Page 37

Chapter 37

Sidnee dropped me off so I could start to get ready. I hadn’t had time to order a new dress, but I had one that I’d been saving for a special occasion. It was dark-green silk and it made my eyes pop. It was high necked but bare shouldered and ended mid-thigh; the fabric clung in all the right places, making my lanky form look a little curvier than usual, and the wrap-around skirt that tied in front and gave the illusion of an hourglass figure. I paired it with silver strappy sandals and a matching silver bag.

Okay, it wasn’t the best winter wear but Connor was picking me up for the short drive, so I just had to make it to the car and into the hotel. Frankly, I could do that naked if I needed to, not that streaking was on my to-do list. If it ever had been on there, Alaska’s freezing temperatures would have pushed it way down.

I fed my pets and turned on the TV for them: a nature show about big cats. They were curled up on the couch together when Connor knocked. ‘Fluffy, you could shift and come to the party with me,’ I said for the third time, but he just sighed and pointedly put his head down on his paws.

I’d found a supernatural counsellor in town and Reggie’s first appointment was in a week. It couldn’t come soon enough; I was failing him and it was all my fault that he was stuck like this. My bloody mum and her idiocy. That damned prophecy.

I eyed my German Shepherd with such guilt that he barked at me. I gave him a lopsided smile. ‘Yeah, yeah.’

There was another firm knock at the door and I gave each pet a scruffle on the head. ‘I gotta go. See you guys later.’

When I opened the front door, Connor was standing there in a sleek black suit with a sapphire-blue shirt beneath it. The colour made his eyes a shade darker than normal, as deep blue as the sea. His curls were sort of tamed, meaning he hadn’t run his hand through them yet. I decided I preferred them wild and I almost mussed them up myself, but it was obvious he’d taken time over his appearance so I didn’t. Besides, I was sure I’d do something to make him run his hands through his hair later. Exasperating him was a gift.

He had brought his Mustang because the roads were clear of snow, and I spotted John and Margrave in the truck idling at the kerb behind it. Both men were suited and booted, but it was clear they were attending the party as bodyguards.

I walked carefully down the steps, gratefully slid my silk-clad bottom onto the heated leather seats and gave a happy little moan of pleasure. If I ever bought a car, I was definitely having heated seats.

Connor’s eyes never left me and the fire in them warmed me further. ‘If you keep looking at me like that we won’t make it to the party,’ I said with a grin.

‘Is that a promise?’

I tapped him lightly on the arm. ‘No! We can’t be late, we’re supporting Sidnee. Now focus on getting us there.’

He gave me one more scorching look then pressed the button to start the engine. ‘I’d much rather take you up on that than go out.’

‘Same – but we’d never get out of bed without other commitments.’

He laughed. ‘True.’

The motor caught with a roar and we headed to the hotel. ‘How did the council meeting go?’ I asked.

Connor grimaced. ‘About the usual. It quickly devolved into arguing.’

‘Anything decided? ’

‘Unofficially we have permission to storm the mines, but if it goes wrong the council will rescind that permission. They’re worried that the dwarves will see it as an act of hostility.’

‘Obviously we don’t want to piss off the dwarves, but would it be so terrible if we did?’

‘The mine is one of the most profitable businesses in town.’

‘Fishing, mining, logging.’ I counted them off on my fingers.

‘Exactly – and mining brings in the most coin and creates a tonne of jobs. It’s not just mining itself, but administrative and logistical and transportational ones too. It’s a huge operation. If the dwarves went elsewhere…’ He trailed off.

‘It would be bad for Portlock?’

‘Very bad,’ he agreed. ‘Keeping the mine stable is the whole reason Calliope, Thomas and Liv bought into it.’

‘And the profit doesn’t hurt,’ I said cynically. ‘So we have an unofficial green light to storm the place tomorrow?’

‘Yep.’

‘Who are they sending?’

He sighed. ‘Just us. The same team as today. ’

I grimaced. We had supernatural strength on our side but five of us against at least twelve MIB didn’t feel great. Hopefully the narrow tunnels would restrict who could come at us, but now we knew it was the MIB black ops group, we had to take real care not to be exposed to fisheye. ‘We’ll need gloves and breathing apparatus,’ I pointed out.

‘I’m on it.’ Connor reached over and squeezed my thigh. ‘Now forget about all that and relax. Let’s enjoy today – who knows what tomorrow will bring?’

I knew. Tomorrow was going to bring a clusterfuck of epic proportions, though weirdly I was kind of looking forward to it. Excitement and nerves were churning in my gut; I vowed I would channel them into my dance moves and shimmy them off.

As Connor parked behind the hotel, I suddenly remembered another night and another dance when Juan had been guarding Connor. ‘I’m sorry about Juan,’ I offered. ‘You must miss him.’

