Page 7 of Traveling with Gentlemen (Tempting Monsters #1.1)

A DANGEROUS INVITATION

“Y ou're turning pink."

I blinked, drowsy in the late afternoon heat, and discovered the sun had moved far enough across the sky to pull my shade aside. The tall, broad form of Booker was now my shield from the blazing glow, and I beamed at him as I reached a hand up and felt the warmth of my cheek.

"You have our permission to scoop her up and carry her in," Auguste's voice called from behind me.

Booker and I both snorted and I sat up, squinting as the setting sun struck my eyes. "Their permission."

"I always have your permission," Booker said.

I smiled, tilting my head back to gaze at the shadow of him, and then lifted my arms up. "You do."

Booker took the invitation from me, doing exactly as Auguste suggested and lifting me, cradled in his arms, from the woven chaise. Nothing could make a girl feel light as a feather like the ease with which an enchanted statue might carry her about.

"Are the others—?"

"At home," Booker said, his smile curving with mine as he turned us to the balcony doors.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust as we stepped into the family suite.

The main area was a vast room with an eclectic mix of furnishings, thoughtfully arranged to accommodate the whole group of us.

Our ridiculously grand bathroom and wardrobe was to the right, and our nest of a bedroom to the left.

Booker set me down on my toes as Amon entered from the bedroom.

He was in his sphinx form, padding forward proudly, eyes widening at the sight of me.

I ran toward him, eager to dig my fingers into the thick mane around his shoulders, breathe in the warm and rich scent of him, the lingering air of the desert on his feathered wings, but he rose up into his gentlemanly form as I approached.

My steps slowed until his smile stretched, eyes crinkling at the corners, and his arms spread open.

I was beginning to suspect Amon held some lingering shyness regarding his sphinx form around me, and I was tempted to ask as much until the doors to the suite opened, and Ezra dragged Jonathon inside.

"My star," Amon murmured.

I slid into his embrace and the desert air was in the strands of his hair, even if his wings were tucked away now.

"How long before you leave again?" I asked, pressing my face into his warm throat, kissing the muscle as his arms tightened around me.

"Ahh good, you caught him in a break," Auguste greeted the others.

"More like he broke my concentration and one of my samples by scaring me half to death," Jonathon muttered.

"A few days, perhaps," Amon murmured in my ear, nipping at the lobe. I sagged against him, and he chuckled. "However, this time—"

"We have news!" Ezra declared.

Amon grunted and turned me to face the room, his arms crossing over my chest and my hands rising to clasp him in place there.

As much as I understood the urgency of finding Birsha or at least learning everything we could about him, I was growing weary of Amon leaving and returning for only a few days at a time.

Ezra was flicking in and out of view. He'd been Amon's companion on this most recent trip, the pair of them finding a surprising harmony in their work together. Ezra turned, solidifying and grinning at Amon and I.

"You want to do the honors?" he asked Amon.

Amon shrugged and cleared his throat, but our wicked thief jumped in before he had a chance to speak.

"We've received an invitation to a party," Ezra announced, thick chest puffed with playful pride.

"A party?" Auguste asked, laughing.

"The Countess Sofia Georgievna of…" Ezra trailed off, frowning at Amon for a moment. "I've forgotten already."

Auguste stood from his seat, a dense armchair he often curled up in like a cat, and Jonathon sat down on the arm staring up at our vampire lover. "Not Sofia of Vologda?"

"That's the one!" Ezra said.

Auguste rounded on Amon and I, pale eyes wide. "No."

I stiffened in Amon's arms, but he soothed me with gentle strokes. "I'm afraid so."

"You know her?" I asked Auguste.

Auguste blinked, brow furrowing. "Not…it's…I've had the misfortune of meeting her, ages ago, centuries. It was…common practice at the time to introduce new vampires to her. Most of us are descended from her."

"She holds sway over you?" Amon asked, and this time it was his turn to grow tense around me.

Auguste let out a heavy sigh and sank back into the chair. "No, thankfully."

"Who is she and why has she invited us to a party?" I asked, twisting to look up at Amon.

"Sofia de Vologda is one of the oldest vampires on record.

She was set to be executed for murder when she escaped and found her way into the company of a vampire too dazzled by her beauty to realize what an asp he was taking in.

He went missing within the first hundred years of her second life, and I've no doubt she's responsible.

She is vicious, vindictive, covetous, powerful, and possibly out of her mind," Auguste announced.

