"I don't think the angels appreciate it." Or wanted it.
"Tough," he said, leaving me wondering if he was answering my spoken or unspoken comment. If I'd had more energy, I might have retaliated and found out, but right now, I just wanted to go home, have a shower, and grab some sleep.
"Well, you can have this watch all to yourself. Although I would appreciate being told if anything interesting happens."
"If anything interesting happens, I'll give you a call."
"You haven't got my number." And he wasn't going to get it, either.
He smiled. It was the sort of smile that suggested getting information like that wasn't a problem. And for someone like him, it probably wasn't. Hell, he'd probably already snatched it in his sneaky mind raids.
And how he did that, when I supposedly had shields strong enough to keep out the likes of Quinn and Jack-who were the strongest telepaths I'd ever met-is one of the many things I wanted to know. But not now, when I was so bone tired.
"Good night, Kye."
"Don't let the vampires bite."
"Why shouldn't I?" I countered sweetly, "when that only adds to the overall pleasure? And trust me, it is pleasurable."
He didn't say anything, but there was a fierceness in his eyes that made something deep inside tremble. I had an odd feeling I'd just flung a challenge his way, and I was going to regret it.
Or worse still, not regret it.
I hitched my bag up onto my shoulder and walked away before I got myself into deeper trouble.
Getting a taxi when I looked like something the dog had thrown up proved to be problematic. So was flying home clutching a bag filled with clothes, holy water, and a great big silver knife. Which meant I ended up walking-not fun, and a pretty crappy way to end the night.
I slept the sleep of the dead when I got home, and it was well after three by the time I dragged myself back to the land of the living.
The apartment was quiet, but the scent of coffee lingered in the air, tantalizing my taste buds. Hoping Liander had left the percolator on for me, I flung the blankets off and climbed out of bed. My hip twinged a reminder to be careful, and I glanced down. Three pink scars stretched from the top of my hip to my thigh-a stark reminder of just how close I'd come to death again last night. One of these days, my luck was going to change.
I shivered and thrust the thought away as I walked into the kitchen. The coffee was still warm, and I breathed deep, sucking in the delicious scent, feeling it flow down through my body, waking and revitalizing.
Coffee on call, without having to wait for the kettle to boil, had to be one of life's greatest pleasures. Of all the good things Liander had brought to our lives, the coffeemaker had to be among the best of them.
I poured myself a cup, then splashed in some milk, taking several sips before I shoved some bread in the toaster. My cell phone rang, and I knew without doubt it would be Jack. He always seemed to pick the worst possible moments to call with an update.
I walked into the living room, dug my phone out of my bag, and hit the receive button.
"I was going to call in a report right after I had a coffee, boss," I said.
"I'm not ringing for a report," he said, voice flat and annoyed.
Which couldn't mean that anything good had happened.
"Then what's the problem?"
"We've got ourselves another dead vampire, and this time it's really bad.">"It's silver, Kye. Silver and werewolves are never a good mix,"
"Neither are werewolves and vampires, but that doesn't seem to have stopped you."
His comment surprised me enough that all I could do for several seconds was stare at him, then anger surged and I lashed out. He caught the blow in his fist, holding it tight. "Don't ever hit me, Riley."
"Don't ever creep around in my head," I snapped back, pulling my fist from his. Surprise flickered briefly through his eyes before the mask returned. "Or I'll fry your fucking mind to a crisp."
"It's not like I want to," he said, voice still flat, and yet sounding oddly frustrated. "Trust me on that."
"You're a telepath. You have the choice to intrude or not. Trust me, the not is the best option here."