Hearts. There were hearts carved into the wood. And at regular intervals around the bar. Even on the paneling. There was no way this was coincidence. Was there? It had to mean something.
But he wasn’t going to figure it out here. He put his phone away, then caught the bartender’s gaze to let the man know he was leaving. He tossed a few bills on the bar and headed out. He had to tell Kora about this, but he wasn’t going to just send her a text. Actually, he couldn’t, since he didn’t have her number. But he wasn’t going to call Insomnia either.
No, he wanted to see her face when he told her what he’d found. When he proved to her that he was genuinely interested in becoming part of this quest for the adventure of it and not just to keep an eye on her.
That was it. He wasn’t going to the club because he wanted to see her again. Or because her kiss still lingered in his head.
In fact, there wasn’t going to be any more kissing. They were still very much opposites, even if she had matured a lot in the last year.
He needed a very different kind of woman. How that woman was different from Kora, he couldn’t immediately answer, but he knew that getting involved with her would lead to all kinds of trouble. So no more kissing Kora. No more thinking about her in romantic ways.
They were going to be partners on this quest. At most, they would become friends. And yes, he was doing it to keep her safe. As a favor to Lucien. Who didn’t know any of this was going on, but that was beside the point.
He got in his car and headed for Insomnia, ignoring the fact that the last time he’d been this excited about seeing a woman, he’d been dating a blue-haired winter elf with a royal lineage longer than summer in the Sahara.
As he drove, he worked out all the ways Kora was different from Jayne. For one thing, Kora would never fall in love with a necromancer. Vampires knew better. For another, Kora didn’t have a life of privilege and protocol awaiting her in another magical realm.
But best of all, Kora was a vampire like him. Sure, she was half reaper, but the vampire genetics mostly overruled the reaper ones, putting her firmly in his camp. She understood what being a vampire meant.
Then he questioned why he felt the need to make such a comparison.
After all, they were only going to be friends.
Just friends. Just. Friends.
He parked and got out, repeating those words to himself as he walked into the abandoned Caldwell Manufacturing building that housed the entrance to Insomnia. He kept up the mantra as he greeted Chet at the door, as he rode the elevator down to the club level, as he strolled through the club, looking for Kora.
But he completely forget it when he found her.
She was in the VIP lounge, talking with some guests and being oddly smiley. Seeing her in work mode amused him. He had a feeling she’d scowl when she saw him.
But his thoughts died there as he took in what she was wearing. A slinky, black leather minidress that hung off one shoulder like a big T-shirt. It wasn’t particularly body conscious, but her shape was still visible.
Where the dress stopped, a pair of thigh-high black leather boots began, leaving about an inch of thigh exposed.
She was almost completely covered except for her arms, one shoulder, and that glimpse of thigh.
And yet his mouth had gone dry and his head blank.
She was a vampire goddess. A fanged dream in black leather. The kind of trouble he no longer wanted to avoid.
How had he thought they could just be friends? Had being near her turned him into an idiot? That was a very real possibility.
She came down the steps from the lounge and stopped halfway when she saw him.
To his great surprise, she smiled. Then she continued toward him, the sway of her hips drawing the eyes of nearly every male in the vicinity.
Greyson’s fangs descended at the thought of all those men—whoa. He blinked and pulled his fangs back. He was not jealous. He couldn’t be. That was an emotion reserved for people who cared. People who already felt things like love.
She stopped in front of him, her grin kicking up on one side, the way it sometimes did when she was feeling especially proud of herself. “Couldn’t stay away, huh?”
“I…uh…” What had he come there for? The quest? Right. The quest. “I know where the Dragon’s Hoard is.”
The amusement left her face. Her mouth dropped open, and her eyes rounded with excitement. She grabbed his arm. “My office. Now.”
They sped through the club. Not at top vampire speed, but faster than a power walk. Once in her office, she shut the door. “Where is it?”
“I think it’s in Ireland.”
“You think? You just said you knew.”
He took out his phone to show her the pictures he’d found. “Well, what’s your take?”
She looked at the photos, expanding them the same way he had. “Holy sunrise, that’s a heart. A witch’s heart. And they’re all over the place.” Then she made a face at him. “Hang on. This heart is supposed to be in a dragon’s hoard. How does this mean anything?”
“Look at the name of the pub.”
She glanced at the pictures again. This time, a real curse slipped from her mouth. She swallowed. “You found it.” She stared at him, her eyes shining with excitement. “You did it. I don’t know how, but you did it.”
He was about to respond with something urbane and witty, but then he couldn’t speak. Because her mouth was on his.
The kiss was over so fast he never had a chance to shut his eyes.
“Thank you!” She punched both fists into the air, raising the hemline of her dress to a scandalous level.
She put her arms down again, saving him from having to tell her he knew what color underwear she had on.
Black. But then…what else?
He felt like he’d been spun in a centrifuge. Up was down, black was white, Kora was being nice to him, and she’d kissed him again.
“So when do we leave?”