‘I do,’ he admitted. ‘He was my best and only friend for a very long time.’

I swallowed hard, my eyes suddenly damp. ‘Well, now you have me,’ I said firmly. ‘You have lots of friends. You have Gunnar and Sigrid, and Sidnee and Thomas.’ I paused. ‘Maybe even Stan. ’

He winced at the last name but then gave me a warm smile. ‘You’ve brought so much into my life, Doe. I’m grateful for it.’

‘Even with all the complications I bring?’ I was thinking of Parker, the vampire I’d accidentally ensnared with my offer of blood. Guilt pricked at me again; it had a habit of doing that lately.

‘Absolutely,’ he replied without missing a beat. He raised my hand to his lips and brushed them against the back of it. Inwardly, I swooned.

I sighed happily. ‘I love you, Connor. You know that, right?’

‘I know it,’ he agreed. ‘And I love you with everything I am.’ We kissed in the darkness, the romance of the moment hampered only by his two guards lingering in the shadows.

We walked into the party a little mussed and a few minutes late. I swiped on some fresh lipstick and neatened my hair. Sidnee had decorated the whole place in blue-and-white fairy lights, with a disco ball in the centre of the ceiling. Streamers in blue and silver hung everywhere, changing the room from bland and commercial to sparkly and festive.

There was a bar and a temporary dance floor in the centre, and the staff were setting up a lavish buffet .

Unlike at my ‘welcome to Portlock party’, I didn’t head directly for the tequila. Instead Connor hooked my arm through his and we played the vampire leader and his mate by talking to everyone we knew – or more accurately, all the movers and shakers that Connor knew. I made careful note of new names and faces and the ones he treated with real respect or deference.

When the buffet was finally ready, we filled our plates and sat at a table. Sidnee and Thomas were talking to Stan who was arm in arm with Anissa. I waggled my eyebrows at Sidnee and she grinned back.

She was wearing a floor-length red dress that looked like it was painted on her perfect figure, with a slit to the top of her thigh and a deep neckline. When she turned to look at something Stan pointed at, I saw that the back of her dress was bare and plunged down to the curve of her ass. Thomas was a man possessed, his gaze barely straying from his lover.

Behind his back, I winked at her and fanned myself. ‘You look hot,’ I mouthed.

She beamed. ‘You too!’ she mouthed back.

‘Hi, Stan,’ I said warmly. ‘Hi, Anissa, it’s great to see you. ’

I saw some of the tension slide from Stan’s shoulders; had he been worried that I would react badly to his date? You do you, man; love is , and that’s all.

The six of us sat at the same table. ‘Any space for an old washed-up couple?’ Gunnar asked as he and Sigrid walked over.

‘Speak for yourself!’ Sigrid swatted him, making us laugh.

‘Of course,’ Connor said easily and we all shifted up while Stan grabbed a couple more chairs.

‘You look beautiful, Sig,’ I said, and she really did. Her blue dress complemented her skin perfectly and she’d taken the time to pile elaborate plaits on top of her head. She glowed with an inner radiance as she beamed and thanked me. ‘Thank you, Bunny dear.’

‘Where’s April?’ I asked.

‘She’s sleeping,’ Gunnar confirmed. ‘She’s going to run house tomorrow for us while we’re out.’

Sig’s smile faltered.

‘Right. Who’s on call then?’ I asked.

‘Yours truly,’ Gunnar grunted, tapping the phone on his hip.

‘Better you than me!’

‘Got some bad news,’ Gunnar said quietly. ‘We got the letter from Alfgar’s locker back from forensics. No fingerprints.’

‘Damn.’ I sighed.

‘No business talk!’ Sigrid admonished him. ‘Unless you get a work call,’ she amended.

Connor had brought champagne for everyone and he poured me a glass. I was planning on sipping mine slowly but I must have blinked because suddenly the glass was empty. Whoops! Connor poured me another without comment but I saw Stan grin. ‘Bunny’s going to dance on the table later,’ he predicted.

I glared. ‘I am not! ’ I definitely wasn’t going to, now that he’d said that! ‘You’re going to eat your words.’

Stan smirked. ‘We’ll see.’

I sipped at my new glass of fizz, relishing the bubbly burn as it hit my mostly empty stomach. I’d had a mug of blood earlier but it hadn’t touched the sides, so I dived into my food with gusto. I did love good food and wine, and it was a real pleasure to have a change from my normal diet of frozen dinners and tea. I spotted Anissa snaffling the dinner with similar enthusiasm and saluted her. She was a girl after my own heart.

By the end of the meal, I was feeling smug. I hadn’t drunk my date under the table and I was still seated, not singing and dancing on the tables. I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

But I shouldn’t have because the night was still young.