Page 271 of Flirting with Darkness

He sat there considering her empty glass.

Should he go after her?

That would be the smart thing to do.

The girl would never see him, never even know he was there.

He definitely hadn’t seen her before, and she wasn’t a human. At least, he was pretty sure she wasn’t. If she did something stupid in his territory, the boss would hand him his ass.

Dex sighed and stood.

Everyone who had been watching him and Nova was careful not to make eye contact, and everyone else shied away from him out of instinct.

The bartender took the vodka bottle with a nod. Dex would come back and finish it later, maybe another bottle after it would finally get him in that buzzed state. Thanks to Nova and her mysterious lack of scent, he was completely sober now.

And her lips.

They were fuller than he’d been expecting.

Dex glared, annoyed that he was even thinking about that. She could be an actual threat, and here he was, thinking about her fucking lips.

Why did she hide half her face anyways? What was under all those purple curls that she didn’t want anyone to see?

Dex stepped outside and froze when he realized he wouldn’t be able to follow her scent.

Hiking his coat up, he looked left and then right.

There – her purple hair.

Backing into the shadow of the wall in case she looked over her shoulder, he watched her closely. His eyes narrowed when he noticed the way light seemed to slide away from her, the shadows clinging to her unnaturally.

What the fuck was she?

The streetlights didn’t exactly flicker when she passed, but they dimmed ever so slightly, and humans avoided her.

Interesting.

Dex went down the street after her and then turned into an alley. He jumped and grabbed the fire escape, pulling himself up, landing on the railing in a crouch. Then he leapt for the next level. Up and up until he reached the roof.

Walking along the rooftops allowed him to follow her without whatever senses she had becoming aware of him.

Where was she going?

He jumped from one building to the next easily enough, keeping an eye on the streets and the people walking along them. Friday night was always busy.

The light turned red and she stood there, waiting patiently at the corner.

Fuck.

She was leaving official Corp territory.

Dex considered the risk.

If his boss learned there was a new paranormal in town, one they couldn’t accurately assess the risk of, he’d punish Dex for the fuck-up.

He crouched in the shadows and studied her again.

Nothing about the way she dressed told him anything other than she didn’t want people looking at her skin, or her face. The way she carried herself – well, she wasn’t afraid to walk alone at night.

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