Free Blood Life Seeker by Nicola Claire

side door. Michel just stood there staring at me with a look on his face I couldn't quite place. Resignation with a hint of humour? He slowly walked towards me, hands in his pockets, all debonair ease. He was dressed in his more casual attire of black trousers and black shirt, sleeves rolled up to show off his muscled forearms, neck loose displaying his smooth cream skin. He knows how I love black. Usually, on a business night he'd be dressed in an Armani suit, just off black, with white shirt and some shade of blue tie. He was always so well turned out. But I love black on a man and he knows it. He also wears it well.
    I swallowed, he didn't miss the movement, just grinned, flashing me a sparkle of violet and blue from his eyes.
    “So, how did the phone call go?” I asked, returning my attention to my drink.
    He came and slid into a seat next to me. There was already a glass of red wine, probably Merlot, sitting waiting, Doug back down the other end of the bar. I hadn't even seen him pour it, I'd been too busy gawking elsewhere. Idiot.
    “We have a reprieve. Jerome has issued a directive.” When he saw the look of slight confusion on my face, he added, “A command. No Taniwha is to act against us until his return. He will not offer more until he can ascertain in person from his Hapū what has happened.”
    “Will it be enough? Rick seemed pretty determined.”
    “Yes. His directives are as binding as my commands to those in my line. The Hapū will not be able to disobey. However, I do think it best you not exercise at the Gym for a while, ma douce . Crossing paths with the Taniwha would be unwise.”
    I noticed how Rick had been relegated to the Taniwha. I was not surprised, I was kind of thinking along those lines right now too. What had happened to my Rick? How could it have got this messy, this quickly? How could he have turned on me, his friend, so easily?
    I was shaking my head slowly from side to side, looking down at the floor of the bar, unaware of what I was doing. Michel's hand came up and brushed against my cheek, the backs of his fingers tracing down to my jaw, his thumb rubbing along the edge there.
    “I am sorry, ma douce . I know how much he meant to you.”
    Already we were talking in the past tense, was there no going back from this? How do you rebuild a friendship when one of you has tried to physically harm the other and when war has been declared? I wasn't sure it was possible, but I also wasn't prepared to give up on him just yet. I'm loyal, it's just who I am. When you become my friend, it's forever. I don't roll over that easily.
    Michel sipped his wine and watched me, he could probably feel the emotions playing through my body. He couldn't read my mind though, only those thoughts I chose to throw his way. He was trying to decipher my thoughts from my emotions though. I could tell, he did it every now and then. It was kind of like a game. Eventually he gave up. I wasn't going to help him. He got free rein on my emotions, but not my thoughts, they were all mine.
    “ Well, it seems my luck is holding and I get to see you earlier than planned this evening, ma douce .” He lifted my hand up to his mouth and lay a lingering kiss there, keeping his eyes on mine. I knew what that look meant, it had a tendency to distract me, to lure me in. I bit my lip, then noticed a flickering off to the side, in the centre of the bar.
    Nero appeared and slowly looked around the room in casual interest, raising his dark eyebrows at the clientèle. His short, thick black hair shined in the light of the room, making his fine Egyptian features stand out in stunning relief against the backdrop of the room. He was dressed in black. Not his usual style, normally it's off white linen trousers and long linen shirt, rolled halfway up his arms. The white shows off his dark skin to perfection. But, he also knows I like black. Am I that readable? He made eye contact with me and just stood there, a small smile playing on the