Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

“No.” Nicole beat back the fear. “I’m good. Thank you.”

Nodding uncertainly, he vanished.

Sean’s hold on her hand tightened.

When Nicole looked up, her heart gave a funny little leap and began to pound loudly in her ears.

Sean’s eyes glowed bright amber as he studied her with an intensity that drove all thought from her head. “I could’ve lost you today,” he professed, his voice hoarse with the emotion he’d refused to display in front of the others.

She nodded, unable to find her voice.

It had been a close call.

Too close.

They fell into each other’s arms, their lips merging in a long, desperate kiss. Fire licked through her, speeding her pulse.

“I could’ve lost you,” he repeated, the words tortured.

“I could’ve lost you, too.” She parted her lips, inviting him in, reveling in the stroke of his tongue and the heat it inspired.

Sean slid his hands down her back, then curled them over her bottom and lifted her up. “Wrap your legs around me.”

Nicole didn’t hesitate, locking her ankles behind his back. Both moaned when her core settled over the hard ridge his pants restrained. He felt so good, and she needed him so much.

Clicks sounded beside them as locks turned. The front door opened.

Oh crap. Nicole dropped her legs to the front porch’s planks and swiftly placed some distance between her and Sean.

Cliff stood in the open doorway. “Oh my,” he said, deadpan. “What is this? Sean and Nicole kissing on the front porch? Do my eyes deceive me? I must be mistaken. Surely they would never break the rules.”

Emma stepped up beside him and viewed them with exaggerated shock. “Sean and Nicole kissed?” Like Cliff’s, her voice was almost robotic in its lack of surprise. “Surely you are mistaken. It cannot be. Whatever can this mean?”

When Sean burst out laughing, Nicole joined him.

“All right, all right,” he said. “We get it. You aren’t surprised.”

Cliff shook his head. “You two becoming more than friends was the worst-kept secret in North Carolina.” Stepping back, he and Emma gave them room to enter.

Nicole frowned. “How did you know about us?” It wasn’t as though they had made out on David’s couch or something. “And do Seth and David know? Because I got the distinct impression they do, which I don’t get because we were just friends until this past week.”

Cliff closed the door. “Don’t you ever check out the Immortal Guardians betting book?”

Sean cast her a confused look. “Immortals have a betting book?”

“Yes.” She thought about it for a moment. “At least, it used to be a book. Or probably a series of them, considering how long some of these guys have lived and their propensity for gambling. But I think now it’s less a book and more an encrypted online database. I haven’t accessed it myself, but I saw Tracy look something up in it once. Immortals and their Seconds both bet in it.”

“A lot,” Cliff added.

Sean’s brow creased with puzzlement. “Seriously?”

She smiled. “I know. It’s weird, right?”

“Very weird. Is it like sports betting?”

Cliff rolled his eyes. “It isn’t just sports. Those guys bet on everything.”

Nicole nodded. “When Tracy accessed the database, she was looking up when Seth would kiss a woman and when he would fall in love again.”

Disbelief swept Sean’s features. “Immortal Guardians bet about that?”

She grinned. “A lot of them. Darnell won both bets.”

“A little friendly advice,” Cliff said. “Don’t bet against Darnell.”

Sean frowned. “What does the Immortal Guardians betting book have to do with us?”

Nicole wanted to know that, too. She had placed no bets in it. And Sean hadn’t even known it existed.

Cliff grinned. “Darnell bet you two would fall in love.”

Her jaw dropped. People were betting about her and Sean? “What?” While she didn’t particularly like that people were wagering over her personal life, the fact that she rated high enough to be mentioned in the book at all made her feel even more like she was part of the Immortal Guardians’ family. “When?”

“When what?” Cliff asked. “When you would fall in love?”

“No. When did he place the bet?”

“The day you became Sean’s Second.”

Unbelievable.

Cliff locked the front door. “What happened today anyway? Darius called and said there’d been a change of plans, which I took to mean that Sean had somehow jacked up the operation.”

Unoffended, Sean laughed. “You know me well.”

Cliff shrugged. “I figured you would do anything to keep Nicole safe, so it did not surprise me to hear you’d gone after her when the bad guys nabbed her. Last I heard, though, you two were on a plane.”

Sean gave them an abbreviated account of the day’s events.

Emma drew Nicole into a hug, her pretty face full of concern. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Cliff nodded. “Good thing you held onto your phone.”

Sean laughed. “Yeah.”

Cliff studied them both. “I’m guessing by the clinch I interrupted on the front porch that you two could use some alone time.”