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Byte Marks

Just a few moments in Antoine Thierry’s company helped Dominique understand the phrase hypnotic vampiric gazes. It took an effort to tear her eyes away, especially since she wanted to keep looking at him, no matter what games he was playing to rivet her attention.

“How long will you be in San Francisco?” His words flowed into her and took up residence in her most intimate core. This was nuts. All he’d asked was a simple social question.

“My original plan was to stay a week, but I’m flexible.”

His eyes glittered, and she winced at the possible erotic images flexible could evoke. Great. Why did she tell him that? It was as if she were saying, “Hey, guy, I’m available.” She wasn’t. After her break-up with Mark, she’d decided it would be a long, long time until she put her heart on the line again for any man. If ever. Logic told her Antoine Thierry was a heartbreaker. She sensed he could damage her in ways that would make Mark’s abandonment look like a romp at the beach.

“I’m glad to hear that. A week isn’t nearly long enough to sample all we have to offer.” He looked toward Lilith, who nodded in confirmation.

Time to nip this in the bud. “Though I’m between businesses right now, I still have obligations that might require me to cut short my vacation.”

He had the most amazing, expressive eyes. “San Francisco is known to charm visitors into changing all sorts of plans.”

He took her hand and rubbed one finger along the lines and flesh of her palm. The simple motion, perfectly acceptable in and invisible to mixed company, felt downright erotic. Dominique figured she should pull away, but she didn’t know how to do that without looking ungracious, so she let him continue and struggled to hold on to her senses. She swallowed hard. “I’m sure Lilith has made lots of plans for us.”

“I would consider it a great privilege if you would allow me to give you a special tour of the city tonight. I guarantee I will show you a San Francisco few tourists ever get to visit.” He continued stroking her palm and part of Dominique wanted to agree to anything he was offering.

But then reason returned. She was Lilith’s guest, for crying out loud. Antoine’s invitation had not included her best friend—the same best friend who’d just been crying on her shoulder about her lack of a social life. How crummy would Dominique have to be to abandon Lilith on her first night in the city?

She managed to extricate her hand. He seemed to sense the instant she started to withdraw. “That’s very kind and generous, Mr. Thierry.”

“Antoine,” he murmured again.

“But you see, I’ve just arrived. In my part of the world, it’s late. I’m sure jet lag is going to strike with a vengeance any minute.” There. She’d managed to come up with a polite and plausible excuse without using Lilith as a shield.

“Of course the invitation includes Lilith,” he said smoothly.

Now he mentioned that. It was okay. She could still claim jet lag. For the rest, Dominique sensed something dangerous about Antoine Thierry. She wasn’t scared of him as a vampire. But as a man, he threatened her hard-won equilibrium. After the recent disaster with Mark, she valued staying well-balanced. “If Lilith wants to go with you, that’s fine. I expect after this drink, I’ll be ready to call it a night.”

Lilith laughed and shook her head. “No offense, Antoine, but I can see you any time. Dominique and I have a lot to catch up on. But I will take a rain check on that tour. I bet you could show me things most natives haven’t seen either.”

“Any time.” Antoine, looking the height of elegant nonchalance, nodded. “I look forward to spending more time with both of you. Welcome to my club. I hope you will be my guests here often. And now if you’ll excuse me—“ In moments he’d vanished into the dense crowd.

“Are you really tired?” Lilith had drunk about half her virgin Bloody Mary.

Dominique had to stifle a yawn. “Yeah, much more than I thought I’d be. I’m ready to call it a night.”
They finished their drinks and made their way through the room, now much more crowded than earlier. They returned to Lilith’s car, which she’d managed to park a mere three blocks away.

Enroute back to Lilith’s, her friend said, “Antoine seems quite taken with you.”

“He struck me as a major player. I imagine he pulls that same Don Juan act with lots of women.” Dominique squirmed.

