“Ignoring me?” she said, her calmness scraping his already raw nerves.

“Nothing else to tell,” he replied darkly. “You’ll lure them to me, and I’ll take over from there.”

“And if they attack me?”

The thought of that angered him far more than the thought of her with another man. Something that made absolutely no sense. He would prefer her with someone else, rather than drained of blood? If so, that would mean … no, no, hell, no. He wasn’t going there.

“McKell,” she snapped. “An answer, please.”

“If they attack you, kill them or I’ll do it for you. It’s that simple.” His rage wouldn’t be, though. If anyone attacked her, even his own kind, he would lose control of his sanity and allow his rage to consume him. He knew it, felt it. The world would suffer.

“But if they’re dead, they can’t teach you how to live here.”

“If they try to hurt you, I won’t want to learn from them.” Would only want their blood to flow in a crimson river, soaking the concrete.

Some of the tension left her features. “What’s the best way to lure a vampire, then?”

All she would have to do was walk into a room, he thought. Any bloodsucker who could resist that sweet scent was stronger than him—and no one was stronger than him. “We’ll dress you in plain clothes, make you look weak and shy.”

“That’s attractive?”

No. “Yes.” He didn’t want her in the scanty clothing his kind preferred humans to wear, making them more easily accessible. “They’ll think you’re easy pickings.” Plus, as small and delicate as she appeared, no one would suspect her of lethal strength and violent urges.

His cock ached. All that strength, all those urges … he’d had them underneath him.

“Okay,” she said with a nod, drifting that sweet scent his way and managing to intensify the ache. “I can do that. But how will I recognize a vampire? I mean, unless your fangs are extended, you look human to me.”

“Anyone who tries to lure you away, you will bring to me.”

“And if they aren’t vampire?”

Then they would still deserve the beating he gave them for daring to try to lure his woman. Temporary woman. “I’ll know the moment I smell them, and will send them on their way.” Broken and bloody.

“Sounds tedious and boring, and not to mention like shooting an enemy in the dark. Which means, if you need that translated, we’ll be relying on luck.”

He shrugged. “I can think of no other way. If they scent me first, and they will if I’m by your side, they’ll leave. Whether they want to drink from you or not.”

“Well, maybe you should walk into wherever you think they’ll be, and I’ll wait at the back door and grab the runners.”

Smart, but such a plan placed her in too much danger. “You won’t be able to stop a fleeing vampire on your own, Ava. Besides that, we couldn’t be sure what exit they would take.”

The corner of her lip curled. “I stopped you, didn’t I?”

Ache … intensifying again … “And I stopped you back. Only my caring nature saved you. Something the others might not possess.”

She snorted. “Caring nature. Please. By your own admission, you just wanted to strip me.”

“That’s not the only thing I wanted to do,” he muttered. Then, more clearly, “You won’t know what the vampires are capable of, so you won’t know what to fight against. You won’t be able to stop more than one, either.”

“Two pyre-guns can stop two vampires.”

“And if there are three?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll freeze two, then fire at the third. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll fistfight him.”

The woman had an answer for everything. “And the fourth? Fifth? No, don’t reply. We’ll do things my way or not at all.”

“Oh, well, in that case, I pick not at all.”

And he’d found her smugness attractive? His teeth gnashed as they often did in her presence. “Then I won’t help AIR. With anything. Not with vampires. Not with the Schön disease. Not with the Schön queen. I won’t answer Agent Snow’s questions, either.”

After only the slightest hesitation, she said, “Fine. Your way.”

Smiling, he eased to his feet. “Thank you. We shall begin tomorrow. As for tonight, get some rest. You’ll need it.” He strode to the front door, and it opened automatically, allowing him a straight shot into the hallway.

“Hey. Where are you going?” she called.

“Until tomorrow,” he replied as the door closed. Tonight, he needed to have a serious heart-to-heart with himself, and allow his anger with her to fester. Falling for this woman wasn’t acceptable. Being charmed by her every word—despite his irritation with her—was not acceptable, either.

Surely there was someone out there who was prettier, wittier, and nicer. Someone better suited to him and his needs. Someone with fangs. Tonight, during his heart-to-heart, he would search. Find a starting place for his and Ava’s hunt.

Because, what she didn’t know and what he would never tell her, what he’d realized a short while ago, was that if he could find and question bloodsuckers who had learned to live in the daylight, he could also find her replacement.

Fourteen

Another sleepless night. Of course. Ava expected no different despite McKell’s command to rest and her body’s desire to obey him. She’d wanted to call him about … oh, a thousand times, and ask where he’d gone, and what he was doing.

By nine the next morning, when she suspected he would be sleeping himself, Ava gave up trying to rest and finally caved to the impulse. He had her cell phone, and what better way to punish him for stealing it?

After three rings, he actually picked up. “What?” he barked.

He was alive, at least. Ignoring her raging headache, she relaxed into the mattress, the covers plumping around her. “How dare you answer my phone, you thieving bastard.” The hangover added spice to her tone. “Have you been answering all my calls?”

Static sounded, and she imagined him rubbing the fatigue from his face. Such a human thing to do, so slumber sweet. The pain in her temples migrated to her chest. “Ava?”

“Who else would be calling?”

“Your friend Noelle. She called all night long,” he grumbled. “And she never talks about anything of importance. I now know about her favorite shoes, what foods agree with her and what foods do not. That wasn’t pleasant to hear about, by the way. Oh, yes. And I know she’s considering chopping off her hair, and can’t decide if she wants to sleep with Dallas or Hector.”

I love that girl. “Who’d you vote for?”

“You. I offered to be there, and give instruction as needed. You’re very difficult to please, you know.”

