Free Mixed Blessing (Mixed Blessing Mystery, Book 1) by Nicola Claire Page A

left the air.
    At least I was picking up emotional scents again.
    "What were you doing at the police station and at the crime scene tonight?" Jett's voice was surprisingly calm and level. Not a hint of the former anger there at all.
    "What were you doing there?" I countered before I could stop myself.
    He sighed. "Georgia, I ask the questions, not you." He said it as though he was exasperated, as though I was some child who didn't know the rules. Well, technically, he was right. I was still finding my way in this new Dark world. Lucinda helped as much as she could and as much as I let her, but I still felt a little lost in amongst all the rules and regulations and red tape the vampires lived in. I was guessing I got away with a lot more than an older vamp would, purely because I was so young in vampire years. I wasn't sure how long I could continue to count on that defence before my luck ran out.
    From tonight's experience, I was thinking time was no longer on my side.
    Jett repeated his question and some bizarre, suicidal part of me wanted to repeat my answer back at him again. Thankfully I held my tongue, but that quirky lip thing Jett does graced his face, somehow making him seem more approachable than he usually did.
    "I was curious," is all I offered.
    "And the police station?"
    "Mark is an old school friend, I wanted to catch up."
    Jett studied me for a moment. "How much of an old school friend is he?"
    I wasn't sure where he was going with this, but decided I'd play along for now. "I used to date his brother. He was always quite friendly with me. I need a friend right now."
    Jett's face softened again. Remarkably. I didn't think he was capable of compassion, but he appeared to be exuding it in spades. The scent of calming chamomile tea swirled around my senses.
    "Are you attracted to him?" I think that question surprised Jett as much as it surprised me.
    "Um... yeah, sure. He was popular in school. Captain of the first fifteen rugby team. What's not to like."
    Jett glanced away. Until then he had been holding my gaze rigidly. I waited, what else could I do? My arms were still firmly secured to the sides of my chair.
    He stood abruptly and started pacing. I was picking up mild scents of apple mixed with lime and then pungent scents of strong rosemary mixed with garlic. Slightly confused, followed by determination, or more precisely a decision made. I held my breath.
    "You shall start dating him." What the? "Get close to him and find out as much as you can about these murders. We need to know what's going on and he is slightly resistant to my glaze. He has some natural psychic abilities, which allow him to block deeper thoughts to a certain degree."
    He swung back around to face me and blanched. I'm betting he was getting a whole lot of pissed off on my face right then. Even my damn fangs had shot back out.
    "What would make you think," I spoke very slowly, "that I will just jump at your command?" In your dreams, bud!
    He was in front of me in an instant. The moment I registered my arms were no longer glued to the armrests of my chair, he had a beefy hand around my throat and my body pressed hard against the far wall. I hadn't even picked up on the move. One minute sitting, the next slammed into plasterboard, chunks of it raining down to the floor from around me. There would undoubtedly be a Gigi-sized body shape embedded in the wall when this was all over. And shit, did my head throb. I felt my Sanguis Vitam climb in an effort to heal the injuries, his climbed in response to mine.
    A buzzing filled the air, a dense hum-like sound, a thousand bees threatening to sting. He leaned in closer, his hot breath washing over my cheek. "You are like a little wild cat with claws." He inhaled deeply, brought his face in a few millimetres closer and whispered, "Fight me, kitten. I want to play."
    Ah, fuck-a-duck. I struggled to remain passive in his hold. No damn way was I going to fight the most powerful vampire in the city. Well,