“He hasn’t pulled it with me, but I agree. He likes the ladies, and it’s usually reciprocal. That said, I think he appeared genuinely taken with you. So what did you think? Would you go out with him?” Lilith chuckled.

Dominique knew her friend would not let her change the subject without getting an answer. In fact, if she tried to put Lilith off, the stubborn Taurus would dig in and insist on a response. “Please. Like I don’t have enough complications in my life. The last thing I need is to get involved with another player.”

“Oh. You never told me that about Mark.”

“I wanted to spare you. Anyway, as I’m not into bicoastal relationships, it’s a moot point. I live in Boston, Antoine’s in San Francisco.”

“I’m not asking if you’re interested in a lifetime commitment. Just about going out with him while you’re here. Heck, you could have a fling. He strikes me as the perfect guy to have an intense but meaningless affair with.”

Dominique shook her head. “I meant what I said. I’m on an extended hiatus from any kind of social life. I’m not about to change my mind for Antoine Thierry.”

“I think my lady protesteth too much.”

Dominique was about to protest some more when Lilith pointed out there was no need. “I won’t bug you any more about him. But have you ever been out with a vampire?”

“No,” Dominique admitted. “You haven’t either, have you?”

“Oh, yes,” Lilith said.

“How come I didn’t know about that? Since when do you hold out?”

“It must have been while you were tied up in one of your business deals. Unfortunately, the whole thing didn’t last long—just like all my relationships. But you know what? It’s true what they say. They are the most amazing lovers.”

Of everything Dominique didn’t need to hear tonight, Lilith’s comment topped the charts. “You’ve been with lovers from enough groups to make a judgment like that?”

“Almost,” Lilith said. “Pretty much everyone I want to date except shifters.”

“It doesn’t sound like your social life is as sorry a mess as you were saying earlier.”

Lilith snorted. “Any statements I make are based on my excellent memory, not recent experience.”

They’d arrived back at Lilith’s place. Dominique found her friend’s situation intriguing enough to stir thought processes. Besides, concentrating on problem solving would occupy her mind. She needed to keep from focusing too much attention on Antoine Thierry and imagining herself between the sheets with that sexy vampire.

What’s a Ghoul To Do?

She was going out with Rafe Graywolf. Even if it was only to conduct an intake interview, she could almost consider it a date.

His grin came slow and easy. “I take that as a ‘yes’. Lilith, as you’re doing me the favor here, where would you like to eat?”

Huh. She couldn’t see Rafe going for Vinnie’s Veggie Garden or any of her usual haunts. Weres went for red meat, cooked rare. Stifling her usual “ewww” at that prospect, Lilith reviewed a roster of possibilities. No way could she could endure a steakhouse. Then it struck her. She had to be upfront with him about not only what kind of food she ate, but who she was. “Before we go any further, I need to tell you some things about me.”

A wicked grin lit up his face. “From the expression on your face, I’d expect you to confess to being a serial axe murderer or something along those lines.”

At the moment, she’d prefer that identity to the one she was about to reveal. “I’m a vegetarian.”

He cocked a brow. “So you won’t ask to sample my barely singed filet. Can’t say I understand why anyone would want to be a vegetarian, but I like a bit of mystery in women. Is that it? Are you ready to go?”

If only. “One more thing. The reason why I’m vegetarian. You see, I’m a demi-ghoul, on my dad’s side. If I weren’t a strict vegetarian—”

That rattled his cool. Lilith could see the precise moment when the truth of her identity registered—the moment he jolted back in his seat. What a moment for her empath skills to kick in. On the other hand, it wasn’t like this had never happened before—or wouldn’t happen again. Lilith held her head up and locked eyes with Rafe. She loved her family, both branches. Any guy who set a speed running record in his sprint away from her wasn’t worth—

“That’s a new one for me, Lilith. Anything else you want to mention?”

He wasn’t running. She straightened her shoulders. “I’m also an empath from Mom’s side of the family.”