A chuckle and a moan mixed in her throat, emerging as a cough. One part of her wanted to continue down that path with him, knowing very well where it would end. Heavy breathing, dirty talk, wandering hands, and climax. The other part of her wasn’t brain-damaged.

She rolled from bed, phone propped against her shoulder and bones creaking in protest. “Anyone left any messages for me?” she asked as she padded into the kitchen. Yawning, she filled the coffeepot with synthetic coffee beans and water. Most food was synthetic, most meat was from cloned animals, and even fruit was somehow a copy of the real deal.

Apparently, after the human-alien war, supplies had dwindled, and unapproved scientific methods had been the only chance for survival. Suddenly those methods had met with approval.

“People left messages, yes,” he said, but offered no more.

“Well, what are they?” Thankfully, the scent of caffeine soon filled the air, chasing away the last remnants of exhaustion and alcoholic excess.

“I don’t know. They were for you, so I ignored them. You’re welcome.”

Bastard. The pot finished its nearly instant percolation, and she poured herself a cup of coffee, then added the last of her butterscotch creamer. Wait. The last? She held the dispenser to the light and shook. Sure enough. Not a single drop remained. Shit. She needed a moment of silence to mourn its loss.

“Ava?”

“Just a sec.” I’ll miss you, sweet creamer. She sighed. “Okay, I’m back. So, if you won’t tell me about my messages, tell me what you did last night.”

“No. I won’t.”

The sudden edge of menace in his voice increased her curiosity. “Tell me.”

“No. I’ll tell you what I plan to do for the rest of the day, though.” The menace faded, gentling to … desire? “I’ll be sleeping and thinking about you. What about you?”

Thinking of her. She almost melted. Almost. Sadly, it was lesson time. And today’s moral? Keep secrets and suffer. “Better question: Who will I be doing today? But the answer’s the same. You’ll never know,” she said, and severed the connection. Let him stew on that.

She drained her coffee, showered, and dressed in the standard AIR attire. White button-up top, black slacks, and faux leather boots. She anchored her hair in a lumpy ponytail. With her curls, no style would ever be smooth.

Noelle picked her up fifteen minutes late. As usual. “We look ridiculous, wearing the same outfit like this,” was the first thing her friend said as Ava slid into the passenger side of the vehicle.

“Ridiculous, but cute.”

“True.”

The sun was already too bright and too warm, the streets crowded with humans and aliens driving to work. Most were harried, almost spastic, while a few were calm, concentrating. Ava hoped she appeared calm, even though she felt harried. Fact was, she couldn’t stand being late for anything.

No matter how late they were, though, Noelle never looked harried. Today, she was as beautiful and elegant as always, even in that white button-up. And, to be honest, they should have looked like they were wearing matching outfits, but they didn’t. Noelle’s shirt was clearly made of expensive cotton—real cotton—and appeared so soft Ava was tempted to strip and rub all over it.

“Oh, and to apologize for my tardiness, I brought you a butterscotch latte.” Noelle held out a plastic mug.

Salvation. Even though she’d already had her morning coffee, she drank greedily.

As the car meandered to AIR headquarters, Noelle said, “McKell go back to your place last night? I know he left again because I called him. Repeatedly.”

“I know, and thank you for that. But nope,” she grumbled. “He didn’t return.”

“Is he playing hard-to-get?”

“Nah. He’s playing Irritate Ava.” Why hadn’t he told her what he’d done after leaving her apartment? Had he slept with some random female, turned on as he’d been, and didn’t want her to know because he suspected Ava would never allow him to drink from her again? Well, she didn’t care who he slept with. She’d told him no. Had left him primed. But damn it to hell. He’d promised not to see anyone else. Hadn’t he?

Only thing she truly remembered about last night was the fact that he’d kissed her and left her.

“Irritate Ava is my favorite game,” Noelle said. “You’re so cute when you’re mad.”

If he had slept with someone else, she’d slap him on the back in a job well done. Just like she’d do for any male friend she had. Not that she had any male friends. Not that she wanted any male friends. Men were stupid, stupid, stupid, and controlled by their stupid dicks, and that bastard McKell was going to be stabbed in the back if he’d slept with someone else. Ava would rip him into ribbons and tie those ribbons on every bedpost she could find. A symbolic gesture McKell wouldn’t understand because he was stupid!

“Uh, Ava?”

“What?” she shouted.

“I didn’t mean it. You are so not cute when you’re mad. Your cheeks are bright red, you’re panting and sweating and ripping my brand-new, pristine interior apart.”

“What?” The haze of red faded from her gaze—until that moment, she hadn’t even realized the red had appeared—and she looked around. She was still inside Noelle’s car, her nails were scraping over the leather seat, and she was gritting her teeth so forcefully, her jaw ached. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”

“No worries. Swear.”

One by one she picked her nails out of the seat.

A few minutes later, they reached AIR’s main gate, a simple iron bar that stretched from one guard post to another. A few yards beyond, the landscape was flat and bare, boasting no trees or flowers that would allow anyone to hide. There, in the center, sat AIR.

On the outside, the building appeared to be nothing more than a two-story warehouse comprised of metal and dark red brick. In actuality, three other stories were hidden underground. Three that she knew of; there could have been more. There were cameras and weapons everywhere, camouflaged between the bricks.

Security was taken seriously here. Protestors—alien advocates—had once raided the old building, allowing a dangerous prisoner to escape.

After two ID scans, she and Noelle were allowed to park in the underground lot. Took another ID scan to be allowed to walk out of the lot and into the building, and then several fingerprint scans, even a retinal scan, and three badge verifications to hit the elevator.

“I wonder what’s on today’s agenda,” Noelle muttered as they strode down the long, plain hallway toward Mia’s office.