Gentlemen Prefer Succubi

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Excuse me?” I stared at Zane. “You’re not coming anywhere with me, jerk-off. Got that?”

“You don’t have a choice,” Zane said, and I felt his hands encircle my neck.

I froze, but he only began to rub my shoulders, as if trying to relax me. Relax? Ha! I skittered away from him, shooting him a scathing glance.

“If I don’t come back with the halo, the queen’s going to destroy your friend. If she catches wind that you’ve abandoned me, left me behind, or worse, conspired with the Host rather than her, your friend bites it. Understand?” He leaned toward me, that arch smile pulling at his mouth.

“Yeah, I got it. Let me guess, the queen has spies everywhere, right? This is like a bad B-movie. I’m waiting for Bruce Campbell to come rushing through the door, trailed by zombies.” I rubbed my forehead, feeling the onset of a headache.

“Your friend is very flippant, Remy. She must get that from you.” Zane sounded amused. Did nothing get under this asshole’s skin?

“Trust me, Jackie was like that long before we hooked up.”

I would have been offended if I hadn’t heard the thread of amusement in her voice. It sounded like the old Remy I knew, not the shell-shocked, exhausted one who had emerged from the dark depths.

“I can’t take credit for anything except her taste in fashion,” she added.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t take too much credit in that,” Zane murmured. His lighter flared, illuminating the hard angles of his face as he lit another cigarette. “So what’s the plan, girls? Lead and I’ll follow.”

“Back to my place,” said Remy, her jaw set grimly. “We’ll get some equipment and do some research in the daylight hours, dumping you in my basement until the sun goes down.”

“You sure do know how to sweet-talk a man.” Zane chuckled, then took a drag on the cigarette. “I can hardly wait.”

“I’ll bet.” Remy sounded disgusted. “Let’s go.”

The ride back to Remy’s mansion was an interesting one. She wasn’t talking to me. At all. I couldn’t tell if she was mad and blaming me for what had happened to Noah, or if she was pissed that we had a vampire hitching a ride with us.

Zane had given me the passenger seat and had taken the back without asking. Which was good, because I didn’t want to play second fiddle to him. He sat back there without a word the entire time, and his presence alone put me on edge.

I sat silent myself, Noah’s capture still sinking in.

A soft snore punctuated the uncomfortable silence. I turned around and stared. Zane was slumped over in his seat, legs sprawled out. His mouth hung open, and another loud snore escaped.

Remy glanced in the rearview mirror and breathed a deep sigh of relief. “He’s out. Daylight’s finally kicked in.”

I frowned. “So daylight doesn’t kill them? I guess I’ve seen too many Dracula movies.”

She fiddled with the knobs on the A/C for the millionth time, a sure signal that she was stressed. “They don’t die as soon as day hits, no. Just like Noah’s kind-the Serim-don’t turn to dust as soon as the moon comes out. It’s a gradual process that puts their bodies in hibernation until the next cycle that evening-or morning, depending on your company.” Her eyes flicked to the rearview mirror again, watching Zane snore peacefully. “He’s going to be out for the next twelve hours or so, which gives us plenty of time.” She flashed her turn signal and exited onto an unfamiliar street.

Uh oh. “Time for what, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Remy shot me a look. “To work on getting that halo for ourselves, of course.”

I held my hands up in the air. “Whoa, Nelly. I don’t want any freakin’ part of that thing, understand? I just want to get Noah back.”

The car cruised down one street and then another while I waited for Remy to respond. She said nothing, her hands tight on the wheel. We seemed to be heading steadily toward the slummy part of New City. Graffiti lined the brick walls of run-down shops, and I noticed a lot of unsavory types hanging out on street corners or by Dumpsters. A police car cruised silently past us in the other direction.

“Um,” I tried again, rolling up my window like the chickenshit I was. “So why are we visiting the projects?”

She stopped at the curb by a run-down strip mall. Remy turned off the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition, handing them to me. “Meet me back here in two hours. I need to get a few things.” She opened the driver’s-side door and hopped out, glancing around and then crossing the street in her high heels from last night, fearless as ever as she approached a seedy pawnshop, complete with hoodlums loitering at the front door. One of them nearly fell over at the sight of Remy sashaying to the door.

“Remy!” I slid over into the driver’s seat and rolled down the window. “Remy! Where am I supposed to go with a freakin’ you-know-what in the backseat?”

She turned on the sidewalk and glared at me, shaking her head. She mouthed “research” and disappeared inside.

Crap. I rolled the window up again, fast, and turned to check on Zane. He snored on, apparently unable to hear how much my heart was hammering in my throat. Damn it. What was I supposed to do for the next two hours?

Inspiration struck and I started the car, heading for my old apartment. I wondered if the doorman would even recognize me.

The doorman did know my face-not surprising, I guess, since the last time he’d seen me, I nearly attacked him with the onset of the Itch.

Bobby blushed and waved me in with excitement. “Miss Brighton! I’m so glad to see you’ve returned. How was your vacation? You look so beautiful.” He nearly fell over himself, trying to open the door for me.

“It was great, Bobby.” I let him think I’d been on some sort of makeover vacation. Whatever. “How have things been here?”

“Lonely,” he blurted, then turned fiery red. “I mean, we’re busy of course. I’ve made sure that your mail is taken inside your apartment each morning, Miss Brighton. Wouldn’t want the other tenants to know you’ve been away.”

