Page 3 of Secret of the Vampire
I wrapped my arms around my waist, his rejection making me feel cold. Then I scolded myself. The hot warlock was not what I needed to be focusing on right now. “Alex, who’s out there?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. But they can’t get in here.”
“How do you know that?”
He smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant smile. More a twist of his mouth that was somewhat rebellious and utterly sexy. “I put a ward around the building the night I came here to check on you. I came back after you’d left.”
“You did?”
“I did.”
It didn’t surprise me that no one had noticed. The Quarter was full of magic, both light and dark, and that didn’t even take into account all of the voodoo floating around. It would take something completely different—like the thing hunting me—for anyone to pause and take notice.
Concern for his safety quickly replaced any misguided feelings of inadequacy I was feeling. “Alex, magic without permission is forbidden in our territory.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, surprised by my response. “You’re angry?”
“Would it matter to you if I was?”
Slowly, he shook his head. “No. I still would’ve taken the risk to protect you.”
I stared at him, unsure of what to say. Did he feel some sort of responsibility for me now that he had cured me? Or was there some other reason he was so invested? And what if it wasn’t a good reason? Alex was the only member of the witch coven who’d known how to release me from the curse. And if I remembered correctly, even Judy—the High Priestessandhis aunt—had been surprised.
Of course, I’d been on death’s door at the time. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me.
A movement outside the tinted glass drew my attention and my heart stopped as my head whipped around, but it was just a group of people walking by.
I turned back to Alex. For now, he was all I had. And I wasn’t ready to turn on him. Not just yet. “What do we do now? How do we get out of here?”
His eyes travelled over my face again, then dropped briefly to my chest before meeting my stare directly. He gently adjusted my glasses, then dropped his arms back down to his sides. “We don’t, Kenya. We’re going to have to stay here until morning.”
“But I can’t wait until morning. The sun—”
“Will burn you to ash. I know.”
I didn’t say anything else, just raised one eyebrow, a silent question asking him,then how the hell am I supposed to get home?I didn’t like this.
Running a hand through his short, dark hair, he began to pace back and forth in front of me, his brows furrowed in thought.
A sudden thought occurred to me. “Does the High Priestess know you’re here? Did you tell her you were coming?”
His steps slowed, but only for a moment before picking up speed again. His eyes searched out mine and he gave a quick shake of his head before dropping them back to the floor. “No. I had no time.”
I made a decision. “Alex, you need to go. I appreciate you trying to help me, but you’re taking too big of a risk.” Plus, this entire situation was just making me extremely uncomfortable. I was a vampire, yes. But I wasn’t a very good one. And Alex had magic strong enough to easily overpower me. I could practically see it coiling around him from here.
“I’m not leaving you here alone with…” He slashed a hand toward the front of the club when the right word didn’t come to him. Closing his eyes, he stopped pacing and rubbed them with the thumb and forefinger of one hand. “I’m not leaving you alone, Kenya. Judy cannot stop me from protecting you.”
“But why do you want to?” At his frown, I crossed my arms and cocked my head to the side in challenge, putting on a bravado I didn’t feel. “I’m a vampire, Alex. I’m not yours to protect.”
“And yet, I’m going to do it anyway.” His voice was little more than a growl. A challenge. Then he sighed heavily. “Look, I don’t know what that is out there, but I can feel it, Kenya.”
“Of course, you can. It’s magic. Even I can feel it and I’m not a witch.”
He walked over to a stool at one of the high tables and climbed on, resting his elbows on the table. He stared at the tabletop for a long moment before he looked back up at me. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
“Whatareyou talking about?” I asked him.
“I mean, I can feel it. Inside of me. Magic to magic. Whatever is out there,” he pointed toward the locked door, “some of it is also in me.”
