Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

“Yes, damn it. It’s freakishly appealing.”

Taking him by the shoulders, she turned him around and pushed him toward the door. “Go get laid, Sean.”

Laughing, he dug in his heels and faced her. “I didn’t say it turned me on.” Assuming a thoughtful expression, he tilted his head to one side, narrowed his eyes, and stroked his chin. “Although…”

Nicole shook her head with a grin and checked her watch. “Ooh. I have to go, or I’ll be late. Nick told me to pick Becca up at her dorm before sunset.”

Abandoning his pose, Sean followed her from the armory. “Seriously, Nicole, I don’t think you should go alone.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not one of those women you see in made-for-TV movies who receives death threats then—having no self-defense experience at all—refuses protection and goes for late-night walks alone. I have weapons. I know how to handle myself. And I have Richart on speed dial. If Nick and Kayla are okay with it, you should be, too.”

“I wish you had put that a different way.”

“Put what?”

“That you know how to handle yourself.”

Again she laughed. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“I’m trying,” he said with amusing bafflement. “It just isn’t cooperating.”

She halted before the front door. “Where do you plan to hunt tonight?”

“Duke.”

Nicole had already tucked her mini wallet in a back pocket, unwilling to carry a purse that might get in the way should Reed attack. So she grabbed her keys off the table by the door. “With Tessa?” she asked casually. The two had hunted together three or four times now.

“No. Alone.”

She stared up at him. Relief and worry warred within her. She still didn’t trust Tessa and would rather he not hunt with her. And yet, Nicole didn’t want him to hunt alone and couldn’t shadow him tonight. Not until after she returned Becca to her dorm, where Kayla would be waiting for her.

Should she suggest he hunt with Krysta and Étienne? That was a bit of a sore subject for Sean. He loved his sister but didn’t like feeling as if he needed a babysitter after the years he’d spent sitting on the sidelines while she hunted vampires without him.

“What?” he asked when she said nothing. “Still have that bad feeling?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “It’s weaker but still there.” Reaching out, she clasped his hand and stared down at it. Though she wasn’t as petite as some of the other gifted one and immortal women, his hand was so much larger by comparison that it made hers look delicate.

Warmth engulfed her when he curled his fingers around hers.

Quiet fell.

“Anything?” he asked softly.

She shook her head. “Just the same buzz in the background that I’ve had for days. I think it would get stronger if you were in danger, though, so you should be good tonight. Becca, too.”

“And you,” he said with a smile.

It didn’t always work that way. Her gift had totally screwed her in the past by not offering a heads-up that she was in danger. But she forced a smile. “And me.”

He gave her hand an affectionate squeeze, then released it. “Be safe. And call me if you need me.”

“I will. Don’t forget to take a tranq gun with you tonight.”

“I won’t.”

“See you later.” Nicole headed outside and skipped down the front steps. The wispy clouds above were already acquiring a coral hue as the sun approached the horizon. Sheesh. She’d better hurry, or she wouldn’t reach Duke before the sun set. Nick and Kayla were probably antsy enough about this already. How much more so would they be if the woman they’d asked to guard their daughter was tardy?

Despite the crush of rush hour traffic, Nicole managed to reach Becca’s dorm before the sky darkened enough for vampires to venture out.

Becca sat on the front steps, chatting with Kayla.

Most of the college students Nicole had known would’ve been horrified by the notion of their mom hanging out with them on campus. But these two had been best friends ever since Kayla had divorced Becca’s adulterous father several years ago. And now that Kayla was immortal, she looked almost as young as her daughter. Nicole doubted anyone who saw them together would even guess they were mother and daughter.

Kayla waved. “Hi, Nicole.”

Waving back, Nicole joined them. “You ready for a night out on the town?” she asked Becca.

Her friend responded with an enthusiastic, “Yes!”

Kayla’s smile seemed a tad strained as she kissed her daughter’s cheek and gave her a hug. “Well, I’ll be on my way then. You girls be careful.”

“We will,” Becca promised. “Bye, Mom.”

As Kayla walked away, Nicole asked loudly enough for her voice to carry, “So how many keggers are we hitting tonight?”

Kayla spun around, eyes wide, mouth open to protest. Then she caught Nicole’s teasing expression and relaxed.

Becca burst out laughing.

Shaking her head, Kayla sent them a rueful smile. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Now that she’s immortal,” Becca murmured as her mother walked away, “I don’t think there is anything she wouldn’t do.”