Okay, the crush had just taken a stalkerish turn. Warning bells rang in my mind, and I forced myself to reach over and pat his cheek. “You’re sweet. Do me a favor and go watch my car for me in the garage? It’s the blue Explorer and my, um, cousin is passed out in the backseat. Drinking binge.” I shook my head and tried to look tragic. “Do you think you could watch him for me?”

“Of course, Miss Brighton,” Bobby breathed, looking like he was about to blow his wad in his dress slacks. “I’ll get someone to cover the door for me right away. Don’t you worry about a thing, Miss Brighton!”

Oh, I wouldn’t. If the car was stolen with the vampire in it, that’d solve two problems at once. I just didn’t want Bobby wandering up while I was in my apartment. I smiled at him and headed for the elevator on the other side of the lobby.

Heads turned as I walked. Onlookers stared. Were they wondering who I was, or had someone recognized the old, frumpy me and now wondered who had done my amazing surgery? Either way, I was starting to get used to the overly attentive looks and I ignored them. You know you’ve got a weird life when the attention of an entire floor is focused on the way you walk, and you couldn’t give a rat’s ass.

The elevator was empty, and I made it up to my floor without event. The building was very quiet-one of the reasons I’d decided to live in such an expensive apartment complex-and it made me nervous. Given my new lifestyle, it was reasonable to be wary. After all, last night I’d rubbed elbows with angels, vampires, and a demon queen, and they all wanted to kill me right now.

I headed down the long hall to my apartment. There was nothing stacked up outside my door, which meant that any mail or packages or newspapers had indeed been thoughtfully placed inside. I put the key in the lock and turned it, pushing the door open with a flick of my wrist.

And then gasped. Wall-to-wall roses covered the living room, the cheap bouquets you’d buy at the store down the street. Some were wilted, having been here for several days. There were four sets of balloons decorated with kisses and hearts, and several cards were lined up on my table. I picked up the first one.

Miss Brighton, I think I love you. Love, Bobby.

Creepy. I put the card down and looked at the next one.

Miss Brighton, the sun rises and sets in your blue eyes. Would you be my girl?

Ew. Next card.

Miss Brighton-

I tossed it aside. Just what I needed-a stalker who knew where I lived and had the key to my apartment. How had he managed to get the key, anyway?

I didn’t touch the rest of the gifts and moved to my regular mail, which had been neatly and alphabetically stacked on a coffee table. Bills, bills, bills, and lots of junk mail. Nothing personal, nothing that reminded me that I was a normal woman with a nine-to-five job. It was depressing.

My voicemail was depressing as well. Thirteen messages, and once I’d hit the sixth one from Bobby, I started deleting after the first word. Ten messages in, I recognized a different voice and rewound to listen.

“Hey, Jackie.” The voice was Noah’s, sleepy and a little unfocused. “I, uh, got your number the other day when we met at the bar. You probably don’t remember that, right? I guess you’re not home. No doubt staying with Remy again.”

He chuckled, and my heart did a little flip. “She’s a bit of a busybody, but she means well, so don’t take any of her ways to heart. She’s just excited to have another of her kind in the city. It’s been a long time since she’s had anyone to talk to but me.”

The voice in the recording paused for so long that I thought the message was over. I moved to hit Delete when Noah began to speak again. “I just … I guess … ah, hell. I’m not good with apologies. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry-for everything that you’ve been through. I would have never done it intentionally. You know that.” A huge sigh.

“You just looked so lost and alone that night in the bar, and so innocent, that I couldn’t help but be drawn to you. I hope you won’t hold it against me forever. I know it’s hard right now to adjust, and I guess I just … I just wanted to say that I’m here for you, if you ever need me for anything.”

I stood there in stunned silence.

The machine beeped. “End of message,” the computerized voice warned. “To delete this message-”

I hit the Save button, sniffing hard. I would not cry. I would not cry.

Damn Noah for being so sweet and such an arrogant ass at the same time. I checked the rest of the messages, hoping for more from Noah, but the rest were just more of Bobby’s mooning.

What now? Suddenly my excursion back to my normal life didn’t seem so important. I stared at my shabby furniture, at the stalker roses, at the pictures on the wall from graduation and college roomies, and everything else. It all seemed utterly trivial, and I felt lost and alone. The life I’d led before was meaningless, and the life I had now was utterly frightening.

I wandered into my bedroom like one of the walking dead. Worn-out sneakers under the bed, frumpy work clothes in the closet; I’d even neatly made my bed.

Who was I? I didn’t know anymore.

Sitting on the bed, I contemplated my options. I couldn’t go back to the way things used to be-my boss thought I was a crazy plastic surgery junkie. I couldn’t stay with Remy; her lifestyle would never be mine. Noah was gone, perhaps forever, and I was stuck with a cigarette-smoking vampire hottie who was crashed out in the backseat of a car that wasn’t even mine.

I buried my head in my hands. When did my life get so fucked up?

Much as I wanted to run screaming from the situation, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t bury my head in the sand and continue on like nothing had ever happened. Noah needed me. I had to at least try.

I gathered a few things: some comfortable old T-shirts, my briefcase full of museum paperwork, a few research books, and a few other doodads I didn’t want to leave behind.

I had an odd feeling that I wouldn’t see my apartment, or any trace of my old life, again.

Leaving the building behind, I got into Noah’s Explorer with a half wave to Bobby, tore out of the parking garage, and coasted back onto the highway, my mind churning. A quick glance behind me confirmed that Zane was still asleep in the backseat-not that I’d expected otherwise.

