Page 13 of Help Wanted, Vampires Inquire Within
“Here,” he said, handing her a bag of skittles. She laughed, took the bag, and had them open before they were even on the trail.
It was only a mile up the trail before they got to the spot his mother’s coven used. It was on a slight rise and had a good view of the small lake below and a few trees to provide shade.
The moment he set the food down, she dropped to the ground. At first, he thought she was hurt, but no. She was tugging at her laces, desperate to get her boots off.
“Oh, this is so nice!” She sighed, digging her bare toes into the loose dirt. Mason chuckled as he pulled a blanket out of the backpack and spread it out on the ground next to her. If he hadn’t been there, she’d probably strip naked and lay on the ground.
“I hope you're hungry,” he said, pulling box after box of food out of the bag. This was way more than he’d ordered!
“Starving!” she announced, leaning forward to grab one of the boxes.
They talked and ate as the sun slowly sank down. As he’d hoped, they lingered long after they finished eating.
“Here, this is the other reason I wanted to bring you here,” Mason said, tugging her around so she could sit between his legs. Her feet were still in the dirt and her back leaning against his chest. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, but that would be too much like a lover and not a simple protector.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. The colors of the sunset made the mountainside look like it was on fire. Light gleamed off the lake below, giving the whole area a surreal quality, like something from a fantasy novel.
His hands were resting on his bent knees. Skyler grabbed both of them and wrapped them around her, snuggling against him. “This is the best.”
He had to agree. He tried to memorize everything. The feel of Skyler’s body tucked against him. The smell of honey that always emanated from her. The way her hair tickled his nose. The soft sighs that slid out of her as the sun sank below the horizon.
He was going to need all those memories to get him through a future without Skyler.
Chapter 5
Skyler
It was late by the time they parked the Bronco back in the parking garage. They didn’t have an interview scheduled that night, but Skyler was anxious to get back to the safety of Joy now that it was dark.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Mason to keep her safe. The problem was that she still felt guilty for going out without him yesterday. She wanted to avoid putting him in a position where he might have to fight. Gargoyles were tough, but they weren’t indestructible, despite what they wanted everyone to believe.
“That’s a nice car,” Mason commented as they walked up the sidewalk toward Joy. She followed his gaze to see some kind of luxury sedan attempt to parallel park. It was clear the driver wasn’t skilled because the angle was much too sharp and the back tire hit the curb long before the front bumper could clear the car in front.
Both she and Mason stopped to watch the driver pull out and try again. By the fourth time, people trying to get around him started honking angrily. It was Saturday night so there wereplenty of people eager to get by him and find parking of their own.
They could see the driver from where they were standing. He looked young, maybe only recently turned twenty-one. He’d probably borrowed his father’s car and was now stuck, unable to park the expensive and long vehicle.
Traffic had also gotten bad enough that he couldn’t pull away either. People were rolling down their windows to shout and cuss at him. He was doing a good job of ignoring them, but Skyler felt horrible for the young man.
Skyler looked up at Mason. “Could you help him?”
Mason lifted an eyebrow, then glanced around. “Only if you stay here,” he said, placing her against the wall next to Joy’s door. That put her within the building’s wards.
“I’ll stay,” she agreed.
Mason gave her a nod, then moved to crouch next to the passenger window. He knocked on the window and made a gesture asking the young man to lower it. Skyler was surprised that the guy didn’t look startled, but he didn’t look trusting either. He lowered the window, his expression sour.
“I’m working on it,” he stated, loud enough for Skyler to hear. “But cursing at me isn’t going to help!”
“Mason can help!” Skyler called. When the young man looked past Mason, she gave him a smile and wave. “You can trust him; he’s a good guy.”
The young man’s gray eyes widened. He shifted his gaze from Skyler to Mason. “Um, yeah, I guess I could use some help.”
“Do you want me to give you instructions, or park the car for you?” Mason asked.
The guy nearly banged the car door into a passing vehicle in his eagerness to get out. “Oh god, park it for me!”
He left the car running and rushed around the back and onto the sidewalk with a frustrated wave of his hands. “You can have it! Feel free to drive it off a cliff if you want to!”
