Christian inched forward. “That’s about as friendly as he’ll get with a Vampire. Back away slowly.”
I did as he said. Christian knelt down and stared at the wolf straight on.
When Viktor shifted back, I quickly turned away from the very naked man kneeling in the middle of the dining room. Viktor was physically older than the rest of us, as evidenced by his silver hair and beard, but not old enough for us to overlook that he was still a virile man.
Releasing a breath, I stood coolly by the end of the table, blood dripping from my hand. “I hope we’re having pie for dessert.”
Gem chortled. “No one here bakes, so your odds are slim to none.”
I glanced at a bowl of slimy orange shells. “That’s a lot of macaroni. Maybe we should hire a cook. It’s not like we can’t afford it.”
Viktor passed by me while buttoning up his shirt. “The thought has crossed my mind. It would be nice to come home and discuss business. Instead, I or one of you must stand in the kitchen for an hour and cook.” He collapsed in his chair, some of his hair out of place. “And not everyone here knows how to boil water.”
Niko reached out. “Raven, let me see your arm.”
“It’s fine. It’ll heal on its own.”
“I can stitch it up in the medical room,” Shepherd offered.
Viktor peered across the table while he poured his wine. “Let Niko heal your wound. I don’t want you bleeding next to me while we eat. We are not savages.”
Before I could argue, Niko placed his hand over the wound. A crack of light snapped from his fingertips, and the warm tingling of healed skin made me want to scratch at my arm.
Shepherd tossed a white linen napkin in front of me.
“Don’t use those!” Blue chided. “It’ll never wash out.”
He chuckled. “You’re only bitching because it’s your day for laundry.”
“Have it your way,” she said coolly. “When it’s your week, I’ll be dragging my blanket through horse manure.”
Shepherd snapped his fingers. “Give me the fucking napkin.”
Christian walked by us, stripped out of his black shirt, and draped it over my arm. “I’ll give the ladies something to admire while you sop up the mess.”
I cleaned off my arm and then handed Niko the shirt to wipe off his hand.
When I finally took a seat, I pretended to be looking at the bowl of macaroni to my left, but I was actually stealing a glance at Christian’s chest.
Damn, I hated that I looked. This was the same man who tried to feel me up when I first came to this house, and I couldn’t figure out why I kept having these moments of weakness. Especially with a Vampire.
Viktor swirled his glass of red wine. “My wolf isn’t restless, so I’m sensing the introduction went well.”
I sputtered with laughter. “We’re best buddies. Please don’t do that again.”
Gem reached for a bottle of grape juice and then filled her glass. “What does everyone think about the murder?”
Shepherd lifted the spoon from the bowl, and a glob of macaroni hit his plate with a smack. His deep voice sounded more like a growl. “Someone dumped her body and wanted the authorities to find it.”
I pushed my plate away. “I think the killer might have been the one to call it in. That’s the human district. What are the odds that one of us would have happened upon the body when it was within sight of a human bar?”
“She has a point,” Christian agreed, filling his glass from a bottle of red. “There wasn’t a drop of blood at the scene, so I’m with the party that believes the body was dumped.” He sipped his drink, his bottom lip rubbing against the rim of the glass. “Although… I find it peculiar it was in such an open area.”
“She didn’t fight him either,” I added. “Do you think maybe she thought he was going to turn her into a Vampire?” It made me shudder, but that could have easily happened to me. I’d been so trusting of the Vampire who had led me away from the bar when I’d been turned; anything could have happened.
Viktor broke apart a roll. “It is possible that she was misled. This is the case I was speaking with the higher authority about, but they wanted to wait until there was another murder before they were certain the crimes might be connected. They are not certain how many women there could be. None had identification on them. Without knowing who they are, we can’t even begin to guess motive. So they have assigned us the case to find out who these women are.”
“Were they all killed the same way?” Blue asked.