“Great. Then you realize I’ve got to eat pronto or I’ll get crabby.”

Her mind scrambled to come up with the perfect place to satisfy their needs. “Italian or Mex?”

“Italian,” he snapped back.

“Cassio’s?”

“In North Beach? Sounds great.”

“But what about the elders waiting in the outer office?”

He looked at his watch and made a face. “They’ll have to get their own dinner. I’ll let them know. Ready to go?”

Rafe whipped out his cell, had a quick conversation with an elder and then phoned for a reservation. Before she could think of anything else to hold them up, they were out the door.

*

Seeing Lilith shuffle the lettuce, olives and cheese cubes of her vegetarian antipasto around her plate, Rafe figured she wasn’t very hungry. At least she seemed to enjoy the excellent sourdough bread and Chianti. He, on the other hand, practically inhaled his steak and pasta.

He wondered what was bothering her. Lilith was an intriguing mixture of shy and sophisticated. Sophisticated wasn’t hard to come by in San Francisco, but Rafe met very few people he’d consider shy. He liked that about her. He also liked the way he felt near her. Warm. Hot. She appeared to have no idea how damn sexy she was. He wanted to nuzzle the porcelain skin of her long, delicate neck. She brought out a mix of lust and protectiveness unlike any he’d ever felt. Pleasurable as these emotions could be, he also sensed he should be on his guard with her. Lilith P. Graves had him experiencing emotions very new to him. Most of all, though, she turned him on. He wanted to brush the blond curls back from her ivory cheeks and kiss the path they traced.

She’d cleared a spot on the crowded table for her papers and pen. “Before we have dessert, I thought we could get these questions out of the way.”

He nodded to her still almost-full plate. “You didn’t eat much. Didn’t you like the antipasto? Do you want to order something else?”

“Busted. Now you know my guilty secret. I loaded up on the bread. It’s my weakness and they just kept replenishing our basket. I couldn’t resist.” She smiled.

Talk about not being able to resist. The animal in him wanted to reach across the table and grab her, lay her down and ravish her. Of course, he had his inner animal well under control now. It wouldn’t do to frighten her off, send her screaming into the night when she saw the power of his lust unleashed. His cock, fully erect for what felt like days, throbbed. He knew in very precise terms what he wanted for dessert.

Right now, though, he had to divert his blood supply from his erection back to the head on his shoulders.

“What is the physical description of your ideal woman?’”

“You,” he whispered so softly, she almost didn’t hear. “I like beautiful women.” She shouldn’t have needed the words to know what he felt, but her empath skills had deserted her just when she needed them most.

She rolled her eyes. “Can you be more specific. Eye color, hair color—that sort of thing?”

He grinned. “Let’s see. Curly blond hair, down to about where you have it.” He pointed to her. She gripped the pen with such focus, he wanted to slip it from between her fingers and suck on each one. “Big blue eyes that are true windows to the woman’s soul. When I look in her eyes, I want to read her soul.”

That netted him a look before she wrote.

“What about body type?”

“Female,” he growled.

“Short, tall, willowy, more rounded—“

“Stand up so I can see.”

Wonderful blush. She turned so red, he’d have sworn her blush must extend from the roots of her naturally blond hair clear down to her toenails.

“Rafe, get real. You have to stop kidding around, or we’ll be here all night.”

He lounged back in his seat. “You have other appointments?”

She turned away. “It’s not that. I promised Dominique I’d get you to focus. The sooner we can get the forms done, the sooner we can input your responses and start finding matches for you.”

“You’re the exact image of my perfect woman. To answer your questions, just describe yourself. You’re what I want, physically, socially and whatever other ‘ly’ you’re looking for.”

She pursed her gorgeous full lips. “Look, Rafe. It’s not that I’m not flattered. Heck, what woman wouldn’t be? We can’t forget, though, this isn’t about us flirting and playing around. I understand where you’re coming from about choosing a mate and I’ve agreed to help. Still, we at Fangly, My Dear have made a commitment to locate suitable candidates for you, even if you end up rejecting them all. We want the candidates to seem feasible. Please, cooperate.”

