being released from class. The moment was broken. In seconds they could be discovered.
Declan set her back on her feet, and she pulled her skirt back down. He stepped back and looked at her, and then, without taking his eyes off her, buttoned her sundress back up.
Sailor took a deep breath. Her temperature had dropped. She reached up and smoothed his hair, which looked as wild as she felt, and smiled.
The answering smile came immediately. He said, “I’m not finished with you.”
“Not by a long shot,” she said.
They walked hand in hand back to the parking lot. They were silent, letting their heightened awareness of one another replace words, until their breathing steadied. The sounds of traffic, the songs of birds, a helicopter in the sky sounded like music to her. She was suddenly in no hurry.
But when she clicked her car keys, the little chirp of the Jeep broke the spell and brought her instantly back to the real world, where a killer was targeting Elven women.
“So here’s the plan,” she said. “We’ll do it both ways, yours and mine. Right now I’m going to Cal Arts to talk to Ariel MacAdam’s friends. Ariel’s the one with the least obvious connection to the other three victims, so if we find that link, the others should be easier to—”
“Here’s another plan,” he said. “We work together rather than competing.”
“Okay, but time is critical. It doesn’t make sense for both of us to go—”
“It doesn’t make sense for either of us to go to Cal Arts. That’s way north, near Magic Mountain. And you want to go look for random friends of a woman you don’t know? You’ll be there till midnight.”
“Can’t. I have to be at work at nine.” She sighed. “Got a better idea, then?”
“Several, but you’re not dressed for them. You’re half-naked.” He looked her up and down appreciatively, making her blush, then opened her car door for her. “You’ll be freezing once the sun goes down. Go home, change and pack your waitress clothes. I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
“And you called Tony Brandt autocratic,” she said, getting into the Jeep. “Does everyone in your life just fall in line when you order them around like that?”
“Everyone but you, love.” He closed the door.
She started the engine and rolled down the window. “Where are you parked? Can I give you a ride?”
“No. Just get home fast, but drive safely.” He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the mouth. “An hour ago, I’d have said your partnership skills left a lot to be desired, Ms. Gryffald. But you’re starting to win me over.”
* * *
Declan was back at the club on Sunset in no time at all. Flight, for a shapeshifter, was less debilitating than teleportation for an Elven, but even so, he was drained. He had a shower in his office at the Snake Pit, and a closetful of clothes, and when he was changed he felt better. After a steak and a salad he felt better still. Harriet had done some investigative footwork, via phone and computer, with her usual stunning efficiency, and within the hour he was heading up Laurel Canyon, with the sun on the driver’s side starting its slow descent to the ocean. He made phone calls until reception hit a bad patch, then hit the off button and tossed the cell aside. Only then did he allow his thoughts to take over.
All his thoughts were of Sailor.
So Alessande had been right. She generally was. Why was he so surprised? Maybe because his feelings for the girl had risen up out of nowhere and hit him with the force of a gale wind. It had begun when he’d seen her unconscious and vulnerable on Alessande’s sofa. And meeting her as Vernon, unencumbered by their history of contentious encounters, had been illuminating. Sailor had been no less spirited but far friendlier dealing with his stockbroker than with himself.
And now? “Friendly” didn’t begin to describe her. She had all the erotic energy of the species she was responsible for, and he wasn’t going to fight his response to her. True, it was bad timing, but he was only human—well, more or less—and he wasn’t in the habit of repressing his nature.
Declan looked at the darkening sky and sensed a rare storm gathering its forces. Not tonight. Tomorrow, maybe. Tonight he and Sailor would be doing their work—and perhaps play—by the light of the moon.
Chapter 9
Gwydion’s Cave was like a time capsule