I Only Have Fangs for You(17)

“Betty, it’s good to see you again,” Sebastian said, returning his attention to the ladies.

The brunette next to him giggled. “It’s Becky.”

“Right, Becky,” he said, and Wilhelmina wasn’t overly shocked to see the woman readily forgive the mistake.

“And Gina.” He grinned at the girl across from him. “I thought you were moving back to Boston.”

The blonde laughed, which made her impressively large breasts jiggle and threaten to spill over the top of her tight beaded top.

“Nina,” she corrected with no annoyance in her voice, even after he’d just confused her friend’s name. “And I was planning to move back to Boise.”

“Of course,” he said with no embarrassment or remorse in his voice.

Wilhelmina had the feeling these mix-ups were a very common occurrence. After all, what did Sebastian really care about these women? They were nothing more than entertainment and dinner. And that was if they were lucky.

Although, she thought bitterly, most people could remember the name of their favorite meal.

Suddenly her irritation with his cavalier behavior was too much. For the first time since she’d met him, Wilhelmina did something clumsy that she fully intended. As she picked up another empty glass, she clanked the stem against Becky’s full cocktail. The glass soared over and pink liquid splashed down the front of Sebastian’s pale blue designer shirt.

Sebastian jumped up as what appeared to be a mai tai with extra cherries soaked into the material of his shirt and the crotch of his trousers.

The women in the booth handed him their drink napkins as he attempted to pat away the worst of the spill.

“Oh no,” Wilhelmina said, “I’m so sorry.”

Sebastian looked up from the wet splotches to see something akin to a smirk on Wilhelmina’s lips. As soon as she realized he was looking, the smile faded into an expression of innocent dismay.

But Sebastian knew what he’d seen.

“Excuse me, ladies,” he said and slipped out of the booth. Before Wilhelmina could step back from him, he caught her wrist and tugged her along with him.

He felt her struggling, and he also noticed a few patrons watching them, but that didn’t slow him down, nor did it cause him to release her. Out of the corner of his eye, he even noticed Constantine, one of his bouncers, starting down the stairs toward them. But once the giant bouncer realized it was Sebastian, he stopped and returned to his post.

So he was making a scene. The truth was—he didn’t care. He’d had enough of this klutzy, strange, and altogether distracting (in a bad way, he asserted to himself) vampiress.

Not to mention, this had already been a thoroughly unpleasant night. He’d had to deal with the health inspectors, which had been downright ludicrous. And dangerous. He worked hard not to give anyone a reason to question anything about this place. Now, twice in one week, the authorities had been called here.

One of his main concerns was always to keep Carfax Abbey on the right side of the law. That kept the law out of the club, which allowed the preternaturals who worked and patronized Carfax Abbey to remain safe.

He was equally religious about the security of his human patrons. Which was why he had so many bouncers and cameras stationed all around the club’s bars, dancefloors, and exits. If an incident happened, which was rare, it was dealt with internally. But overall, he’d been lucky. The preternaturals that came here understood the rules and followed them. And keeping on the good side of the law and other officials had served him well and kept everyone safe.

The health inspectors had found nothing in the club to question and left feeling the caller’s claims had been ridiculous. Just as the police had. But having two anonymous calls in a week to officials was too unusual to be a coincidence. That made him nervous.

And this clumsy waitress was the last straw of the evening.

He tugged her into the employee lounge. Valerie, one of his cocktail waitresses, stood in front of her opened locker, reapplying her ever-present deep red lipstick. When she saw Sebastian’s expression, her eyes flashed between him and Wilhelmina. She swiftly tossed her lipstick back into her locker and shut the door, with a sharp, metallic clang.

She didn’t speak as she passed, but Sebastian noticed she gave Wilhelmina a worried look as she left the room.

Sebastian frowned. He was hardly an ogre. Then he turned to look at the hand he had clamped around Wilhelmina’s delicate wrist. She stared up at him, her eyes wide behind the lenses of her glasses. For the first time, he realized her eyes were blue, the deepest blue he’d ever seen, like a dark midnight sky.

And they were frightened. He now sensed that fear like a glacial chill snaking down his spine.