Immortal Moon (7 page)

I faked a gagging motion. “I will forgive
you if you swear to never, ever, ever tell me that last part again.
Ever.”

Fiona grinned and took a sip of her wine.
“Speaking of sex, have any encounters with any super-hotties
lately?”

My thoughts flitted to my moment in the
alley with Jarrett this morning. If anyone in the world qualified
for super-hottie status, it was the giant vampire. Although I think
they suspected it, I hadn’t told either of my sisters about my
fling with Jarrett. No need to go into it now. “Nope,” I lied,
feeling a twinge of guilt.

“Aww come on, Anya. Nothing? I’m doing this
monogamy thing now; I gotta get my cheap thrills vicariously
through you.”

I laughed. “Geeze, Fee, when was the last
time you had sex? You never acted this much like a sex-starved
teenager when you were one.”

“This morning.” She laughed. “Okay, so maybe
I lied, this monogamy thing is actually pretty damned awesome. You
should try it sometime. You’d think it makes things boring, but
trust me, it doesn’t.”

I shuddered. “Thanks, but you can have it. I
have no desire to pin myself down with one man for more than a few
weeks at a time. That is quite long enough for me to get
bored.”

“You really aren’t seeing anyone?” Fiona
asked, her voice edged with concern now. “It’s been a while, hasn’t
it?”

Mercifully, at that moment the door swung
open and a group of six women walked in. I waved at Pinky when he
started to stand to let him know I’d take care of them. Then I
drained the last of the ale from the bottle and hurried over to
take the women’s orders and escape my sister.

I was putting a round of drinks down on the
table in front of the women and trying to figure out how to steer
Fiona onto any other topic of conversation than my love life, when
the door swung open again. I looked up and saw a tall,
broad-shouldered vampire with long, dark hair and creamy brown eyes
stride in. My hand shook as I set the last drink on the table. He
was the last person I’d expected to see in the bar tonight.

Jarrett
stepped into Pinky’s Pub still not sure it had been a good idea to
come here. He’d floundered back and forth all afternoon about
whether or not to stay in Nash, then all evening about whether or
not to see Anya again. He hated being indecisive, and it had made
him more than a little grumpy.

After leaving Sam’s office, he’d gone to the
market and restocked supplies, then grabbed a few hours of sleep.
Once he got up, the indecision had started. He’d prepped the boat
to leave before deciding he could leave tomorrow. He thought one
night of fun in the city would do him good.

Until he saw Anya that morning, he hadn’t
realized how long it had been since he’d had female companionship.
Once he really thought about it, he realized Anya was the only
woman he’d been with since he started tracking Cora.

Just one woman in a little over eight
months. That wasn’t completely unheard of. He had no hard and fast
rules about having a little female companionship when he was
working, mostly because he was always working. Often he was
undercover in gangs of thieves and outlaws, and it helped sell his
cover if he indulged in the available and willing women around him.
He was a vampire after all, and had the over-active sexual appetite
of any other of his race.

But as a Blade, he’d learned to control his
urges better than most, and there were times when an assignment was
so dangerous that being distracted by a woman for even a few
minutes could get him killed. There were also those rare moments
when he was so engrossed in a case that he didn’t even think about
sex or women. This had been one such time. But the case was over
and his mind was free to think about other things. That had been
why holding Anya close under that bridge today had kicked his
libido into overdrive.

So, he’d dressed and went out to find some
fun, but he hadn’t headed for Pinky’s. Instead, he went to a
restaurant and bar near the docks, had a meal, and then moved into
the bar area. Several women had approached him, though he couldn’t
chalk it all up to his good looks. Not that he was lacking in that
area, but vampires produced higher amounts of pheromones than other
humans.

But those women hadn’t interested him, so
he’d moved on to another bar. He’d gradually worked his way down
Broadway, but every place had been the same. There had been many
beautiful, willing women, but none that caught his interest. Once
he’d realized that he kept looking for a particular shade of red
hair paired with pale skin and a light smattering of freckles
across the nose, he’d given up all pretenses and headed to Pinky’s
Pub.

The moment he laid eyes on Anya, his body
kicked into high gear, telling him he’d finally made the right
decision, though his brain was still not sure. Their eyes met and
he saw the shock and interest flit across her features before she
pasted on a generic, welcoming smile. He decided to stop listening
to his brain for a while.

After her initial smile, she turned back to
the women she was waiting on and Jarrett focused on finding a seat.
He saw Fiona sitting at the end of the bar staring at him
expectantly.

“When did you get back into town?” she asked
after she’d hugged him and they were sitting down.

“This morning. Just finished wrapping up a
case and Nash was the closest place to report in,” he told her,
giving her his full attention.

“What can I get ya?” Anya asked, approaching
them.

She was wearing a dark purple corset with a
matching skirt of layered lace that ended mid-thigh. Black leather
boots laced up to her knees. Her braided hair was wrapped around
the top of her head, with tiny red tendrils escaping everywhere.
She was mouth-watering.

Since Jarrett couldn’t give the answer he
wanted to with Fiona sitting right next to him, he said, “A whiskey
would be great.”

“No problem. Damn, I have to go get a bottle
from the back. I’ll be back.” She turned and swished away.

“Jarrett.”

“What?” He turned to Fiona. Apparently she’d
been speaking.

“I asked you how long are you staying?” she
said, smirking.

“I don’t know. Not long, probably. I’m
officially on leave. I haven’t decided what I’ll be doing just
yet.”

“I see. Well, I hope to see you before you
leave,” she said, pushing her wine glass away from her.

