Sara Humphreys: Tall, Dark, and Vampire

Doug saw the bouncer approaching with a sexy blond, and the moment he set eyes on her, he knew she wasn’t the doer. She was far too small to have put Ronald in the dumpster—at least without help.

He glanced at his partner. Tom had a weakness for sweet, young things like this one, which was why he was no longer married. The petite bartender looked innocent, but Doug had enough time on the street to know that she was anything but that, and the image of a black widow spider came to mind.

She wasn’t the kind to kill a man dead and leave him a dumpster. No. She was the kind to rip out your heart and laugh all the way to the bank.

A different kind of deadly, but deadly nonetheless.

Olivia turned to see Damien on his way out of the club with Maya. She looked back in time to see the two cops smile and exchange a knowing look. Typical. Olivia struggled to keep from rolling her eyes. Detective Daly may have been old enough to be Maya’s father, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to bang her. Most men wanted to bang Maya, along with plenty of women for that matter.

“So, I hear you two handsome officers want to speak to little old me?” Maya’s singsong voice made Olivia want to puke.

Olivia pulled Maya close and put an arm around her. “Maya, these two detectives are investigating the death of a young man. Do you know him? Perhaps you served him last night at the bar?” If you know what’s good for you, you will act like you barely recognize him. You are in such deep shit with me, Maya, it’s not even funny.

Doug held up the picture, and Maya looked sweetly at it, with all the innocence she could muster. She shook her head and tossed her long blond locks over her bare shoulders with one hand. It was moments like this that Olivia wished like hell she could telepath with Damien.

“He’s awful cute.” Maya smiled. “Yes, sir. I saw him here last night. He put away plenty of beers, and when that happens, well, you know how flirty boys can be,” she said, batting her huge blue eyes. “But I didn’t really pay much attention to him after I served his drinks. After we closed up for the night, I hit the sack.” She giggled. “A girl just can’t get enough beauty sleep. Sorry I can’t be of more help, officers.”

Olivia was surprised by the violent and uncharacteristic surge of jealousy that flared inside of her. She had the ridiculous urge to beat the crap out of Maya for looking at Doug the way she did. Flustered, she straightened up and dropped her arm from Maya’s shoulders, hoping that her jealousy wasn’t visible to anyone but herself.

Doug put the picture back in his notebook and smiled at Maya. Olivia’s jealousy subsided when she saw he looked at Maya the way one would look at a silly child. At least he’s smart, she thought.

“Maya lives here in one of the apartments in my building, and I can assure you that she was at the club working until well past closing. Thank you, Maya,” Olivia said a bit too quickly. “Why don’t you go back and help the girls clean up?”

Maya locked her big blue eyes on Detective Daly and winked. “Be sure to come and have a drink with us some time, detective.” Giggling, she flounced back inside the club.

Olivia noticed that the older man couldn’t take his eyes off her ass, which wasn’t surprising. Men fell all over themselves to get her attention when she was human, and now that she was a vampire—all bets were off.

Doug, however, kept his attention on Olivia, which she found surprisingly unsettling. It had been centuries since anyone made her so on edge and uncertain of herself. Hell, she was a retired sentry and had spent the better part of a century kicking all kinds of supernatural ass, so feeling like some kind of lovesick teenager was bizarre.

“Well, if you do remember anything, please don’t hesitate to call.” Doug handed his business card to Olivia and delivered the most knee-buckling, dimpled smile she’d seen in centuries. “Anytime. Day or night.”

Her lips curved, and it was all she could do to keep her fangs at bay.

When Olivia took the card, her fingertips brushed his, and every coherent thought flew out of her head as the tattoo on her neck tingled warmly. His intense blue eyes captured hers, and if her heart still beat, it would’ve stopped.

She studied his handsome and painfully familiar face with genuine awe. The chiseled cheekbones, square jaw, perfect nose, and full lips added up to the man she used to know and the lover from her dreams.

She wasn’t crazy—he looked and sounded exactly like Douglas. For shit’s sake, they had the same first name.

Bloodmate.

The word ran through her mind over and over, like a broken record.

His dark blond hair looked as thick as she remembered and probably felt just as good. However, it was those sharp, turquoise blue eyes that set her on fire and ignited something far more than bloodlust. His gaze remained locked with hers, and the exquisite pang of desire flared brightly, warming her normally chilly body.

In that brief moment, she remembered what it felt like to be alive.

Doug started to leave with his partner but stopped and turned to face Olivia. “By the way, Ms. Hollingsworth, if we need to speak with you again, is this the best place to reach you?”

Olivia smiled before she could stop herself. “Yes, detective. I live in an apartment within the building.” She reached into the pocket of her slacks and retrieved her black and silver business card. “You showed me yours, so it’s only fair that I show you mine.”

Doug gave her a knowing smile and took the card from her fingers without looking away.

“My personal cell number is listed on the back.” She arched one eyebrow. “Feel free to call me if you require anything at all.”

“Good to know,” he said softly, before looking at the card. “Thank you, Olivia.”

“Yo, Paxton,” Tom called from the corner. “We gotta go, man.”

“Duty calls.” Before he disappeared around the corner, Doug looked back and flashed that disarming smile one more time. She caressed his business card between her fingers and rubbed her tongue along the tip of her fangs. The combination of anger, lust, and longing had sent her body into overdrive.

A customer had been murdered, and the love of her life was back from the grave.

Fate was one cruel bitch.

Unnerved, and off her game, Olivia turned and swept through the almost-empty club with her sights set on Maya. As soon as this place clears out, I want the entire coven at the bar for a meeting. No excuses, Maya. Her voice touched their collective minds with all the force she’d intended, and the concerned looks exchanged between them weren’t lost on her.

She was annoyed with the mess Maya had made and totally off balance by the appearance of Doug. However, at that particular moment, she didn’t give a crap how uncomfortable it made the rest of them. Maya had brought this shit-show to their doorstep, and it was about time she learned to take responsibility for her actions.

Olivia strode past without sparing a glance at anyone, went directly to her office with the Authorized Personnel Only sign, and shut the door quickly behind her. She closed her eyes and leaned against the door, struggling to gather control over her hot-wired body. Her head spun as that word continued to thunder through her mind— bloodmate .

“Douglas is back from the dead, Maya might’ve killed a guy, and both events happen when Vincent is in town.” Olivia pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. “Awesome.”

A warm, furry body rubbed against her legs, and a familiar whine filled the room. Olivia looked down and smiled wearily at the loyal German shepherd. He barked his welcome and sat on his haunches, waiting for her to give him a proper greeting.