Page 12 of Another One Bites the Lust
But everything was wrong about her leaving.
To her, it was just pretend. I’d be a fool if I thought otherwise.
“I’ll talk to him.” I straightened. “Warn him to leave you alone.” If he didn’t, I’d be more persuasive. Such as ripping his snarling head off his undead neck.
“No need for a confrontation,” she said. “But I think seeing me with someone else is finally nailing it into his coffin that it’s over.” She motioned toward me. “Are you free at midnight tomorrow?”
I had a show earlier in the night but would be finished by then. “Yes.”
“Interested in art?”
“Art?” I repeated.
“Yes, there’s an art auction for the late-night crowd.” She chuckled. “Essentially rich vampires. Want to join me as mydate?”
“Of course.” Then my throat tightened. I had less than a day to try to learn something about art so I wouldn’t look like an idiot.
The next day after practice,I headed over to the library. Piper, a witch with pinkish hair who worked art auctions and was my bandmate Rex’s mate, sat at the desk. She helped a woman check out a book.
When she saw me, her eyes widened. “Van, is that really you—in a library?”
“Yeah.” I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled. “You work here?”
“Not usually. I was asked to cover for someone for a couple of hours. Easy enough gig.”
I stepped closer. “Piper, can you help me?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“I—uh—” I glanced around. Shelf after shelf of books. “I need to learn about art.”
She squinted at me. “What specifically?”
How would I know? I adjusted my weight, my hands feeling clammy. “Whatever you’re showing tonight.”
She snapped her head back with surprise. “At the art auction?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you coming? I’ve never seen you there before.”
I nudged my chin up. “I have a date.”
Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh, a date, eh?” Several weeks ago, Piper and Kylie had talked about placing bets on who would be next at finding their mate—Caleb or me. I’d sworn that it would never happen for me, but that was before a tall, stunning vampire with sleek black hair had stepped on board.
And now? I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I couldn’t really have found my mate, could I?
Yes, my jaguar insisted.
“And I want to impress her,” I told Piper. “She’s—elegant, sophisticated, rich?—”
Piper let out a low chuckle. “Sounds like she’s out of your league.”
I grunted. “Exactly. And I don’t want to sound like a bumbling baboon. Can you give me a quick overview of art?”
Piper glanced at a clock. “That would take more than a few minutes, Van, so I’m afraid not. I have to close up the library and then I have stuff to do before the auction. Our main attraction tonight is a painting of a dryad in the forest.” She clucked her tongue and then flashed a teasing grin. “That means no time to help you get laid, Casanova.”
I straightened, somewhat uncomfortable. Sure, I wanted to sleep with Celeste, but she was more than someone just for the night. “It’s not like that.”
