Sunglasses at Night (Claws Clause 3)

Because walking out into the sun? He peeked over at Tabby. Yeah… it just didn’t have the same allure as it used to.

Tabby nodded to herself, looking around the empty room. “So what now?”

Adam blinked, then turned so he could meet her curious expression. That… was a good question, actually.

What now?

All along, he had convinced himself that getting his revenge on Rafe was his only goal… until, somewhere down the line, he fell in love with a sexy slayer who could kick ass and still never lose her smile.

Like now. Her cheeks were flushed red, the sweat along her brow and her temples causing a few stray strands of blonde hair to stick to her skin, her dark brown eyes glittering with something he couldn’t quite get a read on… but she was smiling.

His heart started to pound again. Adam felt the undersides of his hands go slick with sweat. He curled his claws in, not because he was still ashamed of them, but because he couldn’t believe his body’s reaction.

Facing off against a murderous vamp? No problem. Gazing down at Tabby while she smiled up at him? He was a lost cause.

What now?

Ever since he had been turned, Adam had just one focus: revenge. Tabby was only in Grayson because she was on a routine hunt. Tracking down killer Nightwalkers had brought them together, then the elixir, and he might’ve started to think about a future with her after Rafe was dead, but he always knew that Grayson wasn’t her home. Not the way it was his. So long as she had a reason to stay, she was there—but what happened now that her reason had gone up in dust?

What happened now that his reason for existing as a Nightwalker was over with?

And that’s when Tabby’s pretty smile quirked up a little higher, turning almost devilish—and incredibly arousing. Though it was probably the most inappropriate time and place possible, Adam’s cock started to harden. He remembered how Tabby told him once that a good fight got her going.

Hmm…

She would be leaving soon. No doubt in his mind about that. But maybe he could try to give her a reason to stay…

His fangs tingled at the idea of biting her, of making her his, of bonding him to her for eternity. He would never—not without her promise or her consent—but, well, he was a man. To love her, to protect her, to fight at her side for as long as she allowed it… Adam would take what he could get.

So… what now?

If she was asking him, it was because she didn’t have an idea herself.

Good.

He could work with that.

“Wherever you want to go, Tab. Your place. Mine. Who knows? Maybe we can find that house on the other side of Woodbridge and see if any other shifters want to track us down. So long as we go together, I’m down with wherever.”

It had been his intent to make her laugh. And, while she chuckled under her breath, she also pulled her phone out. She glanced at the screen.

Her chuckle died, turning into a soft sigh.

Adam was immediately on alert. “Something wrong?”

“Nope. Just making sure it wasn’t dawn yet. You don’t know how lost I got up there. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the sun snuck up on us. It’s not so bad. There should be plenty of time for us to get back to my place if you want. We just have to get past the goons in there.”

“Goons?”

“Yeah. Didn’t I mention… the queen”—and he loved the way she made a face when she mentioned Alexis like that—“told them to wait for you.”

Adam reached out, using the side of his claw to loosen one of the strands of hair curving around the height of her cheek. He tucked it behind her ear, awarding her with one of his rare grins as he took the excuse to touch her.

“You ready to kick some ass?”

“I think we have a little more time until dawn. Sure. Why not?”

He loved that about her, too. She was always so sure to keep an eye on the time. He used to think it was because she never forgot for a second that he was a Nightwalker. Now? He liked to think it was because she had his back.