We stared at each other for a second and then shook our heads, trading sheepish grins. “We’re a couple of hypocrites, Boss.”
He inched closer. “I wish you would not call me that.”
I lifted my chin so I could look into his eyes, glittering like gems in his immobile face. “
“Ahh.” His breath blew across my lips. “When you agreed to accept me as such, did you ever think you would find yourself here?”
“In Scotland?”
He gave me that semi smile that made my knees want to buckle. “Why is it that you love to tangle with my patience?”
“Well, having spent some time in the Vampere world, I can now say that being your
“Disa was never my girlfriend.”
“She wanted to be.”
Vayl slipped his hand around my waist. “What about you?” He ran the fingers of his other hand along my collarbone, which had mended during his trip to Romania. His touch sent such tremors through my body that my tongue flew to the roof of my mouth and stuck there.
“I did as you asked,” he said. “I revisited the site of my worst memories. My sons’ tombstones still stand where I set them over two hundred and fifty years ago. You cannot read their names anymore. I considered recarving them, and then I decided to let it be.”
As they always did, his eyes had darkened while he talked about Hanzi and Badu. I was beginning to understand that their murders felt as fresh to him as my own losses did to me. He said, “You asked me to let them rest. To accept that I lost them so I could move forward. With you. All I can tell you is that I have begun.”
I raised my hand to his cheek, slightly rough with evening stubble. I slid my fingers into his hair. “You are
Our lips came together so quick and hard that our teeth clicked and I felt blood on my lip, though I wasn’t sure if it was mine or his. Didn’t matter. The world had narrowed to breath, hot and quick. Fingertips leaving fiery trails across skin. His tongue tracing a path down my torso to my abdomen and, amidst my gasps of pleasure, his delighted whisper. “You wore it!”
I looked down as he brushed his finger against the belly ring he’d sent to me while we were apart. The interlocked golden hearts with their ruby centers swung gently from side to side as I smiled at him. “It’s my favorite,” I told him.
Cole’s eyes lit up and he practically clapped his hands. Vayl regarded me thoughtfully. “Do you suppose so?”
I shrugged. “She’s obviously got somebody else she’s really serious about.”
“So serious she is not even warm to him? Jasmine, even you are Cole’s friend.”
I glanced at our third, acutely aware that I’d never given him an answer to his proposal. That I’d just hoped he’d figure out on his own we could never be more than friends, but we’d be idiots to let a stunted romance get in the way of that. I waited for the light to dawn. For Cole to look at me with a sense of letting go.
Didn’t happen. He was too keyed on the mystery behind Iona.
“Maybe she’s some heiress trying to escape the clutches of her overbearing parents.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Maybe you should write for Harlequin.”
Vayl rose from the stool. “Try your charm on Rhona, Cole. Iona must have come with references. A woman like Viv’s mother would never hire someone otherwise. Perhaps we can trace her through her last employers. We also need to capture a picture of her as soon as possible. I cannot believe the one in our database is so badly out of focus.”
“That should be easy,” said Cole. “Our cameras are set to shoot the second they detect movement.”
“Are you sure Floraidh’s convinced they’re not just regular video monitors?” I asked.
Cole clapped a hand to his heart. “How could you think I’m such a bad actor? She believes we brought spectervids and electromagnetic field detectors and phantasonic probes for the ‘job’ we have lined up after this convention. And she couldn’t wait for us to set them up when Vayl started counting out the notes. Albert’s going to keep track of the feed while we’re gone in case Bea decides to do some setup work when she thinks the place is deserted.” Now it was his turn to frown. “You did clear my room? We wouldn’t want Dormal charging in there and using your dad for a rug beater when he’s turning out to be such a big help.”
“They’re all Scidair proof,” I assured him, practically grinding my teeth that Albert had recruited himself another fan. “I should go,” I said. “Floraidh could be leaving her room any minute.”
“Me too,” said Cole. “I want to make sure all the feeds are working before we take off.”
“Jasmine, would you wait a moment? We need to discuss the assassin’s most likely plan of attack.” As Cole hesitated at the door, Vayl said, “Go on. We’ll catch you up shortly.”
His face pinching like he’d just swallowed one of his gum balls whole, Cole stomped out the door and slammed it shut.
“What’s the deal?” I asked. “We’ve already decided Bea’s probably going to hit Floraidh while she’s asleep.”
“This.” Vayl grabbed me around the waist and backed me to the wall. Before I could take a decent breath his lips had covered mine. Fierce. Wild. Like taking a barrel over Niagara and stopping just short of the bottom. When he lifted Shenps his head I could hear myself panting.
