the pavement as we jog quickly to the hedge surrounding the smaller pavilion. Palms mix with holly bushes to form a thick, natural barrier. It’s good—it will cover our scent.
Adrenaline races in my veins. I open my mouth to quiet my breathing. I don’t see anything. I don’t hear anything. I’m relying strictly on Stuart’s lead. The gun loaded with silver bullets is in my left boot, and a stake is strapped inside my coat. If he’s latched onto her, it won’t take long to finish him. I can only hope her potion is as powerful as she believes.
I pull up short when at last I hear voices, and we recede into the shadows. A quick scan of our surroundings confirms we’re alone. They’re in the smaller pavilion, the one away from the river, and their voices echo off the tin roof clear as a bell to where we’re hiding.
“…just taking a walk.” Star’s voice is high and a little giggly. She’s going for tipsy, vulnerable. It’s good.
The voice that answers puts ice in my veins. “You’re overdressed for a walk on a night like this.”
His speaking voice is different from his voice in my head. It’s smooth and polished with a low vibration of glamour. But in addition to that, in addition to the overt threat, something else gives me pause. I can almost place it…
“Oh, I was at a party,” she sighs, and we see her in the shadows, leaning on the pavilion railing. “I just got so bored. Do you ever get so bored of people you want to scream?”
“All the time.” His smile is hungry. “What bored you tonight?”
“Nothing.” She turns and faces him. “I mean, the prospect of nothing. Another night. Nothing changes.”
“Ah.” He nods, sitting on the opposite railing facing her, watching her.
From our vantage point behind the foliage, we can see and hear them. If Star gets in trouble, we’ll have a slight delay reaching her, still, if we get too close, we risk detection—especially with Stuart in his shifter form.
Pushing off the rail, she walks straight to him. “You say I’m overdressed. What’s with the tux?”
She slides her hands under the lapels of his black dinner jacket. I’ve got to hand it to her, she’s brave to get so close.
“I’m going to dine.”
“Dinner? You’re going to dinner, you mean?”
“No.” He reaches out and catches her wrists, lifting one to his mouth. “I said what I meant.”
My muscles tighten. I’m not sure if he’ll bite her… He seems only to inhale her skin.
Everything stops.
His expression hardens, and he throws her arm down abruptly.
“How often does this work for you?”
“What?” She’s still grinning, stepping to him again.
Faster than the human eye, he spins her around, pinning her arms and holding her back against his chest. A little shriek comes from her as he restrains her. Her breasts rise and fall rapidly with her breathing.
“You thought you would trick me?” The smooth vibration is gone, and he’s speaking in the sinister hiss I recognize. “You think I can’t smell the poison in your veins?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Her voice trembles. “You can smell my veins?”
I can’t tell if this is more of her act of if she’s truly asking. It seems the vampire isn’t sure either. He releases one of her wrists in favor of grasping the front of her throat with his long fingers.
“You’ve drunk verbena root… and it smells like mountain rose.”
“M-my perfume is rose.” Her lips are quivering, and I can see tears in her eyes. Stuart and I start to move until… “What is verbena root?”
We stop again, waiting. She knows exactly what verbena root is. Is she working an angle?
The vampire pauses as well, but his slim fingers clutch the front of her neck as if he’ll rip it away. For a moment, the only noise is Star’s whimpering. Her rapid breathing shifts the deep V of her dress, revealing the crease under her cleavage. It’s a succulent sight for a vampire, but ours isn’t biting.
“I didn’t get this far being stupid.” His gaze lifts, and he looks around the area. “You’re a trap.”
His grip tightens, and the sound of choking fills the air. His fingers are strong enough to break her skin and throw her windpipe across the levee. I’m not convinced he won’t do it.
“Is this clever, little witch?” He hisses in her ear, and Star lets out a strangled cry. He jerks her around to the side, and the muffled lamplight falls across her face.