could only guess at. âIâll be gentle the first timeâ¦although Iâm not so sure thatâs what youâre looking for. You came near to breaking your mortal.â
âIâm mortal, too.â Eavan wasnât sure of it just then; she felt pretty far from mortal after the way sheâd thrown herself at Cillian. The words, the reminderâto herself and to Murielâwere important though. âIâm still mortal.â
âYou are, sweetie.â Muriel reached over and squeezed her head. âYou havenât killed anyone, and I donât know if that was sex enough to count.â
Eavan and Muriel had discussed what constituted âsexâ often enough, but there werenât any clear answers. Things Other were notoriously prone to loopholes, semantics, and arguments of intention. If she considered it true sex, would it be? Or was it the definition of the matriarch? Or was it the interpretation of some long dead ancestor? Eavan had no answers, but she did know that she needed to tread extra carefully the next month. Just in case . One month without murderâusually that wouldnât sound so impossible.
âHelp me stop Daniel?â Eavan stared out the window into the dimly lit parking lot of the Chaos Factory. Somewhere out there, her prey waited.
âItâs a trap.â Muriel pulled in and zipped around the line of cars to go to the valet stand. âYou know that, right?â
âI do.â Eavan accepted a hand as she slid out of Murielâs Vanquish.
Muriel walked around the car and wrapped an arm around Eavan. Then she caught and held the valetâs gaze.
âDonât joyride,â she warned. Her fangs appeared just long enough to scare the valet. âIf any of you so much as stroke the car, youâre dinner.â
The valet shuddered. He wouldnât remember the words, or seeing the fangs, but he would take good care of Murielâs car.
âThis is a bad idea, Eavan.â Muriel motioned at the club. âGoing in there when youâre like this is a really bad idea .â
âI need to get the girl out,â Eavan insisted. âI can handle it.â
Silently, Muriel walked past Eavan.
She didnât need vampire powers to charm the doorman. She skipped the line and went to stand in front of him. Eavan followed. Muriel wrapped an arm around her again. This time, though, she stroked her fingers over Eavanâs hip.
Eavan gasped. âMurielâ¦â
As Eavan leaned in to Murielâs caress, she felt the doorman and innumerable mortals in the waiting line respond to the tease of a show.
Not as much as I am.
âShhh, sweetie,â Muriel whispered in her ear. âWeâll be able to dance in a sec.â To the doorman, she added in a low whisper, âMy girlâs in a bit of a mood. Can we skip the line? Sheâs not much of an exhibitionist unless the musicâs on.â
The doorman grinned and motioned them inside.
They stopped just inside the door. Murielâs hand slid up and across the small of Eavanâs back. âThis is where we are, Ev. Youâre not in any shape to be here.â
âStaying here.â Eavan swallowed. She fisted her hands, driving small half moons into her palms. âIâve been almost as bad before.â
âNot in years.â
âI can do this.â Eavan forced the craving back as hard as she could. âPlease, Muriel?â
Muriel shook her head, but she asked, âTell me the ground rules.â
âDonât let Daniel take me anywhere. Get the girl out.â Eavan leaned against a wall, feeling the onslaught of music, the thrum of sexual energy, the lure of prey in the club. âNo sex with anyone . Knock my ass out if you need to.â
âAnything up to that point or nothing at all?â Muriel forced Eavan to look at her.
âNothing with anyone but you. If I needâ¦ifâ¦â Eavan hated to
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