Page 32 of Vampire Visions

I stared at his retreating back, blinking my eyes rapidly, before looking at Novak with wide eyes. “You?” He shrugged again, but I kept going. “The vampire who’s terrified of commitment? The jackass asking his roommates to run off his one-night-stands? I just need you to clarify.”

“Yes.” He dragged the word out, sounding pleased with himself.

York laughed. “You’re my mate’s mate, mate. My co-mate.”

“Don’t be weird. That’s my thing.” But Novak’s smile was genuine.

“Would you rather me call you my girlfriend’s boyfriend?” York quirked a brow at him.

“I don’t think she’s your girlfriend right now,” Novak admitted with a shake of his head and a devious grin.

“Not today,” the druid agreed then sighed. “Tomorrow’s a new day, though.”

We all left the kitchen, heading up the stairs to grab our bags. Quiet congratulations went around for the lucky vampire. I was happy that he’d taken the plunge, but my demon raged within me. Not out of jealousy. This felt more like… impatience. He was tired of waiting, and so was I. Soon, I promised myself. I needed to stop holding back.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, we were all slowly trickling down and crowding the foyer. It was tastefully plain. Not boring, but not overly decorated, either. The ornate double doors that served as the home's main entrance were the focal point. They were ebony with large frosted windows in the centers, and they were much taller and wider than necessary. I was positive that I could walk through them in my demon form, horns and wings fitting comfortably without bumping the frame. As a demon, I stood close to seven feet, without counting the inches that the height of my curled horns afforded me.

Franklin opened the doors from the outside, halting my assessment of them. Having pulled the vehicle we were taking around to the front, he passed Sloane the keys. “I did a thorough check on her this morning. Weapons are in the back, if you need them. Lucifer and Lilith are coming back to see Levi on Saturday. He said to call him if you need him.” Franklin nodded his head when he finished and wandered into the kitchen.

Briggs stopped in the doorway then turned to gape at Sloane. “That’s a tank. Not a car.” A sleek, blacked out Navigator was waiting for us. Everything about the vehicle, except the exterior lights, was black. The windows were tinted so dark that you couldn’t see inside, but I’d wager a bet that the interior was also black.

Sloane ran her fingers over the passenger side as she walked around back to toss her small pink duffel bag in the open hatch. “Her name is Sharron. She doesn’t get out much,” Sloane said fondly.

York shook his head at her with a thoughtful look on his face. “What happened to Rebecca?” he teased.

Sloane smirked at him before turning to walk away. “I upgraded,” she joked with her back to him. At least, I thought it was a joke. “Heads up.” She tossed the car keys over her shoulder, and Palmer snatched them from the air, following behind her. She stopped to smile at him, reaching for the handle of the rear door on the driver’s side. He beat her to it, opening the door for her and whispering something low enough that I couldn’t hear.

Novak grinned at them. Leaning in a little too close to York’s ear, the stealthy vampire made the druid jump a little when he suddenly spoke. “Your flirting is rusty. We need to work on that.”

Briggs and Vaughn were chuckling at their exchange as we started climbing in. Novak and I took the third row with Sloane sitting between us. Vaughn and York sat in the center in captain seats, leaving Briggs to ride shotgun while Palmer drove. She wasn’t lying when she said that we would all fit.

And, yeah. I’d been right about the interior. The inside of the SUV made it feel like night instead of mid-morning. All the way around, everything was black, except a few wood grain accents in the front.

Briggs immediately started pressing buttons and turning knobs as Palmer pulled out of the driveway. Sloane groaned in frustration. Unbuckling her seat belt, she hunched her slim figure over and walked between Vaughn and York to lean over the center console and slap Briggs’ hand away. “This,” she said, touching the screen in the center of the dash, “is how you open the sunroof. Stop pushing all the buttons.” She pressed some buttons, but I’d stopped paying attention to what she was doing.

The four of us that weren’t in front had a glorious view. “Push a few more, Briggs.” I laughed when she turned her head to give me a dirty but playfully look.

“What’s this one do?” He wondered aloud.

“Stop,” she hissed at him. “That’s to heat the seats.”

“Oh, never mind.” He held his hands up in surrender. “My ass is already hot enough, thank you very much.”

Sloane hung her head, her shoulders shaking the smallest bit as she giggled silently. Before she shifted to move back to her seat, Novak leaned up and slapped her right ass cheek. He was back in the third row in the blink of an eye, and she turned with narrowed eyes, studying each of our blank faces. We gave absolutely nothing away as she glared.

She kept her eyes on Novak and me for a moment too long, and I shrugged a shoulder. “Probably the mage playing tricks, aye, Palmer?”

“Fuck off. I’ve done nothin’.” He grinned at me through the rear view mirror, snapping his eyes back to the road a second later. “I do have some toys for that ass, though.”

Sloane huffed and returned to her seat. “This is going to be a long eight hours, isn’t it?”

14

Sloane

Thursday Late Night