Hunting Season (Aurora Sky (13 page)

“That a boy,” I said, ruffling the fur on his head quickly before turning to open the door.

My cheeks heated even as the outside air met my face.

“Hey,” I said, my eyes meeting Fane's.

Until then, I never realized one word could come out so breathless and soft, like an invitation to my soul.

Fane's head perked up, as though startled by my tone. His shoulders relaxed. “Hey,” he said back.

His smile made me smile, or maybe I'd been grinning from the moment I looked outside and saw him.

Joss stomped one foot against the ground. “Well? Are we going in?” he asked.

I opened the door wider.

Fane broke eye contact to turn his head to Joss. “After you.”

Joss made no move forward. His lips pursed when he looked at me. I hadn't seen the vamp in eight months—not since I spent the night at their house, in Fane's bed, minus Fane. Joss hadn't liked me back then and from the scowl on his face now, I'd say he hadn't missed me much.

“Come in, Joss,” I said.

He had the same ghastly pale skin and narrowed eyes underlined by dark circles. “It's Josslyn.”

Oh, right. Only dude in the whole wide world who would grumble at someone for failing to call him by his girly name.

“Joss,” Fane said in a warning tone.

Joss stuck his nose in the air. He stepped forward into the house. Fane followed right behind him, slowing as he passed the place where I stood pressed against the door. While Joss' back was turned to us, Fane paused inches from my face and looked down at my lips.

The hooded look of his eyes made me lightheaded. Fane leaned toward me, as close as he could without actually touching.

“Hello, Josslyn. Hi, Fane,” Noel called from down the hall.

Fane lifted his head toward her voice, and the moment was broken. I hurried to shut the door behind us.

“Can I make you tea?” Noel asked.

“That would be most kind of you,” Joss said.

I did a double-take. How come Mr. Moody was all charm and manners to Noel but not me? Maybe because she said his full name.

“Come on in and make yourselves comfortable,” Noel said.

Joss followed after her. Fane lingered in the hallway.

Fane leaned into me. “You and I have unfinished business.”

I glanced involuntarily up the stairs.

Fane broke out into a Cheshire grin. “That's not what I meant, but I like the way you think.”

I folded my arms across my chest. It didn't hide my blush, but it helped mask the awkwardness encroaching all around us.

Fane dropped the smile. “I'm tired of being split apart every time an obstacle comes between us.”

Obstacle? Try juggernaut.

As long as Melcher had me on his radar, I wasn't free to love anyone—let alone another vampire.

“Hopefully we don't have to wait much longer,” I said.

“What happens once we free your partner?”

I met Fane's eye. “Once Dante's free, he's on his own.”

“You and I can start fresh?” Fane asked. “No more romantic feelings for your partner?”

“I told you. Dante's my friend. That's all.”

Fane's eyebrows rose. “You never slept together?”

My nose wrinkled. “No.”

Fane smiled when he saw my expression. “Don't forget, I know all about you and your stash of Trojans.”

I'd nearly forgotten about my pit stop at the Jewel Lake Quickie Mart on my way to Scott Steven's house. Fane had the unfortunate timing of buying smokes at the same time I was buying protection.

“Your face turned so red when you saw me in line behind you,” Fane said. “Sorta like it's doing right now.”

He reached his hand forward to touch my cheek. I uncrossed my arms and batted it away.

“That's because I'd just come in from the cold,” I said.

Fane shook his head. “You were embarrassed.”

“You were an ass.”

“Don't forget, I offered to drive you home. Should have taken me up on it.”

I sucked in a breath.

Fane moved his chin back and forth lightly as though saying,
you know I'm right
.

In the end, it would have been better to return home. I could have avoided the worst sex ever. I didn't have anything to compare it to, but I was convinced it couldn't get worse than Scott Stevens. Doing him ranked somewhere up there with stabbing a vampire to death.

Schools ought to hire me to preach abstinence.

“Hey guys, don't do it. It sucks—unless you meet a nice vampire because he probably knows what he's doing and I bet he does it really well. Plus you won't get pregnant or any STD's. Remember, don't take him to bed, unless he's undead.”

Not only should I have accepted the ride home, I should have made Fane my first.

He searched my eyes. His lower lip puffed out. In his eyes, I saw concern. What happened that afternoon wasn't something I wanted to dwell on, and I didn't want Fane to worry about it, either.

“It's all in the past.” I waved a limp hand in the air.

“Not us,” Fane said.

My mouth opened slightly. Our eyes locked. He cupped my chin gently in his hand. His fingers were surprisingly warm.

