Will you break her heart so badly that she’ll do anything to get back at you, even sink you in your own admissions? Never give anyone ammunition they can use against you, no matter how much you think you can trust them. Men who do that never last in our world.” Lenore drew so close that their bodies touched. “I mentored a smarter Vampire than that.”
The sound of her pulse filled his ears, and his eyes fixed on the warm blood rushing through the veins just below her skin. It was intoxicating, and she knew it. Lenore stood there as if she were offering heroin to a former addict. His gums ached from the memory.
Distracted by his traitorous thoughts, Christian didn’t hear Wyatt bustle in until it was too late.
“My driver should be here any moment.” Lenore drew back slowly. “It’s always good to see you, old friend.”
As she gracefully sauntered out of the room, Wyatt pulled off his loose beanie and stared at her ass. When the front door finally closed in the distance, he turned on his heel and smacked Christian with his hat. “Now that’s a twist I didn’t see coming. Old friend, huh? My old friends don’t glue themselves to me like that.”
“It’s not what you think.” Christian put his hands in his pants pockets.
“I’ve heard that before.” Wyatt’s eyes rounded when he looked at the breakfast dish. “Say, who made food without telling me?” He circled the table like a vulture and pulled the pan closer. Instead of cutting a piece of the banitsa, he used Lenore’s fork to eat straight from the pan. “So this is what he serves all the hoity-toity guests,” Wyatt said around a mouthful of food.
Christian pushed in his chair. “Shouldn’t you be tracking Raven?”
“Unless she’s a sleepwalker, I’m on a break. She’s not allowed to leave the hotel except to go to work. That way I’ll know if something’s up. It’s the only way I can get some shut-eye, unless you expect me to stare at a screen for sixteen hours straight. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a Vampire. Though I once stayed up for a record three days.”
“Well, isn’t that astonishing?”
“Almost went insane.” Wyatt licked his fork and stared at Christian. “You two looked… chummy.”
“She’s an old acquaintance,” he replied flatly.
“I’ll say.” Wyatt gave a sideways smile and took another big bite of pastry before setting the fork down. “Shepherd has a few leads I’m looking into. If any of them look promising, I’ll pass that along to Raven.”
“What smells good?” Blue strutted into the room in her dark red gown with the bell sleeves. She’d hung the garment by the door the previous night. It was unusual to see her in it during daylight hours, but their schedules were now upside down. “I’m starving.”
Wyatt pulled the pan of banitsa closer to him like a dog guarding its bowl. “Just the person I wanted to see. How did the phone work out?”
“No problems. The breakaway design is better than looping something around my neck. You might want to put a rubber case around it.”
Wyatt crossed his arms over the back of Raven’s chair. “Why’s that?”
She rounded the table and yanked the pan toward her. After slicing off a piece, she scooped it up in her hand. “Whenever I shift, it falls on the ground and makes noise. I’m also afraid it’ll break.” Blue took a huge bite of the pastry, crumbs sprinkling onto the table. “You have no idea how hard it was to restrain my falcon from chasing down rats in the alley. All she wanted to do was hunt. Tonight I’m leaving on a full stomach.”
Wyatt cut himself a large piece and held it like a prize against his ratty old T-shirt of a ghost that said: DEJA BOO. The two headed toward the hall. “I’ll find a case for your phone. Just be sure to keep it turned off. You don’t want it ringing while you’re in bird mode.”
She patted his shoulder as she walked through the doorway ahead of him. “Thanks, amigo. I’m hitting the sack. This is the most boring assignment I’ve ever had.”
“I’d rather be sitting on a building all night than in my chair,” Wyatt grumbled as he followed behind her. “I really need lumbar support.”
Christian fell into step beside Wyatt and put his arm around him. “You won’t be telling Raven about our visitor, now will you?”