Free Nancy A Collins-Vamps 02 by Night Life

to first base wins.” Cally looked around the crowded nightclub as she waited for Melinda to come back with their drinks.
    She was wearing the miniskirt she had been working on, made of black silk and embellished with scarlet flowers, a black long-sleeved turtleneck, and a pair of suede Marc Jacobs slouch boots she’d scored at a rum-mage sale. She felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned 80

    to find a young man standing at her elbow. He had dark eyes and shoulder-length hair and was dressed in tight-fitting leather pants and a leather bomber jacket.
    He was holding a cell phone in one hand.
    “Excuse me, miss. But there seems to be something wrong with my phone. . . .”
    “Like what?”
    “It doesn’t have your number in it,” he replied, flashing a smile that could melt the panties off the frostiest ice princess.
    “Nice line, Romeo.” Cally laughed. “Why don’t you try it out on someone who’s more your ‘type,’ huh?
    Maybe one of them?” She pointed to a table full of Sex in the City fangirls drinking muddled watermelon mar-tinis and gossiping among themselves.
    “I’m not looking to tap some clot, baby,” the pickup artist said as he leaned forward to whisper into her ear:
    “Ever make it with a real vampire before?” Cally recoiled, insulted. “I beg your pardon? What do you mean by ‘real’?”
    “You know,” he said with a smirk. “Have you done it with an Old Blood?”
    Suddenly a familiar face appeared over the pickup artist’s shoulder. It was Lilith’s boyfriend, Jules de Laval. Cally smiled, remembering their last encounter in the halls of Ruthven’s.
    “Is this man bothering you?” Jules asked.
    “Definitely . ”
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    “You heard the lady, Sergei.” Jules jerked his thumb over his shoulder in imitation of an umpire. “You struck out.”
    “No fair cock blocking!” Sergei growled under his breath.
    “Oh? There are rules ?” Jules stage-whispered in reply. “I must have missed that part. . . .”
    “What are you doing here?” Cally asked.
    “Not much—just checking the place out. Are you here by yourself?”
    “No, I came with Melinda. She should be back any minute. . . .”
    “You wouldn’t happen to need an escort to the Grand Ball, would you?” Jules asked abruptly.
    At first Cally laughed at the suggestion, but seeing the look in Jules’s eyes, the smile on her face quickly disappeared. “Look, I don’t want any more grief from Lilith. After the thing in the grotto—”
    “What thing?” He frowned.
    Cally gave him a puzzled look. “You don’t know?
    Never mind. I just don’t need the aggravation, that’s all.”
    “Will you at least give me the pleasure of a dance?”
    “I just told you I’m not looking to piss Lilith off.”
    “Lilith’s not here, and I promise I won’t tell her if you won’t,” Jules said with a mischievous smile.
    Cally arched an eyebrow. “Okay—but just one dance.”
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    “I promise,” Jules said, taking her by the hand.
    Suddenly Melinda was at Cally’s side, tugging on her arm and glaring at Jules. “I need to powder my nose. Come with me.”
    “But—”
    “Never mind that! Bathroom! Now! ” With a single pull, Melinda freed Cally from Jules’s grasp, dragging her down a crowded hallway and into the ladies’
    lounge.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” Melinda asked in exasperation as the door swung shut behind them.
    “I was just going to dance with him, that’s all,” Cally assured her.
    “Maybe that’s all you were planning to do.” Melinda looked around, checking to make sure no one could overhear them, and then leaned in close. “Look, Cally, I’m going to tell you straight up: you can’t trust Jules.
    No woman can. The man’s a dog. Worse than a dog: he’s a wolf. And I’m not saying that just because he can turn into one! Jules’s hobby is cheating on Lilith behind her back, especially with her friends. Bathory Academy is full of ex-BFFs that Jules has tagged.”
    “Did he