There was still a good half hour until I had to pick up Remy, but I couldn’t get much done in that span of time, so I headed back to the pawnshop and idled the car, flipping through radio stations.

Remy showed up shortly, a couple of bags in tow, and slid into the passenger seat. She dumped the goods on the floorboard and grinned, looking excited. “Miss me? You look like someone died. Everything okay?”

“I suppose, considering all the bullshit that’s going down. What did you get?”

“I’ll show you when we get home and drop off our third wheel.” She thumbed a gesture at the passed-out Zane. “Deal?”

“Whatever floats your boat. Can we grab something to eat? I’m starving.”

Remy laughed. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Several hours later, the setting sun blazed through the miniblinds. Zane was stashed in Remy’s basement on an old couch, we were stuffed with milkshakes, pizzas, and burgers, and she was surfing the internet on her laptop. The remnants of a pizza lay in a box at our feet, and every once in a while I’d reach down and have another slice.

“This sucks,” I complained, gesturing at the screen with my straw. “First, we couldn’t find anything at the library in five hours of searching, and now this. I can’t believe that if you google ‘halo’ on the internet, all you get are nine million websites about a stupid video game.”

Remy frowned and tried typing in a few more combinations of “Joachim” and “Halo.” We’d been at this for a few hours now, and I was getting sick of finding nothing but random porn sites. Those interested Remy in a purely vain fashion-she wanted to see if she was mentioned on any of them-but for me, it was just annoying.

“How the heck am I supposed to find a halo that’s been missing for the past, oh, three or four millennia?”

Remy shrugged, reaching for the last slice of pizza. “Maybe we need to find who had it last.”

I sat back on the couch, nursing my shake and thinking. “Well, obviously the queen’s boyfriend had it last. The question is, where was he when he died?” I rubbed my temples, trying to think. “Think that our buddy Nitocris was a queen before she was vampire queen?”

“We could always punch in her name with a few of the older kingdoms in history, and see what that pulls up,” Remy suggested, tapping away on the keyboard.

“Phoenician,” I guessed. “Zulu. Greek? Nah, they had city-states or something. Celtic? She doesn’t seem lightcomplected enough. Carthaginian?”

Remy snorted and flipped the laptop in my direction. “You’re trying way too hard. Check this out.”

Under the search words of “Nitocris” and “Queen,” I saw a few articles neatly listed on the search results.

“Bingo,” I crowed. “Queen of Egypt. I guess that fits.”

“No kidding.” Remy clicked on the first link and began scanning the page. “Good lord. Did you read this stuff?” Her mouth set into a grim line.

“Well, seeing as how you’re hogging the computer and we just pulled it up five seconds ago, no. Let me see.” I angled the computer screen toward me a bit and leaned over her shoulder to read.

“First Female Pharaoh of Egypt” the top banner proclaimed.

Remy jabbed her finger directly over the line I was reading. “Did you read this stuff about Herodotus?”

I shoved her finger off the screen. “I will, if you give me a chance. From Herodotus’s Historia,” I read aloud, “Nitocris was the beautiful and virtuous wife and sister of King Metesouphis II-”

Beside me, Remy coughed in shock. “Wife and sister? That can’t be right. Joachim was an angel, not an Egyptian. Maybe we don’t have the right woman. Beautiful and virtuous hardly describes the woman I had a run-in with last night.”

I shrugged and kept reading. “Wife of Mete-doofus, an Old Kingdom monarch who came to the throne at the end of the sixth dynasty and was savagely murdered by his subjects soon afterward.” I paused, thinking. “She didn’t say that he’d been murdered, though, just that she’d ruined her kingdom for him, and he was destroyed in the first temple of God. Maybe she killed her brother-husband-whatever for her angel boyfriend?”

“Keep reading,” Remy urged. “Maybe it mentions something about that.”

“Nitocris ordered the construction of a secret underground hall connected to the Nile by a hidden channel. When this chamber was complete, she threw a splendid banquet, inviting as guests all those whom she held personally responsible for the death of the king. While the unsuspecting guests were feasting, she commanded that the secret conduit be opened, and as the Nile waters flooded in, the traitors were drowned.’?” I paused, my throat suddenly dry. “‘In order to escape the vengeance of the Egyptian people, she then committed suicide by throwing herself into a great chamber filled with hot ashes and suffocating.”

Remy’s eyes were wide. “Crazy suicidal bitch. That’s definitely got to be our girl.”

“Yeah. I mean, maybe Herodotus glamorized this a bit, but it makes sense. She faked her own death to get out of Egypt. What kind of woman tosses herself into a room filled with hot ashes so she can suffocate?”

“The kind that doesn’t need to breathe because she’s already dead,” Remy agreed. “Which makes it easy to leave the country without being suspected. But the queen didn’t mention a water chamber along the banks of the Nile, just a church.”

I popped my knuckles as I thought. “But if Joachim was an angel, maybe he was sickened by what she did and left her. The ancient world wasn’t exactly great for travel, though, so maybe he didn’t get far. We need to go to Egypt and start with that secret water chamber, or her tomb. Maybe we can find a reference to a Temple of God in Egypt.”

Remy made a disgusted noise. “Egypt? Do we have to? It’s so hot this time of year, and I hate camels. I promised myself I’d never ride on the back of another one for as long as I lived, and I’ve held that vow for the past four hundred years.”

