Page 29

Her hand balled into a fist on the table, the one not already resting over mine.

“Your parents’ deaths were suspicious, and I was given very few answers. Seeing what I’ve seen, there were too many inconsistencies and questions. The hush-hush nature concerned me, and when your abilities grew early on, I contacted Phillip. Luckily, he already questioned the same things I did.” Her eyes found mine again. “Many do.”

“We’re not just mindless drones,” I interjected hotly.

Her lips lifted—a look I knew all too well. “No we’re not. But the Organization is very powerful and can easily make any of us disappear the minute an insurrection is sniffed out.”

Her hand tightened around mine.

“You’ll need to be careful. Phillip may seem reckless and inconsiderate at first, but he’s clever and powerful. He’s well respected in the Organization and knows the inner workings of it. He’ll keep you safe.” My Grams’s eyes gleamed in a way that put me on edge. “Especially when the time comes and I can’t protect you any longer.”

“What do you mean?” I asked before the front door opened, and Grams quickly released my hand. “Grams?”

Her stoic face met my next glance, a sure sign I wouldn’t get an answer out of her. She greeted Phillip with a pat on his shoulder and left the room.

His eyes followed her exit before they found mine. Then those gorgeous eyes swept down my body and the Austrian’s mouth distorted with obvious distaste. “Did you even try to find something to wear for a night out?” he asked, sighing.

I looked down at my training clothes. “Like I said, I don’t own anything that even remotely fits the word you used.”

His happy grin agitated the feeling in my belly, but it distracted me from the cryptic statement Grams left me with. “Sexy?”

I glared at him and grabbed the dagger I’d set on the table. “Let’s just go. We both know you won’t be satisfied until you dress me up.”

His ocean eyes watched me stroll closer, but the asshole didn’t move out of the way. Only then did I notice he was in a tank-top that exposed a fair bit of his tattooed skin. There wasn’t an open space on arm or chest alike. Everything was covered in colorful ink.

A black snake winded around his bicep and slithered down his forearm over a hellscape of demon eyes and flames, its head nearly at his hand. Another snake was peeking in and out from where his shoulder and chest were exposed.

Like a massive canvas painting, his skin was covered with heat and death. Even if I spent a full day looking, I’d probably still find new, interesting things to look at.

The vampire hunter’s hair was styled differently today. It was swept off to the side, exposing his gorgeous face, and his eyeliner was a perfect contrast to his gem-like eyes. He hadn’t shaved in what looked like a day or two, because a dark shadow covered his jawline and top lip.

The five o’clock shadow was beyond sexy; it was temptation personified. And no surprise, many of the girls in class that day visibly swooned in fan girl glee.

The Austrian had worn jewelry in every piercing on his body, I assumed, because his snake bites, septum, and several along his ears were all in place. A silver cross hung from a thick chain around his neck. A dangling contradiction, but one that harmed vampires.

The vampire hunter had fashioned all his thick rings again. New ones I hadn’t seen before that were both silver and gold, and some of them would definitely do damage if he threw a punch. I admired his genius application of accessories, having modeled a few of my own similarly to inflict damage in a pinch.

Phillip’s danger meter was off the charts tonight, even without his weaponry exposed.

“Hoping to set off every metal detector wherever we go?”

Satisfied with himself, the other Hunter’s mouth lifted devilishly. “Definitely one of my goals for the evening.” He took a step and came close enough to me that my pulse reacted, sure to give my every thought away.

Though I didn’t need to breathe, apparently my heart still pumped just fine. My body carried heat the way humans did. I didn’t really understand for what reason it all worked, but here I was, heart racing, visibly flushed. Unfortunately, there were plenty of ways to make it evident to the sultry Austrian I was definitely affected by his seduction play.

“I’d let you take some of them off. Or maybe you just want to touch a little.” Leaning close, Phillip whispered his challenge straight into my ear, even when it didn’t matter how soft his voice was. I heard it all just as loudly.

But the erotic lilt wasn’t lost in the volume. Not at all.

This asshole.

“Desperate?” I asked.

His face reacted enough to satisfy me. “Volunteering?”

“Not interested,” I replied coolly, refusing to surrender. I had to go to the tips of my toes, but I did it. I patted his head the same way he did to me more times than I could count. “But thanks for asking.”

His eyes followed me out of the kitchen as I lifted my chin and headed for the front door, pretty damn proud of myself.