Page 24

"You have coffins in a locked room."

His gaze bores into mine.

"Liam drank my blood."

"Yes. All of this true. Which is why you should have turned down the job. Why you still should. It's not too late. Not yet. You can leave now. I can help you."

"What do you mean it's not too late yet? When will it be too late?"

Before Sebastian can answer, the door slams open and Elijah stands there, an intensity to his eyes. "He's on his way right now!"

Sebastian straightens at that. "What? He's not due to arrive until tomorrow."

Elijah shrugs. "Seems he's come early."

"Bloody hell," Sebastian says. "She doesn't even know everything yet."

Elijah looks at me, then back at Sebastian. "You'd better fill her in fast. He'll be here in twenty."

Elijah leaves, closing the door behind him, and I turn to face Sebastian. "Who's coming? What's going on?"

"We have a new client," he says. "An important client. When you meet him, it's critical you are careful. He's very…dynamic. And dangerous."

"Who's the client?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me. You're having a hard enough time believing what you've seen with your own eyes."

"What I've seen is impossible," I say.

"There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy," he says, quoting Shakespeare.

"Funny, you don't strike me as the Shakespeare reading type," I say, deflecting the seriousness of the situation.

"There's a lot about me you might be surprised by, Eve," he says, and I can’t help but love how my name sounds on his lips. "We both need to get ready for his arrival, but first, let’s be absolutely clear about what’s going on here. You are correct; we—my brothers and I—are vampires. And The Night Firm isn't just any firm. It's a law firm for paranormal creatures. We have our own justice system and court of law. Humans could never keep us in check, so we do it ourselves."

"Paranormal creatures," I say, in a breathy whisper. "So there are more than just vampires?"

He nods. "But you knew that already. You saw others when you left your interview, did you not?"

It's my turn to nod, as I remember the woman I saw as I left the building that night.

"They were real. Just as I am real. This is a dangerous place for you, Eve. You asked before why I'm always mad at you. I'm not. I'm mad you're here, because I worry you will not be safe. Especially now."

Everything he's said and done since we met is suddenly seen in a new light, and all the attraction and pent up desire I feel surfaces. My eyes fall to his lips, and I can see by the way his body tenses, he feels the energy in the room shift as well.

Our hands are touching, skin brushing against skin on the silky sheets. My hip is pressed against him.

Panic wells in me and I pull back. "The accident wasn't an accident was it?" It's all starting to click into place.

"No, it wasn't," he says, regaining his composure quickly. "We make enemies. Our clients make enemies. Especially the client you're about to meet. You will be in constant danger if you stay."

It's clear he wants me to leave. But…where would I go? I have nothing left to return to.

I slide off the bed and adjust my clothes. "I think I'll take my chances," I say, though I have a million questions. "And I should probably get ready, if he's on his way." I need an excuse to leave, because I can't stay in the room with him any longer and not act on the desires building up in me.

Before I leave, I turn, a question on my mind. "Why do you have coffins if you also have a regular bedroom?" I ask.

"We don’t regularly sleep in the coffins," he says. "They’re for emergencies. If we have to travel during the day or heal from serious injury. They are filled with dirt from our homeland, from before our vampire lives."