House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires 7)

"You wouldn't know a good pitch from a hole in the ground. And my athletic prowess is unsurpassed," I asserted.

Ethan stopped, that eyebrow still irritatingly cocked, and put a hand against the doorjamb, leaning over me.

"Your athletic prowess?"

"Just so," I said, using one of his favorite phrases. "I have all the right moves."

With a look hot enough to melt me into a puddle of girl, he caught my hand, then whipped my body against his.

"Okay, you have all the right moves," I said, my lids dropping as the sun began to rise . . . and as he moved his hands to the small of my back and pressed me tighter into his body.

"You gave in so quickly, Sentinel," he murmured. He maneuvered me backward toward the bed, which left little doubt about the reason for those moves. He was a predator in full alpha mode . . . and he was ready for action.

With his hands at my hips, his mouth found mine. His kiss was intense, nearly brutal in its force. It was a show of arousal and an expression of something. His feelings for me, certainly. His frustrations at the world, possibly.

The back of my legs hit the edge of the bed. Unbalanced, I tottered, but he kept me upright. "I have the advantage."

"I'm not fighting back."

"In that case," he said, slipping an arm behind my knees and tossing me onto the bed, "there's no reason to play coy."

Ethan covered my body with his. My heartbeat quickened, as did the pulse of blood through my veins. It was as if my heart knew his scent, his body, and his magic, and anticipated his bite. As if our vampiric natures had connected on a biological level separate from our hearts and minds, like our predatory souls had found kindred spirits.

I leaned up into the kiss, taking full advantage of the things he offered - things that I'd missed and only truly come to appreciate while he'd been gone, taken by a stake through the heart.

Dawn drew closer, bringing with it the hazy exhaustion that struck all vampires. We fought back sleep with the press of skin and the rhythm of our bodies, and as the sun breached the horizon with a crown of orange and gold, we pushed each other under, and slept together until the sun fell again.

CHAPTER FOUR

VISITING HOURS

I woke in Ethan's arms, my consciousness triggered by the whirring retraction of the automatic shutters that covered his windows.

"Good evening," he said, pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder.

I humphed and pressed my face back into the pillows. The room was chilly, and I was entangled with a handsome and powerful man. I really had no incentive to get out of bed . . . except for my solemn duty to the House and my friendship with Noah. Vampires were missing, and I had work to do. First item on the list? Calling Catcher for an update.

Begrudgingly, I sat up and pulled my hair out of my face, twisting it loosely behind my head. It wouldn't stay there for long, but at least I could make it out of bed without blinding myself in the nest of it.

Ethan sat up beside me, his back against the headboard as he scanned his phone for news and updates.

"Anything new?" I asked.

"The fairies have confirmed Catcher retrieved the packages we left with them. And more updates from the transition team," he said. "I've invited them to the House, you know. I thought it would be advantageous to have them here in person. And, frankly, they provide a bit of insulation against any shenanigans Darius attempts to pull."

I nodded. "The dailies said people would be visiting, but there weren't many details yet. I don't think the travel arrangements had been finalized." "Dailies" were the reports of House happenings Luc prepared for the Cadogan guards. Vampiric travel arrangements were often complicated by our sunlight restrictions.

"Who got the official transition team invites?" I asked.

"Paige, who has maneuvered her way into the librarian's heart."

"As I predicted." Cadogan House had a gorgeous library and a knowledgeable, if crabby, librarian. Paige was a redheaded sorceress who'd gotten mixed up in Mallory's midwestern rampage, and she'd spent time at Cadogan House after Dominic Tate torched her house to punish her. She'd recently found a place of her own - a third-floor walkup also in Hyde Park - but she'd remained a frequent visitor to the House . . . and the librarian. Both lovers of books and knowledge, they'd made a quick love connection.

"Mm-hmm," Ethan noncommittally mumbled. "They're perusing the library for precedents regarding the Decertification."

"Precedents?" I wondered.

"It might not surprise you to learn the members of the GP are sticklers for rules." His voice was dry as toast; the fact was completely unsurprising.

"And there are lots of rules," he said. "The Decertification of Houses doesn't happen often - only twice since the GP was formally established. The problem is, when the GP disbands a House, it doesn't usually wave a polite good-bye and go on about its business. So they're checking the other Decerts to determine if the GP pulled any shenanigans they might try to repeat here. Our financial adviser's also on the team, and a security auditor, Michael Donovan. We've asked him to provide an unbiased perspective on our security protocols. Luc and I have been communicating with him for the last couple of weeks, but it seemed appropriate to bring him in for the final battle, as it were."

Luc hadn't mentioned Michael Donovan to me, which made me wonder whether he was irritated that Ethan had hired an auditor to look over his shoulder. But Ethan was the boss. Unofficially, anyway. "Sounds like a good plan."

But Ethan went suddenly - and unusually - quiet.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Lacey will be one of the visitors."

Lacey Sheridan was the Master of San Diego's Sheridan House. She was tall and blond, with enviably long legs and a history with Ethan. She'd visited once since I'd been a member of the House, and she made it quite clear to me then that she wanted to rekindle their relationship. Ethan might have moved on, much to her chagrin, but she wasn't ready to give up on him.

Part of that bond, undoubtedly, had been formed when Ethan made Lacey a vampire and helped train her to lead her own House. She was the only one of Ethan's vampiric "children" to have her own House. With only twelve Houses in the United States, that made her a very valuable ally.

On the other hand, he also knew that Lacey had been a thorn in our side before, which made me wonder about his real motivations. How was she so vital?

"She and Darius have a unique friendship," Ethan said, as if guessing my concern.

"Romantic?" I wondered.