So, Mr. Vampire could put on all the right moves. He could smile. He could flirt. He could show off his wealth. But when I looked at him, I felt nothing, nothing except a general curiosity and a little wariness.
“I’ve been fascinated by you since the moment I saw you,” Vance said, breaking into my thoughts. “Before, if I’m being honest. Since I heard you’d taken on Karma's torch.” His voice was far too low and personal.
“Oh, um, I’m flattered, I suppose.” I scooted away slightly, trying to be discreet. I didn’t want him to outright insult him and provoke him, but I did want my body language to saykeep your fangs to yourself.
“I must say you did not disappoint.” He leaned over, invading the space I’d just left. “I was incensed when I found out how your ex-husband treated you.”
What in the world? How would he even know about that? And why would he care? Because I'm Karma? Yeah, this man saw me as powerful, but he didn't see me as a person. Even though I don't think he was a total asshole, he definitely knows how to walk that line between creepy and charming. A line that seems to be getting thinner by each second that passes.
"Your ex I'd deal with myself, if I was a different kind of man, and if you hadn’t dealt with him yourself, in your own way, already." Again, another flash of a smile.
I gave Vance a hard look. “What do you know about that?”
He grinned broadly. “I have my sources. And I think the way you handled them was inspired, with the toads and all.”
Only a handful of people knew about that, and those that did wouldn't have told a soul. “I’d really like to know your sources,” I grumbled.
Wherever he’d gotten his info, he had far too much of it. He’d done his research. I wasn’t happy not knowing exactly how much this dude knew about me. I mean, did he have my credit score? My high school transcripts? Who knew how deep his research went? And why. I couldn't imagine I was the only woman this vampire had an interest in. At least I hoped I wasn't.
“What is truly the situation with the bear?” Vance asked, finally leaning away from me and settling back on his side of the seat.
“Daniel?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Vance nodded. “The very one.”
“I care a great deal about Daniel.” I stared at Vance straight on, almost like I was daring him to question our connection further. “We’re dating. A couple. He put up with this farce to catch a killer, but a real date is out of the question, and not just because Daniel wouldn’t like it.”
He shook his head, meeting my gaze. “I know I approached this topic before, but I want to be franker. You need a man. Not a date. At your age, and at your point in life, a man who has you in his sights and hasn't locked you down isn't much of a man. At least not the kind of man you need. He simply... isn't capable of offering you all the things you deserve. I mean, a cabin in the woods? A cop pension? That is not enough for a lady as exceptional as yourself." He smiled like he thought I wouldn't mind him insulting Daniel as long as he was buttering me up. "I don’t suppose you’d be interested in seeing me again? Without the pretense of being my date in order to look into the murders amongst the clans.”
Seeing him? Heck no. I wanted nothing to do with a man who would put my Daniel down. Who thought his big house and money made him a better match for me. The whole thing actually creeped me out. He might be a man who saw me as nothing but a powerful figure he could parade around on his arm, but I also saw him as nothing but a stuck up, pathetic excuse for a human. Well, er, a vampire, I guess.
Yet how does one say, "Not a chance you creepy, little worm. I already have a man who is better than you could ever hope to be," you know, in a nice way. He was a vampire, after all, and I didn’t know how much my karmic powers would save me from a direct attack if I suddenly pissed him off.
“As attractive as you are…” I smiled as warmly as I could muster when I wanted to follow my words up with a gagging sound. “I really am devoted to Daniel.”
Vance sighed. “All right.” He was taking it far more graciously than I’d expected. “I can respect that. But you will let me know if you become available once more?"
"You can count on it," I lied.
He drummed his fingers on his pant leg, his expression hard to read. "I may still need you to help me investigate a bit more, if you're willing. Will you consider it if I promise to keep things professional with you?"
I didn’t get the sense he was going to try to mount me, or use our investigation to continue pursing me, so I nodded. “With that stipulation, yes. I agree.”
We pulled up to the curb in front of my house, and Vance opened the door again for me to scoot out. He walked me to my door with one hand on my elbow, and when I put my fingers on the door knob, Vance surprised me by leaning in and pressing a feather-soft kiss to my cheek. “I had a lovely evening, even with the job we were trying to do.”
Okay, I could have done without the kiss, but then, this vampire was old school. Perhaps he kissed the cheeks of all the women he escorted places. His chaste kiss was hardly grounds for me to kick him in the nuts, even if I would've preferred he hadn't. So, I gave a forced smile. “To my surprise, so did I. At no point did I feel in danger or anything. And it was kind of fun to try to discern what everyone was feeling.”
Vance grinned. “I'm so glad to hear that. I’ll see you next time.” And I wasn't sure, but his last sentence didn't feelentirelyprofessional.
But before I could respond, the door opened behind Vance and light flooded the porch. Daniel stood in the doorway with the cutest, grumpiest expression on his face. “It’s late,” he grumbled, his chest puffed out and his eyes locked on the vampire.
Vance’s face morphed into laughter, but he bit it back as he saluted Daniel. “Terribly sorry about that, but here she is. Safe and sound, not a bite on her.”
Oh, my. Daniel didn’t find that so amusing. He glowered at Vance until the shorter man backed away. “Until next time, Emma.”
Vance disappeared across the yard, and in a moment the limo pulled away from the curb.
"Next time?" Daniel growled.
