“Not at all.” She grinned at him.
He turned to look out the window again, likely trying to avoid her predatory gaze.
He thought she was using her powers against him. Olena wondered what he’d do if he knew she hadn’t spiked her power levels once since meeting him. Whatever was zipping between them was one hundred percent natural.
It would probably bring him no relief to know that it surprised her as well.
Olena pulled the vehicle up to the curb in front of a lavish home. Luc Dubois lived in a gated community usually reserved for the rich and famous. She didn’t recognize his name offhand, so she didn’t think he was a celebrity, and she knew almost all of the vampire elite in Nouveau Monde. This man was flying under her radar.
“What does this guy do for a living?” Cale asked.
“I’m not sure. The bank doesn’t keep those types of records for safety-deposit boxes. Privacy issues.”
Cale opened his door and slid out of the car. Olena followed suit and stood beside him on the walkway to the front door.
“Do you have a weapon?” he asked, taking in the layout of the house and street.
“I have plenty.”
He looked at her. “Are you armed?”
Olena unzipped her nylon jacket and parted it to the right to show him the gun on her hip. “Standard issue. Silver bullets. Although that wouldn’t stop a vampire if he wanted to hurt someone.”
“No, but it might make him think twice about it.”
Olena patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Cale. I’ll protect you. I’m faster and meaner than most.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Please do.” With that, she started up the walkway. She didn’t wait to see if Cale followed. If he was up on his species, he’d know all about the politics that played out in the vampire society. During this meeting, Olena would be doing all the talking. Humans weren’t high on most vampires’ respect list. Except for blood donations and sex, humans weren’t regarded much at all.
Olena didn’t agree with the structure, though. She liked humans. Over the years, she’d had her fair share of human lovers, and loves. All of them were long dead now, to her regret, and it had been a while since her last human lover. Contrary to what most people thought, she didn’t engage in a lot of casual sex. More often than not, she developed feelings. She was just really good at masking them as indifference and flamboyancy. In fact, though, she’d had her heart broken many times over watching the men she’d loved die.
She didn’t have any plans on going through that again. Not even for a man as attractive as Cale.
She’d flirt with him, toy with him to get what she wanted, but she refused to ever get involved. Her heart couldn’t take it. She’d spent the past thirty years mending it, and she wasn’t about to wreck any of that progress. No matter how much she wanted to peel away his serious layers and discover the passion inside. She sensed the man would be explosive if prodded just the right way. And she knew all the right ways to prod.
Standing on the doorstep, Olena waited until Cale was at her side before she rang the bell. She counted to three under her breath, then rang it again and added three sharp raps to the door. After a few moments, there was still no answer.
She put her ear to the door. She was no lycan, but her hearing was far superior to a human’s. She didn’t hear any movement inside, but she did hear the faint thumping of some type of dance or hip-hop music. “Anything?”
“Music. Either someone’s home, or they left their radio on somewhere in the house.”
Cale cupped his hands against the window in the sidelight door and peered inside. He shook his head. “I don’t see anything.” He backed off the doorstep and headed around the side. “Let’s check around back.”
Getting around back proved to be difficult. A high wrought-iron fence with a locked gate bracketed the backyard.
Cale looked it over, then glanced at Olena. One eyebrow went up in a question. “Any ideas?”
“If I find a way in, I’ll open the front door for you.” She winked at him, then, backing up a few steps, ran forward and leaped into the air.
She soared over the fence, the heels of her shoes just brushing the tips of the iron spikes at the top of the fence. When she landed on the other side, she glanced over her shoulder at Cale.
He was shaking his head, but she caught the grin he was trying to quell.
“Wish you could do that, don’t you?”
“Maybe.” This time the smile came freely. And it was dazzling. A little quiver erupted in her belly.