Blood's Fury (Deadly Beauties 1)

Feeling it start to strip me of my scent, I sprint down the steps and cover the distance to Gage's house. I knock, but his home is soundproofed too. An immortal thing.

The lights are on, and the entire house is covered in windows just like Kane's. A small fluttering of butterflies hit me when I see Gage's shirtless body in the room just ahead.

His back is turned as he talks to someone on the phone. I notice the tattoos on his back - various symbols, mostly magical. I shouldn't find it sexy, but I'll be damned if I don't.

Finally, I ring the doorbell to keep from staring at yet another guy I can't be with. Gage's back stays turned as the door opens on its on.

"We'll be there shortly. See you then."

He puts his phone in his pocket and turns to face me with a small smile.

"You've taken a scent masker already I see. I was going to offer you some."

My eyes accidentally stray to his ripped body. There's not a flaw on his muscled physique. He's so lean... I wasn't expecting such definition.

"Yeah," I bumble out like a stammering fool. "I didn't want to risk leading them to Kane."

Gage is tall, almost as tall as Kane. Without my high-heels, I feel so short in comparison. Even with my heels, I still just reach his chin. Without them, I barely meet his chest.

"Uncomfortable?"

My eyes pop up from their forbidden journey over his salacious contours. Immortals shouldn't be allowed to be this eternally hot. I hate immortals.

"Huh?" I ask, feeling more than a little foolish.

"I was asking if you're uncomfortable. Again, your colors are all over the place."

Damn warlocks.

"I'm fine. I was just curious as to why you have so many symbols tattooed all over you."

It's obviously a rather transparent lie to cover my drooling fiasco. I never realized how woman I was until these past several weeks.

He lets a small laugh out, and then he pulls a shirt from the back of the chair to put on. I'm relieved when he finally covers himself up.

"I'm a member of the Somage. I run into some pretty unsavory creatures, so in order to avoid possessions, summons, and various other precarious situations, I took on the protective symbols. It's saved my ass more than once."

Somage?

"I thought the Somage were just an urban legend."

He smirks and then shrugs.

"We like it that way. We can only erase memories for short intervals, so it's a daily struggle to keep the fey world a secret when some creatures refuse to abide by the rules. We take out the ruthless and careless killers who could potentially become exposure threats, and we put down the wild, bloodthirsty bloodsuckers of all kinds if they lose control. We're just a group of dark users trying to take care of the big bads. What exactly do the light users do to keep people safe?"

His rhetorical question seeps sarcasm as he pulls on a thin, hooded jacket.

"I get it. I realize the light tends to-"

"Tends to worry about their own hide and not give a damn about anything else going on in the world? Glad we agree on that."

Jackass.

"So, is this where you pull out your score pad and mark where you've just insulted the light?"

He lets a snicker out, and then he shakes his head.

"This is the part where I give you some makeup lessons."