This Side of the Grave (#5 Night Huntress)

“Hold that thought, luv. With luck, we’ll be back in our hotel room breaking in the Jacuzzi before dawn.”
If I’d have still been human, I might have blushed. Logic said I should be past the stage where it was obvious that I was mentally stripping and
molesting my own husband. We weren’t in the earliest bloom of our relationship anymore, after all. But when Bones approached, his dark eyes
glittering with hints of green, gooseflesh still rippled across my skin as though this were a first date. Then everything in me tensed with expectation
when he stood as close as possible without touching, only his breath hitting my skin as he spoke near my ear.
“Have I told you how lovely you look tonight?”
A wave of heat rolled over my subconscious, as if my nerve endings had just been brushed with the warmest of caresses. My hands slowly fisted
while I resisted the urge to touch him, enjoying the building tension between us. Yes, this was different from the first giddy stage of attraction I’d felt
for him, but that didn’t diminish his effect on me. Instead, the desire I felt was richer, stronger, and far more intoxicating when combined with the hold
Bones had over my heart.
His scent deepened, that blend of burnt sugar and musk tantalizing me with the evidence that he felt the same way I did. Last night, after leaving
the compound, I’d been too emotionally bruised over Don’s condition and my mother’s new deadly aspirations to be in an amorous mood. Plus, we
had to fill in Fabian, relocate from the cave, and take the ghost back to Dave in Tennessee before returning to Ohio again. That left little time to do
more than grab a few hours’ sleep before heading out for tonight’s activities.
Now, however, I wished we would have spent another hour or so back at our hotel room before leaving for this club. His comment about the
Jacuzzi tub made some explicit images dance in my mind. Like how devastating Bones would look wearing nothing but suds—and then nothing but
my body.
Another thought teased its way into my mind. Why wait? The backseat of our car is only a few feet away . . .
“You know, in addition to your mind-reading abilities, I may have absorbed some sluttiness from your blood,” I said, giving my head a little shake.
Had to be. I normally wouldn’t think of getting it on in a parking lot when we had a reporter to snag inside and two undead friends just a few dozen
feet away.
Soft laughter tickled my neck while the invisible caress of his aura intensified. “Be still my nonbeating heart.”
The sinfulness in his tone said he’d be only too open to the idea of delaying our appearance inside the club—and blistering Tiny and Band-Aid’s
ears—should I suggest that backseat option. I took a step away, deciding it was in the best interest of my rapidly dwindling propriety not to touch
him until we were safely inside the club.
Though possibilities lurked there, too . . .
“Let’s, um, go find our reporter friend,” I said, the words hitching as a breeze made his scent wash over me in a swell of lust-fragranced air. I
couldn’t resist a quick, longing glance at the car before I gave myself a mental slap. Mind out of the gutter, Trampzilla! People to see, bad ghouls to
stop, remember?
Bones took in a long breath, making me wonder if the air was also tinged with my arousal. Probably. Scent was a more obvious indicator of
desire for vampires than a man with a hard-on tenting his pants was for humans.
“Right,” he said, the single word edged with a hint of roughness. Then he folded his aura in, the invisible energy around him decreasing until only
the faint tingles of an average vampire remained. At the same time, my link to his emotions ceased, as abrupt as a cell phone dropping a call. Only
very old vampires or Masters had the ability to camouflage their power levels, which made them even more dangerous. Bones might want us to
eventually be recognized, but it seemed we were going in low-profile to start.
We walked up to the entrance of Bite. The line of humans waiting to get in was smaller than usual, but I chalked that up to it being Wednesday
night instead of a weekend. We didn’t wait at the back, our lack of pulses the same as being on the VIP list here. But once we were close enough
for the tall, brawny female bouncer to notice us, she held out her hand.
“Stay right there. Verses is pissed at you two.”
Bones gave the vampire his most charming smile. “Now, Trixie, he can’t still be sore over that trifling incident.”
Her mouth opened in disbelief, showing off her gold-plated incisors. “Trifling? You guys demolished the parking lot!”
“At least fetch him so he can tell us to sod off himself, if that’s how he feels about it,” Bones replied, still with that same effortless smile.
Trixie let out an exasperated noise, but she barked out a comment telling someone I couldn’t see to get the owner. After a few moments, a large
black ghoul appeared, a thoroughly unwelcoming expression on his face.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming back here—” Verses began.
“Come now, mate, that wasn’t our fault and you know it,” Bones interrupted, clapping him on the back. “Could’ve happened to anyone, but we’re
only here now to do a bit of drinking and dancing.”
If possible, the ghoul’s mocha features darkened even more. “Don’t think because we’ve been friends for eighty years that I’m dumb enough to
believe that. This place is meant to be a time-out for all our species. No violence on the premises, and the parking lot is still the premises!”