Free Bad Mouth by Angela McCallister

suffering the stale sweat smell in the cab, she welcomed the frozen air and
     took her time to cross the plaza, watching the billowing of her cloudy breath. She
     swung her hands in the chill to dry her clammy palms before ducking into the Akkadian
     Towers. As she rode the elevator up, she stared at the water dripping from her thick-heeled
     boots to pool at her feet.
    Maybe she should have brought Graham. Intense physical attraction aside, she found
     Kade far too personally appealing. There was nothing fake about the man. Nothing pretentious,
     only 100 percent Kade. He didn’t care what anyone thought of him, yet he cared about
     others. His moment of tenderness with Eva, and then his moment with her in the car
     when she thought she’d have a meltdown showed her that something wasn’t right about
     his reputation. And forget his comment about not being kept waiting, he’d offered
     her a car because he cared. Chivalry was alive and well in him, and not just as an
     empty gesture. Maybe his age had something to do with it, but she doubted that. It
     was plain to see he wasn’t proud of that honorable side of him. Somehow, that made
     him even more charming to her.
    Kade opened the door this time. He gave no sign of recognition, no smile, no reaction
     whatsoever. He only stood aside and motioned her in. A knot tightened in her middle.
    “Good evening,” she said.
    “Where’s fuckface?”
    “Where’s what?” He crossed his arms patiently. Oh . He meant Graham. She turned toward the balcony and covered her mouth, but she couldn’t
     stifle her mirth. Her shoulders shook as the laughter snuck out. So unprofessional,
     and she really should stick up for her friend, but Graham had asked for it.
    “I’m sorry.” She collected herself enough to face Kade. “He’s otherwise engaged this
     evening. We’ll have to make do without him.”
    He smiled that familiar smile and her tension scattered. She removed her jacket and
     walked farther into the room.
    “Come. Have a seat.” He offered a drink, which she declined. She needed to stay focused.
     “Who did you come up with?”
    “Selene Stavrou,” she answered. “She was most evasive when questioned, and where she
     stayed two weeks ago gave her a clear view of one of the murders. She’d have to be
     deaf and blind not to have seen something.”
    “Ah, Selene.” He looked thoughtful. Something in the way he said the name got her
     back up.
    “You know her.”
    “Oh, yes. I know her quite well.” His suggestive tone brought the catty right out
     of her, and the shock of it speared her insides. She bit her tongue and took a deep
     breath, pushing her irrational displeasure to the back of her mind. It wasn’t her
     business what Kade had done with the woman.
    “What if she doesn’t talk?”
    “She has no choice in the matter.” He stood, his eyes lighting up as if they were
     windows into hell. Val wouldn’t want to defy a man with eyes of fire, but who knew
     how the Legion vampires would react? They were used to such displays of power.
    “Shall we go?” Val moved past him to grab her jacket when he caught her wrist. She
     looked up and then couldn’t look away. His red eyes continued to blaze as his hands
     slid up her bare arms.
    “Why do you feel warm?” she whispered. She should have made him unhand her but all
     she could think about was his tender kiss the night before, a scene that had replayed
     too many times before sleep finally claimed her. His head lowered toward hers until
     she felt his breath on her lips. “Why are you breathing?”
    “You make my heart beat. It makes my blood move and my lungs expand. It makes…other
     things happen.”
    He pulled her hips until their bodies were nearly one and she couldn’t mistake what
     one of those other things were. Her belly quivered, and her lips parted. He took that for an invitation. Just
     as those sexy lips brushed hers, she heard a ravaged voice.
    “Sire?”
    She jerked back from