“I am, Lilith. I want to go out with you. From where I’m sitting, you’re the exact image of my perfect date, even if I didn’t get your name from a dating service. Will you go out with me?” Though Rafe realized Lilith’s family background made her unsuitable to be his life mate, and that his pack would never accept her in that role, he couldn’t deny how attracted he was to her. He wanted her more each moment they spent together, even if she was a demi-ghoul. He had to be with her or he’d spend the rest of his life sure he’d missed out on something major.

She blushed even harder and batted her eyelashes. “This is so unprofessional. Not at all what I had in mind when I agreed to have dinner with you for your intake.”

He waved away her objections. “Are you hiding behind your professional persona to say no?”

“God, no.”

“Do you want to see me? Because Lilith, I want to be with you.” He took her hands in his, dislodging the pen and crumpling several papers.

A series of emotions flitted across her face and he could smell the conflict brewing in her. All her pheromones told him she wanted him.

Playing With Matches

Tanith liked the sound of Gabe Morrow’s voice. Deep, husky. The woman she’d spoken to at Fangly, My Dear had warned Tanith that male vampires were in short supply, so she was lucky to be matched with one so quickly. It seemed women from all groups rated them the best lovers. Tanith’s face grew warm as her imagination wandered.

She’d have one date with Gabe Morrow and majorly hot sex, after which she’d be able to get vampires out of her system. Geez, what was with her tonight? Making wild assumptions had never been her style. What if Gabe of the gorgeous voice turned out to look like Nosferatu? Short, stoop-shouldered, beak-nosed, weird. Smelling bad. That would sure get her over vampires pronto. But if his looks matched his voice, she could well imagine herself ending up in the sack with him.

Not that she was the one-night-stand type, she reminded herself as she chose her outfit. But tonight was going to be an exception to her usual rules. Black leather skirt, black fuck-me heels, black sweater. Tanith put on full makeup, wiped half of it off, threw some more on.

On the chance they’d be coming back to her condo, she did a fast run through, straightening the worst of the mess. Realizing her Cinderella and the Prince linens would probably be a mood breaker, she rummaged for the black silk sheets she hadn’t used since her last boyfriend took off. She smoothed them on and put a few candles on the night table and bureau.

With a yelp, she realized she’d be late if she didn’t move her tail. They’d agreed to meet at a jazz club downtown. More nervous than she’d been since her first junior-high dance, she called a cab and rushed off into the night.

* * *

The moment Gabe saw Tanith walk into the club, lightning struck. He had no doubt the fox who’d just come in and was snagging all the masculine attention was his date. Blonde. Big green eyes, big breasts, long legs. A walk that highlighted all her womanly assets. His dick sprang out of hibernation and reminded Gabe how much was at stake. He winced at the image of a stake and pushed it away. Thank you, universe—and Fangly, My Dear.

The club was dark and crowded. The musicians kept up a stream of mellow jazz, nothing too challenging or lively. Conversations buzzed in counterpoint to the music, and the smell of booze nearly saturated the stale air. Gabe watched Tanith confer with the host. He crossed the room and held out his hand to her. “You must be Tanith.”

Her eyes widened with a momentary flash of surprise before she composed her face to neutral. Like everything else about her, that coolness turned him on. “Gabe?”

He nodded. She took his hand with a stronger grip than he expected. “How did you know it was me?” Her voice aroused him as much as her looks.

“A beautiful face that matches your beautiful voice on the phone.”

She rolled her eyes. “You actually get anywhere with lines like that?”

“It’s the first time I’ve tried it.” He steered her to his booth and they both sat. “You’re saying it’s not effective?”

Her laugh resonated through his body.

“So what are you drinking?” His fangs throbbed for the only drink he wanted.

