“Vamp-tramp!” He sputtered the label a little and then glared. “You’re flouncing off to a vamp bar?”
“Reconnaissance,” I explained.
“No,” Wick stated.
“No?” My eyebrow rose.
“That’s what I said.”
When I remained silent, he put his arms on his hips and his lips flattened into a hard line. “You will not go out looking like that.”
“You’re not my father.” I turned and walked out the door, desperately trying to reassure myself I wasn’t acting like a pubescent teenager pushing boundaries. Okay. Maybe I tried to push Wick a little, but not in the same way.
I didn’t make it far down the driveway before an iron hand gripped my upper arm and spun me around. His fingers dug into my skin, but not to the point of causing pain. He grabs my arms a lot. When I looked up, I faced the glowing yellow eyes of Wick’s wolf. Feradea obviously ignored my plea. Best behaviour ran off into the sunset. I was about to be bad. Very bad.
His mouth crushed down on mine. All thoughts flew from my mind as his arms reached around and pressed me against his hard body. His mouth demanded a response and boy did he get it.
This man could kiss.
“You should get a room for that,” John’s sarcastic voice pierced the night.
Untangling my body from Wick, I stepped away and glared at John, wanting nothing more than to shove my fist into the Werewolf’s solar plexus, to hell with him being in Wick’s inner circle. In truth, I should’ve thanked him for the interruption. With so much electricity pent up between me and Wick, it took little to unleash it.
Should I run upstairs to change my panties?
Then again, I might be able to use that to my advantage. Vamps tended to babble more when they thought they’d get some action.
“John,” Wick growled. It came out slowly through clenched teeth.
“Alpha,” John nodded, looking pleased.
Wick turned to me, arms held taunt to his side. “I’m going with you.” Statement. Fact. Not a request. Fucking alphas. I should be hella pissed at his dominance act, but adrenalin ran through my traitorous body and my mind started flying through all the possibilities.
John cleared his throat. The door to the black sedan behind John slammed and Jess walked up to stand beside her mate and took his hand. The simple, sweet gesture caused something to churn in my gut. They both turned to Wick, expectation evident on their faces.
Wick cursed. “The meeting.”
“Did you forget?” Jess asked.
“He had other things on his mind, love,” John spoke into her hair. His voice muffled with the proximity, but being supes we all heard.
“Did I miss something?” Jess asked. Her eyes ping-ponged between the three of us. Her gaze took in my outfit before settling on my face. “Going out?”
She meant the outfit.
“Yes, I have something important to get to,” I said. Turning to Wick, I gave a megawatt smile. “Enjoy your meeting!”
“Andy,” Wick hissed through his teeth.
I did a model spin while I pranced away to give him an innocent smile. “Don’t wait up.” The toodaloo wave was probably over the top, gauging Wick’s expression.
“This isn’t over, Andy,” Wick warned.
His glare could have burned a hole in my back, but I had somewhere I needed to go, information I needed to glean. I couldn’t do it with a hot and horny alpha breathing down my neck, distracting me and intimidating others.
****
The vamp bar, situated in the heart of Gastown, didn’t resemble the warehouse where I’d met my handler in any way. With an immortal existence, the vamp owner of this establishment should’ve had a better imagination, but no. He called it Hell. The ground level entrance on the corner of an all-window building consisted of double doors, a foyer where two intimidating Vampire bouncers stood and a spiral case that led down into the basement. Music could be heard when the door at the base of the stairs opened to admit more people. Textbook fire hazard, with one exit.
By walking through the doors at the bottom of the staircase, patrons accepted responsibility for their own stupidity and if any emergency happened, they waived the proprietor's liability for any injury or damage. No one in their right mind would try to make a claim against Vampires, but just in case, they had a vamp lawyer escort all non-vamps down the stairs and explain the rules, spewing out all the legalities.
The rest of the building sitting above the club conducted daytime business. Mostly lawyers. Go figure.
The norms ahead of me in line reeked of crayons and sickly sweet sweat, making my eyes twitch. Unlike vamps, that particular mix of excitement and fear did not entice me. It didn’t turn me on and make me want to bite. I would’ve been a terrible vamp.