I saved the webpage link and snapped the laptop shut. “Just look at it this way-you can buy yourself some cute tourist clothing. Maybe something safari, or with a leopard print.”

She perked up at that. “I suppose I could.”

“There’s a few Egyptian artifacts at the museum I work at that I want to take a closer look at before we go. Book the tickets for two on the quickest red-eye flight to Cairo, and we’ll head for the airport when I get back, okay?”

“Don’t forget me,” came a voice from across the hallway, and I looked over to see Zane watching me with sleepy eyes. “If you’re going on safari, I’m tagging along. Queen’s orders, remember?”

I sighed. “Fine. Three tickets. I’m off to the museum, Remy.”

“Me, too,” Zane said. “Wouldn’t want to miss an exciting tour of pottery fragments, would I?”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. If you’re coming with me, hurry it up. I’m not going to wait for you.” Maybe he’d want to take another nap and skip the museum.

No such luck. “Anything you say, Princess.” Zane grinned at me and followed as I headed for the door.

I pulled up to the museum and groaned as I parked Noah’s Explorer. Right next to it, Julianna Cliver’s Miata gleamed in the moonlight. The rest of the parking lot was empty, as it should be at 9:00 p.m. on a weekday night. I sighed and told my passenger, “Looks like we’re going to have company. We’ll have to go with plan B.”

Zane unbuckled his seat belt and opened his car door. “Plan B?”

I reached over and grabbed his door, pulling it shut. “Yes. As in, you stay here and guard the car, and I’ll go inside and do some research. Understand?”

“No can do, Princess. If you go in, I must follow.”

“Can’t you let me go inside for ten minutes? I promise it won’t take any longer than that.”

“Nope.” Zane grinned, showing perfect white teeth and a hint of fang. “Who’s the driver of the sissy car that’s making you run scared?”

I sighed. “The world’s biggest pain in the ass, who also happens to be my boss. I’m begging here.”

His eyes gleamed. “A job is a job, and besides,” he opened his door with a bang, smacking it against the scarlet Miata with delight, “I haven’t fed yet tonight.”

“No,” I choked, fumbling with my seat belt and door. I dashed across the parking lot to where he was stalking purposefully toward the museum. He ignored me, so I grabbed at his arm. “You can’t go in there and eat my boss,” I hissed, furious. “I’ll get fired.”

He shrugged his shoulders, hands deep in the pockets of his trench coat. “I’m not going to eat her, Princess. I’m just going to have a little taste.” He gave me a wicked grin, and I could have sworn I saw a gleam of red in his eyes.

My heart pounded. This was very, very bad. I ran ahead of him to the glass doors of the museum, determined to buzz myself in before he could get there. The employee badges had only a fifteen-second grace period. If I could get inside before Mr. Tall, Dark, and Hungry, I’d be in luck.

Of course, as soon as I started running, Zane started running right after me, laughing like a madman hunting his prey. No sooner had I swiped my badge and cracked the heavy glass door to slide inside than he had his hands on the door handle. I stood on the other side and tried to hold it shut, but it was like arm-wrestling with King Kong. I didn’t stand a chance.

Little by little, the door slid open and Zane’s confident smile grew larger as he outmaneuvered me. I let the door slide backward, nearly smacking him in the face.

“Fine, you win,” I grumbled. “But if you eat my boss, I’m returning you to your owner.”

Zane winked. “Bad doggy, eh? Gonna get out a newspaper and swat me?”

I thwacked him in the arm with my purse. “Behave. This is a museum. None of your hijinks in here.”

He saluted me like a mischievous Boy Scout and moved to step in behind me as I strode through the museum with purpose. “Absolutely no hijinks.” He paused in front of a painting-a popular Jackson Pollock-and made a noise of disgust. “Do people truly consider this art? It looks like garbage.” He stared at the painting, tilting his head to the side and then the other.

I stopped in my tracks and glanced over, amused by his assessment. “Jackson Pollock was renowned for his performance art. You either get it or you don’t.” I didn’t get it either, but I wasn’t about to let him know that. “We need to head to the east wing of the museum.” The east wing housed all the BC artifacts, and luckily was the farthest from Julianna’s office near the gift shop.

He shrugged. “Whatever you say. You’re the boss.” His devilish little grin implied that I was anything but.

“You’d better remember it,” I sassed, and turned my back, hoping he’d take the hint and follow. Zane seemed to have a shorter attention span than most supernaturals, and I was hoping he wouldn’t wander off at the sight of a shiny object.

To my relief, he pulled into step beside me, whistling to himself, his eyes roaming the dark, empty hallways.

“So, have we met before? Because you sure seem familiar to me.” There was something about him that seemed like it was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t remember. “I don’t suppose you hang out in dark alleys near nightclubs, looking for dorky girls to molest?”

“Huh?” He gave me a vague look.

“Never mind,” I said, waving off my comments with a flick of my fingers. “I was just wondering if you were my vampire master. Forget I asked.” I felt a bit dumb for bringing it up.

The cleaning crew wasn’t due to come in until midnight, so if we could just avoid Julianna, I’d be happy. With luck we’d be out of here before she realized I’d made a pit stop.

“You’re not asking,” Zane said as we walked, looking over at me with a secretive smile, an unlit cigarette hanging from his full lips.

I reached over and plucked it out of his mouth before he could light it. “No smoking in the museum. Now, what is it I should be asking about, Dr. Seuss?”

