers. It became a hum of energy all the way down to her toes.
She definitely had to end this.
“What?” she demanded.
“Do you have plans for the day?”
“Yes,” she snapped before she’d thoroughly weighed his words.
“If your plans could be rescheduled, I would have you come to me.”
Go to him during the daytime? “I’m sure Arcuro would love that.”
“I do not live with Arcuro.”
“You don’t?”
“That surprises you.”
“You’re his henchman.”
A brief hesitation then, “Yes.”
Vampires had many places they could shelter. She knew that, but vampires also thirsted for the blood of the Aged, and Arcuro was one of the oldest on the planet. She assumed Jared would want to be near him, drink from him, revel in the power of him. Instead, he was inviting her to his personal den.
She swallowed. Vampires only invited individuals they trusted to their sanctuaries. Usually, only those bonded to them, and she was certainly not that and never would be. She was a werewolf, the daughter of his master’s enemy.
She rubbed at the center of her chest, trying to make that strange flutter disappear. “I plan to sleep in.”
“I do not plan to sleep at all.”
