“I am the same. And I am very much looking forward to seeing you again as well.”

“Then we make a perfect pair. Shall we say seven o’clock? The gallery opening is at nine. With seven-thirty reservations we will easily make it.”

“Now all that’s left is for me to find something decent to wear.”

“Wear whatever you like. I am certain you will be beautiful regardless.”

“Thank you,” she said with a smile.

“And now I have your number. Have I earned your surname yet so I can add you to my contacts?”

“Oh yes!” she gasped. “I’m so sorry. I really should have left you with it and my number last night. It’s Holden. Renee Holden.”

“Thank you, Detective Holden. I will add your number and address, thus permanently entrenching you in my life.”

She laughed at that. “I will do the same, Rafe DaSilva.”

“I’ll be on your doorstep at seven. All right?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“See you then.”

“Bye.”

Renee hung up and sighed with relief. He really was shaping up to be too good to be true. Still, it was early yet. She had to keep the jury out until she had definitive proof as to what kind of man he was.

She only hoped he didn’t let her down.

—

Rafe hung up the phone and stood looking at it for a moment. Why had he asked her out again tonight? He didn’t need to feed again for several nights and in any event he couldn’t take from her two nights in a row. Even though she was clearly able to regenerate her energy rather quickly—another person wouldn’t want to go out so soon; they would be more likely to stay in bed a day or two—he couldn’t risk draining her to the point of putting her in the hospital. He knew vampires who had what were commonly called limited sources that they fed on so regularly they showed signs of wear and illness, their natural bodies worn out and unable to defend against invaders like germs or viruses.

Once a source became sick they were off-limits, of course. Just like any source who took drugs was off-limits to any clean vampire. Phants not so much. Sycophants would feed off anything, sick or well, addict or clean. It was what made them what they were. As a clean vampire he had to be far more judicious. And he had to protect his sources. The best way to do that was to keep a variety of sources in a variety of locations, taking from no one source more than once a month. Of course, a source could theoretically be used once a week, but it was best to play it safe.

So, no matter how sorely Renee and her abundant energy might tempt him, he would not feed from her again for quite a while. Besides, if he showed partiality to a source it could arouse the interests of his enemies or another vampire. Competing for a source was the last thing he wanted. Putting Renee in the crossfire of a war she had no part of would be unconscionable.

Yet he was compelled to see her again. He told himself it was to keep abreast of the police investigation, not because of her beautiful face and her winning smile.

Not to mention her oh-so-sexy kiss.

He had kissed her to give her something to remember even as he made her forget his feeding from her, but he had been taken by surprise by the heat and passion of the kiss. The way it made him crave more still stunned him. And that was to say nothing of the unadulterated pleasure of taking her abundant energy into himself. Her energy had been bright and clear, sexual and sweet, wild and then satiating. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt like that. He wanted it again. Craved it again.

It was dangerous to want something so badly, and yet it made him feel alive. More so than he had been feeling while struggling in a job that could sometimes seem so pointless.

Strange. It had been such a simple date. So calm and quiet and free of trouble. That was perhaps what had appealed to him most about it. It was normal. Innocent of the war his people were a part of.

It was an illusion of course. Stolen moments. But was it a crime for him to want to steal a few more? Perhaps not a crime in this instance, but maybe unwise. There was no sense in him trying to reach for something he could not have.

Still, he was going to do it all the same. Just for a little while. He needed something fresh and pure and void of all the darkness in his life. It was, perhaps, unwise on many levels, but he was going to defy his common sense. Just for tonight.

Rafe put his phone into his pocket and walked into his afternoon meeting.

Chapter 6

Rafe acknowledged the other players in the room with brief nods. Most of them nodded back. But his attention was focused on the center of the room, on the most important player of all. The queen of the vampires was the sort of woman to whom others gravitated. Dynamic and proud, she arrested the attention of everyone in the room.

The others were equally arresting, but in very different ways. Halo was there, his casual attire in stark contrast to the business suits and higher fashion around him. He wore faded jeans and a plain white T-shirt that clung to the well-defined muscles of his chest, shoulders, and abdomen. The man was fit and strong and he did everything in his power to advertise the fact. Rafe supposed it was part vanity and part intimidation. Anyone going toe-to-toe with the bounty hunter would be scared witless before the fight even began. Of course, Halo’s reputation as a dark and dirty fighter would only add to that. There wasn’t a phant alive who didn’t know who Halo was…and didn’t fear him coming after them.

Then there was Danton, the leader of the authoritarians—the vampire force whose sole job was to keep law-abiding vampires doing just that, abiding by the laws that Simone and the lawmakers passed. Danton was a dark-skinned man with a clean-shaven head and a neatly trimmed goatee. His dark brown eyes could stare right through a soul. He wore slacks and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. He didn’t wear a watch, as was true of all e-vamps because they could tell time intrinsically, but he did wear a gold bracelet with three rubies spaced apart in the gold. It was some kind of family heirloom, Rafe had been told. Whatever its value, the vampire wore it well. He too had an aura that said he was not a vampire to mess with.

Also in the room was Skye, Simone’s closest friend and confidante, and also one of her business heads. The vampires had a vast amount of wealth in their dealings with the human world, mostly via banks and intricate stock portfolios. In that building alone there were several incorporated offices of businesses designed to make money and support the e-vamps in style and comfort. Skye was in charge of coordinating these efforts, helping Simone keep track of their investments. Skye had a team to help her do this and they worked seamlessly with human companies, making money and protecting the nature of the e-vamps at the same time.