Chapter 7

We touched down what must have been a few miles from where we were. Upon landing, he immediately scooped me up in his arms and the next thing I knew, we were back in my apartment.

“That was fun,” I said, “but you never showed me your supposed camouflaging abilities.” I raised my brow at him expectant.

He rolled his eyes. “As you wish.” And then I watched as he faded into shadow. Literally. He was standing before me in the form of a faint shadow silhouette. Then suddenly he moved toward the wall, his body completely melding with the shadow cast on the wall from the lamp light in my apartment.

I blinked. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen. He suddenly reappeared in his solid form next to me making me jump. “I told you not to do that!”

He held up his hands. “Sorry. I got a little carried away.”

Once I settled again, I asked, “So is that all of your abilities.”

“Well I have a few more I could show you in bed…” he grinned devilishly.

I smacked his arm. “I meant vampire abilities.”

He kept grinning, though less mischievously. “Those are all the vampire abilities that I know how to do. There are some mind tricks vampires can do, but only the really old ones have figured them out.”

“I see.”

“Now tomorrow, I expect a full demonstration of your powers,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “As you wish,” I mocked his earlier response.

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur. I had gotten some wine out. Turns out he drinks wine too, but it’s not his preference. We drank and talked for a while, and at some point I must have fallen asleep.

I woke up the next morning in my bed, still in my clothes from the night before. There was a note beside my pillow from Dax that had his phone number on it, a demand for me to use it, and a promise that he would see me tonight.

I smiled to myself as I rolled over in the bed. When I looked at the time, it was almost 8:30. I sighed. Time to get ready for work.

I worked at 10:00 AM, and I did manage to make it on time, throwing on a fresh change of clothes, putting some conditioner in my hair and brushing it, grabbing my purse and keys, and rushing across town to the salon.

Later in the day, I used Dax’s number. I just sent a quick text letting him know it was my phone number. I don’t know why I was giddy waiting for him to text back, but I was disappointed when he hadn’t by the end of my shift. His note said he would see me tonight; was that still the case? Or had things changed? I was suddenly nervous that I wouldn’t see him again.

It was a Saturday evening, and I took in the downtown area coming alive as I walked to the parking garage. Summers were extremely hot in southern Florida, but it was still my favorite time of year here because there weren’t many tourists willing to brave the extreme temperatures, making it easier and more fun to experience the city. Traffic wasn’t so congested, so it was easier to get around, and clubs and popular restaurants had way lower wait times.

On the walk to the parking garage, I felt someone following me. My witch senses told me it wasn’t Dax or a coworker. I began to pick up the pace a little. I felt them move faster behind me. I didn’t want to turn around and look at them. Right now it might actually be an advantage that they didn’t know I knew I was being followed.

I began to turn down a side alley, taking a detour from the route to the parking garage. I hoped they followed. I really needed someone to take my frustration out on.

I walked towards the end of the alley, and then turned around to see they had indeed followed me into the alley.

I had decided I would freeze him and shatter the body into a million pieces. Nothing would be left of him once I washed the remaining pulp down the nearby sewer.

The alley grew very cold as I gathered my power in less than a second, readying to strike, my rage growing with it—

I blinked and The man’s head was gone. What the—

Dax’s scent hit me then. Damn him.

I watched as the body collapsed to the ground, bleeding out everywhere. I was pissed.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Dax?” I spoke sharply into the empty alley. Well, empty except for me and a dead man. Make that two dead men, as Dax was about to be. I was so angry, and now I had no where to take it out.

“Saving my mate,” he spoke with assertion as he materialized next to me out of the shadows.

“I didn’t need saving. And now look at the mess you made!” I whisper-shouted at him.

“Yes you did. That man wasn’t just stalking you, he was going to kill you,” he said angrily.

I gritted my teeth. “I meant I could have handled him on my own.”

“Oh yeah? What were you going to do with him, huh? I mean, have you ever killed anyone before?”

I looked him him dead in the eye as I told him, “Yes. I have. And it would have been a hell of a lot easier to clean up after if I had done it my way!”

He was stunned for a moment as he stared at me, not believing what I had just told him. He snapped out of it a moment later, shaking his head. “Don’t worry ice queen, vampires are experts at making bodies and crime scenes disappear. Go home. I’ll take care of this, and then I’ll meet you back at your apartment.”

“Right,” I said, annoyed as I headed back out of the alley towards the parking garage.