Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

Boy, she’d missed that. She hadn’t realized how much non-work time they spent together until this assignment had separated them.

When the sun set, Sean applied the temporary tattoos and showed her the hair wax that made him look blond.

She stared at him. “That’s amazing.” He even added a little to his eyebrows to lighten them. “You really look blond.” Then she grinned. “Once all this is over, can I talk you into trying the blue?”

Smiling, he stole a quick kiss. “You can talk me into just about anything, beautiful.”

Pleasure brought a warm flush to her cheeks as they left the dorm. When they exited the building and descended the steps, he took her hand.

An unseasonably warm breeze caressed them, drawing her hair back.

This was nice, strolling along the sidewalk with Sean’s fingers twined through hers.

A tall, absolutely stunning woman walked toward them, drawing Nicole’s gaze. If anyone were to look up the term sexy librarian, they would surely find a picture of this woman. Every man within viewing distance took notice. With her dark hair twisted up in a disheveled bun, she wore black-rimmed glasses. Her white blouse boasted a conservative cut that offered not a glimpse of cleavage, yet left no doubt that she was full-breasted. She shifted the strap of a briefcase looped over one shoulder, wrinkling her black business suit jacket. Matching slacks followed the lines of her long, long legs and ended in… sneakers?

Nicole smiled. She’d heard that Leah was self-conscious about her height. Of course she would wear sneaks instead of heels. And yet, the casual shoes failed to reduce her sex appeal.

As Leah drew even with them, she smiled. “Evening, Becca.”

“Hi, Professor.”

“Great job on that biology exam.”

She grinned. “Thank you.”

Leah kept walking.

Sean nudged Nicole. “I knew you’d ace it,” he said, adopting a British accent once more.

She laughed.

A short while later, they encountered Roland and Marcus.

Nicole stared. She couldn’t recall ever seeing them outside their hunting togs before.

Both now sported black tracksuits that hugged muscular forms. They approached at a loose jog with white earbuds tucked in their ears. Nodding, as though to a stranger, the powerful immortals kept going.

It took considerable effort to suppress the desire to look back at them.

A block away from the restaurant, she and Sean turned a corner and bumped into Krysta and Étienne. Like Roland and Marcus, Sean’s sister and her husband had abandoned their hunting garb in favor of jeans and dark sweaters.

“Excuse us,” Krysta murmured absently, stepped past them, then addressed Étienne in aggravated tones. “That woman is not staying in our house. She hates me.”

“That woman,” Étienne replied testily, “is my mother. And I will not make her stay in a hotel after spending ten hours flying here from France.”

As their faux bickering faded away, Nicole blinked back tears.

Were they all there to watch over her? Even curmudgeonly Roland?

That was so sweet.

And thus began a ritual. Every day, Nicole would go for a jog, grab some lunch, and return to spend the rest of the afternoon with Sean in the dorm. Then they’d head to the restaurant for dinner and spot several casually dressed immortals along the way. Almost every immortal in the area appeared at some point. Even David found time to check up on them.

It seemed to go a long way toward easing Sean’s concerns. After that first night, he relaxed into the boyfriend role, and the two of them simply enjoyed themselves. They dined out every night, sometimes went clubbing and dancing, then returned to the dorm, where they fell into each other’s arms. Sometimes their lovemaking was slow and sweet. Sometimes it was fiery and passionate. And sometimes it was playful, sparking as many laughs and chuckles as it did moans.

Even though everyone kept waiting for that other shoe to drop—for more vampires to whisk Becca away again—it was one of the best weeks of Nicole’s life. Her college experience had been so different from this one. For most of her existence, she had lacked friends and family who cared about her enough to have her back. And Sean…

Sean was perfect. She had worried that sleeping with him might change things, and it had. Just not in the way she’d thought. There was no awkwardness. No tension. No uncertainty.

They simply grew closer. And closer.

I’m falling in love with him, she thought as her sneakers pounded the pavement. It felt so right that she had to wonder why she’d ever questioned the wisdom of it.

She almost hated for her Becca ruse to end. But soon, it would. Cliff texted them regularly, updating them on Aidan’s progress. According to the last message she’d received, Aidan would take over as Becca tomorrow. Things would get back to business as usual. And she would no longer be able to spend all day and night with Sean.

She sighed. Naturally, Sean was all smiles. Not because it was Taco Tuesday again, but because he was glad Nicole would no longer be in danger.

Her lips twitched.

Okay, partly because it was Taco Tuesday. That man’s appetite was unmatched. She didn’t know if it resulted from the lean years he’d endured before joining the Immortal Guardians or because he burned so many calories now, but he was always hungry.

Bright sunlight filtered down through the trees, dappling the grass and pavement. There weren’t as many students out and about today. A cold front had swept through the previous night, driving those who disliked nippy temps inside.