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I tucked my hair behind my ear nervously, nodding in thanks to Ren as a short glass without ice appeared beside me.

“You better have something more sensible for me to wear for shoes back there, Baby. These stilettos will kill my feet.”

Kaylee turned, all but whipping me in the face with her golden hair as she dove for the curtain to the staff area. “Leave it to me!”

ren

. . .

Vi tookher time familiarising herself with the menu while she sipped her scotch, working through our various drink options. It would’ve annoyed me, the way she seemed completely unhurried to get behind the bar and to my side—to help with my swamped backlog,obviously—except it gave me ample time to study her between mixing cocktails and taking orders.

I thought she was beautiful when I saw her in the café.

But now? Done up for a night of dancing and who knew what else? She wasradiant.

Soft, tousled waves gave her bluntly cut bob a more lived-in feel, the ends of her hair just barely grazing her collarbones in a clash of smoke and cream as her eyes moved over the menu in careful study.

There was almost something familiar in the way she toyed absently with her glass, the amber liquid slowly rolling around the edges of the crystal. Like I’d watched this exact scene a hundred times before… But that was impossible. I was certain that if I’d come into contact with a woman like this I’d remember.

Vi’s wasn’t exactly the sort of face you forgot.

I attempted to focus on the task at hand, something increasingly more difficult as I was slowly consumed by questions that I had no business wanting answers for.

What was her plan for the night before she’d been drafted into helping me behind the bar?

Was she thinking about finding someone to take home to bed?

Did she prefer humans or vampires? Obviously, if she stepped foot inside of O she was at least vampire curious, but… Some humans found our cold skin and neverending stamina to be intimidating.

Would she choose someone that would leave after they’d finished, or did she prefer to tiptoe around in the morning to the coffee shop to secure them some breakfast?

Or was Vi the kind of girl who liked to play in public?

Would she want to take her unfathomably lucky conquest into the back to share a taste of her honeysuckle and vanilla-scented skin where someone could watch?

WhereIcould watch?

Maybe join, if I was lucky?

A possessive prickle needled my chest, the same one that’d pushed me into action at the coffee shop. Something about Vi, whether it was her petite stature or her big, emotive, fawn-coloured eyes, called to me.

I’d never been good at denying myself when I wanted something.

Ren, you barely know her name. Want to take it down a notch?

She brought her glass to her lips, plush softness pressing into the rim with just the right amount of give to make me wonder how they’d feel wrapped around my fingers. Like she’d sensed the lurid nature of my thoughts, Vi’s gaze met mine briefly as hereyes swung from the menu to survey the collection of bottles at my back.

A sort of nervous smile teased the edge of her glossy pink lips, her trimmed nails tapping lightly along the cardstock.

I tried not to think about it while I mixed drinks.

About how she was smoke and cream and bubble gum and all kinds of deliciousness I wanted to sink my teeth intoimmediately, my tongue heavy in my mouth with the desire to bite and tear and taste and?—

“Where do you keep the blood?” she asked, tucking a piece of her dark hair behind her ear.

My fingers itched for my camera. Vi would be exquisite on film. Not the DSLR I’d come to favour in recent years, but something older. Something I’d have to take into the darkroom and lovingly bring to life with my own hands.

Though, when it came to the temptress sitting at my bar, I could think of better uses for my hands.