Tall, Dark, and Vampire

of a young man. Do you know him? Perhaps you served him last night at the bar?” If you know what’s good for you, you will act like you barely recognize him. You are in such deep shit with me, Maya, it’s not even funny.

Doug held up the picture, and Maya looked sweetly at it, with all the innocence she could muster. She shook her head and tossed her long blond locks over her bare shoulders with one hand. It was moments like this that Olivia wished like hell she could telepath with Damien.

“He’s awful cute.” Maya smiled. “Yes, sir. I saw him here last night. He put away plenty of beers, and when that happens, well, you know how flirty boys can be,” she said, batting her huge blue eyes. “But I didn’t really pay much attention to him after I served his drinks. After we closed up for the night, I hit the sack.” She giggled. “A girl just can’t get enough beauty sleep. Sorry I can’t be of more help, officers.”

Olivia was surprised by the violent and uncharacteristic surge of jealousy that flared inside of her. She had the ridiculous urge to beat the crap out of Maya for looking at Doug the way she did. Flustered, she straightened up and dropped her arm from Maya’s shoulders, hoping that her jealousy wasn’t visible to anyone but herself.

Doug put the picture back in his notebook and smiled at Maya. Olivia’s jealousy subsided when she saw he looked at Maya the way one would look at a silly child. At least he’s smart, she thought.

“Maya lives here in one of the apartments in my building, and I can assure you that she was at the club working until well past closing. Thank you, Maya,” Olivia said a bit too quickly. “Why don’t you go back and help the girls clean up?”

Maya locked her big blue eyes on Detective Daly and winked. “Be sure to come and have a drink with us some time, detective.” Giggling, she flounced back inside the club.

Olivia noticed that the older man couldn’t take his eyes off her ass, which wasn’t surprising. Men fell all over themselves to get her attention when she was human, and now that she was a vampire—all bets were off.

Doug, however, kept his attention on Olivia, which she found surprisingly unsettling. It had been centuries since anyone made her so on edge and uncertain of herself. Hell, she was a retired sentry and had spent the better part of a century kicking all kinds of supernatural ass, so feeling like some kind of lovesick teenager was bizarre.

“Well, if you do remember anything, please don’t hesitate to call.” Doug handed his business card to Olivia and delivered the most knee-buckling, dimpled smile she’d seen in centuries. “Anytime. Day or night.”

Her lips curved, and it was all she could do to keep her fangs at bay.

When Olivia took the card, her fingertips brushed his, and every coherent thought flew out of her head as the tattoo on her neck tingled warmly. His intense blue eyes captured hers, and if her heart still beat, it would’ve stopped.

She studied his handsome and painfully familiar face with genuine awe. The chiseled cheekbones, square jaw, perfect nose, and full lips added up to the man she used to know and the lover from her dreams.

She wasn’t crazy—he looked and sounded exactly like Douglas. For shit’s sake, they had the same first name.

Bloodmate.

The word ran through her mind over and over, like a broken record.

His dark blond hair looked as thick as she remembered and probably felt just as good. However, it was those sharp, turquoise blue eyes that set her on fire and ignited something far more than bloodlust. His gaze remained locked with hers, and the exquisite pang of desire flared brightly, warming her normally chilly body.

In that brief moment, she remembered what it felt like to be alive.

Doug started to leave with his partner but stopped and turned to face Olivia. “By the way, Ms. Hollingsworth, if we need to speak with you again, is this the best place to reach you?”

Olivia smiled before she could stop herself. “Yes, detective. I live in an apartment within the building.” She reached into the pocket of her slacks and retrieved her black and silver business card. “You showed me yours, so it’s only fair that I show you mine.”

Doug gave her a knowing smile and took the card from her fingers without looking away.

“My personal cell number is listed on the back.” She arched one eyebrow. “Feel free to call me if you require anything at all.”

“Good to know,” he said softly, before looking at the card. “Thank you, Olivia.”

“Yo, Paxton,” Tom called from the corner. “We gotta go, man.”

“Duty calls.” Before he disappeared around the corner, Doug looked back and flashed that disarming smile one more time. She caressed his business card between her fingers and rubbed her tongue along the tip of her fangs. The combination of anger, lust, and longing had sent her body into overdrive.

A customer had been murdered, and the love of her life was back from the grave.

Fate was one cruel bitch.

Unnerved, and off her game, Olivia turned and swept through the almost-empty club with her sights set on Maya. As soon as this place clears out, I want the entire coven at the bar for a meeting. No excuses, Maya. Her voice touched their collective minds with all the force she’d intended, and the concerned looks exchanged between them weren’t lost on her.

She was annoyed with the mess Maya had made and totally off balance by the appearance of Doug. However, at that particular moment, she didn’t give a crap how uncomfortable it made the rest of them. Maya had brought this shit-show to their doorstep, and it was about time she learned to take responsibility for her actions.

Olivia strode past without sparing a glance at anyone, went directly to her office with the Authorized Personnel Only sign, and shut the door quickly behind her. She closed her eyes and leaned against the door, struggling to gather control over her hot-wired body. Her head spun as that word continued to thunder through her mind—bloodmate.

“Douglas is back from the dead, Maya might’ve killed a guy, and both events happen when Vincent is in town.” Olivia pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. “Awesome.”

A warm, furry body rubbed against her legs, and a familiar whine filled the room. Olivia looked down and smiled wearily at the loyal German shepherd. He barked his welcome and sat on his haunches, waiting for her to give him a proper greeting.

“What?” Olivia shook her head, squatted next to the enormous dog, and rubbed his brown and black coat. “I know, I know. I should’ve seen the Maya thing coming. She’s still a youngling and has a hearty appetite for screwing around with the boys. Maybe I’m showing my age, or maybe I just don’t give a shit anymore? Either way, it’s sloppy, and when the Presidium gets wind of this, there’s going to be hell to pay. Not to mention Vincent’s impending visit. Shit.”

Van Helsing licked her face and put his large paw on her knee in his own version of a hug.

“Hey!” Olivia laughed. “I just got this suit.”

Van Helsing growled and dropped his paw.

“But I appreciate the gesture.”

She scratched his ears before making her way to her desk. Olivia sat in the large leather chair, and Van immediately lay at her feet, as he was prone to do.

“If Maya killed that kid and made this mess, then we’re in some deep shit, my friend. You know how the Presidium feels about messy and public human killings.”

Van Helsing lifted his head and watched her intently. She spoke to him as if he could actually understand her, and sometimes she was convinced he did.

She didn’t want to scare Maya or the others, but the severity of the crime was not one to take lightly. The only disruption the vampire government hated more than messy human killings were unregistered new vampires —that was the biggest indiscretion as far as the elders were concerned. All seasoned vampires were limited to two vampires per year, and they had to be registered with the Presidium records keeper in their district immediately.

Olivia held up the white business card and read his name over and over.

Doug Paxton.

Her lips lifted as she switched on the computer. Not only did he look and sound exactly like her young lover from her human life, but he also had the same first name. Even though it had been close to three centuries since