Jessica Sims - Must Love Fangs

Sara grinned and slipped a hand around Ramsey’s massive waist. She glanced back at me. “We’re off for the evening. Bath said to call her if you had questions about the project, and leave her a report in the morning.”

“See you,” I said casually, picking up the first folder in the stack and pretending to be interested in it. I was more than ready for all of them to leave the office, so I could check whether a vampire had responded to Minnie’s profile. And I couldn’t do that if they were all sitting right there.

That was the bad thing about such a small, intimate business. My boss, Bathsheba Ward-Russell, was married to the head of the Paranormal Alliance, Beau Russell. The two businesses worked closely together and shared records. That meant that Beau was constantly dropping by the office, which was fine. He was handsome, polite, well spoken, and friendly. But it also meant his cadre of brothers and cousins was also stopping by at all hours.

And that drove me crazy. Most of the Russells were nice enough. Jeremiah was the tall, muscular one who showed up to work on the network from time to time. Ellis, Everett, and Austin worked for the security firm that Beau ran, and they popped by to flirt with Ryder, chat with Bath or Sara, and do background checks on clients. The three looked so much alike that I had a hard time telling them apart, save for the one who had a sleeve of tattoos up one arm. All of them were incredibly friendly and nice to everyone in the office.

Joshua was the thorn in my side. In personality, he was nothing like serious, polite, well-dressed Beau. Josh seemed to live in a plain black T-shirt, ass-hugging jeans, and a baseball cap. It didn’t hurt that he was flat-out gorgeous to boot. Tall, muscular, and handsome, with an amazing grin and sinfully beautiful eyes that didn’t belong on a man.

He was also a flirt who didn’t seem to take no for an answer. You would think women would see right through his overbearing, overly flirty personality, but you would think wrong. They loved his flirting, and loved him, and he had the dating records to prove it.

Until he didn’t call them back, of course. And he never did.

And unfortunately for me, Josh generally worked the same hours that I did. As a vampire security specialist, he tended to be up all night. That meant he often stopped by the office on his way to work, and again on his way back from his shift.

Ryder didn’t mind. She said it livened up our long shift.

I minded. Which only encouraged him more.

Tonight was one of those nights that I’d been hoping he wouldn’t show up . . . so naturally he was here, and he was early.

I shot Ryder an uncomfortable look as Sara and Ramsey left for the evening and Josh stood, flipped his chair around, sat again, and put his feet up on Sara’s desk. His self-assured gaze rested on me, as if evaluating me. He always watched me as I worked, and I was pretty sure he did it to annoy me. No supernatural could be that interested in a human woman who told him to buzz off repeatedly.

He was just acting so focused and determined to bother me. Typical.

Ryder moved to the coffeepot, preparing the first of several she’d brew tonight.

“So what’s the plan, ladies?” Josh gave me a mildly curious look, raising an eyebrow in my direction.

“Gee,” I said, flipping open the folder. Female. Mink shifter. Not my target demographic. “I don’t know. I thought tonight I’d go out on a limb and do some work. You know, that crazy thing that people expect in exchange for a salary?” I glanced over at him, hoping he’d get the hint. “That thing you’re supposed to be doing right about now?”

“My client won’t be up for another hour or so,” he said casually. “I thought I’d hang out for a few in the meantime.”

I had my next vampire date in an hour and a half. That was cutting it close.

“New client?” Ryder asked him, picking up her headset and adjusting it over her blond pigtails.

“Yup. Another vampire being stalked by a fellow vampire. Surprise, surprise.” He sounded bored. “So the shifter muscle has to show up and throw our weight around to make sure his new friends get the hint.”

“I hope he’s paying you a lot,” Ryder said with a grin.

“Oh, he is,” Josh said. “Premium security for a premium price.”

I tuned out their conversation and pulled up the record of my date on the computer, glancing back at the were-mink’s folder as cover. My date, a vampire named Lewis, hadn’t yet cancelled. Good. I’d tried setting up another date last night, but the guy had cancelled on me once I’d sent him a picture.

To ensure that my date would show up this time, I’d googled “sexy brunette in glasses,” picked a suitably suggestive photo, and sent that one. It had been a little white lie, but I didn’t care as long as he showed up.

There were thirty-two vampires in the Midnight Liaisons database. Nineteen of them were currently available for dating, and I was already down by two. I was starting to get anxious. I only needed one, but what I needed seemed to be a pretty big favor. I had to tread cautiously.

The cowbell hanging against the front door clanged, and I jerked in surprise.

“Little jumpy tonight, aren’t we?” Josh teased.

I glared at him and didn’t dignify that with a response.

A trio of loud, noisy men entered the office and my heart sank all over again. “Just what we needed,” I said with a sour look. “More Russells.”

Austin pulled up a chair across from Ryder, and the twins sat down at Sara’s desk. I didn’t know which ones were Josh’s cousins and which ones were his brothers; they all looked like they were cut from the same mold. Tall. Muscled. Incredibly good-looking. Dark, thick hair. Same rakish smile. The twins had deep dimples, though, and one had a sleeve of tattoos. Jeremiah was quiet and soft spoken, but he didn’t show up around the agency much anymore, now that he was in a relationship with a were-fox. Well, rumor had it that he was in a relationship with a were-fox and another guy, but that was probably just rumor.

“Can I help you boys?” Ryder asked with a slow, sweet drawl. “You dropping by the agency to see me, or were you wanting a date?”

“Always dropping by to see you, of course,” Josh said lazily, giving me that sleepy, sexy look.

I ignored him.

Austin leaned back in his chair and yawned, lacing his fingers behind his head as if he was bored. He fixed his gaze on Josh, who hadn’t moved from where he was parked across from my desk. “We saw the car out front and figured you were in here setting up another date. Since you’re making other plans, Everett wanted to know if that hot little number from the dance was up for grabs.”

Josh shrugged, his gaze on me. “Don’t know. You up for grabs, Marie?”

“Very funny.”

“I’m serious,” he said.

I rolled my eyes at him.

“The hot one,” Everett emphasized. “Were-lynx. With the dress.”

“The blonde?” Ellis asked. “With the rack?”

Austin shook his head. “The redhead. The one with the freckles and the . . . ” He coughed, getting flustered at Ryder’s direct stare. “Uh, sports car.”

“For the record, I went to the dance with Jayde Sommers,” Josh said. “And we’re not seeing each other anymore.”

Oh, I was sure that hot-tempered Jayde loved that. She wasn’t one of my favorite clients. “Gee, that’s a shame,” I said in a voice that implied that I didn’t think it was a shame at all. “I’m crushed you two didn’t work out.”

Josh shrugged.

I pulled my keyboard close. “Well, since you’re here, who did you want to be fixed up with, since you’re no longer seeing Jayde?”

“I was never seeing Jayde,” he pointed out. “She was just a date once or twice. And I’m not here to get set up with anyone.”