Page 22 of A Velvet Kiss After Dark

Getting in his truck, he rolled down the window and chased the lingering scent through the night streets. Eventually, he found himself led to an impressive building downtown, where paparazzi stole pictures of the notable figureheads filing inside.

Kane hated this place immediately, and the gross odor of leeches even more.

Likely, she was on the hunt for her next biggest story. She was forever digging . He appreciated her tenacity and dedicated work ethic; it was nearly on par with his.

The whole "fated mate" thing was new to him. He hadn't even been sure it existed until today. Now that he was certain, he knew it wasn't some gamble that low-lifers had attacked her previously to try to get to him.

He cased the scene once more before parking. His gear was black-on-black from his boots to his t-shirt. He definitely wouldn't fit in at tonight's event as a participant, so he'd pretend to play the role of security guard. He grabbed an ear bud out of his rucksack and made his way to the side entrance.

It took nothing more than a mere mention that he was here to work security detail to be allowed inside by another guard.

He shook his head after he was easily allowed inside without having to prove his credentials. Talk about lousy security. At least he wasn't here to kill anyone, he thought, grimly amused.

He tried to scent her through the flood of people in the reception room, but the crowd was too large to track her. Yet, her feminine musk was here, somewhere in the fray of baying elites dressed in exorbitant jewelry and over-applied cosmetics making some of the women appear older than they really were, and others far too young.

He despised these people, werewolf and vampire alike. They reminded him of Castle Elustrian.

The room smelled of cloyingly sweet perfumes and too much cologne. He'd never been able to stand the stench of false odors, but parties like these were a cesspool of falsities. Even these elite's bodily scents were a lie.

Why cover up your natural scent? Unless you were doing it to mask yourself for a strategic advantage. Kane personally had done so to stalk prey before. But these yuppies didn't spray their hair with spritzes or wash their skins in precious oils to hide or blend in, they did it to showcase their status. A grimace curled his mouth with distaste. The world would be a much better place without these so-called figureheads ruling it. If only someone would pay him to remove them from society, that was a job he'd do for free.

He scoured the room for her. His own feelings regarding his mate—two words he'd never thought possible—were still new to him. He felt like a young-in waddling near a pool of water for the first time, hesitant to dip his toes in, afraid of what may lie in wait before him.

He sought out his little female with her strawberry blond hair with hanks of tawny streaking through it. But, he didn't see her anywhere.

He crept deeper into the room and was about halfway through the thick sea of bodies when he heard her voice.

Familiar feminine laughter sounded nearby. "That is too clever, Cohen. And dare I say evocative? Do tell me more."

Doubling down on another gossip column, he figured.

Kane broke through the mobs shielding him from his female. The room was dimly lit like a night club. Orb lights spun colorful arrays across the crowded gallery as music music strummed in the background. Waiters carrying trays of hor devours and (gag) goblets of blood waded through as well.

That's when he caught sight of her, and he did a double-take in shock.

Tabitha?

A man wearing an expensive suit and tie combination—who looked better suited for a Nightly News broadcast with his too-white teeth and big, flattering grin stood awfully close to his woman.

"Well, I'm never one to disappoint a beautiful lady."

"Is that right?" He could hear the flirtatious lilt in her voice and it made him want to rip the man's head off being on the receiving end of it.

Not good, he thought. Check the jealousy, but this was all new to him too. Never mind how he was going to convince this petite human she belonged to him, the fact was she did; she just didn't know it yet.

And of course the man was a vampire, of all luck. All the more reason to loathe him. Kane growled at the people in front of him, and they opened up space for him like he was Moses parting the red sea. He passed easily through.

At the sight of her clearly, Kane stumbled into a waiter carrying silver tray. The waiter politely excused his behavior, even though it was Kane who'd been distracted.

She was . . . in costume. It had to be a costume. There was no other way to look at it.

Her hair was curled and pinned at the crown of her head and the rest of the strands were left trailing down over her shoulders like some luxurious shampoo commercial. The look was shocking to him, for he'd only ever seen her wearing it in a simple ponytail. He had no idea it could look so stunning. She was the most beautiful woman in the room.

"You know, I'd love to set up and appointment with you at my office to talk more about this. Here, take my business card and call my secretary at your earliest convenience. We could sit down, have a drink, and talk about this at length," the vampire speaking to her said. This must be Cohen, and he was encroaching on his fated mate.

Maybe someone would die tonight after all.

"I would love to, but I am a busy woman," Tabitha replied, before changing the subject. "Is it true you own museums across the world? Your work in the antiquities market is notable."

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