Oh. OH! Vik shuddered. Now if the man in black would just touch the tail he’d crammed into his blue jeans—maybe help get the kinkout.
Apparently oblivious to Vik’s crossing eyes and weak knees, the guy gushed, “I had this friend, just a friend you see, nothing more, no matter how much he begged me to marry him.” He fluttered a hand in the air. “Anyways, he got his fangs off an Internet site. They’re the kind you have to fit over your own teeth.” He pantomimed, pushing against his top teeth, and continued talking with his fingers in his mouth. “They looked real, but one popped off at the wrong moment, if you get my meaning.” He punctuated his words with a wink and a nudge. “Took us days to find it. Thank goodness it was in the carpet under the bed and not, well, youknow.”
Wow. How did all those words escape that puny body without the man so much as taking a breath? Damn. He could probably go deep and stay there a longtime…
“Anyhoo, I’m Dillon. I live downstairs.” He removed a pair of gloves and held out a delicate-looking hand. Vik took the offered appendage gently. He’d crushed bones before by accident. “Not like that,” Dillon complained, “I’m not gonnabreak.”
Vik squeezedharder.
“Ahhhh!” Dillon wailed, jerking his handback.
“What… I’m sorry. You said…” Oh shit. Time was running out and Vik had gone and broken ahuman.
Dillon threw back his head and laughed. “Gotcha!”
“No, you don’t, not yet.” Oh Home. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why not just come out and say,If I don’t find someone tonight my mom’s gonna match me up with a demonic nutcracker?But nooooo! He had to go and spew the world’s worst pickupline.
And itworked?
“Oh, I have faith in me.” Dillon winked. “What say we blow this Popsiclestand?”
“Blowwho?”
Dillon’s tinkling laughter filled Vik’s ears again. He reached out and wrested a half-melted glass from Vik’s hand. Damnation! When had he melted this one? Dillon casually tossed the melted blob into the industrial sized trash can taking up way too much room in the apartment. “You and me, big guy. Somewhere we can… talk.” He walked his fingers up Vik’s bare chest with a gleam in his eyes and a wickedsmirk.
Finding a man couldn’t be this easy, couldit?
With a nod to Ralph, who gave a two-thumbs up sign from across the room, Vik followed his newfound admirer out of the apartment and down to the street. Was this guy human, a demon, or another hybrid? Would it be rude toask?
Not having dated much, he hadn’t a clue what to say next. It didn’t matter; Dillon never seemed to run out of words. “So, where’re youfrom?”
Honesty. Dr. Phil always touted honesty in a relationship. Why not start now? “The sixth level of Hell.” Vik braced himself for judgment if the guy were from a higher level, or disbelief if he’d snagged himself ahuman.
“Don’t worry about it, honey,” his companion said on a giggle. “I’m from Cleveland. We’re practicallyneighbors!”
“Do you mind me asking what you are?” Vik waved a hand to indicate the all-black attire. There. He’d saidit.
“I’m a ninja. You do know what a ninja is, don’tyou?”
“Ninja.” Vik tried the word out. “Nope. ’Fraid not. Exactly what does a ninjado?”
Dillon wrapped an arm around Vik’s waist. His head came up to Vik’s shoulder. “Why, we’re legendary. Got a corrupt king you need taken out? I’m your man! I can overthrow nasty warlords, fight off an army of evil minions single-handedly, save kittens from trees, and still be home in time fordinner.”
Hmm… Fight off an entire army of minions? Nice! So maybe in a direct challenge, Dillon could defeat the likes of Tazlina. Check one off in the pluscolumn.
“You can’t crack nuts with your thighs, can you?” Might as well get that out of the way rightnow.
“Sweetie, if nuts get near my thighs, cracking ’em won’t be on my mind. Busting them, maybe.” Dillon laughed at his ownjoke.
It was a joke,right?
They’d traveled about two blocks when Dillon stopped. “Since the party was in my building, and we’re mobile, I suppose we’re going to yourplace?”
Vik’s place? Yeah, he could do that. He wrapped his arms around his prospective new lover. “Hold ontight.”
Two hands grabbed his ass. He flinched at the sudden tightness in his jeans. Yow! Talk about a tailpinch!
“Only doing what you told me to!” Again Dillon loosed his raucouslaugh.
