into her eyes wondering how she can hide her deceit so well.
I’m about to pull my hand away when hers suddenly warms . . . and she full-out blushes. Un-fucking-believable. How did she get herself to do that? I’ve never seen a Neph blush in my life. Her aura is going mad again, lust winning out as the dominant color. And just to be sure she isn’t simply an expert at mind games, I open my sense of smell and let it surround her.
Oh damn. Definitely giving off pheromones.
She smells divine. Like a fresh pear. And some dainty flower I can’t put a name to. That’s gonna bug me.
Right. I chuckle at the craziness of it all and slowly take my hand back. I’m about to tuck my sense of smell away when I get an idea. One more test to see if I can get her to admit to being Neph. I search down the street, bypassing foul city scents until I find what I’m looking for.
“Ah, smells good. There’s nothing like American hot dogs. I think I’ll have one later.”
She looks at me like I’m crazy and says, “I don’t smell anything.”
“Really? Lean toward the door some. Breathe a bit . . . deeper.”
I can tell she knows what I mean. Her face tightens in concentration and her little nose slightly flares until I know she’s smelled it. One mile away. I wait for her to try to deny it, but she only shakes her head and blinks at me. Yeah, that’s right. . . . I can do what you can do, so let’s cut the shite, shall we?
“Hmm. I suppose I was mistaken then,” I say with a healthy dose of sarcasm.
This has gone on long enough. I need to get some answers, out of the public eye.
One of the abandoned models takes this inopportune moment to approach, stepping between us. I whisper what she wants to hear—that I’ll be over in a moment to take them home, and then we’ll have all night. She walks away satisfied, while I feel anything but. I can’t get out of work to chase this Neph girl, especially if I’m under some sort of surveillance. But I will find her. Her human “friends” are over there giving their information to our road manager. I’ll find out where they live, what school they attend, what parties are happening in their area. . . . I have resources, and people give out a plethora of information on their social media accounts.
“Maybe I’ll see you around, Anna. I’ll be sure to give your boyfriend Jay’s songs a listen.”
As I turn to walk away, I hear her say, “He’s not my—” but I don’t stop to listen. My beautiful dates are waiting none too patiently.
I listen from across the room as the bloke Jay goes back to her, inquiring about me. I almost spit my bourbon through my nose when he says, “Man, y’all looked like you were gonna rip each other’s clothes off!” and she hits him. Instead I make eye contact with Anna one last time and wink at her. Damned if she doesn’t blush again before turning quickly to leave.
She deserves an Oscar, that girl.
I try to give the models my full attention, but all I can think about is Anna. I listen to her conversation as they drive away. She’s just about to ring someone named Patti when they exit my range of hearing.
“Freesia!” I say aloud when the name of the flower finally comes to me. She’d smelled of pears and freesia.
The models give one another funny looks and giggle.
I shake my head. “Sorry. Don’t mind me.”
They laugh now and I grin, feeling like an idiot—an unfamiliar feeling for me.
Intrigue like I’ve never experienced floods me, and I don’t like it. Everything about her screamed of innocence, but that’s impossible. Her sudden appearance in my life will drive me to distraction, something I cannot afford. Still, I know I will replay our meeting for days—the images—her all-natural appearance, her open expressions and colors, and her seemingly authentic friendship with a human boy.
Either this Neph has some twisted, ingenious plan to entrap me, or she truly doesn’t know what she is. If that’s the case, it means serious danger for her. Not that I should care. Not that I do care. I’m intrigued is all—enough to know that I won’t rest until I find out more about this mysterious Anna.