Page 15 of Midnight Kiss
But I had resisted through sheer strength of will.
She was a difficulty I was determined to overcome, but I had convinced myself that this case would require subtlety. I wouldn’t murder her in cold blood, no matter how I wanted to sink my fangs into her flesh and taste the sweetness of her neck.
I halted in front of her apartment door, withholding a sneer at the barrier that prevented me from reaching her.
Someone had warded Emily’s apartment. It was a magical ward commonly used by vampire hunters, but I couldn’t pass it until it faded. Or until I found the source of the ward itself and convinced Emily to remove it.
A ward of that strength would usually be a personal item, something small but obvious. Whatever it was, it was close to the door and imbued with blood magic.
My suspicions were threefold—Jen, Michael, and the roommate that Emily had mentioned the day before. One of them had placed it in her apartment. Or, perhaps, another person in her life whom I had yet to lay eyes upon.
Either way, the hunter wouldn’t best me.
My gaze wandered to the apartment door beside Emily’s. Michael hadn’t liked me, but he hadn’t given me any indication that he was the one who had warded the apartment. Or that he recognized me as a vampire.
I checked my watch then raised a fist and knocked on the door.
Inside, an excited squeal rang out, followed by whispers. To mortal ears, they would be inaudible.
“He’s here, oh my god.” A woman’s voice I didn’t recognize.
“Morgan, stop.”
“I can’t wait to see this guy. From what you told me last night … I mean, hubba, hubba, am I right?”
“Hubba, hubba? Are you for real?” Emily asked.
The discussion was adorable, but I schooled my expression to calm.
Footsteps approached, the chain rattled, and Emily appeared.
Breathtaking. She wore a fitted red dress that accentuated her every curve and had swept her auburn hair into a French twist. Classical, beautiful. But not irresistible. I had to stay focused on the task at hand, and it was not to bed a human woman.
“Emily,” I said, extending a hand.
She placed hers in my palm and sucked in a breath as I drew her a step into the hall and pressed a kiss to her soft, supple flesh.
My fangs itched to extend. “Stunning.”
“Alex,” she murmured, her crimson lips parting on a breath. “I—It’s nice to see you. You look amazing.”
I glanced down at myself, the black suit and the white open-collared shirt. It was acceptable according to the store I had visited earlier today. I didn’t bother with fashion as most of my work was conducted with magic and violence.
“Thank you,” I said, the words strange in my mouth.
A young woman wearing her blonde hair in pigtails poked her head around the corner of the door. “Hey! I’m Nor—Holy crap. You weren’t kidding, Emily.”
“Morgan, stop it.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” I said.
Morgan’s jaw had dropped, and she fiddled with a pair of headphones at her neck. “Pleasure is literally all mine, my dude. Wowza.”
“You’re drooling,” Emily hissed. “Back up.”
I hid my grin.
Emily grabbed her purse and said goodbye to her roommate—still gaping at me—and shut the door. “I’m so sorry about that,” she breathed. “I, uh, I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”