For several seconds, there was nothing else in my world but this kiss and the fierce heat of his body against mine. Then sanity returned, and along with it sound, and I became aware of voices talking.
I broke away, then said, Listen.
I am. He kissed my neck, my ear, then wrapped his arms around my waist and drew me into a hug that was as close as two people could get without being naked.
"But what does the job entail?" the younger woman asked.
"Nothing more than sleeping with a vampire for one night." Hanna's voice sounded a lot tinnier than it had before. Maybe she was wearing some sort of cheap modulator.
I shifted my head slightly on Kye's shoulder so I could get a better look at Hanna's target. Like the other women who'd been found dead, this one was slender in build. Unlike the others, she had large breasts and a wine-colored birthmark covering part of her cheek and running down her neck.
The younger woman raised an eyebrow. "Ten grand for sleeping with one bloodsucker for one night? That seems like an awfully good deal. What's the fucking catch?"
"The catch is you have to come to Meinhardt's to meet him."
"Isn't that a strip joint?"
"A men's club is the term we prefer," Hanna said, voice holding an edge, "and you won't be expected to strip for anyone except my client. He has a fetish for unusual body markings and I think you would be to his tastes."
"So I have to do him there?"
"No. You accept an invitation to go home with him."
"And then what?" There was still doubt evident in her tones, but even I could see the glint of anticipation in her eyes. Though not, I suspected, for the sex, but rather for the cash. "I just leave in the morning?"
"With ten grand in your hand, yes. And that's more than enough money to take that course you were talking to the employment office about."
I had no idea what course Hanna might have been talking about, but I knew for sure the young woman would never live to do it.
The slender woman made a clicking sound with her tongue, then said, "Make it twelve, and I'm yours."
"Twelve it is then." Even from where we stood, Hanna's satisfaction was evident. "Here's my business card in case you need to contact me. Be in the lane behind Meinhardt's at seven, and we'll hustle you into the club."
The woman took the card and shoved it in her pocket, then turned and walked back up Flinders Lane. Hanna watched her for a little while, then spun around and headed back in our direction.
Kye kissed me again.
It was even more electrifying than before, and it took me several seconds to register the fact that Hanna had walked past us.
"Looks like we have a tough decision," he said, his breath fast and heated on my lips. "Follow the witch, or follow her target?"
"She's a sorcerer," I corrected, and ducked under his arms, forcing some air and distance between us. "And you know as well as I do that my next quarry is her target."
He reached out and touched a finger lightly to my cheek. "I enjoyed our little encounter tonight, but it's going to make the lap dance tomorrow night all that much harder to ignore."
He wouldn't be ignoring anything on my shift. Which was not entirely a sane thought given my resolve to have as little as possible to do with this man. But then, maybe I wasn't entirely sane. After all, I was a guardian. "Don't kill the blonde."
"I gave you my word not to kill her tonight, Riley. I am a man of my word, if nothing else."
"Good. See you tomorrow night."
"If you can find me," he said, a trace of amusement in his voice again.
It was a challenge, and we both knew it. I didn't answer, simply turned and ran after the young woman before she disappeared.
Chapter Eight
Fortunately for me, she didn't catch a cab, but rather the nightrider bus. I climbed on after them and made my way down to the back of the bus, my wet and clingy outfit catching several appreciative glances from the male passengers. The teenager had settled about halfway down. I sat two seats behind but across from her, and tried to ignore the reek of alcohol coming from the snoring woman in the seat behind me.