Page 23 of The Incubus and the Bodyguard

Vlad’s eyes snapped open. He sat up and scanned the room.

There was no sign of Delphine.

If not for the rumpled sheets and the lingering scent of her perfume on his pillow, he might have thought he’d dreamed the whole thing.

Vlad slumped and scrubbed a hand over his face, torn between disappointment and grudging admiration. Delphine had managed to slip out without him noticing, something he suspected might have happened even if he’d been in full possession of his demonic powers.

Guess she only wanted a one-night stand.

He dropped back down on the pillow and stared at the ceiling.

On a scale of one to ten, last night had been a solid one hundred. A dry smile stretched his lips. He’d almost struggled to keep up with Delphine’s stamina without his incubus powers.

She really was something.

The chances that they would meet again was pretty much nil. Vlad had no doubt Delphine would not visit theVelvet Roomwhile she remained in New York for business.

He climbed out of bed and hit the shower, determined to put the encounter behind him.

It had been a spectacular night and it would make for a great memory.

It wasn’t until he was adjusting his silk tie moments later that he realized something that stunned him. Vlad’s hand stilled.

The hollow feeling he’d carried inside him after losing Mae to Nikolai had all but faded.

He stared at his reflection in the floor-length mirror in his dressing room.

Have I moved on from her?

He knew he would always hold a deep affection for Mae. But the wound she had inadvertently carved into his heart felt like it was finally healing.

Vlad wondered whether the woman he’d just spent the night with had anything to do with it.

I guess I’ll never find out, since I’m not going to see her again.

He exited the dressing room, his steps light. Tarang was sprawled in a patch of sunlight on the landing when he opened the bedroom door.

“You could have warned me she was leaving,” Vlad told the tiger drily.

Tarang huffed guiltily.

“Come on.” Vlad headed for the stairs. “Let’s get you some breakfast.”

Tarang licked his chops and rose to follow him.

Vlad’s phone buzzed as he was pouring himself a coffee.

It was Gustav, reminding him that he had to be at Yuliy’s mansion at ten a.m. to meet his new bodyguard.

CHAPTEREIGHT

Delphine turnedher black Range Rover onto a private road in Mill Basin, her mind still full of the man whose bed she’d left that morning.

Vlad’s kisses. His hands in her hair and on her body. The way he’d moved above and beneath her, his face flushed with pleasure and his fingers holding her hips firmly in place as they’d made love.

He’d tasted like sin and promises she should never have been tempted by.

Delphine frowned.

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