Page 15 of In the Monster's Wake
“Oh, I know you could.You just did, didn’t you?”
The human pushed against Archibald's hold, but Archibald wasn’t an idiot.He’d been punched and bitten enough for one night.He wasn’t letting go until he was sure that the human wouldn’t attack him again.“I noticed someone following you.”
The human stopped wiggling and frowned.“Maybe they wanted to use the bathroom?”
“Or maybe they wanted to kill you.”
“Why would anyone in the club want to kill me?”
Archibald hesitated.“There are monsters in this club.Some of them don’t have a conscience or empathy.”And from what he’d heard, Kester was part of that group.
The human was still frowning, but he relaxed.“You can let go.I won’t punch you again.”
Archibald pressed close for a few more seconds, then pushed away from the human and the wall.He didn’t leave, though.They stared at each other, and Archibald had to resist the urge to press closer again.
Not only was the human gorgeous, but he was clearly not afraid to stand up to Archibald.Archibald was very obviously not human.A lot of people wouldn’t want to be stuck in a deserted hallway with him, but the human didn’t seem to care.He hadn’t seemed to care when he’d fought Archibald, either.
Archibald was impressed and intrigued.
“I’m sorry I punched you,” the human said.
He didn’t look sorry, but Archibald didn’t say anything about that.“You should be careful.There are bad people out there, and not all of them are human.”
The human snorted.“I’m aware.I guess I should thank you for following me to the bathroom.”
“I don’t expect you to thank me, but I know what I’m talking about.I’m a PI, and I’m here for work.That should tell you everything you need to know about the people in this club.”
The human squinted.“You’re a PI?”
Archibald slid out a card from his pocket and held it up.“Here.”
The human took it with two fingers and glanced at it.“Archibald?”
“It’s a perfectly respectable name.”
“It also makes you sound like you’re a hundred years old.”He squinted.“Are you?”
“I’m not.”Archibald tilted his chin toward the card.“Anyway, if you need anything, feel free to call me.”He added a wink so that the human would know what he was talking about.
The man’s cheeks flushed.“What the fuck, man?”
“What?That kiss was pretty good.I don’t even know your name, and I want to do it again.”
“You don’t need to know my name to do it again.”
Archibald grinned and stepped closer again.“Oh?You’d let me kiss you again without punching me?”He leaned forward and ran his nose along the slightly damp skin of the human’s neck.He felt the human shiver and grinned.Yes, the human woulddefinitelylet Archibald do that again.
The human grunted and pushed Archibald away.“I’m Jasper.”
It was a name that fit.It sounded strong and stubborn, something Jasper definitely was.“It was a pleasure meeting you, Jasper.Be careful out there.There’s a monster on the loose, and he doesn’t discriminate between humans and monsters.I wouldn’t want you to be his next victim.”Archibald didn’t know if Jasper would use his card and call him, but he hoped for a repeat of the kiss.“Call me,” he said with a wink.
He didn’t wait to see what Jasper would say.He turned and walked back into the main hallway, then into the club.
There were no signs of the tall man with the jeans jacket he’d been following.Maybe the guy had just needed to use the bathroom.
Archibald liked the way his evening had gone, even though he hadn’t found Kester.It hadn’t been such a bad idea to come to the club, after all.
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