“Not us”
echoed through my head over and over like a wild drumbeat. If Noel and Joss weren't waiting in the kitchen, I would have grabbed Fane's hand and dragged him upstairs to my bedroom.

My inexperience couldn't hold a candle to my desire to take Fane inside of me. I craved that kind of closeness. I wanted more between us than rubbing and kissing. I wanted to connect body and soul.

I also really wanted to please Fane. Not that I imaged that was too difficult to do. It wasn't as though sex required instructions.

Insert man part here. Rock hips and ride partner until you are both moaning and screaming your heads off. Do not stop until you reach climax and release. Take as much time as you need to do it right.

Yeah, I think I had it pretty well figured out. I just needed practice.

“What are you thinking about?” Fane asked.

He spoke gently, as though he knew his words had touched me on a purely romantic level. If only he knew the true direction of my thoughts. I had to bite down on my lower lip to keep from laughing.

Fane straightened. “What's that look? Now I'm curious.”

Fane was a hard person to take off guard. I went for it.

“I was thinking about you naked.”

His jaw dropped. Good, he hadn't been expecting that. I shot him a cheeky smile and headed past him into the kitchen with Tommy at my heels—Fane a close second, hurrying to catch up.

10

“Damn it!” Noel said after I shared what I'd learned from Melcher at our morning meeting on base. “Now what?”

She sat at the dining table beside Joss with another wine cooler. Joss sipped his tea and set it down. Tommy's head lifted briefly off the floor after Noel cussed before lowering it once more and closing his eyes. The retriever had followed me to the end of the table and laid on the floor beside my chair once I sat down.

Fane stood, gripping the back of a chair. “We can't allow Henry to go to the palace Friday,” he said. “If Valerie takes him in, the gig is up. He'll tell your boss the names of everyone involved in setting up the party.”

Fane was right. Henry knew too much.

“We can't cancel the party, either,” Noel said. “How's that going to look to Melcher that I reported it taking place then all of a sudden, nope, cancelled?”

Fane's frown deepened. “You're right. One way or another, there has to be a party.”

I looked at Fane. “You can't go, either. Not when they're sending in Valerie.”

Noel released an exasperated breath. “Then who the hell
is
going? This party isn't going to throw itself.”

“I'm going.” Fane let the chair go and straightened up. “When Valerie shows up, I'll deal with her.”

“No way,” I said. “It's not worth the risk.”

Fane folded his arms. “I wasn't asking.”

A flash of hurt, followed by anger shot through my body. It festered inside me like an open wound. Friday night filled me with enough dread already. The body count at the lodge would be substantial with Levi, Mason, and I upstairs, and Mr. McCreepy and his team down below.

I had enough to stress about without having to worry about Valerie and Fane going head to head at the palace.

Noel looked from me to Fane and cleared her throat. “It does seem really risky.”

Fane gave Noel the same hard stare. “Not half as risky as going into Diederick's tasting to kill every vampire inside.”

A hush fell over the room. What could I say to Fane? He was right. My neck was on the line in more ways than one. There's no way he'd be content to sit back doing nothing while I entered the lion's den. The one thing that had pacified him was coordinating the trap for Jared at the palace. Fane was like a missile that had been fired, and there was no calling him off.

Joss set his mug on the table roughly. “We need to leave the state.”

“Here we go again,” Fane said.

“Better yet, the country.”

“Leave?” My heart fell. I turned my head toward Fane. “You can't leave.”

“Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere until this matter is settled.”

I hadn't realized until that moment that it was possible for my heart to sink any lower.

Until.
He's said until. What then? Once the matter of Jared, Giselle, and Melcher was resolved would Fane leave Alaska? Leave me?

Leaving me implied that we were together, which we weren't. We'd flirted; we'd kissed, but we hadn't discussed much beyond the present crisis.

“In the meantime, that madwoman might burn our house down in our sleep,” Joss said.

Fane's shoulders relaxed. “Which is exactly why I need to be at the palace to ensure Valerie doesn't leave.”

Noel tapped her fingers lightly on the table. “What do you mean?”

Fane walked over. “I'll trap her inside the music room. That way, she won't be able to cause any more problems. Once we've dealt with Jared, Giselle, and this agency business, I'll send her packing.”

“It would be nice if she were out of the picture,” Noel said.

It was hard to miss the smile on her lips, no matter how faint.

I leaned into the table. “What happens after she goes on mission and disappears? You think Melcher's going to sit around scratching his head in confusion? No. He'll send someone to check it out.”

