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The vampire tossed her umbrella inside, shifting the pathetically wet cardboard tray of coffee cups so that her arm was free to lean against the door, trapping my body between hers and the heavy metal. Her wet shirt clung to her frame, the odd droplet of rain managing to reach us in our partially covered alcove singing along my skin.

My heart rate elevated as our eyes met. She wasn’t touching me, but this close, I could feel her presence like a lick between my legs.

“Have I told you that you look absolutely divine today?”

“Not yet, but you should,” I whispered, a little thrown by the change of pace and trying not to pant after damn near sprinting down the street.

“Vi,” she purred, her face so close I could practically taste the words from her lips, feel her breath fanning against my cheek as her head bent forward to brush her lips against my ear. Hardly a caress, but it went straight to my cunt all the same. Pressed up against the door like this, her larger frame felt all-encompassing. “You look positively exquisite this evening.”

“I—um…” My face warmed to impossible degrees. If I didn’t stop blushing like this, I was going to die from insufficient blood circulation. “Thank you.”

Ren’s eyes slipped from mine down to where my pebbled nipples strained against the fabric of my borrowed dress. The sequined garment didn’t allow for a bra with its open back, and there was no hiding the effect the vampire—and the frigid rain—had on my body. She made a soft noise, somewhere between a moan and a growl in the back of her throat, leaning infinitesimally closer.

I shifted forward, seeking to close the gap between our lips and Ren pulled away.

“I’m trying so hard here, Vi. You have no idea.”

Bolder than I felt, I said, “So stop trying.”

“You’re trouble.” Ren sighed, stepping back and inside the club to collect her umbrella. “Let me find us some towels.”

“We have a date,” I reminded her, leaning my head back against the door and taking in a ragged breath as I shifted my thighs together. The tiny thong that this dress allowed, becausefucking panty lines, suddenly didn’t feel like nearly enough fabric.

“That we do.” Like she could read my thoughts, Ren’s attention snapped to my core before she turned, her shoulders tight as she disappeared into the club.

I needed to get a handle on myself. Immediately. And if Ren’s quickly shifting mood was to be considered, it seemed she did too.

But just because the job was temporary… Did that mean the relationships had to be?

I sent Kaylee a quick text to let her know I’d arrived, settling onto one of the stools at the bar as Ren moved behind it, skimming through her emails on her phone.

The towels hadn’t done much to dry us off, and I was already shivering a little as I sipped my latte.

“Oh good, she’s about to start,” Ren said cheerfully, her damp hair falling into her eyes and standing up on end. “Els sent an apology that it’ll be loud while she’s rehearsing.”

I swivelled around to look at the stage, the heavy curtains pulled back to reveal the little blonde and a chair in a lone spotlight. Her face brightened as our eyes met, offering me a dazzling smile and a cheesy wave before her game face slid on with the start of the music, moving like water on the metal chair to the beat.

Elsie.

The performer from the night before.

She was petite. Her spandex shorts hugged her round ass as she swayed her hips seductively, knees bending as she smoothly moved to the floor. Her blonde hair was tied into a messy knot atthe top of her head, strands falling in loose curls around her face and down the back of her neck. Like a romantic era oil painting—done up, but decidedly messy and unfinished. Her full lips were painted a delicious delicate pink as they parted over her gently pointed fangs, smoky grey eyeshadow framing her ruby eyes paired with a delicate champagne glitter that caught the lights.

Stunning felt like an insult.

In the back of my mind, an alarm went off. This girl, in all her temptation, was a vampire. I knew that, of course. But in the darkened seduction of the club, filled to the brim with a couple hundred patrons just like her, it was easier to ignore it. Sitting here alone except for Ren tapping away at the point of sale at my back, it’d be too easy for her to prove that she was way more dangerous than she appeared.

Vampires weren’t just faster and stronger than us. They’d also been gifted a couple of special weapons that made hunting humans even easier—their venom, which very effectively disarmed a person’s mind, and compulsion, a vampire’s ability, with direct eye contact and if they were strong enough, to force another creature, even other vampires, to do whatever they commanded.

But the danger? That’s part of what made it soexciting.

It was the same with Ren. With Dana.

Even with Juniper, if I allowed myself to entertain the outrageous idea that the surly redhead saw me as anything other than a piece of the furniture.

Heat pooled in my core as Elsie made eye contact, a ricochet of delighted butterflies dancing in my belly. It was the sort of feeling that I’d remembered getting when I was a kid and went to see One Resurrection.

Five British vampires in one mega popular boyband.Floor seats.Yeah, it was kind of a big deal.