Page 56 of Seduction in Blood
"You look uncomfortable." Devon took a long drink from his porter while studying me.
"I feel like I dropped into a different world." I sipped my cider and glanced around. "You're full of surprises, Devon Trelane."
"Is there anything you don't like on your pizza?"
"Anchovies and sausage."
Devon ordered a large pizza and two side salads.
"Doesn't this go against your organic eating rules?"
He shrugged. "This isn't a place we visit every day, maybe once a month or so. I normally reserve the entire third floor, and they're very accommodating with special orders. But I thought you could use a real pizza." He lifted his mug. "You've earned it."
I clinked my glass with his mug. "Not yet."
"You've accomplished a great deal these last six days. More than I could have hoped for." He lifted one of my hands and kissed it. "Now, enough business talk. Tell me what you and Ginger normally do to relax."
It seemed like an odd request, but it was better than him asking about my childhood or Christopher. The time flew as we ate pizza. I shared my close calls as a cat burglar and the crazy antics of the crews I'd worked with. He told me stories about Sergi and Lucas that had me laughing so hard I snorted cider out my nose.
That was when he decided to test my abilities at the games. He was so different in this environment, more relaxed than I'd ever seen him. His quick reflexes as a vamp could be considered cheating, and I advised him of that.
He stared at the floor in front of the dartboard. "I'll take four paces back."
"Five."
He scowled. "Fine."
It didn't matter, and he couldn't stop laughing after watching my first two darts hit the board and fall to the floor. "You can't even play."
His chortles were infectious, and I laughed with him. "Nope. I always figured I'd poke someone's eye out."
"Then why all the fuss about where I stood?"
"I just wanted to see if you'd do it."
He actually patted my ass when he moved us to the air hockey tables. It wouldn't matter how many points he gave me before we started, there was no way I could match him at this game. When we moved on to the pool tables, I finally found a game where his vamp speed wouldn't help. His quick mind would be able to read the bank shots better, but experience turned out to be my advantage. After three games, Devon gave in.
"Be honest. Do you hustle for money in your spare time?"
I winked. "Sometimes there's a long break between jobs."
"So, you played me?"
"Please. Like I haven't been dealing with your meteoric vamp skills the entire night."
He grinned. His laughter had been lighthearted throughout the evening, but this time, his smile traveled to my core, spreading a warm tingle through me. "It appears we're evenly matched then."
Those words played in the back of my mind the entire drive home. Was there more to his words, or was I reaching?
His banter continued as he parked in front of the house and guided me to the library, where he poured two snifters of cognac. We sat side-by-side on the sofa, and the conversation became more serious. He spoke of his vamp family and his plans to expand the bungalows at Oasis to accommodate other species like shifters. With his acreage, they could shift and run, though the hunting would be scarce.
"Why would you want shifters at your home?"
"Not all the time, but for specific meetings and gatherings." He stared at the small fire he'd started in the hearth, then at the snifter, the firelight dancing with the warm color of the cognac. "One of the areas I differed from several Council members was the need to share policies and rulings over all magical beings. A Council with equal representation from both the vampires and the shifters. Times have changed. As the human population increases and our numbers remain relatively the same, we need to combine efforts."
"At dominating the human race?"
He shook his head. "I do hope that was a joke." When I didn't respond, he blew out a frustrated sigh. "I agree there is a faction in my world that considers humans a lesser species. But most of us just consider them a different species—no less or better than another. I admit, consideration of equality among all the species is a more enlightened approach that some have difficulty subscribing to. But there are many of us, most still guarded about publicly voicing it, that feel our species will be in trouble if we don't find a balance."
