* * *
All fabulous evenings must end, and my curtain closed the moment Christian Poe swaggered into the restaurant.
Glass and I were talking about places we’d like to travel when I glimpsed a man in a dark coat making his way through the center of the room. I was certain he knew I was in there, but he made no eye contact as he followed the waiter.
“Were you vacationing in Washington?” Glass asked.
I furrowed my brow.
Glass wiped his mouth with a linen napkin and then tossed it across his empty plate. “When you called me last night, I noticed the area code.”
“Oh. No. I had to take care of something.”
“With him?” he asked, nodding at Christian, who had just taken a seat at a nearby table with a buxom blonde.
I was a little disappointed that Glass had noticed him. Hopefully this wouldn’t ruin our evening. “Well, Christianismy partner. Where I go, he goes.”
As if on cue, Christian made a deliberate turn in his chair, cocking his head to the side and then searching the sea of people in the room.
Ignoring him, I used my fingernail to try to dislodge a piece of meat wedged between my teeth.
Glass pushed his plate forward and rested his arms on the table. “You should apply for a job with the higher authority. It pays well, and if you make detective, you don’t need a partner. I like the independence, and I don’t have set hours. Except for the crime scenes I have to show up for right away, I can create my own schedule and do as I please.”
Christian appeared behind my chair and bent over, his whiskers brushing against my cheek. He lifted a bone from my plate and held it up. “Well, it looks like Mary had a little lamb.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked flatly.
“This is quite the coincidence, wouldn’t you agree? I’m with the tall lass—the one over there with the ample breasts,” he said, pointing at his table.
“I see her. Canada can see her.”
“Aye,” he said, lost in his thoughts.
Glass flicked his gaze between us. “Why don’t you join us… Poe, isn’t it?”
Christian crooked his finger at his date, and when she rose from the table, I couldn’t help but notice her tall frame and the golden eyes that flashed up to meet mine.
That conniving little Vamp had hooked up with a Chitah, and not just any Chitah, but the most gorgeous one I’d ever seen. Probably on purpose. Was he trying to outdo me or using her to tempt my date? After everything he’d said against Chitahs, I knew sabotage was on the menu tonight.
She sashayed toward the table, her white dress hugging her body. Christian grabbed an empty chair and dragged it around to my right so he could sit next to his date. I hadn’t paid much attention to what he was wearing when he’d abruptly left the mansion, but now it seemed like he was parading himself around and turning slowly to give me the full view. Dark jeans, a blood-red shirt that matched my dress, a black sports jacket, and cologne.
He also had a red scarf tied around his neck, and my lips eased into a wide grin as I remembered the tattoo.
“Why the accessories?” I asked, tapping my finger against my neck. “Vampires don’t get cold.”
He adjusted his scarf and gave me a stony glance. “It’s fashionable.”
I smiled and lifted my glass. “Maybe in the eighteen hundreds.”
His companion sat in the chair nearest to Glass.
“Everyone, this is Marlene.” Christian put his right arm behind her chair and kissed her bare shoulder. “Marlene, this is everyone.”
“Hi, everyone,” she purred.
Christian searched the room and stood up. “Where the feck is the waiter? You pay all this money and get shite service. Be right back.”
When he flounced out of the room, I leaned over and spoke privately to Marlene. “Known each other long?”
