“Mais oui, and I assume you will do the same?”
“I thought Anthony was regularly briefing the challengers,” Vincent commented curiously.
“More or less. But I find his intel difficult to trust. He seems to have a favorite to be the next lord, and I am not that person.”
“He can favor anyone he wants, but that’s not the way this works. Whoever wins it, rules it.”
“So I keep telling everyone,” Christian said dryly. He heard voices on Vincent’s end of the line, and then the Mexican lord telling someone he’d be right there.
“I’ve got to deal with this,” Vincent said. “I’ll keep looking, and let you know what I find.”
He hung up without bothering to say good-bye. Christian shrugged, more than satisfied with the conversation. Vincent was nearly the same age as he was, old enough to have honed his strength, but young enough to have retained the flexibility of the modern age. He would be a good neighbor and ally once Christian became Lord of the South.
Assuming Vincent could be trusted to mean what he’d said. Unfortunately there was only one way to be sure of that, and by then, it might be too late.
“I NEED TO GO home and change clothes,” Natalie said, as the two vampires prepared to leave for the night, and take her with them. “Anthony pays attention to appearances. He’ll notice if I show up in the same clothes I wore yesterday. Plus, you know . . . ick. You should just drop me at the estate. My car’s there, so I can drive home, change clothes, and come back.”
“No, we’ll stop at your place on the way,” Christian disagreed, as the three of them trooped into the garage. “While you’re there, you should pack enough to see you through a few days. It’s no longer safe for you to be on your own.”
Natalie bristled. “I’ve been on my own for years. I don’t need—”
“Ordinarily, I’d agree with you. But these are hardly ordinary circumstances. Anthony doesn’t strike me as the most even-tempered vampire when he doesn’t get his way, and he won’t like you spending time with me.” He held open the back door of a big, black Suburban for her, while Marc climbed in behind the wheel.
“I’m aware of that,” Natalie snapped, carefully hiking her skirt in order to climb into the back seat without flashing Christian. She didn’t like the way he was moving in and dictating her life. But she disliked Anthony’s newfound attentions more, not to mention what might happen if he discovered that she’d witnessed Noriega’s death. She wasn’t shortsighted enough to forego the protection Christian offered. And then there were those kisses. She wanted more of those, and whatever went with them. But that didn’t mean she had to cave to his every whim. At least not without a fight.
Unfortunately, Christian didn’t fight back. He didn’t get angry, or snap back at her. He simply stood in the SUV’s open door, eyeing her patiently, as if he had all the time in the world to wait for the crazy lady to see reason. Fucker. He wasn’t any fun to argue with.
“Fine,” she told him finally. “I’m not completely self-destructive, you know.”
Christian smiled suddenly, and it was like the sun coming out. “Can you work in Jaclyn’s office today?” he asked, as he climbed in after her.
“Sure, but what will I tell her?” She slid across the leather seat to make room for him. Which took some doing, because Christian was a very big guy.
“You don’t have to tell her anything. She understands more than you think, and she’s not fond of Anthony.”
Natalie nodded. She knew that. It was one of Anthony’s pet peeves that he’d never managed to co-opt Jaclyn. She started to give Marc her address, but he was already punching it into the navigation system. At some point, Christian had checked her out enough to know where she lived. She wasn’t even surprised. Vampires, especially powerful vampires, didn’t respect any boundaries but their own. Christian had wanted the information on her, so he’d gotten it. Something as prosaic as asking her for it had probably never occurred to him. She liked confidence in a man, even arrogance, as long as it was deserved. But if she and Christian were going to have a relationship, he’d have to remember that she wasn’t one of his minions.
She frowned as the thought occurred to her. If they were going to have a relationship? Good lord, when had her thoughts taken that particular detour? Okay, yeah, she wanted him, but a relationship? She turned and studied him in the dark interior of the SUV—his chiseled profile broken up by the single lock of hair hanging over his forehead, the coiled power of his big body, and his confident posture as he sat with one arm flung across the back of the seat behind her.
Oh, who was she kidding? Hell, yes, she wanted a relationship. One night, or even three, with this beautiful man would never be enough.
He turned suddenly, his mouth curved in a sly smile, and winked at her. Natalie blushed, thankful for the shadows that hid her reaction. Needing to look somewhere else, she glanced out the window, and saw they were nearly at her address. She leaned forward. “It’s on the left,” she told Marc. “The kind of grayish building.”
“Got it,” Marc said. “Do you have a garage?”
“Carport in the back. You can pull in, since my car’s not there. Assuming this beast will fit. I drive a Prius.”
“I didn’t think those were legal in Texas,” Marc joked.
“I get looks, believe me. There it is, number three,” she said, directing him.
Marc slid the big Suburban right into the tight parking space, slick as could be, though Natalie had to close her eyes, certain they were going to crash into the wall. Next to her, Christian laughed.
“For a woman who works with vampires, you have very little faith in our abilities.”
“I mostly work with numbers,” she said tartly. “Those I have faith in. Which is why I know that that was a tight fit.”
She climbed out of the SUV, with her keys in one hand. The Suburban took up so much space that there was only room for them to get out on the driver’s side, so Christian came out right behind her. She’d showered at his house while he’d still slept, and so she only needed to put on fresh clothes and a little makeup. “Give me twenty minutes to change and pack a few things,” she said, sliding her keys into the lock. “The Mr. Coffee’s right over there, if you want something to drink,” she added.