“White wine.”

He signaled a server and placed the order.

“Can I refresh that for you?” The server pointed at Gabe’s untouched, flat and insipid-looking beer.

“Sure.”

Gabe hadn’t yet decided how much to tell her about his own background. He figured he’d wait to make that decision until he knew her better. After the server left, he asked Tanith first-date questions. “So, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a joint like this?”

She chuckled. “I’m asking myself that same question. You come here often?”

So she was going to match him cliché for cliché. “My first time. But if I’d known great ladies like you hang out here, I’d have come years before.”

The server’s arrival saved them from exchanging astrological signs. They toasted each other. Though, since his transformation, beer tasted like used dishwater, he sipped some to be companionable.

“The folks at Fangly, My Dear said you’re a cop here in San Francisco,” he started.

Looking him straight in the eye, Tanith proudly announced, “Been on the force for eight years and just made detective.”

A detective. Please, let her not be one of the corrupt ones he and Tom had been investigating. “Uh, you know I’m a vampire, right?”

Her gorgeous mouth twisted into a scowl. “Yes. I requested a date with a vampire.” She took a long sip of her wine.

“You did? I guess that surprises me. I know some police officers don’t look kindly on our mixing with humans.” Duh, smooth move.

“That’s an individual choice, not part of our credo. For my private life, I make my own choices.”

“I see.” He loved the way her eyes flashed when she put him in his place. How would those eyes look when they made love? His dick practically sat up and begged. He crossed his legs.

“Did you choose to date a human?” Her voice held a challenging note.

He shrugged, nonchalantly, he hoped. “Not specifically. I’m pretty open.”

“Have you dated many vampires?” She finished her wine and he signaled the server to bring more.

“None.”

One beautifully arched brow rose. “How come?”

“I haven’t been a vampire all that long.”

“Oh? Tell me about what you did before and what happened to you to…to make you a vampire.”

Shit. Some day he’d learn to think before he spoke. “I’d prefer for tonight to be all about you.” From her smile, he figured he’d just bought some time.

“Most guys only want to talk about themselves.”

“I’m not most guys. I want to hear about you.”

She motioned dismissively. “Not a whole lot to tell. As I said, I’m a cop. Native San Franciscan. Family’s gone. No time for hobbies. I relax by going to the gym or curling up with a good book.”

“Really? I’d think a job like yours would be so physical, you wouldn’t need a gym.”

“You’d think that, but you’d be wrong. Any exercise I get on the job is strictly unplanned. And I need regular workouts to keep me happy.”

“Not to mention in incredible shape.” When he looked deep in her eyes and did the vampire hypnotic thing Antoine Thierry claimed was foolproof, he could feel her warming to him. He took her hand in his and dropped a kiss on her long fingers. At the mere contact, his whole body shifted into an urgent plea for release.

* * *

Talk about being a sucker—funny word to pop into her mind with Gabe Morrow seated across from her. With his pitch-black hair worn on the longish side, chocolate brown eyes and even features, he reminded her of a cross between Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. As if his looks weren’t enough, she melted into a puddle of feminine desire at the brush of his lips on her hand.

Heck, she’d always loved seeing men kiss women’s hands. The men from Poland, her family’s ancestral homeland, traditionally used this form of greeting. Experiencing it from a guy like Gabe Morrow, who could have been a movie star Dracula of the modern, hot kind—definitely not the Nosferatu kind—had her panties moist and her clit throbbing. He smiled, and her defenses crumbled. On the heat meter, he’d hit a perfect ten. She was so turned on she didn’t know if she’d be able to stand up and walk.

He opened his mouth and she caught a sexy glimpse of fang. Did this mean she turned him on? So much to learn about the amazing creature staring at her from across a very small table. Was his penis hard too? Did the fangs and cock work together in real life the way they did in the novels she devoured? She was trying to shake free of the images these words conjured when he said, “How about we go somewhere more private?”