“She took off after Sitka. She could take off again.” Noel shrugged.

“Exactly,” I said. “If Valerie disappears a second time, Melcher will be on her like a blood hound. He'll tear the town upside down to get to the truth.”

“So I'll move her someplace else,” Fane said.

“Where?” I asked.

“I don't know. The bottom of the ocean.”

“Not a bad idea,” Noel said under her breath.

I knew Fane had a personal vendetta against Valerie, but I wished he'd take her connection with the agency more seriously. True, she was a ticking time bomb, but if Valerie went missing, we could end up with a more explosive problem when the agency went to investigate her whereabouts.

Joss looked around the table. “What if it appeared that she had died?” he asked.

Fane looked down at him. “What do you mean?”

“Secure her, as you said, but send the agents on a false trail.”

Fane smiled suddenly. “Joss, you're a genius. I'll drive her car down some backwoods road out of town. Let your agency chase their tails on that one.” His head lifted triumphantly.

Noel nodded. “It would buy us more time without arousing too much suspicion.”

I chewed on my lower lip. “Wouldn't that make you a suspect?” I asked Fane. “I'm pretty sure a vampire ex-boyfriend would make the list no matter how well you've behaved in the past.”

“You said they already have their eyes on me,” Fane said. “Might as well give them a reason to look.”

My nails dug into the table. Fane had once accused me of having a death wish. What about him?

“The fact that they have a file on you should be reason enough to lay low.”

Fane's eyes flashed. His chest rose. “I'm not the sort to lay low.” He backed away from the table abruptly. “I need a cigarette.” Without another word, he walked out of the kitchen toward the connecting living room.

I pushed away from the table and planted myself in front of the kitchen sink where I began scrubbing at dishes. There wasn't much to keep me occupied, only my plate and cup from breakfast. Noel was an exceptionally tidy roommate. I wouldn't have expected her to be Miss Clean, not after I first met her and saw the disarray of her room in her first place, but she'd cleaned up her act quickly.

“Can I get you another cup of tea?” I heard Noel say behind me.

I didn't hear Joss' answer over the rushing water in the sink.

Noel sidled up to me and whispered, “Go to him.”

“Clearly he wants to be alone,” I said.

Noel clicked her tongue. “He wants to protect you, but he knows he can't stop you from going on this mission.”

“I want to protect him, too,” I said.

“I know you do,” Noel said. “It's frustrating, isn't it?” She raised her eyebrows. “I'll entertain Josslyn. Now stop pouting and go talk to Fane.”

I shut off the water.

“Fine. I'll talk to him.”

How had I gone from thinking about him naked to thinking about what a stubborn ass he could be within the space of half an hour?

There was a rectangular slab of concrete just outside the sliding glass door in back. The outside light illuminated Fane's back, spotlighting him against the dark. As I pulled the sliding door open, Fane turned to watch me. He took a drag from his cigarette, lifted his head skyward, and blew out a smoke cloud.

As soon as I shut the door, Tommy appeared behind the glass and stared out. I re-opened the door several feet to let him join us. He immediately stepped into the grassy part of the yard and began exploring.

Fane took another puff off his cigarette.

Noel had told me to go after him, but now that I was here, I didn't know what to say.

I had to go to the lodge. I didn't have a choice. Fane didn't have to go to the palace. This wasn't some kind of competition to see who could bag the biggest prize at the end of the night.

Fane pulled his cigarette out of his mouth and pointed it at the security camera. “The cameras aren't enough. They can't keep you safe. Joss is right. If we don't succeed in crippling the agency. We all need to leave the country. I can arrange that.”

I let out a humorless laugh. “So that's Plan B? Flee the country?”

“Better a globe trotter than ash.” Fane lifted his cigarette and flicked the top for emphasis. The tip sparked and gray ash drifted to the ground.

“What if Dante wants to leave? Would you help him, too?”

Fane studied me a moment. “You said he's like family?”

I nodded.

“I understand what that's like. Yes, I'd assist him, too. If he wanted my help.”

“I'm worried about my mom and grandma.” I thought back to the surveillance photos of Selene's family. I didn't want Melcher to ever use them as leverage against me.

“I'll take care of it.”

I shook my head. “It's too much to ask. Besides, how would we get by?”

“I can show you how,” Fane said. “I'm not without experience or resources.”

I gave my head a bitter shake. “We aren't the ones who should be running.”

Fane's cheeks compressed as he sucked in another lungful of smoke. After blowing it into the air, he crouched down and rubbed the cigarette out over the concrete.