“I bet you attracted them far and wide.”
“I shouldn’t say so, but…well, yes. This fop had his choice of women.”
“You’re not so foppish now.”
“I’ve worn many costumes over the centuries. I find my current situation the most comfortable, though I often long for the medieval times when battles were fierce and bloody and wenches were, well…submissive.”
“You men and your attraction to a submissive woman. Ugh. So much testosterone.” She stabbed her spoon into the cereal. “Were you ever in love, Creed?”
“Never.”
“Come on. Not even a little bit? You’ve had, what, nine centuries to fall in love?”
“As you have said, love isn’t real. It’s only for losers of the game. I prefer lust and instant gratification.”
She could so get behind the instant—and self—gratification.
“Sex, too?” she prompted.
“Lots of it. With the most beautiful women.”
“Did you bite them all?”
“Not always.”
“Huh. So vampires can have sex without biting?”
“We can control those urges, yes. Did you expect we were nothing but lust-crazed blood-hungry creatures?”
“No.” She sat back, her appetite fulfilled after half a box of cereal. “Yes. Maybe. I’ve not spent time with vampires. I can only go by what I’ve been taught. Living with the pack, you can imagine the talk I overhear about longtooths.”
“I hope to change your mind. And to remove that horrible slang term from your vocabulary.”
Longtooth? Yeah, it was horrible. But so was a vampire calling her breed dogs.
“Fair enough. And maybe I can change your mind about werewolves.”
“You already have, Blu.”
“One point for the werewolf!” She lifted the bowl and tilted it back, swallowing the pink milk. “I love cereal.”
“I noticed.”
“I think I’ll go for some Count Chocula next time, what do you think?” She waggled her brows at him.
“If it gives you a twisted thrill, do as you must. You’ve—” He brushed his chin again.
Blu slurped her tongue out to lick the sweetness. “Love me or leave me, Creed, this is how I am. Messy and colorful.”
“And turned up to eleven.”
“You know it.”
When he nodded, as if to grudgingly accept her, she decided that was better than she’d expected of him. At least he wasn’t telling her what to do. And that gave him more points than the scoreboard could handle.
“So about those diamonds you used to flash for the ladies,” she said. “Betcha they cost you a pretty penny. You think you could front your wife some cash to go shopping? What’s yours is mine, yeah?”
“I don’t see a problem with that. I’ll call my accountant and arrange for a credit card in your name.”
Pleased with the snag, Blu wiggled appreciatively on the chair. “That was easy. I promise I won’t go overboard. I mean, I’m not into diamonds. The choker I wore at the wedding was rhinestone. Good enough for me. But I do like shoes.”
“Do as you wish with it. Buy an entire rainbow of wigs, if you must.”
She pumped her fist triumphantly. “Score.”
“Back to your idea for us to do something together. What do you say to a night on the town?” he proposed. “A fine restaurant and then a walk in the park?”
“Sounds far too romantic for this old married couple.”
“Sounds like the perfect means to get to know one another better. We should learn our lines for those who wish to observe our progress. Shall we say seven?”
“I suppose it’s the closest I’ll get you to letting your hair down and living it up. Should I dress up?”
“I did say a fine restaurant. Which may mean not quite so colorful.”
“You don’t like orange?” she said of her latest wig selection.
“It’s not one of your better colors.”
She pouted.
“I prefer the violet.” His smile was so charming that Blu was inclined to believe him.
Chapter Five
HALFWAY THROUGH HER JOG around the estate, Blu paused at the fence and shoved aside the overgrown hornbeam vines. She’d not shifted to wolf form this afternoon—her usual running shape—because she needed to do something.
Her wolf could only stay cooped up for so long. She needed the wide-open fields beyond Creed’s estate. As well, the wolf was drooling for a lope through the nearby forest. And something might come up that would require she leave the estate on more than two feet.
By observing the crews of wolves and vamps camped out front, she’d learned they took breaks on alternate shifts. Around four in the afternoon, both factions were trading shifts, which left the estate unwatched for about twenty minutes.
She’d always wondered what it would be like to be a celebrity for twenty-four hours, having the press drooling over every tidbit of her life. Now she’d changed her mind. This was plain ridiculous. Who cared what she was doing? And could they actually get shots of her with those cameras?
She didn’t need to avoid the snoops; she just preferred doing this out of their interest. They couldn’t sight her at the back of the property. She hoped.
Pushing aside the wide glossy leaves, she grabbed the cool iron fencing. A weird vibration hummed through her fingers and at her wrist. Not like electricity, but almost like the vibrations Blu felt when Bree used sidhe magic.
Something mechanical clicked.
