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“Well, then. Seems like we’re on the same team. What do you boys need to know?”

* * *

“I look hot, right?” Michael asked hours later, grinning back at me in the mirror above the narrow vanity. He wagged his eyebrows suggestively. “I mean, right?”

He was dressed in a pair of black pants with way too many zippers, one size too tight, which fitted him in ways that left little to the imagination, especially the—erm—back of him. And did my gaze linger?

Yes.

Did that help me stop being such a goddamn coward?

Not even close.

His shirt for the evening was a sleeveless black mesh number that showed off the muscle definition in his chest, abdomen, and arms well enough.

Would I be into it, when the time came? The idea of running my hands over those muscles wasn’t unappealing, the way it would have been with almost anyone else. In fact, the idea sent a small thrill of… something… through me.

It almost like anticipation. Or was that just fear? Why was it so hard to tell?

He’d even added a liberal amount of body glitter—mixed with powdered silver, of course—to his neck. Given that most vampires were bisexual, it probably wouldn’t matter much what gender of monster he ran across—he looked like vamp bait. And the powdered silver would mean that any vamp who did try to bite him would be in for a nasty surprise. Silver saps away a vampire’s superhuman strength and speed, making it a much fairer fight.

“You do look the part,” I agreed, trying to control the discomfort I felt.

For what felt like the thousandth time, I found myself wondering:wasI attracted to him? Why was it so confusing to know whether I actually found him sexually appealing? Shouldn’t that have been extremely obvious? The thing is, even with Becca, it hadn’t been. Not at first, at least.

Michael shot me a wounded look. “All this effort. Totally wasted on you.”

“You look fine.” Then I heard the words that had just flown out of my own mouth, because I quickly amended, “Err, I meangood. You look good.”

Michael snorted, and from his reflection in the mirror, I could see his lips twitching with amusement. “Is that your final answer?”

“There’s a spectacular chance that you’ll get jumped by a murderous vampire tonight.”

“Awww, you say the sweetest things,” Michael drawled, chuckling. He turned around and gave me a once-over before grimacing. “You know, flannel isn’t really appropriate club-wear.”

“I’ll change into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt,” I told him. At his warning look, I sighed and added, “A shirt that’s too small to be comfortable. Jeez, I know, I know. We talked about this. I heard you.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Michael grinned at me, his gray eyes dancing with amusement.

And for just an instant, I could see what all of his nightly conquests saw. I could see the boyish sparkle. The kind, open, friendly face with the strong jawline. Eyes that were bright and happy but could turn a little dangerous in an instant. The smile that was like coming home at the end of a long day. There was stubble on his chin, which was rapidly becoming abeard. If I cupped his face in my hand, would it be rough and uncomfortable under my touch? Or would it feel… nice?

“So, let’s go over the plan again,” he said. “Since I’m the bait tonight.”

“You’re the bait,” I told him, arching an eyebrow. “That’s the whole plan. You’ll go out on the dance floor and just generally be you for a couple hours. And meanwhile I’ll be nursing my drink on the sidelines, watching as literally every twink in a twenty-mile radius suddenly materializes out of thin air to come and dance up on you.”

“Lovely. Twinks. My favorite,” Michael rolled his eyes. “Maybe someone who’s old enough to have a decent start on their 401K could factor into this fantasy of yours?”

“Wish it could. But you’re total twink-bait,” I informed him seriously, feeling ridiculously happy that he wastalking to me. It was almost like nothing had ever happened between us at all. It chased away the anxiety I felt. I added, “I said it and I meant it.”

“Don’t I know it.” He grimaced. “Anyway, how does this catch us any vampires?”

“If Dennison was giving us good info, the majority of the victims went missing from this bar, before turning up dead. So, this place will probably have at least one vampire tonight. Maybe. We just need them to try to get you alone, then we can hopefully get the location of the nest out of them before we take them out.”

“Can’t we just call Tobias and have him do a spell to find out where they’re holed up?”

“We’re not supposed to involve them in the actual hunt,” I reminded him. “They’re our allies. They’re not our friends.”

“Speak for yourself. I’ll probably end up being the best man at their wedding.”