Night Huntress 02.5 - Happily Never After (6 page)

Chance took her arm when she drew even with him. She looked like she might pull away, but then she relaxed and kept it curled around his. Now he could feel her pulse speed up as well as hear it, and he found himself staring at her profile. Her black hair had been up in a neat twist at the beginning of the evening, but now it was coming loose with long pieces falling over her shoulders. She was chewing on her lower lip again, worrying it faintly between her teeth as they walked. Chance's tongue traced his lower lip as he watched, imagining it was hers instead and wondering how she tasted.

Isa
stopped next to her vehicle. Instead of letting her arm go, Chance held on and faced her.

She met his eyes—and quickly looked away. "No luck on, ahem, speaking with Robert?"

"No. He's meeting with several guests who flew in this morning. They're staying at his house and they have their own entourage of guards as well, so it's not an opportune time."

"Probably the
Salucci
brothers,"
Isa
murmured. "They're another lovely criminal family vying for that oh-so-coveted 'made man' status. They're rivals of Robert's, too, if what I've overheard about them is true. I don't know why they'd stay with him. They don't like each other."

"Probably because to refuse is to admit fear, and then that gives Robert the upper hand. Don't worry. I listened in on them and they'll be gone tomorrow. That means tomorrow night, I'll have my talk with Robert."

Isa
shivered. "So many things could go wrong…"

"They won't," Chance said.

She gave him a jaded look. "Sure, you managed to get me to perch on your lap like a kid visiting Santa, but doing that and getting a mobster to spill his secrets is worlds apart. Not to mention that you're the one with the greatest threat of repercussions if you failed. Robert might make things unpleasant for me or Frazier if you can't pull off your hocus-pocus routine, but he'll
kill
you. You know that, right? Really, I don't understand why you're doing this to begin with."

"I told you it was a matter of honor," Chance replied.

A sharp bark of laughter escaped
Isa
.
"Honor.
Who knew anyone still cared about that nowadays?"

Chance didn't reply. Yes, it was true honor was an undervalued commodity according to modern human standards, but in the vampire community, it still had strong merit. Bones had asked him for a favor and Chance had promised to grant it. That meant whatever the risks, he'd take them.

Of course, since he'd spent time with
Isa
, he knew he'd take those same risks regardless of his sire. He felt drawn to her in ways he hadn't felt for anyone in a long time. In order to see where it led, there were a lot worse dangers Chance would take on than a spoiled-brat mobster.

"I wanted to thank you,"
Isa
said at last, meeting his eyes squarely. "Guess I never have gotten around to doing that. You're taking a huge risk, and whatever your reasons, I really appreciate it."

He smiled. "You're more than welcome, Isabella."

Chance heard her heart begin to thump with an irregular, advanced rhythm. Her gaze flicked to his lips—and stayed there.

His hand was still on her arm. There was less than a foot between them.
Isa
shivered, but it wasn't cold out. No, the luxuriant new scent drifting from her said she was feeling anything but cold at the moment.

Chance's hand tightened on her arm as he moved closer. Now there wasn't a foot between them, but mere inches. Her pulse sped up even more as he leaned down.

Right before his mouth brushed
hers,
however,
Isa
turned her head. Chance didn't follow the movement, but let his lips caress her cheek instead.
So soft and warm.
It was all he could do to keep his tongue from flicking out and tasting her.

Isa
gave a shaky laugh. "I must be
really
tired. Here I am, engaged to Robert Mini-Mob
Bertini
, and yet about to make out with a virtual stranger in a public place. For my next idiotic trick, maybe I'll call Robert and dare him to kill Frazier."

Chance's fingers played with the skin on her arm. "Is being in a public place your only objection?
Because that can be remedied."

Another sweet wave of scent came off her even as she backed away.

"I-I have to go,"
Isa
stammered, not answering his question. "You'll call me after you speak with Robert, right?"

Chance made no move to stop her. He just stared at her as she got into her car and shut the door a little too hard.

"I'll speak to you as soon as I'm done with him, yes."

"All right."
Isa
paused, looked like she was about to say something else, then put the car in gear. Chance heard her mutter under her breath, "I must be crazy," right as she pulled away.

He smiled to himself.
No, darling, you're not crazy. You're just fighting your emotions—something I learned long ago will always win in the end.

Chapter 5

Isa
dreamed her restaurant had turned into a breakfast diner. Frank was whipping up bacon, eggs,
hashbrowns
, and assorted omelets while coffee brewed from multiple pots. The smell of freshly baked bread permeated the air as
Isa
hurried from table to table, making sure every customer had what they needed, rotating the order of the tables for the wait staff, and checking food supplies. Meanwhile, she was so
hungry
. All the sights and smells from the kitchen teased her, making her stomach knot with need. Still, she didn't stop. The responsibilities of the restaurant came first. Once the breakfast rush was over, she'd have Frank fix her a large plate, but until then, there was work to do.

"Isabella."

She turned to see who'd called her name, but all the faces in the diner seemed to blur out of focus.

"Isabella, wake up."

Her eyes snapped open. She was in her house. In her bed, and there was no breakfast diner, no rush of hungry customers to attend to, and no staff to oversee.

So why
was it
that she could still smell bacon, bread, and coffee?

"Am I going to have to come in there and wake you?" a voice she now recognized asked.