He grinned and paused in the midst of a series of Roman emperors’ busts on loan from the Smithsonian. I held my breath, thinking for a horrible moment that he was going to reach over and topple one of the priceless objects, and I’d have to explain to the National Museum and my boss what had happened. To my great relief, Zane just pointed at one of the security cameras in the corner of the hall, red light flashing to indicate that it was working. “You’re not asking why no one’s coming out to check up on us.”

My eyes narrowed as my brain absorbed that. He did have a point. I was in the museum after having called in sick for the past few days (which was odd, but not completely strange), accompanied by a dark, mysterious man covered in black leather head to toe (very strange). The security guard should have at least stopped by to say hi or do a bit of random clubbing with a nightstick. So why hadn’t he?

There were a few possibilities, none of them pleasant. One: George the security guard could be dead. A long shot, but since I’d just spent the last two days with fallen angels, vampires, and succubi, I was willing to work murder into the realm of plausibility. Two: George knew we were here and was dialing 911 for backup. Or three: he and Julianna were having mad sex in the control room and were too busy to notice the odd couple in the security cameras. But since George was ninety if he was a day and Julianna had a permanent icicle up her ass, I doubted that very much.

So I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “I give up. Why don’t you just tell me?”

“You’re no fun.” Zane had another cigarette between his lips and lit it before I could protest. “Come on. I’ll show you.” He stalked ahead of me and turned down a hall.

I trotted after him, making sure that his long, sweeping coat didn’t knock over anything vital. “Where are you going? That’s the wrong way. We’re looking for the Egyptian wing, not the Mayan exhibit.”

He ignored my stressed squawking, heading straight for the men’s room.

I pulled up short as he stepped inside. Well, okay. This threw me for a loop. I didn’t think vampires had bodily functi-

Zane cracked the door back open again and gave me an odd look. “You won’t be able to see anything from out there.”

My jaw dropped. “What exactly do you think I’d want to see in there?”

He rolled his eyes and yanked me into the bathroom with him. “You’re the most paranoid sex fiend I’ve ever met, Princess.”

“I’m not a sex fiend,” I protested, as he turned me to face the mirror over the row of sinks. “I fail to see …” The words died in my throat. “I …” Failed again. “Oh.”

My reflection stared back in the mirror, looking as uncannily sexy as ever. I also saw the wall behind me. And a cigarette dangling in the air.

As in, by itself.

“Er, you’re not in the mirror.” I pointed at where his reflection should have been.

Zane smacked a hand to his forehead. “My word, you’re right.” He shook his head and took a long haul on his cigarette. “It’s a wonder you Suck girls aren’t prized for your brains. That’s some keen wit you’ve got there.”

I slapped the cigarette out of his mouth and ground it under my shoe. “Can we go now? I realize this is all fun and frat-boy games to you, but I’ve got to figure out where your queen’s been hiding her fashion accessories for the past four millennia before she kills my friend.”

I didn’t like being made fun of, and there was something about Zane that always put me on edge. His laughing sexuality? His devil-may-care attitude? Whatever it was, I didn’t trust him one bit. Even worse, I didn’t trust myself around him.

He really did have the most amazing lips.

“She won’t kill him, you know,” Zane called after me. “She’ll use him for a bit to see if she can breed a child off his seed and make a divine vampire. Failing that, she’ll just drain him of his powers.”

“Well, don’t I just feel so much better now,” I gushed. I stormed away, determined to get to the Egyptian wing without any more distractions from the fanged menace.

Zane didn’t say anything else for a good ten minutes, allowing me time to get my thoughts in order. Somewhat mollified, I shared my theory about Nitocris being an ancient queen of Egypt and he didn’t laugh at me, which was surprising.

The Treasures of the Nile was my favorite collection in the entire museum. It was our most popular wing, so I’d never been assigned to it, since I was the lowest docent on the totem pole. But I had the guided tour memorized in the hopes of one of the more prestigious docents calling in sick and me getting my chance to shine.

A full-blown sarcophagus encased in glass heralded the entrance of the Egyptian wing. The walls were painted with a scene of the banks of the Nile, and a few fluted columns topped with palm leaves added to the feel. The piped-in Eastern music that normally played here was silent, so the only noises were the swish of Zane’s clothing behind me, and the sound of him inhaling on his cigarette.

“So, what are we looking for here?”

“Egyptian stuff. Duh.”

He looked like he wanted to choke me for a moment, and I felt exceedingly proud of managing to get under his skin.

He leaned over a glass case and stared at a line of ushabti figurines. “No, Princess. I meant, what did you hope to find at this particular museum?”

It was a long shot, but I had remembered something that I thought might be worth a try. I brushed past him and gave him a breezy smile, heading toward the far end of the crowded exhibit. “Carrie Brown worked here last summer.”

“Who?”

“She was a graduate student at Oxford in their archaeology program. She interned here last summer and worked in the Egyptian wing.” Lucky bitch.

I headed to the far end of the room, behind the movie screen that played A Day in the Life of Egypt on an endless twenty-minute loop during business hours. “She wrote her thesis on female Egyptian pharaohs. Carrie left a copy for the museum’s records, so I’m going to rummage through her papers to see if she had anything good.”

I fumbled behind the screen, feeling around, and turned my finger in a small indention. The storage door slid open a few inches. The room was so crammed full of boxes of old documentation and gift shop receipts that it was impossible to open the door fully. I wedged one lean thigh in the door and forced it open, squeezing my body through the crack. There was a slight problem with the boobs, but I managed to shove my way through without damaging myself.

