Ivy and he had a past I didn’t want to know about, since she had been a very practicing vamp at the time. I was always struck with the impression that if he couldn’t have her, he’d be happy with her roommate. Or the girl next door. Or the woman he met on the bus this morning …

“Evening, love,” he breathed in a fake English accent, his eyes amused because he had surprised me.

I pushed him back with a finger. “Your accent stinks. Go away until you get it right.” But my pulse had increased, and a faint, pleasant tickle from the scar on my neck brought all my proximity alarms into play. Damn it. I’d forgotten about that.

He glanced at Ivy as if for permission, then playfully licked his lips as she frowned her answer. I scowled, thinking I didn’t need her help fending him off. Seeing it, she made a puff of exasperated air and pulled Glenn to the bar, enticing Jenks to join them with the promise of a honeyed toddy. The FIB detective glanced at me over his shoulder as he went, knowing something had passed between the three of us but not what.

“Alone at last.” Kist shifted to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me and look across the open floor. I could smell leather, though he wasn’t wearing any. That I could see, at least.

“Can’t you find a better opening line than that?” I said, wishing I hadn’t driven Ivy away.

“It wasn’t a line.”

His shoulder was too close to mine, but I wouldn’t shift away and let him know it bothered me. I snuck a glance at him as he breathed with a heavy slowness, his eyes scanning the patrons even as he took in my scent to gauge my state of unease. Twin diamond earrings glittered from one ear, and I remembered the other had only one stud and a healed tear. A chain made out of the same stuff as Ivy’s was the only hint of his usual bad-boy attire. I wondered what he was doing here. There were better places for a living vamp to pick up a date/snack.

His fingers moved with a restless motion, always pulling my eyes back to him. I knew he was throwing off vamp pheromones to soothe and relax me—all the better to eat you with, my dear—but the prettier they are, the more defensive I get. My face went slack as I realized I had matched my breathing to his.

Subtle bespelling at its finest, I thought, purposely holding my breath to get us out of sync, and I saw him smile as he ducked his head and ran a hand over his chin. Normally only an undead vampire could bespell the unwilling, but being Piscary’s scion gave Kist a portion of his master’s abilities. He wouldn’t dare try it here, though. Not with Ivy watching from the bar around her bottled water.

I suddenly realized he was rocking, moving his hips with a steady, suggestive motion. “Stop it,” I said as I turned to face him, disgusted. “There’s an entire string of women watching you at the bar. Go bother them.”