Isa
stiffened, pinching herself to make sure she wasn't still dreaming. No, she definitely felt that, and yes, once again, Chance was in her home.

Her gaze went to the window. Had he gotten in through there again? Or did he go through the front door this time, because maybe he was an expert lock-picker as well? More importantly, why wasn't she angry? Why was she getting out of bed, smoothing her hand over her sleep-tousled hair, and wondering if she should put on something more appealing than her long cotton pajamas with their constellation pattern?

She heard a clatter of pans. "I know you're awake. Come on out, your breakfast is getting cold."

"Nothing comes before the bladder,"
Isa
muttered under her breath, surprised when she heard him laugh a moment later. He couldn't have heard her… could he?

She walked into the kitchen five minutes later, too proud to change out of her pajamas, but conceding to brush her teeth and run a wet towel over her face. As far as her hair—well. It was hopeless, as it always was in the morning.

Chance was in the middle of her kitchen, looking far better than what was in the array of pans on her stove. He had on a light blue shirt that complimented his pale skin and deep brown hair, plus a pair of darker blue, loose-fitting jeans. His feet were bare, and
Isa
found herself momentarily fascinated by them. They seemed at once so completely masculine and yet so… cute.

She stopped staring at his feet to sit on one of the stools across from her counter.

"You're a regular repeat offender with the breaking and entering, aren't you?" she asked flippantly.

Chance grinned. "You skipped dinner last night. One would think since you owned a restaurant, you'd get around to eating, but apparently not."

She
had
skipped dinner last night, but how did he know that?

"Aren't you supposed to be spying on Robert, not me? Or better yet, breaking into
his
home, not mine?"

He heaped generous portions of bacon, eggs, and
hashbrowns
onto a plate before sliding it across to her.

"Robert's later tonight. You're hungry now. I'm just going down the line of priorities, darling."

"I told you not to call me that,"
Isa
replied automatically, though she didn't mean it now. Truth be told, she rather liked the caressing way he said "darling."

And the look in his eyes when he said it was even better.

Oh, shit. She was
so
in trouble. Last night after almost kissing him,
Isa
had berated herself for hours about the stupidity of getting involved with some pseudo-magician whacko—albeit a smolderingly sexy one—when she still had to find her brother
and
get out of marrying a career criminal. Yet here she was now, getting all starry-eyed over something as benign as Chance's feet, for crying out loud.

That was it. She was getting a vibrator. Clearly she was in need of sexual healing, and right now a battery-operated device had the least amount of complications.

The timer on her oven went off. Chance turned around with a graceful spin and then lifted out a pan of wonderful-smelling bread.
Isa's
mouth watered even though she'd just taken a bite of food.

"You'd make a great chef," she said once she'd swallowed. "Ever think of leaving the honor-bound, criminal-interrogating hypnotist society to try your hand at that?"

Chance sliced
her a
steaming piece of bread, an odd smile on his face. "I can never leave the society I'm part of, Isabella. Once you become a member, you stay that way forever."

"Then I hope they have a hell of a retirement plan," she quipped.

That made Chance grin, highlighting the dimple on his chin. "The best there is
,
I assure you."

He took the stool next to
Isa
, but didn't bother getting himself a plate.
Isa
gestured with her fork at all the food spread out in front of her.

"Are you going to eat anything?"

His lips were parted, so
Isa
could see his tongue flick out to caress the tops of his teeth.

"Later."

There was something in the purr of that single word that made
Isa
suddenly lose her appetite.
Her appetite for
food,
to be more specific.
Another appetite reared its long-neglected head and began screeching to be satisfied.

Chance reached out, gently brushing her hair back from her face. His hand was cool against her cheek, like silk made into flesh.
Isa
drew in a breath, noting with curious detachment that it was uneven. Funny, the more she stared into Chance's eyes, the more she became convinced they were turning green.

"Back away, Chance. We need to keep things professional between us."

She made herself say it, because even if it wasn't true, it made sense to utter those words. Chance was practically a stranger, and a peculiar one at that. So what if she was drawn to him in ways she'd never felt before? So what if he fascinated her with his unusual mix of courtliness and utter disregard for the law? Getting Frazier back safely was her top priority, period. That meant canoodling with a local crime boss who thought she was going to marry him,
not
making out with an out-of-town hypnotist who might get killed with his next act.

Chance leaned closer, so that the breath from his words fell directly on her lips.

"You don't want to."

Boy,
was he right about that. Keep things professional?
Hardly.
All
Isa
wanted to do now was press her mouth against his and rake her tongue inside until she couldn't taste anything but him.

Chance's nostrils flared. He closed his eyes and took in a deep, slow breath.

Isa
closed her eyes as well. If she tilted her head even the
slightest
way in either direction, his lips would brush hers. Chance was that close to her. Yet she couldn't do it, and she instinctively knew it was what he was waiting for.

"Why are you fighting this so hard?" he whispered.

The question startled
Isa
into opening her eyes and sitting back, putting a safer distance between them. She ran a trembling hand through the same part of her hair Chance had smoothed away moments before.

"Because I want it too much."

Her honesty surprised her more than his question had. Chance took in another deep breath, his eyes still closed, and then he leaned back as well. Now there were a few feet of distance between them.
Isa
couldn't help but feel disappointed, even though it was her own fault.

Chance opened his eyes. They didn't look green-tinged anymore, and somehow that made
Isa
realize how serious he was.