I flipped on the light switch and stared up at the daunting stack of boxes. I’d had to box up the crap the giggly interns had left on their desks last summer when they’d returned to college, just in case they wanted it back. Carrie Brown’s documents should still be in her storage box, including her well-detailed thesis.

“Are you going to be in there long?” From outside of the claustrophobic storage closet, Zane’s voice echoed in the quiet hall. “Or shall I wander off?”

Hell, no! Thinking fast, I stuck my head out to look at him. “Do you know what Nitocris’s cartouche looks like?”

The vampire gave me a blank look. “I beg your pardon?”

“The cartouche?”

An offended look crossed his face. “How dare you ask me about such a thing? She is my queen, not some common slut-”

I blinked hard and resisted the urge to giggle at the pissy look on his normally blasé face. “Whoa there, stud. I meant her name. Spelled out in Egyptian hieroglyphs.”

“No, I wouldn’t know.”

“Then do me a favor and start reading these.” I pointed at one of the informative plaques next to the glass cases. They gave a small blurb of history about the object inside or sometimes a quote from a historical document. “Look for anything that mentions a hidden room or a chick pharaoh. Got that?”

Zane flicked a cigarette on the polished wood floor, no doubt to tick me off. “You’re the boss.”

“Shut up,” I snapped. “And quit smoking in the damn museum! You’ll set off the smoke detectors.”

He laughed, which only irritated me more. I turned back to the mess inside, muttering about prick vampires, and tackled the first box.

An hour or two later, I discovered the box I was looking for. It reeked of cheap floral perfume and had the initials C.B. on it.

When I flipped open the box, the scent hit me like a ton of bricks. I gagged, forcing myself to pick through the box. At the bottom I found a spiral-bound copy of her thesis manuscript and silently cheered. If there was any condensed research on the vampire queen, brainy little Carrie Brown would have found it. I’d be willing to stake my life on it.

No pun intended.

Shoving the boxes into some semblance of order, I pushed my way out of the storage closet and sucked in a clean breath of air. The wing now smelled like Zane’s cigarettes, but I’d take second-hand smoke over one more lungful of Tabu any day.

The exhibit hall was empty, devoid of bored vampire. I clutched the thesis to my chest and began to run, looking frantically for his long leather coat.

I didn’t have to look long. As soon as I rounded a corner, I saw Zane’s broad shoulders by one of the leafy pillars and just about collapsed in relief.

Until I saw that he was talking to Julianna, which caused me to nearly choke on my own tongue. At the sound of my strangled gargle, they both turned to me.

Zane’s eyes were slitted in a sexy, sleepy gaze that made my body throb with immediate recognition. To my surprise, Julianna wasn’t shooting me looks of hate. She seemed glazed, flushed, and slightly out of it. Julianna smiled at me and then turned back to Zane, her eyes wide and adoring. The first three buttons of her starchy white shirt were undone, and she was toying with the fourth.

Oh, shit. I rushed forward and shoved myself between them, which got a chuckle of amusement from Zane and a sound of consternation from my boss.

“Is something wrong, Princess?” Zane moved me to the side. “Didn’t you find what you were looking for?”

“I found it, all right. And now that we’ve accomplished our goal, we can go.” I forced a tight smile and directed it at Julianna. “Sorry to make a late-night pit stop at the museum. I know you don’t approve, but-”

Julianna cocked her head and looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. Given my modified appearance, that probably wasn’t too far off the mark. “Did you do something different with your hair? It looks nice.”

Uh.

I turned to Zane suspiciously. “All right, lover boy. What did you do?”

He gave me a slow smile that caused my heart to skip a beat. “Do? Your lovely coworker found me out here and has been helpfully answering my questions about the Egypt exhibit.”

“She has?” I shot another suspicious look over at Julianna. She looked more like she was about to pull her blouse off than give a lecture on the difference between Old, Middle, and New Kingdom Egypt.

Julianna wiped a stray lock of hair-the first stray lock of hair I’d ever seen in her otherwise immaculate coif-off her brow. “Mr. Hatfield was just telling me of his interest in the female pharaohs.” Her voice was breathy with delight. “Isn’t it wonderful that he has such an avid interest in history?”

“That’s just great,” I replied. Mr. Hatfield? Did that make Noah a McCoy? “So did you find anything on Nitocris?”

She shook her head, her eyes glued to Zane. “Nothing, but I did tell Mr. Hatfield that Nitocris is a rather ancient figure in history. We don’t have many Old Kingdom artifacts here in our museum, mostly New Kingdom. I suggested that he check out the Cairo Museum of Antiquities if he is looking for specific artifacts.”

Zane looped an arm over my shoulders, grinning down at me. “And I told her that’s just what we’d be doing.”

The casual touch sent a tingling sensation through me, and Julianna’s adoring look faltered into one of hate, directed my way. I slid out from under Zane’s arm.

Zane reached for Julianna’s hand and brushed his lips along her knuckles. “Thanks to this lovely creature’s advice.”

Julianna giggled and turned her adoring gaze back to Zane. “If there’s anything I can do at all, let me know. It’s so wonderful to meet someone who understands the importance of … the Old Kingdom.”

I rolled my eyes. I doubted the Old Kingdom was even on her radar at the moment. “Fascinating. Can we go now, please?”

“Of course.” Zane ran the back of his hand down Julianna’s cheek. “In just one moment …”

I watched in horror as Julianna tilted her head back, exposing her neck.

“Wait a minute!” I shrieked.