"For a brief period of time she actively sought to eliminate any vampire not of her family tree.

Rumor is she grew bored of the effort, but she nearly decimated the ancient population. "

"And she's a countess?" I asked.

"She hypnotized some Russian count into taking her in," Auguste supplied with a wave of his hand. "Led a reign of terror there. That's when she rose in infamy amongst my kind. And adopted that ridiculous title. No one knows her real name."

Ezra's eyebrows shot up. "You didn't mention any of this," he said to Amon.

"I wasn't expecting word of our search to reach her," Amon admitted. "But she claims to have the information we seek."

Auguste's head shook slowly. "If she has it, so does someone else, someone less likely to kill us all on a whim."

"She can't kill me," Amon said, and Auguste glared at him. "She won't act against me. We are safe."

I slipped free of Amon's arms, stepping back to the wall so I could see all of my gentlemen at once.

"Mr. Tanner would be safe," Jonathon murmured. "I can put my work aside and join you."

"The invitation is for all of us," Amon said. Auguste's arms crossed over his chest, a breath huffing from his lips.

Ezra he moved to join me, his shoulder to mine. "She mentions each of us by name. Including Esther."

I straightened, and Amon's lips pressed flat as Auguste let out a rough bark of unamused laughter.

"Then it's a trap," Auguste said.

"It's a flex of power on her part, nothing more," Amon said, waving a hand. "Proof of her reach."

"Is it a bluff?" I asked, and all the eyes turned in my direction. I stared back at Amon. "Is she bluffing?"

"Esther, you can't go. It won't be safe," Auguste whispered.

"I don't believe so. She is an influential figure, and a contemporary to Birsha," Amon said. He frowned and nodded to Auguste. "I'm inclined to agree, though. It won't be safe, and there may be other opportunities for us to obtain the information."

"But it's been months already," I said, and Amon sighed and nodded. "And it could be months or more before we have another chance, and who knows where that will come from."

"Esther," Auguste pleaded.

I squeezed Ezra's hand at my side, and he answered in kind until I pushed off the wall and crossed to my vampire.

"And I know that no matter what happens, what danger we face, what kind of insane countess vampire we meet, not one of you would ever let anything happen to me," I said.

Auguste groaned and leaned forward, pressing his face into my stomach. I stroked my fingers through his hair as he breathed deeply, tasting me as a way to soothe himself.

"You're right," Jonathon said, nodding. "I will attend as Mr. Tanner. All of us will remain at your side for every moment."

"I'll remain invisible, better to keep an eye on those watching us," Ezra offered.

"You have our protection, as well as all sphinx-kind's," Amon said, bowing his head to me.

Auguste growled and pulled away, glaring up at me. "I'm going to give you lessons on vampires—on Sofia in particular—you will absolutely never meet her eyes, mon coeur, do you promise?"

I sank to my knees and Auguste pressed his forehead to mine as I nodded. "I promise, my love."

"It will be an adventure," Booker declared, and I thought I heard Auguste's fangs grinding in response.

* * *

I untangled myself from the embrace of my men in the bed, resting at the edge and counting the bodies behind me. One missing. I could always tell, even in sleep.

I knew if Auguste was troubled I would find him in the kitchens, and if Jonathon was restless he would be in his labs.

Who knew where Ezra might wander off to, but if I went in search of him, he would always catch me, usually with a great whoop of surprise and cackle of mischievous laughter as I screamed.

And sweet Booker would not wander at all.

But I wasn't sure where to find my sphinx. His kingdom was sunlight and this whole massive palace of a home, this entire estate and the country, seemed to be Amon's domain. He could be anywhere, and it sat sourly in my chest that I hadn't learned his habits yet like I had with the others.

I stood from the bed, tiptoeing out of the bedroom and pausing to stand in the swath of moonlight that spilled over the elaborately tiled floor. The world was still and quiet, nighttime in Egypt a stunning contrast to the days, silver to gold.

I was about to turn toward the hallway when I heard the rustle of wings from the open balcony door, followed by the click of claws on tile.

My steps were slow and quiet as I approached the doorways, and my breath caught in my chest at the sight of Amon stretching.

He was back in his sphinx form, body bowed forward, long legs extended in front of him and paws splayed.

His wings pointed behind him, feathers extended from root to tip, and his lovely face arched back to the moonlight, lips parted on a slow sigh.

Relief.

My exhale echoed his and he stiffened, head twitching in my direction, body tensing.