Page 14 of Unholy Gambit: Checkmate in Blood (A Paranormal Halloween #5)

“Too easily, for an eagle, but she’s young and hasn’t worked on building her shields.

I can see that the vampire who feeds from her has tried to help her, but she’s rebuffed him.

She had them in place this evening, and I’m betting she begins doing the exercises she’s been taught more often.

Soon, it will be difficult to affect her mind. ”

“But not impossible?”

“Probably not. Tricky, but likely doable.”

“I had this idea vampires are invincible? Can spiders really kill them?”

“One kind, from Australia. The venom attacks the sodium gates in nerve cells, and since vampires drink blood, those are apparently important in our biology — except for me. What time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow night?”

“What time can you be here? Is it when it’s completely dark, or at twilight? Is there a certain time?”

“When the sun goes below the horizon. You can ask your phone when sunset is. It isn’t exact, but it’s close. Tomorrow night I can go outside around 6:45, and I’m renting a house approximately a five-to-ten-minute drive from here, depending on traffic, which will likely be bad at that time.”

“Okay then. I’ll be ready at 6:45. Text me when you leave, and I’ll go downstairs so you can pick me up outside the front door.”

He shook his head. “I’ll come to the door to get you like a proper caller.”

And then he was right in front of her, his body pinning hers with that impossible coolness, the weight of granite thrumming with danger.

His lips found hers with focused hunger, parting her mouth like he owned it, and heat shot straight through her from the point of contact to the pulse between her thighs.

Her fingers dug into his shirt, head tilted, mouth open. She was his. She’d always belonged to him, even before she knew his name.

He kissed her like a man starved, and she opened and gave him her everything , heart hammering, body pliant. His tongue swept hers, slow and sure, and she gasped into his mouth.

He didn’t rush. He wasn’t proving anything. She already belonged to him.

When he finally pulled back, his gaze didn’t waver. He looked into her, as if he could see everything she’d ever been, and still wanted more.

Then, a kiss to the tip of her nose.

“My Aurélie. Yes. You’ve always been mine.”

His voice dropped to a low command. “Rest well. Sleep, my darling. Be sure to engage the locks when I’m gone.”

She had to stand in place and catch her breath a moment after locking the door. She stopped off in her bedroom to put a bathing suit on, and met Ruby on her large balcony overlooking the Tennessee River, with a view of the bridges and the Aquarium across the water.

Ruby was finishing her takeout, and she waived her chopsticks at Aury. “I’ve already poured your wine, get your ass in the water. Fuck , Aury, you don’t do anything halfway. Vampirekind is terrified of this dude. I’m surprised Marco allowed him into the territory.”

“Who’s Marco?”

“Master Vampire over… fuck . Technically, even oathed, I’m not supposed to tell you too much about how supernatural society works.

It’s a need-to-know thing, right? But my lawyer brain has decided you need to know more about this vampire who’s been in your life since you were five fucking years old.

So, it’s a loophole, and a tenuous one, but here goes. ”

Ruby had taken one of the upright seats, leaving the lounger open for Aury, so she’d have her legs up.

Aury slipped into the hot tub, fluted glass of deep, red wine in hand, and considered taking another chair on principle, but her leg was aching, so she stretched out and settled in.

Heat wrapped around her, chasing the cold still lodged in her bones from too many hours outside, and the ache in her leg eased by degrees. She took a slow sip, the velvety wine decadent and rich, and then closed her eyes, leaned her head back, and felt her entire body relax.

“Okay, so most Master Vampires control a city, maybe a region if they’re really powerful.” Ruby’s hand moved as she talked, waving the chopsticks around. “Marco runs most of the motherfucking Southeast — Tennessee, Georgia, both Carolinas…”

She put the chopsticks in the box, settled it beside her on the edge. “Most Master Vampires fight tooth and nail for one city, and this guy holds nine states with an iron grip.”

She drew in a breath and her voice dropped.

“He isn’t just scary powerful – he’s so far beyond normal vampire politics, he controls the…

” She rolled her eyes. “How much do I dare tell you? Let’s just say, if there was a theoretical vampire council over all three America’s, he’d be the leader.

I’ve never met him, and I hope to keep it that way. ”

Aury filed that away, mentally sketching the chessboard of vampire politics Ruby had detailed. Nine states. One man. An iron grip that sounded less like a title and more like a warning.

While her friend was spilling secrets, Aury wasn’t about to waste it on names she hoped to never meet. She had her own questions needing answers.

“Do you have to change into an eagle on the full moon?”

She shook her head. “That’s just the wolves. Bird shifters are way different than mammal shifters. A wolf can be born a werewolf, plus they can bite you and turn you, but birds are only hereditary. I can’t turn anyone into an eagle shifter.”

“So, what superpowers do you have? Scent? Is that how you know when someone is lying?”

“I can smell better than humans, but usually not enough to pick up when someone’s lying.

My vision is extraordinary, though. I can see patterns.

In a human face, I’m supposedly picking up micro expressions, but to me, it’s just pattern anomalies, tiny shifts that register as changes in stress, honesty, emotion, and more.

I’m stronger than human, and you already know I have to eat a whole lot more than normal. ”

The wine and the hot water were exactly what she’d needed. Aury let her head rest back again, soaking in the feeling, the cold night air on her face a sharp contrast to the warmth enveloping the rest of her body. Tension drained from her muscles. Her leg eased.

Aury told Ruby everything that’d happened at the Haunted Swamp, the drive to the restaurant, the oath, conversation while she ate, and then both blistering kisses — in the car and in the apartment.

Finally, she asked, “Is it safe to be around him? Though, to be honest, I don’t think I can stay away from him even if you tell me it isn’t. ”

“I texted the vampire I’m close to and asked him to find out what he can about Axel. I’ll let you know what I find out. Your sexy-assed bloodsucker wasn’t wrong about you being tired. How much did you overdo things with your knee?”

“I sat in the chair a lot, and was careful on the trail. It’s fatigued, but not terribly.”