"Colin," I said to myself with some surprise.
I opened the door and gave Colin a smile as I gestured for him to come in.
He looked as sexy and hot as he had the first time I'd seen him on stage at the Pit. His long golden hair rested around his shoulders and his burnished gold eyes looked at me in a way he'd never looked at me before.
The twist in my belly sent shards of desire through me. "You aren't using your Dragon charm on me, are you?" I said without thinking as the door closed behind him.
He stopped in the middle of the room and his gaze held mine. "That's just you wanting me," he said and my face grew hot. "The same way I want you." My fair skin had to be full-on red. "I-"
Colin came close to me and he cupped my face in his hands. They were strong, callused hands that sent an erotic thrill throughout me. His scent, his presence, everything about him was enough to make my head spin as though I was drunk on him.
"I don't think-" I started, but then he brought his mouth down on mine.
And kissed me.
A kiss that set my whole body on fire.
It was urgent, demanding. Nothing soft or hesitant about it. His was a kiss of ownership.
That thought made me break away. I tried to catch my breath as I looked up at him. His gold eyes looked almost bronze as he let his hands slide down to my upper arms then held onto me.
"What-what was that all about?" I said between breaths.
His smile was confident and sexy. "I've been waiting for this to be over," he said. "And waiting for time to be alone with you."
"You can't just do that." I wasn't sure what I was saying, except that a man having ownership over me was not in my list of reasonable expectations in a relationship. "What's gotten into you?"
"You've gotten into me." Colin drew me up against him. It was a side I hadn't seen. He'd been everything from friendly to flirtatious to someone who'd worked hard with me side-by-side. "From the time I first saw you watching me on stage, I knew you were the one." My face grew impossibly hotter.
Colin looped his arm around my waist and pinned me to him. "You and I are destined for one another, Nyx."
I shook my head. "You are acting absolutely nuts."
My breasts were smashed against his chest as he gave me an incredibly carnal smile. "I think not."
Then he kissed my remaining words of protest away until I couldn't remember what I'd been protesting.
He tasted warm and masculine. The hard press of his body against mine made me groan into his mouth.
A knocking at the back of my mind told me I wasn't ready for this. It was too soon.
Why was it too soon?
But it kept knocking at my brain.
Then I realized I heard real knocking.
This time, familiar knocking.
I came back to myself and pushed Colin away.
This time I was breathing a lot harder and my heart was beating like crazy.
I cut my gaze to the door and heard the familiar knock again. "Adam," I said, my voice hoarse.
When I looked back at Colin he gave me a gentle smile before bringing me to him and kissing my forehead. "I understand," he said. "You need to work things out in your head. I'll give you time." His mouth quirked. "But not much."
What was there to say? My recently ex-boyfriend kept knocking at the door, and another male had just given me a kiss worthy of his Dragon reputation.
Still, I knew he hadn't used his Dragon charm on me. It had been the real thing.
"I'll save you some embarrassment and questions." He smoothed my hair. "You talk to him. I'll see you later." He said in a gently teasing tone. "Just remember what I said about not having eaten human males in a while."
And then he was gone.
I knew he'd been teasing, but at the same time I knew he was serious about me. And him. The two of us.
For a moment I stared at the spot he'd been standing in, wondering if he'd just used a transference to leave my apartment, or was hanging around in glamour.
"If you're still here," I said as I walked to the door, "you'd better leave. I need to talk with Adam alone."
No answer and I didn't expect one. I couldn't sense his presence in my apartment and I was sure he was gone. I knew he'd respect me and my privacy. Even if he had gone from friend to wannabe lover in sixty seconds flat.
My belly flip-flopped for another reason as I opened the door.
Adam looked so good with his tousled brown hair, his warm brown eyes, and the stubble on his jaws.
"Hey, Nyx." The tenor of his voice sent a shiver through me, but then the look in his eyes made me pause.
"Do you want to come in?" I didn't move out of the doorway, just waited for his response.
