La Vida Vampire

The bride Yolette and Ike’s second-in-command vampire were both dead. What did they have in common, other than Stony and the Covenant? I wished Saber was off investigating that angle instead of trailing me, though it had been fun to watch him try to avoid the blood bunnies all night. Without success.

Of course, I’d quickly and quietly reassured Millie, Kay, and Grace that the blood bunnies ’ fangs were as fake as their nails. Probably their boobs, too. Reporter Paul didn’t seem to care, judging by the drooling way he watched the women. They batted their eyes at Paul and Mick, but they darn near draped themselves on Saber. He scowled through the tour. I smiled.

Mick abandoned me after the drugstore visit, heartless wretch. But it was our last stop and only two short blocks from our starting point. I rattled off my closing spiel at close to eleven o’clock and waved a figurative, not-fond farewell to the blood bunnies. Reporter Paul trailed after them, poor deluded guy. Someone ought to warn him, though it wasn’t gonna be me. I thanked Millie, Kay, and Grace for coming and was enfolded in another Shalimar hug before they walked jauntily off. Geez, they had more energy than I did.

Saber didn’t wait five seconds after the ladies left to annoy me. More than he already had, that is. Truth is, seeing him again tonight made me breathless. Could be that his faint musky smell was giving me some vampire version of asthma. Or it could be just plain nerves.

“How many of those women carry concealed?”

I contained my start, just barely. “The blood bunnies? You’d know better than I would.”

He shook his head, a small smile playing on his sensuous—yes, sensuous—mouth. He bugs me, but I’m not immune to his attributes.

“Come on. I overheard that ‘Ixnay on the gun-ay talk-ay’ business. You suck at pig Latin.”

I shrugged, wrapped my cloak tighter, and started hoofing it south on St. George. “Tour’s over. Good-bye, Saber.”

He stuck his hands in his pockets and fell into step on my right. I thought about turning on the vampire speed, but nervous as I was, I might fall on my face. I walked energetically instead. Saber kept pace.

“I’m not planning to run the senior citizens in, you know. You can talk to me.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because I’m interested in you.”

“You are?” My heartbeat jumped. The only man who’d intrigued me in centuries was interested in me?

“Sure. I may be a preternatural expert, but I can always learn something. You’re a new breed of vampire to me.”

Feeling more sexless than ever, I kicked myself for thinking he meant anything personal. “So I’m, what, some kind of science experiment?”

“Your smart brain might want to remind your smart mouth that I ’m also investigating a case you’re connected to.” He paused a beat. “Like it or not.”

I stopped short, planted my fists on my hips. “In other words, you want to continue the interrogation.”

“If you’re willing.”

“You think I fell off the dumb wagon? My attorney will have a fit if I talk to you without her present.”

“You held your own this afternoon.”

“And, surprise! I’m doing it now.” I stomped off again, nursing a bruised ego.

“Tell you what. I won’t ask you about the murder. We’ll just chat.”

“Chat? Who are you, and what have you done with the jerk from the sheriff’s office?”

He flashed a smile, and laugh lines crinkled around his amazing blue eyes. Who knew he had laugh lines? Who knew he laughed?

“You like being a vampire?”

“Since I don’t have a choice, I like it a lot better now than I used to.”

“Because of the whole villagers-uprising-to-burn-you-out thing?”

I blinked at him. Nah, he couldn’t know about that unless he’d read the newspaper article. “Actually, because I don’t have to live with vampires and play their politics.”

“I wouldn’t think a princess vampire had to play politics.”

I groaned. “You did see that article, huh?”

“Looked it up online. Seems like you had it pretty good.”

“Oh, sure, I did. The ranking vampires in Normand’s court just loved it when the king made me his princess and second-incommand. Yeah, they partied for days over that.”

“Aw, did the poor vampire princess not have any friends?”

Triton flashed in my mind’s eye, but that’s not what made me stop again. Dark of the moon, iffy psychic senses and all, the hair on my nape stiffened. Magick scraped against my skin.