My eyes landed on the mess I’d just made in my study. Anything not to look into his powerful eyes. Eyes that could steal all my power. Sinful and indulgent…and terrifying as hell.
I walked around the table and picked up a sheet that had spilled out and across my floor. Unbidden, a small smile flittered across my lips. Here was my ‘in.’ Here was the way I could destroy the human. I looked over to where the two idiots were pulling themselves together.
I stated, calmly, “Get my weapons, Adelie. Nial, go do whatever it is you need to do. I know where to start, and I only have forty-seven and a half hours to make Cato happy.”
* * *
The house in front of me was a grand affair, and I was only looking at the structure from the back. There were dozens of windows and doors, most of the rooms beyond dark and shuttered.
The only lights were in the kitchen and the living room, where a solitary figure walked between the couch and the refrigerator with predictable regularity. I stood leaning against a tree where even if the woman could see me, I could easily make her forget I was there.
“What are you doing?”
I looked up.
Nial was sitting on a tree branch above me, book in hand, utterly disinterested.
I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell are you doing? Reading on a stakeout?”
“I can’t help. I can only follow.”
“Sheep.”
He glanced down at me. “Rules. Nice view from here though. I’m not complaining. Did you wear the bustiest bra you could find?”
I ignored him. I had hoped he could be somewhat quiet and helpful, but clearly, his idea was to be as annoying as fuck while imitating a chimpanzee. And reading.
“Hello, vampire? My original question went unanswered.”
Rolling my eyes, I responded without looking away from the window. “I’m here because the woman in Ginter’s house is his fiancée. With any luck, I can get her under my Thrall, take a little sip and control her for the next few dozen hours, then find out what I need to know from Ginter to bring him down.”
“Not bad.” I heard him turn the page. He was clearly not impressed.
“Nial, you can’t help me. Just shut up and let me do this.”
A whisper of his magic trailed over my skin and slithered into the top of my shirt.
Down the skin of my breast…
Gathering some strength, I kicked the tree hard enough to rattle the branch, and the book tumbled out of Nial’s hands as he grabbed the branch to hold on. I looked up at him, hissing, “If you try to distract me, Niallan, I will slice your head off your body.”
His lips tilted up at the corners, pure male arrogance. “You could try.”
I ground my teeth together. “And learn to use your magic for something other than copping a feel of my tits.”
He chuckled quietly. Evilly.
“Stay here. You’re my Monitor, so monitor.”
I walked down the hill toward the home in the dark night. No bright moonlight shone down on the earth tonight, which worked out—moonlight could disrupt my Thrall, but most humans couldn’t resist even on a full moon. However, as this was a Challenge, I didn’t want to take a chance. My feet glided soundlessly over the crisp, fallen leaves, and I didn’t even feel the need to conceal myself in any way. Ginter’s house was in the middle of nowhere, and there was no one around. There were a few deer in the back and a sleepy bear, but that was all.
The woman in the house, his fiancée Haley, was my target this evening. She was an unremarkable woman, with a liberal arts degree, poor housekeeping skills, too many shoes, and a standing nail appointment every two weeks. She was a socialite darling, seeming to know exactly what to say to all of her friends in all the right places.
I could see why Ginter had picked her. She was easy to look at.
Glancing back, I eyeballed Nial. He was taking her in.
Males and their dicks.
