Sunglasses at Night (Claws Clause 3)

He was always there, like a splinter in her finger that she couldn’t quite get out. It had been more than a week since his bite. She could still feel the warmth of his lips on her skin as if it had just happened.

And that worried her way more than whatever magic had forced a shifter to attack before killing him from a distance.

Later, she decided. She’d deal with her whacked-out feelings for the Nightwalker later.

So, reaching behind her, Tabby tightened her ponytail and went back to work.

As soon as she was sure that all that was left of Ronald Bowers was the pile of dust, Tabby stepped over it and, after slipping the transformed version of the collar back over her head again, hobbled back toward their borrowed house.

She opened the door, quickly pulling it closed behind her. Once she was safely inside again, she let her thoughts head right back to the sexy blond Nightwalker.

Despite the sizable chip on his shoulder that just about screamed “death wish”, Tabby hoped that Adam had heeded her warning and stayed back. She hated the idea of him going up in smoke because the hard-headed male couldn’t handle being left out of the fight.

She’d had enough of that shit with her last boyfriend.

Lance. Ugh. In some ways, he was even worse than Eddie.

Lance Caprio was a human who believed in all the twisted propaganda out there about Paras. He was bigoted in that underhanded kind of way which almost seemed worse to her.

During their time together, she refused to tell him that she was a slayer; as Adam proved, the Slayer’s Code didn’t quite entice her to keep the secret all of the time, but her own gut helped Tabby decide if she should let the truth slip or not. With Lance? It was a not.

They met at the local gym in one of the towns she was assigned to last year. The apartment Boone put her in didn’t have enough room to stretch out in, let alone allow her to actually work out. The gym seemed perfect, like killing two birds with one stone. She could stay loose and limber while also keeping an ear cocked for any hint of a Para threat in town.

She missed out on a hunt, but somehow she landed Lance. A true meathead, Tabby was blinded by his huge muscles and even bigger dick. So long as he kept quiet, they got along great. But then he would open his mouth and say something infuriating and she’d wonder why she put up with him.

The dick was great, but it so wasn’t worth it.

Especially since he treated her like a weak child. Sure, she wasn’t anywhere near his size, but she could probably kick his ass if she tried. It didn’t matter that, when he first hit on her, she was benching at an elite level, tapping out at one-fifty, more than twenty pounds greater than her weight. No. To Lance, she was a damsel he needed to protect.

No, thanks.

That was more than a year ago now and hell if Tabby wasn’t grateful when Boone pulled her out of that town. She’d sent Lance a break-up text using her burner phone, ditching it as she left Morning Heights in her rearview, all the while promising herself that she’d think twice before falling into bed with anot

her man.

As Tabby walked into the front room, she thought about Lance, then she thought about her sexy Nightwalker. And how, if he seemed interested, she’d definitely consider rethinking her whole “no sex during a case” stance.

Then she thought about what he was packing under those grey sweats of his and she realized that, some time since she met Adam, she’d already considered it—and made a decision.

Uh-oh.

Trouble, trouble, Tab.

She was still thinking about him when, out of the shadows of the hall, Adam flew toward her and swept her off of her feet.

11

This was a bad idea.

A really bad idea.

A super shitty, what-the-hell-are-you-thinking idea.

Adam knew that. He knew he was out of control. He was letting his emotions and the possessive instincts he’d spent too long trying to deny get the better of him.

And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it.

He’d blame Tabby if it wasn’t for the fact that it was one hundred percent his fault. After watching her bravely walk out of the house to face off against a wolf shifter nearly double her size… then to see her come back in with barely a hair out of place, somehow smelling of musk and spicy heat… he had to hold her.