Cunning vampire.

“Anne…” He leaned closer and drew a deep breath. “What are you thinking about?”

“You, of course.”

His grip tightened. “You test my patience.”

“I’m trying to be very honest. You know I want you. That has never been the issue. I just don’t know if I trust you yet.”

He leaned his head against her belly, and she stroked her hands through his hair. “What do I do?”

“Give me time,” she whispered. “You were the debonair playboy of Dublin up until a few weeks ago. Romancing human girls and roaming the town. And I was living a very boring, very separate life in Galway. Give me some time to believe you when you say you want me back.”

“I’ve always wanted you back.”

“No, Patrick, don’t lie.” She pulled his head back until he met her eyes. “There was a time you hated me.”

His brown eyes never wavered. “Only because you took away the thing I wanted most.”

That was… accurate. Murphy could be very possessive with the things he considered his. And he had most definitely considered Anne “his.”

“I left you. You never thought I’d do that.”

“No, I didn’t,” he murmured. “I took you for granted, didn’t I? I apologize for that. I’m a smarter man now.”

“Maybe that’s why I’m wary. You seduced me when you were young and reckless. But now? You could conquer me completely if I let my guard down. I’d have no chance.”

“Does that scare you?”

“Yes.”

His eyes softened. “Don’t be scared.”

“I’m too smart not to be. I know myself too well.”

He sat back with a sigh. “This is the peril of loving a psychologist, isn’t it?”

Anne smiled. “That and the bad sex jokes.”

He perked up. “There are bad sex jokes?”

“So many bad sex jokes. Thousands of them.”

“That’ll give me something to look forward to then.”

“MURPHY.”

He leaned closer as they waited for the formal arrival of Jetta Ommunsdotter in Terry and Gemma’s drawing room. “Yes, love?”

“What do a condom and a coffin have in common?”

“I’m shocked that I don’t know. What do a condom and a coffin have in common?”

“They both hold stiffs. But one is coming and one is going.”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “I want to ask what kind of clients you’ve been seeing, but I’m afraid to ask.”

“Vampires. Despicable creatures. The necrophilia jokes almost write themselves.”

He smothered his laugh with a hard cough as Anne calmly sipped her glass of blood-wine.

Jetta arrived with a full retinue of what Anne privately thought of as her “Viking marauders.” No, not all of them were that old, but they were—both male and female—very tall, very handsome, and very serious. Every now and then, one of the Viking marauders would smile, but not often.

Anne stepped forward. “Jetta.”

“Anne!” Jetta smiled and reached out to grip her hand in a hard but friendly shake. “It’s very good to see you. How is Mary?”

“Doing very well, but very busy. I was happy to come as her representative this trip.”

Jetta spoke in completely unaccented English. She sounded more American than many American vampires. Her eyes were a frosty blue, and her dark blond hair was cut in stylish layers around her face. She wore an elegant pantsuit as businesslike as it was feminine. Despite her height and fierce expression, she was a friendly sort and defaulted to cool detachment instead of rage when she was displeased. Overall, Anne knew Jetta would be one of the easiest political players to spend time with during this summit.

“It is always pleasant to see you.” Jetta turned to Murphy. “And you, Murphy. I see Ireland is well represented in London.”

“It took long enough.”

Jetta smiled. “A republican till the end.”

Anne closed her eyes. “And that’s one more debate that we don’t need for this trip.”

Gemma and Terry interrupted to show Jetta to the wine and make sure her entourage was settled.

Anne tapped a fingernail on her wineglass. “Why is she here?”

“Jetta?”

“Yes.”

“Her trading interests are extensive.”

“But most have to do with energy and fossil fuels, don’t they?”

“She’s already transitioning. Deepwater drilling won’t always be as profitable as it is now.”

“Alternative energies?”

“Something about deepwater-wave energy conversion. Her research is very hush-hush, but the rumors are promising.”

“So she’s forward thinking.”

“Jetta?” Murphy raised an eyebrow. “Always.”

“She must be concerned about the blood supply too.”

“Undoubtedly. We’ve had the devil’s time finding out how much Elixir has encroached in Scandinavia. Traditionally they’ve had far more open borders than we have, so it could be quite extensive. But it’s geographically big, and many of her people are what the Americans would call ‘off the grid.’ Even the water vampires tend to live in more isolated locations. Their immortal population isn’t as condensed, and that may have shielded them from infection.”