Free Blood and Destiny by Kaye Chambers Page A

me for going along with it. It simply wasn’t there. I had an awful thought.
    “You knew.”

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    “No,” he corrected. “I suspected. The marks on your neck were the first clue. I’m not so sheltered as to be ignorant of how vampires generally pay for their meals.” Oh, man. The situation was going from bad to worse.
    “No. That isn’t what happened. He fed. That’s it. We didn’t… I said no.”
    “Did you mean it?” Luke asked.
    “No?” I wasn’t sure how to answer. My tone firmed as I went on before he had a chance to interrupt. “Yes. I’m attracted, but…” I struggled to figure out how to explain the bite without looking like I was making a play for him. “I walked away from the relationship because it was time to move on with my life. Being a woman on his string wasn’t doing it for me anymore. I wanted more.”
    “But he wants back in your life?”
    Luke’s tone was soft. I nodded, turning away from true fear of what I might see in his face. I’d gotten used to the condescension in Yasmine’s. Pulling the card from my pocket, I tossed it on the desk where he could read it. Sitting behind my desk, I crossed my legs and waited for the inevitable.
    “I see. Is he your normal escort for late-night hell visits?”
    I jerked my head up and searched his face. Wishing I knew him well enough to interpret his expressions, I shook my head.
    “You can’t take the man who makes the rules and enforces them to a hell. Everyone would run away. Hells aren’t my normal haunts, anyway.”
    “So what do I need to wear? You can’t go in there alone.”
    I stared for a heartbeat before I cracked up. “Taking you would be providing another meal in there.”
    “Destiny, you’re hard on a man’s ego. Don’t underestimate me because I’m a nice guy. I’m a lion and can be as fierce as I need to be.”
    I gazed at him as he planted his knuckles on the edge of my desk and leaned over. He went from sweet and determined to imposing in two seconds flat. Magic swirled around us and I checked myself. His eyes shone with a gold ring and something flared deep inside his gaze. His voice was a low growl as he asked the obvious question.
    “When was the last time you changed?”
    “About three weeks ago and it’s irrelevant.” Even I heard the lie. With a male lion spreading pheromones all over the place, when I changed last was definitely relevant.
    “Why are you running from me, Destiny?”
    “I’m not.” I wasn’t in the habit of lying, but apparently it was a day of exceptions.
    “You left the restaurant without so much as a brush-off.”
    “Leaving without saying goodbye was the brush-off, Luke.” I made my tone bored with some

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    effort. This lion may not have tripped my switches right off the bat, but he was growing on me. He certainly appealed to my animal side, which didn’t bode well for my peace of mind.
    “No, that’s a way to see how interested I am in pursuit.” His answer earned him a very unladylike snort.
    “That’s a pretty egomaniacal statement, Luke. Have you stopped to consider that I may not want another unavailable man chasing after me?”
    “I can assure you that I’m very available.”
    “Oh, please.” I didn’t bother to lean away from his looming posture. “You don’t live here.”
    He narrowed his eyes as he stared down with his nostrils flaring. With visible effort, he shoved himself off the desk and stomped across the room to stand beside the roses. Just when I was ready to warn him about breaking the vase, he moved on to pace across to the front windows. His tone was back to calm joviality when he finally spoke over his shoulder. Apparently, he wasn’t a man who needed much time to collect himself. A fact worth noting down for later reference.
    “Do you want me to go with you to the hell or not? If you’ve