Page 24 of My Boyfriend Bites

“Because it will be. I promise.”

When they arrived at the gangway, the cruise agent from before frowned as they neared. “Excuse me, but you can’t board.”

“We’re passengers on this ship,” Dante stated. “As a matter of fact, this is the young woman who was missing from that excursion this afternoon. She’s had quite the ordeal and would like to adjourn to her cabin.”

The woman pursed her lips. “I’ll need to contact the captain and see if she’s allowed back or if she needs to go into town for questioning.”

“Already spoke to the cops,” Dante lied, and Selene didn’t contradict. She remained silent by his side, clenching her fists, trying not to get upset.

“I’ll still need to inform the captain,” the agent insisted.

Dante leaned closer so Selene couldn’t see his eyes turning dark as he murmured, “You will tell the captain the missing passenger is safely aboard and all is well. The police have been handled. The ship is free to depart.” Then, because Selene watched, he handed the woman a fifty. Let her think theemployee accepted his statements because of money and not because he’d given her a mental push.

“Get to your cabins. We’ll be leaving in the morning.” The woman stepped aside, and they boarded the ship.

A lip-chewing Selene murmured, “That was almost too easy. I expected a little more drama, given events.”

“The cruise industry does its best to avoid anything that might hurt its bottom line. Passengers getting robbed and kidnapped on excursions isn’t something they want bandied around. It is in everyone’s best interest to keep quiet.”

“As Grams would say back home, damned capitalists.”

“Your grandmother sounds smart.”

“Oh, she’s not mine but Derek’s, Athena’s husband. Grams and Gramps are apocalypse nuts. They’ve got a bomb shelter under their house and enough guns to start their own mini war.”

“Interesting people,” he murmured as they entered the elevator.

“Very. I like them quite a bit. They’re profane but honest.”

“Unlike my mother, who is a polished liar.”

She gave him a startled look.

He laughed. “Not with me. Mother is an old-school aristocrat who could charm the pants off any world leader if she tried. Luckily for us, she doesn’t use her charm for power.”

“And your father?”

“Dead,” his flat reply. No point in explaining his father hadn’t taken the news of his son’s vampirism too well, or his wife’s for that matter. He’d tried to stake Dante in the crib. Mother stopped him by snapping his neck and then tossed him down the stairs. The coroner ruled it an accidental death.

“My dad died when I was a kid. Hunting accident,” she softly admitted.

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too. He was a good guy.” She glanced at him. “Kind of thought he was a rare breed but I might have been wrong.”

He almost preened. Funny how even an inadvertent compliment could boost a man’s esteem.

Dante saw Selene to her cabin door, where she paused and tilted her head to look him in the eye. “Thank you, Dante. While I would have eventually found my way, I do appreciate that you cared enough to come looking for me.”

“Someone had to be your hero.”

Her lips curved. “A hero that deserves a thank you. Dinner tomorrow?”

“It would be my honor.” He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed the back of it, noting her shiver. “Until tomorrow evening.”

To his surprise, she lifted on tiptoe and brushed a kiss on his lips, murmuring, “I promise to not bail this time.”

With that, she slipped into her room, and he stood a moment staring at the door before turning to enter his own. Renard sat with a laptop, the screen showing the security feeds for the ship.

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