He stared at her. “What?”
“For Ireland? For the pub? When do we leave?”
“Oh. I…I don’t know.” He mentally shook himself and focused on something that wasn’t her bare shoulder or mouth or thigh. “We can’t just go. You need to tell your father. You need to get your shifts covered. We need transportation, and the trip has to be timed right, because we can’t arrive in the middle of the day—”
She waved her hand. “Details.”
He frowned. “Important details.” He turned and took a few steps away from her, just to give himself some thinking room. “It’s too bad your father doesn’t have his own plane.”
“I agree. He really should. Maybe I can get him to buy one? But the windows would have to be UV coated, and that would take too long. I want to leave as soon as possible.”
He knew he shouldn’t say what he was about to say, but his mouth opened, and he couldn’t stop himself. “The Ellinghams have a plane.”
Her smile as she sidled up to him told him everything he needed to know.
He put his hands up before she said a word. “Forget I said that. I am not asking to borrow their plane.”
She rested her hands lightly on his chest and gazed at him with a look he couldn’t turn away from. “Please?”
Wow. Was she actually fluttering her lashes at him? Who was this devilish creature trying to seduce him to her will? Where was the woman who would have grabbed him by the collar and told him to make it happen?
“I guess I could ask.” Son of a—had he actually just said that? He had to get out of here before he promised to speak to her father, too.
“You’re the best, Greyson. Do you think you could say something to my dad about—”
“No.” The word came out a panicked bark. He ran a hand through his hair. “Stop it. Whatever you’re doing, stop it.”
She frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re using your feminine vampire wiles on me, that’s what.”
Her fr
own flipped. “You think I have feminine wiles?”
He sighed. “You talk to your father. Let him know what’s going on. As much as you can, anyway. Get your shifts covered. I’ll talk to the Ellinghams. But no promises. You understand?”
She nodded. And looked very suspiciously like she might kiss him again.
He backed up, bumping into her desk. “I’ll let you know when I find something out.”
“We should swap numbers. So you can text me.”
“Okay. Then I have to go.”
“To talk to the Ellinghams?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
Because for once in his life, asking for a favor from the vampire family who ran the town seemed like the easier option.
Greyson’s discovery had left Kora giddy, and that wasn’t something she was used to feeling. In fact, she wasn’t sure she had felt it since she was a child.
It was like champagne bubbles and helium all rolled into one, and while it was wonderful, being so light-headed with happiness had caused her to kiss Greyson again.
That’s what she was blaming it on, the impulsiveness caused by such sudden happiness. What other reason could there be?
The necessity of talking to her father, however, had taken the edge off that dizzy feeling, and now that she sat alone in her office, phone in hand, she was having all kinds of doubts.
Her father wasn’t going to like what she was about to tell him. She knew that much. He’d probably think that going off on this quest in the hopes of getting the truth about her mother was a waste of time.
Or worse, he might forbid her from going.
Would he really do that? She certainly wasn’t a child anymore. She was old enough to be someone’s mémé herself. But she was living in her father’s house and working at her father’s club so… He might not be able to stop her, but he could make her new life here in Nocturne Falls very difficult.
She sighed. Postponing the call wasn’t helping anything. She tapped her father’s name on her short contacts list. A list that now included Greyson. That was enough to make her smile as she listened to the phone ringing on her father’s end.
“Hello, Kora.”
“Hi, Dad. How are you?”
“I’m good.” There was concern in his voice. “Is everything all right?”
“Yep. Everything’s running smoothly. But I need to talk to you about a personal thing.” She could practically hear him tense up. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”
“I can come by.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“See you shortly.” He hung up.
She didn’t know if shortly meant an hour or five minutes, but his impending arrival was already triggering her nerves. She made herself busy with cleaning and straightening her office. Might as well. It would make a good impression.
As it turned out, shortly was twenty minutes.
She greeted him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”
“For you, Kora? Anything.”
She hoped he still felt that way after what she was about to tell him. “I first want to say I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me since I got here. I hope you’re pleased with the job I’m doing.”
He nodded as he sat in the chair across from her desk. “I am. Not only have you proven to be a fast learner, but your being here has enabled me to spend more time with Imari.”
She went to her desk chair and sat. “I’m glad for that. I like Imari. We owe her a lot as a family.”
He smiled. “Trust me, I am making sure she wants for nothing.”
Kora nodded. “I have no doubt. How’s Mémé?”
“She’s doing very well. And looking forward to seeing you at dinner.”
“Right, tomorrow night.” She folded her hands on the desktop.
He crossed his ankle over his knee. “You didn’t ask me here to find out about Hattie. What’s going on? You said it was something personal.”
“It is.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “I need some time off. And I’m not sure how much time. But there’s something I need to do. Something that will bring me the closure I’ve been missing all my life.”
His gaze darkened. “This is about your mother, isn’t it?”
How he’d sussed that out so quickly, she had no idea. Maybe she was just that obvious. Nothing she could do about that. She held on to her cool as best she could. “Yes. I’ve been given the chance to find out the truth about her death.”
