got edgier senses. If anyone else asks, you’re wearing my clothes, and they won’t be able to tell the difference in the smell. Now find what you need and let’s get out of here, okay?” She pushed away from me and headed toward the bar.
“Wait,” I said, following after her like a lost puppy.
Remy shot me a look that could have pinned me to the wall from ten feet away. “You’re making a spectacle of yourself,” she hissed. “Girls come down here to hook up with dates, if you get my drift. Go find yourself a date and I’ll find me one-got it?”
Ick. Most of these men were creeping me out, not turning me on. I glanced around as I stood near the doorway, uncertain.
Behind me, Zane chuckled. “Something I can help you with, Colette? Or could it be that you’re attracted to my charm?” His eyes slid to my breasts again, and he gave me a knowing smile. “At least parts of you are.”
Bastard. I ignored the flaring of the kiss on my forehead and scowled at him. Like I’d let him know that he turned me on. I crossed my arms over my chest and stalked away, trailing Remy again. She’d seated herself at the far end of the bar, away from the other patrons. I’d have bet money that she wouldn’t be alone for long though, judging by the way they eyed her. “Remy,” I whined.
She put her hands over her face, and I thought I heard her mutter something in a foreign language. “What? What now?”
I slid in close to her and spoke low so nobody could hear-especially not that Zane, who still watched the two of us with amused eyes. “How am I supposed to get this information I’m looking for?”
Remy pinched the bridge of her nose, stemming off a headache from my ineptness. “You could put your date to sleep, for starters. Then you read his head.”
I frowned. “Read his head?”
“Didn’t I tell you about that?” Remy shooed away the bartender when he came over, then turned to face me fully. “That’s part of your powers. You can read dreams and stuff-just don’t go crazy with it. The vamps are a bit sensitive when it comes to us mucking around, since we’re supposed to be neutral. If you get caught, it’s very bad news.”
Right. I remembered something about that from my conversation with Uriel. “Don’t get caught. Got it.” I glanced around, then whispered, “So how do I put them to sleep?”
Remy shrugged. “Touch him, kiss him-it’s hormone induced. You’ll figure it out-I don’t know the exact mechanics. I just think it, and boom, it happens. The kind of sleep we induce is not the same as regular sleep. He won’t remember any of it, if it makes you feel any better.”
I frowned. As answers went, that kinda sucked. “And I’m supposed to get jiggy with someone in the middle of a vamp bar?” I turned to look at Zane, and sure enough, he was still watching me. I made a rude gesture and he took the hint, laughing and wandering off. “Remy, they look at us like we’re appetizers.”
“Darling,” Remy said, patting my arm. “We are.”
“Oh great. I feel so much better now. Thanks so much.”
She winked at me and then gave me the same shooing motion as the bartender. “Off you go, then.”
A few booths lined the back of the dimly lit room, and only one was occupied. The two men watched me with hawklike interest as I wandered in their direction. One was blond, the other one dark-headed.
“Time to take the bull by the horns,” I said to myself, reminded of the angel kiss on my forehead that still burned. I strode forward, sliding my hands down my skirt and tugging at the hemline as I approached the table. “Hi, boys,” I said brightly, forgetting for the moment that I had to be seductive. “Want some company?”
My boobs were about eye level with the men, a fact that was lost on none of us. The blond stared at them in fascination, his bottle of beer poised halfway to his mouth. His mouth opened a bit and I could make out the tips of a pair of gleaming fangs. I wondered how long it’d take before they heard my knees start to knock together.
Blondie slid over in the booth. “Have a seat.”
I contemplated it and glanced over at his dark-headed companion. He had horrible red eyes, a scarred upper lip, and a look on his face that only Charles Manson would understand. I quickly sat with Blondie, forcing my chipper smile back on my face. “Hi,” I repeated, feeling like the lamest succubus ever. “I’m um, Colette.” I figured since I was doing super-spy stuff, I might as well have a super-spy name.
“Well, Colette,” the scary vampire across from me drawled. “Are you a natural redhead? Because that’s an impressive color. Don’t suppose you’d let me check the undercarriage, would you?” He leered at me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to get lost, then I remembered where I was. “Sorry,” I said, trying to remain perky and not burst into frightened tears. “The undercarriage is off limits.” I glanced over at his blond friend, who was sucking down his beer, his eyes still on my boobs.
“Then why are you here?” His red eyes bored into me and I began to feel alarmed. Time for a little action.
I looped my arm around Blondie’s neck, my breasts nearly falling out of my corset, and gave Ugly what I hoped was a confident smile. “Because I thought your friend here was cute. Would you mind giving us some alone- time?”
Silence descended over the three of us, and I waited for someone to respond. Kick me out, buy me a drink, kill me, whatever.
I felt a hand slide up my thigh under the table, testing the waters. I shifted, resisting the urge to sigh in delight at the sensations the simple touch sent scattering across my flesh. “Why don’t you leave the two of us for a bit, Joel?” Blondie said to his friend, and his hand slid higher up my skirt, closer to my eagerly awaiting loins.
Success. I gave Blondie a faint smile and slid closer, practically shoving my cleavage under his nose. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Adam,” Blondie said as his friend got up and stalked away from our shadowy corner. His voice was slightly hoarse, his eyes darkened to a reddish shade, and his fangs had grown longer. Part of me wanted to run away screaming, and part of me was turned on by the power I had over him. I liked that I could make him lose control.
“What brings you here tonight, Colette?” I felt his hand slide up my skirt even farther and felt the Itch begin to stir. Uncomfortable as I was at the situation, the Itch didn’t give a rat’s ass.
I thought about his question for a moment, then leaned in. “Boredom?” It seemed a good enough answer as any. “It’s been a dull week. I needed a rush. My friend suggested we come here.”
“She suggested right,” he whispered against my neck. He looked like he was about to fling me down onto the table and have at me in front of all these people. He inhaled sharply, and then stiffened. “You smell like-” His eyes widened, flaring to full-blown red.
My heart hammered as I put a finger to his lips. “Shhh. Didn’t I tell you who my friend is? She let me borrow her clothes.” I put my fingers under his chin and tilted his gaze toward the bar, where Remy sat, surrounded by vampire admirers.
“Ah.” He inhaled deeply against my neck again, licking at my skin. “You smell amazing.” He sniffed again, and I remembered.
The Itch was turning into a full-on throb despite the sizzling on my forehead, and I obligingly slid onto his lap, straddling him and pressing my breasts against his chest. I could feel the hardness in his pants against the junction of my legs under my skirt, and the realization made me smile with arch delight. “How’s that?” I let my long curtain of hair fall over his face, shielding the two of us from any onlookers.
“Perfect,” he said, his voice hoarse. His hands gripped my hips and ground them against his cock. “You’re a smokin’ little number, Colette.”
“I like to think so,” I bragged, and the angel kiss flared again, instantly quelling any desire my charged hormones felt for this guy. Instead, I was reminded that I was grinding down on an oversexed vampire in a public bar full of the type. And I needed to pick his brain.
He ground my hips down on his again and I took that moment to kiss him, hoping I could avoid fangs.
