Page 57 of Haunt the Mall

“I was talking to Jinx.” I bit on my tongue to keep from laughing. “Byeee, have a great night.”

I hung up, then kissed my cat’s forehead. He closed his eyes and purred, rubbing his face on my chin.

“Thanks for the good luck, buddy. I’ll be back tonight.” I peppered him with a few more kisses before my phone pinged.

This man. I smiled and shook my head. I loved this playful pretentiousness.

By the time I got outside, Victor was leaning against the trunk of his car, his hands in his pockets, the very image of a cool man in a sexy waistcoat-vest.

“Hello, Miss Katherine,” he said, his voice draping me in velvet sin.

Fuck, I wanted to mount him.

“Good evening, Mister Victor.” I giggled, rolling onto my toes to hug him. “You’re extra handsome today.”

He smiled and held my waist, even as I eased onto flat feet. “You look magnificent,” he purred.

“Good enough to eat?” I asked, basking in his wolfish gaze.

“Absolutely.” His teeth gleamed. He flexed his grip on my hip. “But we do have appointments to keep.”

“Oh, appointments, yes. We must depart at once, please.” I kissed him, then bounced back to curtsey.

He chuckled and fussed with his bangs as he bowed to me.

We were so fancy, going someplace that required a reservation.

He lengthened his strides to get to the passenger’s side of his car, then opened the door for me.

“Thank you, sir.” I slipped into the seat and took inventory. No lipstick in the cupholders. Great sign he wasn’t seeing someone else. No trash, either. But a decent amount of crumpled leaf debris, which meant he didn’t vacuum obsessively. A strip of interior LEDs hugged the windshield frame and dashboard.

“Oh my gosh, what are these?” I poked the plastic strips.

He buckled himself in. “Um, a present.”

“From whom?” I grinned.

“Family,” he muttered, inputting the haunted house in his GPS.

“Your family is fucking epic.” I leaned back in my seat. With this all-black interior, the lights would glow like the inside of a spaceship or the Batmobile or something. “Do they work?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s see.” I sat forward and placed my hands on the dashboard, half expecting us to back up at warp speed.

Victor eased out of the parking spot. “They’re kind of distracting.”

“Oh, really? That sucks. I thought they’d be pretty.” I crossed my ankles. “But safety first, obviously.”

His gaze fretted across my face. “You expect they’d make for a prettier drive?”

“Yeah.” I smiled and shrugged. “This would be like a superhero pod. But I’ve already got a lot to admire next to me.”

Flushing, he turned away, clearly fighting a smile. “Okay, I’ll turn them on. But only for a second. And only when it’s dark.”

“Ooh, living dangerously,” I teased, threading my fingers through his.

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