He frowned, his countenance now as dark as his eyes. “From who?”
“They haven’t revealed themselves to me yet.”
“So you have no idea if they’re a credible source or not.”
“No, I don’t. But no one else has ever had any answers, so while this might be a long shot, it might also be my only shot.”
His brows knit together, and a breathy, grumbly noise vibrated out of his throat.
He hated it. That was plain.
“This person is just going to give you this information?”
She’d been hoping to gloss over that part, but her father was far too smart for that to happen. “No. I have to find something for them. Something we think is in Ireland.”
His brows pulled even closer together. “We?”
Great. She hadn’t meant to mention Greyson. But then, her father liked him, so maybe his involvement would be a plus. “Greyson Garrett is helping me.”
Her father stared at her for a few uncomfortable moments. “Greyson has agreed to this?”
“Don’t look so surprised. We’ve kind of become friends.”
But that did nothing to change the look on his face. “Friends?”
“Sort of. We’re not joining a bowling league together or anything, but we’re not exactly at each other’s throats anymore.” Unless Greyson was literally at her throat, scraping his fangs down her neck in that way that caused little goose bumps to—oh, that was not a line of thought to engage in with her father sitting across from her. No way, no how. “Anyway, he’s agreed to go with me.”
More silence from her father, who as a reaper, excelled at silence. Finally, he spoke. “I want to talk to Greyson.”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to speak with you.”
“Are you paying him to help you?”
“No, he’s doing this on his own. I couldn’t afford to anyway, you know that. Not that my salary here isn’t more than generous, it is. But I don’t have that kind of bank account.”
With a nod, Lucien rose from the chair, about as concerned as she’d seen him lately. “I’ll talk to him, then I’ll make my decision.”
She stood as he turned toward the door. “Dad.”
He looked at her.
“I need to do this. I don’t want to seem ungrateful at all, but I am an adult, and I don’t need your permission. However, I would very much like your blessing. And if I can’t get that, I would settle for your understanding.”
His expression softened a little. “I do understand. As for my blessing…I don’t know. I worry about you, Kora. About what could happen to you.”
“I know, because of all the trouble I’ve gotten into before.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Because I’ve only just gotten you back, and I don’t want to lose you again.”
“You won’t, Dad. I promise. I’ll be careful.”
His nod was terse. “I would hope so. I’ll give you my answer as soon as I speak to him.”
“Thank you.”
He left, and she grabbed her phone, texting Greyson with the info that her father would be reaching out. And that everything hinged on him.
Greyson knew how important this was to her, and besides that, he’d seemed eager to go. He’d convince Lucien, wouldn’t he? Because if he didn’t, and she went anyway, she’d be back to square one with her father. Hattie would probably be mad at her, too.
Was finding out the truth about her mother worth losing the rest of her family over?
The quick answer was no. But would she resent them for stopping her?
The quick answer to that was maybe.
Greyson was leaving Hugh Ellingham’s house when Kora’s text came through. Hugh had promised to check with the rest of his family to be sure that no one was going to need the plane, but otherwise he was fine with Greyson and Kora using it.
Greyson had made it clear he’d take care of the fuel bill, something Kora didn’t need to know or worry about.
He jumped in his Camaro and texted her back to let her know he’d speak with Lucien immediately. Then his next call was to the man himself.
“Garrett.”
“Lucien. I understand you spoke with Kora.”
“Yes, and I was just getting ready to call you. Come by the house, and we’ll talk.”
As was Lucien’s style, he didn’t so much ask as he directed. Was it any wonder Kora had the same tendencies? “I can be there in fifteen minutes or so.”
“Good. Until then.” He hung up.
Greyson drove over to Lucien’s new house. It was one of the truly impressive Victorians on a street of impressive Victorians. He parked in the drive and got out.
Despite the late hour, Hattie greeted him at the door. “How are you, Greyson?”
“Just fine, Hattie. How are you?”
“I’m wonderful. Thanks for asking. Would you like something to drink? I have coffee, tea, lemonade, water. No blood, sorry. But I have cookies, too. I made a batch of oatmeal butterscotch chip this morning. Or I could get you a nice slice of lemon pound cake.”
He kind of wanted to hug her. He just smiled instead. “That is very kind of you, but I’m fine.”
A deeper voice came from down the hall. “I don’t think he’ll be here long enough for refreshments, Hattie.” Lucien walked out of the shadows.
“Well, there’s always time for a glass of lemonade and a cookie. You boys go talk. I’ll bring it in.”
Lucien shook his head in gentle amusement. Then he gestured toward the French doors on the opposite side of the hall. “Let’s go into the sitting room.”
Greyson went in after Lucien, and they both sat. The bookcases that lined the east and west walls were filled, giving the room more of a library feel that was no doubt Lucien’s doing. But the pale green silk upholstery on the matching couches felt like either Hattie’s or Imari’s influence.
The Vampire’s Priceless Treasure Page 8