He shook his head. "I just wanted to talk with you for a moment." I tried not to show any outward sign that his mere presence was affecting me. I wanted to be in his arms. Wanted to feel his embrace. Wanted to feel like everything was okay and nothing had changed.
"I won't be working as a liaison to the paranorm anymore." He paused, and a prickling sensation traveled over me. "I've been promoted and am moving to another precinct."
"Congratulations." My voice wavered a little. "Guess I won't be seeing you around." Adam shoved his hands into the pockets of his bomber jacket. "I've been thinking about it over and over again. I'm sorry, but I just don't see now how it could work between us." I met his gaze. In his eyes I could tell he was hurting as much as I was, but he was right. How could it have worked? Maybe if I were a Doppler or Shifter and had a normal human appearance any time I wanted. But I'm Drow, and it just doesn't work that way for me.
"You're right." I tilted my chin a little. "Meeting your family proved that our worlds are too different."
"I'm going to miss you, Nyx." He looked down at his shoes before returning his gaze to me. "I already do."
"Me, too." The words came back in a whisper that I had to force out.
Adam took a step toward me and in the next moment I was in his arms with him just holding me. I would miss his coffee-and-leather scent, would miss his smile and his laugh. Would miss everything about him.
He released me and took a step back. "I'll always love you, Nyx." Those words almost sent me over the edge. At that moment I was glad I didn't have tears, because I wouldn't have wanted to cry in front of him.
I met his eyes. "I love you, Adam."
He studied me for a long moment before he said, "I'll see you around." I nodded. "Yeah. See you."
I shut the door behind Adam, then placed my forehead against the smooth wood and closed my eyes. I could hear his footsteps growing fainter as he walked away.
I took a deep breath, pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and dialed Nadia's phone number.
While the phone rang, I wandered into my room and saw the blank space where the picture of Adam and me in Belize had been sitting on my nightstand. I had put it in a drawer earlier, unable to look at it without feeling heart-wrenching pain.
Nadia answered, her "Hello" sounding like a word in a song.
"You up for a sappy movie and some popcorn?" I asked my friend who was always up for a sappy movie. If I wanted action-adventure, I would have called Olivia.
It was obvious Nadia heard something in my voice. "I'll bring over Casablanca. You start up the popcorn maker."
"Deal," I said before disconnecting the call.
I straightened my shoulders and headed into the kitchen, straight for the pantry and the popcorn.
FOR CHEYENNE'S READERS.
Be sure to go to CheyenneMcCray.com to sign up for her PRIVATE book announcement list and get FREE EXCLUSIVE Cheyenne McCray goodies. Please feel free to e-mail her at [email protected]. She would love to hear from you.
Read on for an excerpt from VAMPIRES DEAD AHEAD.
-the next Night Tracker novel from Cheyenne McCray and St.
Martin's Paperbacks: "Another Tracker is missing." Rodan set his wine glass on the white tablecloth of our table for two in the exclusive paranorm hot spot, Some Other Place. "Kennedy appears to be gone." The hum and buzz of the restaurant and bar filled the pause as I digested Rodan's statement.
Another Tracker?
A busboy stopped by our table and cleared our dinner dishes after asking if we were finished. I waited until he was gone before I responded to Rodan.
"Kennedy, from Seattle?" I frowned as I spoke. "Any idea what happened to him?" Rodan slowly shook his head. "The Proctor Directorate's investigation teams have found nothing."
"That makes how many?" I asked.
"One Proctor along with eight Trackers." Rodan's handsome Elvin features remained amazingly impassive, his crystal-green eyes betraying no emotion as he spoke.
"What does the GG have to say about it?" I asked.
Rodan looked thoughtful. "The Great Guardian has other matters that concern her at this time."
"More important than the disappearance of paranorms who are important to the safety of this world?" The GG drove me crazy in the ways she chose to "help."
"It is not for us to decide where her attention is best suited, Nyx." Rodan was gentle yet firm in his statement.
