"Look," Kaden said, coming to his feet. "We didn't mean to cause trouble. But we couldn't go to Tayla's Aegis headquarters because I can't enter, and even if I could, I'd be slaughtered before I made it past the threshold."
Tayla folded her arms over her chest. "So explain what you two need."
"Kaden's not just a vampire," Andrea said, coming to stand beside said vamp. "He's a Guardian."
Jesus. Okay, Tayla hadn't expected that. "You were turned while you were an active Aegi?"
"My little accident happened while on the job, in fact," he said wryly. "Crazily, The Aegis has no workman's comp program for people who get turned into vampires during work hours."
So the guy had a sense of humor. Tayla had to offer up thanks for that. There was nothing worse than a broody freaking vampire.
"How long ago?"
"A couple of weeks," Kaden said. "I'm a newbie vamp."
Cocking her head, Tayla studied the couple. "I'm guessing you were together before this happened?" At their mutual nods, Tayla whistled, long and low. It couldn't have been an easy thing for them to go through, but they seemed solid and happy.
Andrea ran her hand up and down his back in an affectionate gesture. "He's been working undercover with vampires to feed us information. Thanks to him, our cell wiped out a really nasty nest, but now that they're gone..."
"Your cell isn't playing nice," Tay finished.
"Exactly."
"I get that," Tayla sighed. "So what is it you want? What makes you think my cell is any different from the Portland one."
"We heard..." Andrea cleared her throat. "We heard that you are, ah..."
Tayla didn't put the poor girl through more discomfort. "You heard I'm half demon. And that I'm mated to one."
"Yes," Kaden said gruffly, shooting Eidolon a wary glance.
"Well, you're right," Tayla said. "I didn't know about my demon half until I met Eidolon." She smiled at him, and he returned it. He was just so cute. "He's a Seminus demon, a rare species of incubus. He runs Underworld General Hospital, which you might have heard of."
Kaden nodded. "The rumor has filtered down through The Aegis, but it's definitely known among underworld beings."
"Okay," Tayla said. "Here's the thing. You're Guardians, which means you think all underworld creatures are evil. Except now that Kaden is a vampire, you have doubts. I'm here to tell you that underworlders run the gamut from good to evil the same as humans do. I've got my Aegis cell working with some, because demons can provide awesome intel. If you join up with us, you'll catch shit, because Guardians don't change their minds easily. And it also means that you have to have respect for the demons I call friend and family. Understood?"
Andrea and Kaden exchanged glances and then inclined their heads.
"Good," Tay said brightly. "Now, want a beer?"
Chapter Nine
Turned out that being a vampire Guardian instead of merely an outside "informant" as Kaden had been in Portland was pretty cool.
He hadn't exactly been welcomed with open arms into the New York City cell, more like with wary looks and a few snide remarks, but once he started working and got into places human Guardians couldn't, he earned a lot of respect in very little time. And when he got his arm nearly hacked off by an orc-like demon twice his size, Eidolon treated him at Underworld General as if he were part of the family.
Three months after moving to the New York City Aegis cell, he and Andrea married beneath the full moon on the lawn at headquarters, with all their cellmates attending.
Now he and Andrea were spending their first night in their new home, a house they'd bought in the country near the cell's headquarters and had altered to seal out light during the day and to provide an escape tunnel from the basement. Yeah, Kaden was a little paranoid, but more than one Aegi had been targeted by demons and dragged out of their homes, and Kaden wasn't going to let Andrea become one of those.
"Hey." Her hand came down on his bare chest as she climbed into bed, where he'd been waiting for her for what seemed like an hour, but was really only about five minutes while she'd washed her face. "You seem distracted."
"Nah." He reached for her, snared her around the waist, and dragged her on top of him so she straddled his waist. His cock was already hard, and she was wet, and now they were in perfect position to do what he'd been wanting to do since he'd awakened from his day-sleep. "Just thinking about how lucky we are."
She rotated her hips, rubbing her slick sex over his shaft as she playfully trailed a finger down his torso. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," he said, his voice lower and rougher than it had been a moment before.
A teasing smile lifted one corner of her mouth as she dragged her finger back up his chest, over his neck, and to his mouth. "Are you hungry?"