The Real Werewives of Vampire County - By Alexandra Ivy Page 0,5
open a major artery, Sophia paused as she realized that Luc had already crossed the street and entered the three-storied brick office building.
Holy shit, he was fast.
And wicked strong.
And so gloriously, spectacularly male that he made her ache in all the right places.
Which, of course, was why she was so twitchy when he was near. And why she was so reluctant to hire him as her bodyguard.
Even if she would rather bite off her tongue than admit it.
Realizing that the gunshot had already attracted unwelcome attention, Sophia forced herself to walk at a steady pace across the street and into the building where the shooter must have taken aim at her. Humans were always so easily spooked. A few gunshots, even when they weren’t the target, and they were ready to panic.
It made her long to shift and really give them something to fear.
Muttering beneath her breath at the realization that her attacker could be halfway to St. Louis by now, she pulled open the glass door and entered the empty lobby.
Cautiously she sniffed the air, catching Luc’s enticing scent that blended with the humans that filled the building. But there was no hint of another demon in the area.
Could it have been a mortal who had taken a shot at her?
Puzzled, Sophia ignored the bank of elevators and pulled open the door to the stairwell. She hesitated only long enough to make certain nothing was lurking in the shadows before moving up the metal steps tucked against the wall.
She had only a second of warning before Luc was vaulting from the top floor to land directly before her.
Show-off, she silently muttered, even as her blood stirred at the grace of his movements and the power of his male body.
Then, reluctantly lifting her gaze from the impressive width of his shoulders, she met his burning black glare.
“What part of ‘stay here’ don’t you understand?” he snapped, his voice pitched to ensure it wouldn’t echo.
She slapped her hands onto her hips. “I’m the boss here and I don’t take orders from you.” Her expression hardened. “Or anyone.”
“Surprise me,” he muttered.
“What?”
“It’s my job to protect you,” he growled, stepping so close that his heat seared over her skin. “And if that means giving you orders then you’ll obey them. Got it?”
“Why you ...”
Brushing past him, she headed up the stairs. She bypassed the second floor, knowing from the angle of the bullet currently lodged in her desk that it must have been fired from the third floor. Personally she preferred her kills to be up close and personal, but she was a trained marksman.
Continuing upward, she sensed Luc directly behind her.
Hell, she more than sensed him. The pinpricks of his anger were biting into her skin, warning that his wolf was prowling close to the surface.
A powerful wolf, she inanely acknowledged.
One that was more than a match for her own.
Trying to shake off her distraction at his proximity, Sophia halted on the top floor landing. Before she could reach for the doorknob, however, there was a faint squeak on a stair below them.
The sound had barely reached her ears when Luc had her shoved up against the wall, caging her with his larger body. At the same time there was the deafening crack of a gunshot followed by a nerve-shredding screech as a bullet pierced the thin sheet of metal exactly where they’d been standing less than a second before.
“Por Dios.” Pushing back, Luc ran a searching gaze over her tense form. Once assured she was injury-free, he moved to glance over the railing. “Stay here.” He turned his head back to glare at her with eyes that were more wolf than human. “This time you’ll do as I say or I’ll handcuff you to the door. Got it?”
Without bothering to wait for her response, the idiot was leaping down the stairs, pursuing their trigger-happy attacker with a reckless disregard for sanity, self-preservation, and the basic laws of gravity.
Not that she should bother being worried.
Luc was obviously a trained thug who probably spent a large portion of his day chasing after crazies. If he wanted to take a bullet or two to prove he was a big, strong Were, then let him.
Except he had saved her life, a tiny voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Twice.
She at least owed him a thank-you before he got himself offed, didn’t she?
That was the only reason she was pacing the cramped landing instead of returning to her club and getting on with her day.