“Just stay here,” he whispered back. The scent of wine drifted up my nostrils. How much had he drunk today?
I wrinkled my nose. “Don’t you want to know who’s here?”
He held his finger to his lips. “Shhh.” Then he turned and cocked his ear to the side, listening. I grasped the edge of the door and leaned forward, peering up at him expectantly.
He looked down at me, a grin curving the corners of his plump lips, his eyes shining, like we were two naughty kids. He stuck two fingers up. They made a V for vampire. I nodded, got it, but stuck mine up anyway in return. He rolled his eyes but looked like he was holding back laughter.
Then his smile turned into a grimace. “He’s going to kill me,” he muttered.
“What?”
“Well, don’t just hide up there,” a voice like gravel and ice answered before he could. “Show yourself, witch, or I may think you have something you want to hide.”
“Shit,” I muttered, my eyes wide as I looked at Josh.
Josh’s eyes were wider than saucepans. “They must have smelled you … Oh God, I’m going to die, he’s going to kill me,” Josh muttered. “Again.”
I would have laughed if I didn’t know how furious Karson was going to be.
“Stop being dramatic. You’re going to be fine,” I said under my breath. “What should we do?”
Josh pinched his nose and stared at the floor.
“Or I can come to you.” The voice sounded annoyed. “If you prefer.”
Josh twitched his head up and we stared at each other, neither of us breathing. I could close the door, seal us in, and whoever he was couldn’t get in. But that would make it look like I was scared, like I had something to hide.
“Monique said come down,” Josh squeaked.
Their energies, thick and churning, struck me as soon as I left the cover of the hall. There were four of them talking to Monique. Three men and one woman. No Karson.
A vampire’s ice-gray eyes hooked on mine. He had shoulder-length black hair and his jaw was covered in neatly trimmed black stubble. He wore a long black trench jacket, black lace-up boots, and a fitted black t-shirt. A silver pendant glittered from a black leather band on his neck. He oozed power. Thick, chilling power. Stronger than an ordinary vampire, different somehow.
Karson walked in from the ballroom and looked up, his eyes flaring with annoyance when he spotted me. Then he tore his attention back to the vampires. “Rodney.” His face changed in an instant, his smile filling with warmth. “I see you let yourself in—we do have an intercom, you know.”
Rodney brushed his comment off with a wave of his hand. “I need to use my abilities sometimes and I knew you wouldn’t mind.”
Abilities? Did he have powers? No, impossible. Even as the thought landed, another corrected it: in this world, anything was possible.
“What a pleasant surprise,” Karson said.
“Karson, old friend, how long has it been?” Rodney returned his smile in what appeared to be genuine affection. They hugged, slapping each other on the back.
“Far too long,” Karson answered.
“I do believe it was over eighty years ago when we stalked the canals of the French riviera feasting on the nectar of fine French maidens,” Rodney said, holding his arms and scanning him.
“Those were the days.” Karson chuckled. Until now, I liked the French.
The power of the vampires stifled the room like yesterday’s curry trumpeting from the ass of a seventy-year-old man. In a closet.
Mary crossed the foyer carrying a beige duster. None of them took notice of her as she moved into the sitting room. I chewed on my lip. The vampire had seen me now, so I could go back tomy room. As I turned, Rodney stepped back from Karson, icy eyes on me freezing my limbs.
“Well, don’t just stand there, come down. We won’t bite,” he crooned in a way that suggested the opposite.
I couldn’t run like a coward, even though every cell in my body screamed to get away. Karson’s jaw clenched. My legs felt heavy as I walked along the hall and down the stairs. Aware of eyes watching my every move, I kept my chin high and my expression blank. Josh lagged behind.
“Who is this lovely piece of merchandise you have?”
