“No, not always. I’m just trying to keep my options open in case Miss Right comes along. And, don’t be tossing ugly words around, Alexa. You’d be super pissed if Shaz or Arys were seeing someone else.” She wagged a finger at me, and I ignored it.
What she said was true, for the most part. However, that just wasn’t an issue with Shaz. But Arys, I didn't always know what he was up to with his victims. It wasn’t something we talked about. Maybe because I didn’t really want to know.
“So,” Jez continued animatedly. “Are you sure you don’t want to come stake a few vampires tonight? I mean, I know you said you don’t think it’s a good idea to hang with Kale tonight, but we could ditch him.”
I looked up at her suddenly in shock, and she was grinning from ear to ear. I’d told Jez all about my recent outings with Kale, much to her delighted surprise. She was always one for juicy gossip.
“Very funny, Jez. If you had been there last night, you wouldn’t be making jokes.”
We got into the car, and I gave her a look. She continued to smile.
“I believe you. I still think it sounds sexy though.” She shrugged and tossed her thick, leopard gold mane. “You’re the one with all of the vampire mojo going on. I’m surprised you don’t want a taste of Kale. And, I mean that in the best way possible.”
She held up both hands in mock defense, and I decided to let that one slide. We cruised through the city, headed toward the office. We carried on casual conversation along the way, but I couldn’t help but mull over what she’d said.
I’d tasted Kale last night. His strong, coppery blood had dripped inside my mouth so that I could taste him in both body and power. I hadn’t known that I’d wanted to until it had been happening, but I had wanted it bad in that moment. The only reason that bothered me was that I’d once accused Arys of being power hungry, wanting whatever he could get from me. It nagged at me that perhaps I wasn’t so different. No, I definitely would not be going out on the hunt with Kale and Jez this evening.
Just the sight of the black Camaro parked outside the office set my heart racing. This was ridiculous. I think part of it was that I hadn’t told either of my lovers about the bloody power kiss we’d shared. Of course, it helped that I hadn’t seen either of them since.
Nobody knew except for Jez. There was no way I was stupid enough to tell Kylarai.
It just wasn’t worth mentioning. At least, not at this point.
“Don’t let him know that I told you Jez.” I stopped her with a hand on her elbow.
“He really is like a brother to me, and he’s dealing with enough right now.”
“Of course. No worries.” She beamed and blinked bright green cat eyes at me. “Kale will come around on his own.”
I followed her inside, took a deep breath and focused on slowing my heart rate to normal. If I didn’t have a potential client coming by, I wouldn’t have even come in.
At first glance, it appeared that Kale was the only one there. However, upon closer inspection I was able to determine Lilah’s spooky energy down the hall in her office.
Lilah was both vampire and demon, older than dirt, according to some. I didn’t know much about her, but she’d saved my ass, and that made her cool with me.
I couldn't help but miss Lena's presence. I wished that she were here, instead of out of town with Veryl. I always had so many questions for her. The witch was damn talented, more so than she let on.
The front door latched behind us, preventing any unwanted guests from entering at leisure. The sound of it was loud in the quiet inside. Kale lounged in a chair at the table in the small kitchen with a newspaper spread out in front of him. He glanced up as we entered, a shadow of something unidentifiable behind his eyes. He banished it with a smile and a shake of his dark head.
“Hey ladies, how are you?” Kale greeted us with a grin, and I could see that he was forcing casual as hard as I was.
“I don’t know about you, honey, but I am ready to take out a vampire.” Jez deposited her shopping bag on the counter before digging through the fridge.
“Just one?” Kale raised an eyebrow skeptically. “What about you, Alexa? Are you up for another hunt?”
I had to force myself to meet his eyes directly. I didn’t want him to know how nervous he had made me. “No, I’m waiting for a client. You two will have to have all the fun for me.”
“I can handle that.” Jez produced a container of leftover Chinese food. “Who’s is this?”
Kale wrinkled his nose in distaste and fanned a hand before his face. “Does it matter? It smells hideous.”
“Not a fan of Asian cuisine, Kale?” She pulled a fork from the drawer and dug into the container. “I hear those Asian chicks taste divine.”
“I guess you would know,” he shot back at her, winking as he spoke. She frowned upon realizing that his lame joke had been better than hers.