Chasing the Shadows (Nikki & Michael 3)

"And no true hunter likes another in his territory?"

"Yes."

"Then why is this vampire inviting you to dinner?” She hesitated, and amusement spun through the link, warm and sexy. “Maybe he's taken a fancy to you."

"Wouldn't be the first time it's happened."

She pulled him to a stop, her expression slightly shocked. “What?" He grinned and kissed her nose. “Both sexes seem attracted by my natural good looks and charm." She snorted softly and whacked him lightly on the arm. “Yeah, right." He raised his eyebrows. “It's true. I've been propositioned by many a male, both before and after death."

She stared at him for a moment. “Before death?"

"Not all our English landlords were as straight as they claimed.” He tugged her across the intersection and continued on up Hyde Street hill. “I was barely twelve at the time."

"What did you do?"

"Kept well out of his way, and hid whenever he came to our farm.” He shrugged. “He found other sport to chase after a week or so."

"Good grief."

He chuckled softly. “You spent quite a few years on the streets as a teenager. Surely you saw more shocking sights than old men chasing young boys."

"Well, yeah. It's just I never figured you were one of those young boys."

"I ran very fast,” he said solemnly. “Believe me, he never caught me."

"And after death?"

"They quickly found their attention directed elsewhere." She raised an eyebrow, amusement touching her full lips. “Including the females?"

"Of course. How could you think otherwise?"

"Something to do with the expertise you show in certain fields,” she said dryly. “What if this vampire intends to lure you into a trap?"

"I doubt he'd do anything in a crowded café."

"What if he's seizing the opportunity to size up the opposition?"

"Then that'll make two of us, won't it?” He studied her for a moment. “What is it about this meeting that worries you?"

"I don't know. He doesn't sound anything like Jasper or Cordell. He sounds normal, and he's very obviously not.” She bit her lip for a moment, her gaze sweeping the fog-enshrouded darkness around them. “I think it's going to be a lot harder to stop him than it was either of them."

"Which is why—"

Anger flared through the link, singeing his senses. “Don't say it,” she warned, pulling her fingers from his.

“Not unless you want an all-out argument right here on the street." He didn't want to argue at all, here or anywhere else. You keep complaining I don't listen to you, and yet you refuse to consider my reasons.

Her gaze searched his, expression annoyed. “Maybe you're right. Maybe you should fully explain your reasons."

He reached out, brushing the moisture from the tip of her nose. “Not out here. It's too wet."

"The fog may be damp, but the night isn't really cold.” She shrugged. “I want you to talk to me, Michael."

He didn't want to talk. He just wanted to enjoy the night and her company in this brief window of peace they'd been given. But her determined expression suggested this time she would not let it go. He twined his fingers through hers again and kept walking. On a clear night, the bay would have stretched out before them. Tonight, there was little more to be seen than fog muffled lights.

"I have been with the Circle since its beginning,” he said. “In that time, both the Circle and I have gained a fair number of enemies. There are some alive today who would stop at nothing to destroy either of us."

"I'd think that would be a natural fallout from the type of work you do,” she said, voice flat. “You can't run around killing bad guys without the bad guys’ friends and relatives getting a little pissed about it." He smiled, despite his annoyance. “True. The point is, these people will do all in their power to destroy me and everything I hold dear. That has never worried me because, until you, I had no one in my life whose destruction would destroy me."