Free Aden (Vampires in America) by D.B. Reynolds Page A

a change for the better. But he was also minded of Raphael’s recent admonition, that some women had skills to contribute to an investigation, or, as in this case, information and contacts.
    So, he didn’t take Sidonie over his lap, pull up her skirt, and redden her ass like he wanted to. At least not yet.
    SID SNUCK A sideways glance at Aden as they made their way up the walk. Wherever he’d gone during the last few miles of their drive here, he was fully back with her now. She could feel his awareness of their surroundings like a faint electrical charge in the cold night air. He fairly buzzed with energy as they stepped up onto the covered porch. It was like the static charge one got on a hot, dry day. She expected to see blue sparks shooting off of him. Plus, she didn’t know how she was supposed to keep Dresner from seeing him once the porch light came on. It wasn’t as if he could hide behind a potted plant, after all. He was nearly as big as the whole porch.
    Okay, so that was an exaggeration, but knowing that didn’t give her any better idea of how to conceal  . . . oh.
    She stared at the place where Aden used to be, seeing nothing but shadow, even though she could still feel the static electricity of his presence. Frowning, she reached out and touched a hard-muscled arm.
    “Aden?” she whispered, her eyes straining to see what her fingers told her was there.
    “Control yourself, Sidonie,” he said drily. “Your friend is about to open her door.”
    Sid snatched her fingers away. He was such a jerk all the time. Well, maybe not all the time. He’d seemed almost human for a while back there in his office. Better than human, actually. She’d never met a human male who was as seductive as Aden, much less one whose seduction she’d so willingly succumbed to. But then he’d turned off the seduction like a switch, which made her think it had all been a pose, just a game he played to see if he could get away with it. She figured he must have lots of notches on his bedpost. Maybe hundreds if he was as old as she thought he had to be.
    The porch light came on, and the door opened, forcing Sid’s attention back to their current problem, which was Dresner. The prof was standing in her open doorway, giving Sid a curious look.
    Remembering the ruse she’d used to arrange this late night visit, Sid painted a nervous smile on her face and said, “Professor, thank you for letting us come over so late.”
    “You seemed upset,” Dresner said absently. She tilted her head and leaned to one side, trying to get a look through the screen door at Sid’s supposed friend. But the shadows Aden had wrapped around himself were too thick, concealing him while appearing to be nothing more than the natural shadow thrown by the yellow porch light.
    “Could we come in?” Sid asked, nudging Dresner cautiously.
    “Of course,” the professor said at once. “Where are my manners, leaving you out in the cold? Come in, both of you.”
    “Thank you,” Sid murmured, trying not to show the depths of the relief she was feeling. What would have happened if Dresner had refused? Or if she’d phrased her welcome to include Sidonie only?
    “Don’t look for problems,” Aden muttered against her ear. The concealing darkness dissipated as if it had never been more than a trick of the eye. He stepped up to her side, pulled open the screen door, and gestured for her to go ahead of him, looking all too pleased with himself.
    Sid scowled over her shoulder. Had he read her mind? She knew that some vampires could do that.
    “No, I didn’t read your mind. Your concerns were written on your face.”
    “Stop that,” she snapped. The asshole just grinned and stepped inside, closing the door behind them.
    Dresner had backed up a few steps, making polite room for them as they came through the door. But once she got a good look at Aden, she backed all the way to the open archway leading to her living room, her knuckles going white as she