"I'm having a hard time believing what's happening." I shook my head and my cobalt blue hair tickled my shoulders, which happened to be bared by my strapless Versace mini-dress. "There's something very wrong going on." A brilliant understatement.
Rodan gave a deep nod. "Exceptionally so," he said, making me wonder for a moment if he meant my understatement.
I shuddered at my next thought. "Unless Zombies are back."
"We are well and rid of Zombies, Nyx." Just hearing Rodan say "Zombies" made me shudder again. It had been a few months since we'd faced the threat, but it seemed like it had only been days ago.
"Desmond thinks we're rid of them permanently." The silk of my dress slid across my thighs in a soft caress as I crossed my legs at my knees. My light amethyst skin contrasted with the black material of my dress. "I do have faith in him."
"As do I." Rodan took another sip of his chardonnay and I watched the play of muscles in his arm, beneath his golden skin. "Which is why I planned to speak of Desmond with you." I cocked my head. "What about him did you want to talk with me about?"
"The Great Guardian and I have spoken." Rodan leaned forward, his forearms resting on the tablecloth. "I intend to offer the Sorcerer a position as a Night Tracker." Surprise made me blink. First of all, Rodan never told me about his choices for Night Tracker candidates. Secondly ... Desmond?
"Desmond has qualities that would benefit our team," I said. "He isn't the sword-and-dagger type, though."
A slight smile curved Rodan's lips. "Indeed he is not. He has other talents that would serve him well."
I smiled, too. "I'm not being negative, Rodan. The thought just caught me off-guard. I actually think Desmond would make a terrific addition. Providing you can convince him to join the Trackers."
"That may be a challenge." Rodan gave a nod of acknowledgment, his long white-blond hair shimmering beneath the low lighting, his movement revealing the points of his ears. "Desmond has been a loner, but after seeing what he and the Trackers did together to strike down his enemy, Amory, I know the difference he can make with us."
"Ah." I sipped my chardonnay before setting the glass back down. "I wondered why you were telling me about a candidate. You never have before."
"That will potentially change, Nyx." Rodan's expression grew more serious. "I want you to take a larger leadership role."
I stilled and set my wine glass down. "More than being in charge of special teams?"
"Yes." Rodan studied me. "You have proven yourself to be an effective leader. You are respected by others and you have a charisma about you which is not learned. You were born with it. You will still primarily track, but you will be involved in more strategy development, training processes, and team assignments."
Surprise kept me from speaking as he continued.
"I am not considering you full-time in another position by any means," Rodan said as he studied me. "However, having more responsibility in the over operations will make better use of your skills." When I finally found my ability to speak, I said, "I had no idea you thought of me this way." Rodan's gaze was focused, intent, like he was evaluating even my response. "As a Night Tracker you have already provided balanced leadership, and your judgment is sound.
"I am thinking of one behavior, however, that must change," Rodan said. "This has nothing to do with my feelings for you outside of being your Proctor."
"Okay." My words were slow and deliberate as I spoke. After what had happened during the Zombie op I was wary of what he might say. "What in your opinion do I need to work on in relation to the soundness of my judgment?"
"The only caution I have, you have heard before," Rodan said. "You are an exceptional Tracker.
However, at times you have had no regard for your own personal safety. You need to think through what is best overall, before you jump into certain situations.
"For example," he continued, "too often you have charged forward without waiting for backup.
It has almost cost you your life on more than one occasion. An effective leader needs to remain alive, or he or she cannot be effective. Do you agree?"
I wanted in some way to fire back that I'd done what I'd had to. As a Drow princess, I was raised around warriors and I had trained as a warrior myself. Dark Elves don't sit back and watch-they act. But I knew Rodan was right.
With an inward sigh, I brought my fingers to the collar I'd worn to favor my father. When I considered the last operations, I had to admit Rodan was right. I'd put myself into some pretty bad situations, including getting injected by a deadly virus. Dark Elves are aggressive fighters, but they still lay battle plans and work as a team.