a sigh of relief. Maybe this would be easier than I’d assumed. As long as Knight kept his distance, I could keep my guard up. “Good, now that we’ve reached an understanding, let’s meet up again tomorrow night. Bring the files with you.”
“What about tonight?”
“Tonight’s not good; I have plans.” And plans I wasn’t thrilled about. I had a date with a vampire. Well, I didn’t exactly think of it as a date—more like two people accompanying one another to a party.
“Plans?” Knight asked, warily.
“Yes,” I started before interrupting myself. “Add that to the list of rules: no being nosy and definitely no being jealous.”
He dropped his pinched lip expression and exchanged it for one of detached indifference. “I’m not jealous.”
“No use in lying,” I said with a broad smile. “I know you are—call it my instincts, one hundred percent pure Dulcie O’Neil.”
With a chuckle, Knight stood and approached the door, the sunlight of morning just peeking through my windows, basking him in a yellow glow until he looked like an angel. Ha, Knight was no angel.
“Until tomorrow night then,” he said and reached for the doorknob.
“Yes.”
He smiled. “It’s a date.” Then he opened the door, winked and walked into the daylight.
Men.
#
As I mentioned earlier, Bram was a vampire and it just happened to be his three hundredth birthday. Every hundred year birthday found a vampire stronger, quicker, more powerful and in Bram’s case, he’d even gotten better looking. His day old stubble was still in full effect but that wasn’t something he’d ever be able to do anything about, seeing as how he’d had it when he’d been turned. But, there was something about him that was just more attractive—maybe it wasn’t so much his features that had improved but more his control over what other people thought of him.
“Ah, Sweet, you are ravishing,” Bram said in his lofty English accent and kissed my hand as his eyes devoured every inch of me.
I smiled my thanks and accepted his arm as he escorted me down my front walkway and into the leather plushness of a black stretch Hummer. Our driver, a were, doffed his head politely as I pulled myself into the stretch limo. Bram was just behind me and once he’d taken his seat across from mine, eyed me with undisguised admiration.
“Dulcie, these many months of separation have been difficult on my memory. I do not recall you appearing quite so beautiful.”
I sighed and tried to smile. I was just not good at accepting compliments. Was Bram sincere? Yeah, I thought so. Did he want to get into my pants? Yeppers and always had. But, regardless of Bram’s intentions, I had to admit I did feel…pretty.
I’d worn a knee-length, strapless black evening gown in a diaphanous material that graced my skin like a whisper. Even though the gossamer material hinted at the curves of my body, it was just that—a hint. My lace thong panties were my only undergarments, the dress not lending itself to a bra. Not exactly comfortable exposing so much skin, I’d covered the dress with a fitted black leather jacket. And to finish off my evening attire, I’d worn the highest heels I owned—four inch Jimmy Choos with so many straps, they would have pleased any dominatrix. I wore my hair down which wasn’t a surprise since I wasn’t exactly thrilled with showing off my ears. As a fairy, my ears came to points at the top and they were my least favorite of my physical attributes. I’d considered getting an ear reduction but threw the idea out because it was just too risky. Fairies didn’t do well with human sedatives. That and my old boss, Quillan, had said I didn’t need it, that I was beautiful just as I was.
A sadness descended on me at the thought of Quillan, so I brushed it aside and focused on my handsome vampire date. Over six four, he had the physique of a swimmer—broad shoulders tapering to a trim waist with a pair of legs that seemed to be as long as I was tall (not that I was tall). His black hair was on the longish side, just curling over his ears. His licentious smile was…sexy. But, like my relationship with Knight or lack thereof, I wanted to keep things strictly platonic with Bram. Although I had started dating more recently, I still wasn’t completely comfortable with it and rather than running for cover with my tail between my legs, I just decided to take