Free Flowers and Fangs (Stake and Dust series, Book II) by Karen Michelle Nutt

good and all, but…"
    He glanced at her as she tried to work
through her conflicting feelings. Heck, he was having difficulty
himself.
    "Can we forget it happened?" She met his gaze
then. "Things are complicated. Don't you agree?"
    That was putting it mildly. "Sure, but it
might prove difficult."
    Her brows furrowed over her petite nose.
    "You see, I thought the kiss was pretty damn
good, too."
    Her lips twitched before she gave into the
smile.
    Yeah, he was an idiot. All his instincts told
him he was making a monumental mistake, but he kept going down the
wrong path anyway.
    They rode the rest of the way to his house in
silence and she eventually closed her eyes. He let her sleep. It
had been a tough few days. Dark bruises shaded the tender skin
below her eyes. Stress tended to take a lot out of a person and it
was taking its toll on her.
    Once he parked the car in the garage, he
nudged her awake. Her eyelids flew open and he placed a hand on her
arm, letting her know she was safe. "You're okay. We're back at my
place."
    He had access to his house through the
attached garage. He inserted the key into the lock, but paused. The
door wasn't completely shut. A lot happened today, but he knew he'd
locked the door before he left to search for Sloane.
    "Is something wrong?" She whispered and
stepped closer, close enough for him to get a whiff of her perfume,
citrus and all so feminine. It smelled good on her, but now wasn't
the time to go there. He had more pressing matters to attend to,
like maybe taking down an intruder. Things could get pretty ugly in
the next few minutes.
    He placed a finger to his lips. Her eyes grew
wide, but she nodded with understanding. He reached for the sword
he had stashed behind his workbench. He had various weapons hidden
throughout his house for quick emergencies. Since Tim ran off with
his favorite dagger, lodged into his back, the sword would have to
suffice.
    He slowly eased the door open. The lights
were on in the kitchen and he knew he hadn't left them on, but the
real cincher that someone invaded his home was the movement he
heard in the living room. With light steps, he made his way around
the corner with his weapon poised.
    "Jesus, Derek!" the intruder gasped.
    He lowered his weapon. "Hello to you too,
Cassandra."
    "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
    "Yeah, well that goes without saying," he
shot back. "Have you ever heard of waiting for the person to come
home to let you in?"
    "Why do that when I own a perfectly fine set
of tools that allows me access to pretty much wherever I want to
be?"
    He shook his head. His sister did what she
pleased, but heck who was he to complain, so did he. His gaze slid
to the tall warrior-built man standing behind her. He'd given
permission for the vampire to enter his house when he spoke to his
sister over the phone. So he wasn't surprised a vampire stood in
his house as welcomed as any human visitor. "You must be Tremayne
Graystone." He offered his hand, wondering if the vampire would
accept it.
    Tremayne smiled and gripped his hand in a
firm hello. "Cassandra speaks highly of you."
    "She'd better." He chuckled. His gaze shifted
to Sloane, who was still hesitant to venture closer. "It's all
right. It's my sister and her…fiancé."
    She took the steps to reach him and he pulled
her close, wrapping his arm around her waist. "This is Sloane
McBride."
    Cassandra glanced at Sloane, but then her
gaze landed on where his hand rested. Her eyes sought his with a
curious glint. He let his arm fall away, wondering when he'd become
so possessive of Sloane. "Sloane, this is Cassandra, my sister and
Tremayne Graystone," he said, giving a more formal
introduction.
    "Hello." She gave them a tentative smile.
    Tremayne didn't say anything for a long
measured moment as his unnerving blue eyes assessed Sloane. "How
long ago were you bitten?" he asked her.
    With the formalities out of the way, Derek
assumed it was back to business.
    "Three days ago…I believe." Sloane licked