It was too late. Zane leaned in, and I heard the slurp of flesh being punctured.

Shocked, I could do nothing but turn away. “Zane!”

He ignored me. I heard Julianna’s moan and wondered if it was from fear. It sounded more … well, sexual.

I wondered if I’d sounded like that when I’d been attacked in the alley. Had I enjoyed it? Made the same kittenish noises that Julianna was making? Pressed my body against his and begged for more? Noah had told me that being bitten by a vampire turns your sex drive on high, but I couldn’t remember any details. It was difficult to equate someone sucking all the blood out of you with mind-blowing sex, but that was what Julianna sounded like she was having right now.

I heard one last slurp that sounded like a wet kiss, and then the sound of a body collapsing on the floor. Zane made a pleased noise under his breath, and despite my misgivings, I turned around to look.

Zane wiped his mouth with the edge of his sleeve and winked at me. “Couldn’t help myself.” His eyes blazed a brilliant red that died down as I watched. At his feet, Julianna lay collapsed in a heap, her eyes closed. I could see a small trickle of blood from her neck.

Panic bloomed through me.

“You fucking freak!” I screamed, smacking him. “Did you just kill my boss?” I knelt at her side, pressing my fingers against her throat for a pulse. “Ohmigod, I am so fired. Do you know how hard it is to get a job in a museum, you stupid idiot?” I threw the notebook at him and knelt over Julianna, slapping at her cheek. “Wake her up right now, dammit.”

“Calm down,” Zane said, the hint of a smile still in his voice. “She’s not dead. I usually don’t bite to kill.”

“Wow, you’re a real peach,” I snarled. My finger caught the barest of pulses in the thick flesh of her neck and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God.” I stood up, wiping the sweat that had broken on my brow. “It scared the heck out of me, seeing her laid out like that. Why’s she passed out?”

He shrugged. “Orgasm, I imagine. That’s how it affects most women.”

I shot him a scathing look. “Oh, of course. The touch of your lips is so amazing that it makes women fall over in a dead faint.”

Zane chuckled. “Most human women experience an extreme reaction to a vampire’s touch, to the point of dizziness or even blacking out from pleasure. See if her panties are wet, if you don’t believe me. Or maybe you’d like a demonstration on yourself?” His dark eyes flickered red again, and he stepped close-almost too close. I could feel the heat pouring off him. “I’d be willing to feed twice in a night for you.” He touched my arm, trailing down my sensitive skin.

I took an involuntary step backward.

He smiled at me, continuing to approach like a tiger cornering its prey. “Could it be that you’re jealous?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I bluffed, scooting back nervously. My backside bumped into a glass case and I froze, then took a step to the side.

Zane’s hands planted on the glass case next to my head, trapping me between him and the display. The scent of leather and cigarettes swam over me, and I looked into his smiling face. He really did have the most sensual mouth.

“Leave me alone,” I said, my voice sounding weak.

“Poor Princess,” Zane said slowly, leaning in closer. “Wants a taste of the big bad vampire, but she’s too embarrassed to admit her own feelings.” He tsked, his nose almost touching mine now. “Lucky for you, the vampire has no problem with admitting that he’d like a taste of the princess.”

With that, he leaned in and kissed me.

I don’t know what I was expecting; something hard and rough, with a lot of teeth. But Zane’s soft lips touched mine gently, teasing, coaxing mine to open and allow him in. His tongue lightly danced along my lips and I opened up to him, closing my eyes and giving in to the forbidden taste.

His mouth was sweet, with a hint of copper and smoke to his lips. He expertly teased a response out of me, his hands sliding to my shoulders, then to my hair, pulling me against him in a tender embrace that took me completely by surprise. The Itch awoke inside me, flaring heat through my limbs, and I clutched at his jacket, pinning him against me.

This is wrong, I thought, even as I gently sucked his tongue. Even as I gasped when he licked my lower lip and pressed gentle kisses against my jawline. His hands were respectful, remaining on my head and cupping me against him like a fragile creature.

He moved lower, licking gently at my throat, his teeth nipping against my skin. God, it felt good. I wanted him to lick harder, to press those sinful lips against my pulse. To sink his teeth into my flesh and give me the same orgasm he’d given Julianna-

Reality hit me with force. I was making out with a vampire. My enemy. Noah’s captor.

Ashamed, I squirmed out of his embrace. “Stop it,” I said. “Don’t touch me.”

Zane didn’t seem offended by my reaction. He only looked at me with those hooded eyes, and a lazy grin spread over his mouth, sending my pulse skyrocketing. “For someone who professes to hate vampires, you sure do like kissing them.”

“You’re a pig,” I called back, storming away to hide the shiver of attraction I felt. “Find your own way home. You’re not coming with me.”

“Don’t you want your purse?” he said behind me, his amusement obvious. “You left it and your notebook here.”

Blast. I swore under my breath and stalked back to him, snatching them from his hands. “Do me a favor and leave me alone.”

His hand clasped around my wrist, stopping me. “Don’t be like that, Princess. I’m sorry I kissed you.”

I’m not, I thought, and hated myself for it. “Don’t touch me again,” I said, wrestling my hand out of his grip. “We’re not going to be able to work together if you don’t follow the most simple rules. I told you not to eat my boss, and you didn’t listen to me, and now you’ve cost me my job. How am I supposed to trust you on this treasure hunt if you won’t behave for five minutes? Just go back to the queen and leave me to handle this-it’s my life we’re screwing around with, after all.”

