“A group? You mean you’re all…?”
“Every one of us. Have you seen the show?”
“No, I assumed it was a bunch of humans being idiots. Now that I know, I’ll be watching it for sure. Do you ever get any time in front of the camera?”
His cheek twitched as he shook his head. “Occasionally, but I prefer to be behind the lens. The limelight isn’t my thing. What about you? I assume you’re here to spice up your hunting routine. Looking for a meal or a date?”
“Both, actually. My life isn’t nearly as exciting as yours.”
He scoffed. “A virtually indestructible creature of the night with mind control powers? How could your life not be exciting? You can do anything you want.”
“Well, I…” She clamped her mouth shut. How to tell the first man who’d piqued her interest in eons that Lilith, the mother of all vampires, had turned into a boring homebody?
The buzzer sounded, but lucky for her, the seat next to her was empty. She could spend another five minutes with Spencer before she had to move. “Sometimes, when you can do anything you want, nothing sounds appealing. But what you do…tell me more. I’m intrigued.”
As he held her gaze, her stomach flip-flopped and something akin to excitement flowed through her veins. She would have to thank Deirdre for insisting she come here. This was exactly what she needed.
He shifted forward, leaning a forearm on the table. “Alan Peterson, the show host, is a sasquatch.”
She giggled like a schoolgirl. “Really? Do you ever hunt for Bigfoot?”
“All the time. We go all over the world, investigating claims of the supernatural. Of course, we never expose anyone, but the humans don’t care that we never find anything. Or…they used to not care.”
She tilted her head, silently urging him to continue.
“The network is threatening to cancel us if we don’t make the show more exciting. They want us to find more evidence, but how can we? The world isn’t ready to know about us all.” He blinked, his lips puckering like he couldn’t believe he’d told her that.
“What are you going to do?”
“We experienced a cave-in a few days ago in the rainforest. We got it all on film, so hopefully, that will appease the network gods for now. If not, I don’t know.”
He told her more about the program, but the damn buzzer went off again. The woman next to her stood, ready to meet Spencer, but Lilith wasn’t done with him yet. She activated her glamour, encircling Spencer and herself in a bubble of invisibility.
The woman’s expression pinched, but then it smoothed as she walked past them and sat at the next table.
Spencer arched a brow. “What was that?”
“I’m enjoying myself, so I used a little magic to hide us.”
“Isn’t that cheating?” He scooted his chair forward, tucking himself into their date.
She leaned an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her fist. “You’re only here to support your sister. It’s better not to get anyone’s hopes up, don’t you think?”
His gaze never strayed from her eyes. “I suppose.”
“Why didn’t your sister bring someone who wanted to participate?”
“She was supposed to come with a friend, but she canceled. Mandy didn’t want to come alone, so here I am.”
“That’s very sweet of you.” Cinnamony sweet.
“What can I say? I’m a nice guy.” He cleared his throat. “You haven’t told me much about you.”
Eve’s words echoed in her head: Tone down your Lilithness; you can be intimidating. Apparently, a woman not putting up with a man’s shit made her threatening, and her reputation of zero bullshit tolerance preceded her. Spencer either hadn’t made the connection that she was the Lilith, or he was giving her a chance to prove herself. She hoped it was the latter. It would be nice if someone would get to know her before judging her for getting kicked out of Eden. She was enjoying his company too much to risk it being the former. The less of her “Lilithness” he learned about now, the better.
She turned to gaze over her shoulder. “Which one is your sister?”
He nodded toward a woman a few tables away. “The blonde in the white shirt.”