“You’re leaving?” he asked, a little
disappointed. It was true he hadn’t expected to see her tonight,
but he always enjoyed hanging out with Fiona. She was one of his
few close friends.

“Yeah, Ian’s teaching a night class that
will be letting out very soon. I want to meet him at home. But
don’t pretend to look disappointed, I know I’m not who you came to
see.”

“I just came in for a drink,” he lied.
Badly.

Fiona laughed. “Oh, please. Don’t even try
that with me. I will admit that I was pre-occupied the last time
you were in town, but I wasn’t completely blind. Nor am I now. I
know you have something going with Anya.”

Busted
. Jarrett scrambled for a
moment, not sure how to respond, deciding on indirect honesty. “How
do you feel about that?” he asked, not confirming or denying her
suspicions, but not lying.

Fiona laughed and shrugged. “I didn’t
realize it was my business to feel any way at all. My sister is a
big girl and can take care of herself. She has never come to me for
approval of who she dates and would be pissed if I tried to give
it. You, well, I think you can hold your own against her. Maybe.”
She gave him a wink.

Jarrett laughed. He shared her skepticism.
“I was just asking out of respect. You are my best friend, and you
do tend to go all over-protective-big-sister on occasion.”

“Not this time.” She laughed again before
her expression sobered. “I love you like a brother, you know that
right?”

Jarrett nodded. “Of course I do. And I love
you, as well.”

“And you know I’ll always have your back,
just like you’ve always had mine, right?”

He nodded. “Always.”

“Good.” Fiona stood up and moved behind him,
wrapping her arms around him in a hug and pressing a light kiss on
his cheek. She put her mouth next to his ear and in a low, soft
voice said, “But just know, if Anya asked me to, and she had good
reason and really meant it, I’d put a knife in your heart.”

Her tone wasn’t menacing but he knew she
meant what she said. He had no doubt she’d attempt to do exactly as
she described. And out of love for her, he’d let her succeed. “Fair
enough.”

“Good, just wanted to make sure we were
clear,” she said louder, her tone cheerful. Dropping another kiss
on his cheek, she moved away. “Have a good night, I’ll see you
later.”

She strode away as if she hadn’t just
threatened his life. God, he really loved that woman. It was like
she was his twin, separated at birth. He watched as Fiona said her
goodbyes to her family and then left the pub.

Was having another night with Anya worth
pissing his best friend off and possibly losing his life? His eyes
sought Anya and watched as she took a tray of drinks to the poker
players in the back room. His eyes were drawn to the creamy, pale
skin visible between the top of her boots and the hem of her skirt.
Yep, he’d risk death. No doubt about it.

He was ruminating over his apparent death
wish when Anya came back over, a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass
in hand.

“I was going to bring this over a few
minutes ago, but you were having a pretty intense conversation,”
she said, pouring a shot.

He downed the shot, savoring the warm burn
at the back of his throat, and then put the glass back on the bar.
“When is a conversation with Fiona not intense?”

She laughed and he felt it right down to his
toes. Holy mother, everything about the woman was sexy as hell.

“True enough,” Anya said. “Another?” She
lifted the whiskey bottle.

He nodded. Yeah, he needed more. About a
gallon more.

“So, I thought you were headed right back
out of town after taking care of business this morning. Something
else pop up?” she asked, a tiny glint in her eye.

Oh, yeah.

“I decided that since I’d saved you from
three guys, I needed more of a reward,” he said, slugging back the
second shot.

Her eyes narrowed. “And just what kind of
reward were you thinking to get?”

He wiggled the glass at her, flashing his
sexiest grin. “The drink you promised me.”

She poured another shot, but to Jarrett’s
surprise, she grabbed the glass and knocked back the amber liquid
herself. Then she leaned across the bar, propping herself on her
elbows and affording him a beautiful view of the creamy skin
flowing out the top of her corset.

“I had a feeling you would be back.”

“Oh? What made you think that?” he asked,
leaning forward until their faces were only inches apart.

Her eyes danced. “The feeling I got against
my hip when you had me pressed against the wall.”

Jarrett burst into laughter. “I guess there
isn’t any use in trying to hide my true intentions then. So, what
do you say? Want to take a walk with me when you get off work?”

She leaned closer, this time her breath
tickled his ear as she whispered into it. “So, Vampire, you think
you can just stroll in here after six months, flash me a sexy
smile, and I’ll let you back between my thighs?”

He pulled back, leaning against the back of
the bar stool and grinning. “So, you think my smile is sexy?”

Her nose crinkled in mock-indifference.
“It’ll do.”

He laughed again, took her hand, and ran his
hand over her palm. “So, are you telling me my smile isn’t enough?”
he asked. He loved this seductive game she was playing, though it
really wasn’t necessary. All she had to do was say the word and he
would do whatever it took to have her in his bed, or on the bar, or
in the back storeroom.

She looked down where their hands touched
and back up at him, her eyes full of heat. “Oh, no, it is. I just
thought I should pretend to be a little hard to get.” She laughed
and pulled her hand out of his. “But you’ll have to wait. The bar
doesn’t close for another four hours, then I have to clean up.”

“I’ve got nowhere to be,” he said. Not for
another two weeks now that he was officially on leave, but she
didn’t need to know that yet. Perhaps he wouldn’t tell her at all.
Maybe he would get his fill of her tonight, take off tomorrow
night, and spend his two weeks leave somewhere else.

He watched as she walked to the other end of
the bar, her skirt swishing across the tops of her thighs as her
hips swung from side to side. He felt himself harden. Could he get
his fill of her in one night?

Not bloody likely.