As I turned away, strong hands gripped my shoulders and forced me to turn around. I looked up at him breathlessly, part of me hoping that he’d give me another one of those soft kisses and part of me disgusted that I’d even look forward to it.

His expression was sober, though, and he clasped my hand in his own and brought it to his lips. “Jackie,” he murmured against the flesh of my palm, and a shiver went down my spine despite myself. “You know I would never do anything to hurt you.”

I was having a hard time concentrating all of a sudden. His lips danced across my skin, and my nerves shuddered with delight. I pictured those lips moving across my throat like they had on Julianna. I pictured them skimming across my breasts, teasing the tips with his sensual lips that I wanted to bite.

“You wouldn’t hurt me? You just did.” I had to force the words out and stared pointedly at Julianna, sprawled across the museum floor.

He shook his head and the stubble on his chin scraped against my hand. “Why do you distrust me so much, Jackie? Why is it you trust me so little and trust Noah so much?”

“Gee, I don’t know,” I said. “Could it be the fact that one of your kind attacked me in a bar and sent me down the path that I’m on right now?”

“I see.” His voice sounded sad, so unlike the urbane, devil-may-care Zane I knew. “Perhaps someday you will learn to trust me.”

I walked away.

Remy was waiting in the driveway as we pulled up to her mansion a short time later. Suitcases littered the sidewalk, and she had her cell phone clutched to her ear. “Oh good,” she called as I pulled into the driveway. “I was just about to go looking for you. We need to hurry or we’re not going to catch the next flight.”

I’d barely put the car in park before she swung open the rear hatch and tossed a suitcase inside.

“Right now?” I sputtered. “We have to go right now? But I haven’t even packed …” I trailed off, feeling unsettled. If we left now, it meant this whole crazy thing was green-lighted. I really was going after a halo like some sort of oversexed Indiana Jones. I mean, of course I knew this was going to happen. But right now?

Right now?

The thought scared me shitless. I jerked the keys out of the ignition and bolted out of the car.

“Hey,” Remy called after me. “Where are you going? We need to leave if we want to make our flight.”

“Be right back. Bathroom break,” I called as I dashed inside and ran up to my room. I slammed the door behind me and leaned on it, my heart hammering. Somewhere out there was a halo with my name on it, and a thousand pissed-off vampires were searching for it, too. I grabbed a tote bag and stuffed a few items in it.

My bedroom door opened and I looked over.

Zane.

“Don’t you knock?” I shot him an irritated look and forced the zipper shut on my bag. There were a few things left in my life that I didn’t want him sticking his nose into.

“You seem a bit flustered,” he observed. “Something bothering you?”

“You mean other than the fact we’re on a witch hunt for a halo that the queen of all vampires wants, and if she gets it, we’re screwed? But if she doesn’t, Noah’s screwed and me, too, because he’s the only guy I’m screwing?” I gave a sharp, bitter laugh.

Zane slid over to me. “Is that what you’re worried about? ’Cause I’ve got all the same parts as your angel, babe, and I certainly don’t mind helping the needy-”

I covered his mouth before he could finish. “Such a hero. Pardon me if I pass.”

He pulled away from my hand. “The offer stands for as long as you like.” I could hear the laughter in his voice. “Vampires are known for their … endurance.”

I snorted, trying to deny the mental picture that made my knees weak. “Forget it,” I said. “You wouldn’t understand what I mean. I’m not looking for stud service.” Though he definitely fit the status of “stud.”

“Suit yourself, but you’ll come around … in about twenty-four hours, unless I miss my guess.”

Asshole. I stomped back down to the car, tote bag tucked under my arm. But as soon as I hit the driveway, another disturbing sight made me pause.

Beside Remy stood a really cute unfamiliar guy, loading her bags into the back of the car. He looked like a surfer-tan, muscular, bleached blond hair. He also looked like a college kid. I’d never seen him before.

I tossed my tote into the car and strode around to the back. “Uh, Remy? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

She gave me a distracted look. “Huh? Oh, sure. Stan, can you finish loading the car? Don’t forget your things.” Remy batted her eyelashes at him.

I dragged her over to the far side of the car. “Who the heck is that?”

Remy looked surprised at my vehement reaction. “It’s Stan.”

I resisted the urge to bang my head against the windshield. Repeatedly. “And just who is Stan, and why’s he coming with us?”

She patted me on the arm. “He’s for the Itch, hon. I’m due in about eight hours, so I figured I’d need someone along for the Mile High Club and Stan has a passport. Besides, we don’t know how long we’ll be gone.” She looked at Stan and a tiny sigh escaped her. “Just look at those muscles. Hard to believe I found him in a grocery store.”

“Not so hard,” I snapped. “He looks like he has the IQ of a cabbage.”

“Jealous?” Remy grinned at me. “I notice you don’t seem to have anyone along for the ride. Not exactly forward thinking, given our situation.”

“I’ve got it covered,” I snapped, embarrassed and irritated.

“Are you sure? Because-”

I held up a hand. “Trust me, I’ve got it covered.” She didn’t need to know that I’d packed a vibrator. Zane wasn’t an option; I wasn’t touching that man even if he was the last jerk on earth. “Does he have a ticket? Can we just get going already?”

Remy blinked in surprise. “Wow, something eating you?”

“Nothing I want to talk about, thank you.” I got into the car and turned on the engine, waiting for everyone else to get ready.

Egypt. Ready or not, here we come.