Page 13 of Guarding the Athlete
“They don’t always,” I said. “Just like full humans, there’s always someone willing to break the rules. But for the most part, we all stay in line since the stakes are so high.”
I breathed a sigh of relief as the sign for our exit came into sight. Seattle traffic was the bane of my existence and being stuck in this car for so long with my mate’s scent overwhelming the space was making it increasingly difficult to control my vampire. She was begging me to bring Ruby back to our house and claim her forever.
“Do you need directions to my house?”
“No, I memorized the route,” I said.
“Already?”
“I have an eidetic memory,” I said.
“That’s lucky.”
“A lot of vampires do. That’s why we’re usually smarter than other supes.”
Ruby laughed. “And humble too, I guess.”
I pulled into the parking lot underneath Ruby’s building and slid into her parking spot.
Ruby gasped, looking around frantically.
“Wait, where’s my car? Oh my God, someone stole my car!”
“No, it’s fine, we took your car back to Sapphic Security so I could use your spot,” I said.
“I didn’t give you the key.”
“We don’t need keys,” I scoffed.
“I didn’t give you permission,” she said mulishly.
“Your father did. He’s the one paying us.”
She opened her mouth to say something, and I pressed my finger against her lips. Her eyes widened. I wondered if she could feel the hum of energy where our skin touched, the same way I could.
“Stay put while I look around,” I said.
I got out of the car, grabbing my computer bag and subtly walking around the car with an explosives detector. It had a short radius, but at least I could tell if the cars on either side had been booby trapped to explode when Ruby pulled into her parking spot.
Satisfied that everything was okay, I grabbed my duffle bag from the trunk, then walked to the passenger side, hitting the unlock button and opening the door.
“We’re good. Let’s get inside.”
Ruby still had a perturbed look on her face, so I leaned close, speaking right next to her ear. “We’re supposed to be in love, remember? Stop pouting about your car.”
Her eyes widened in outrage and impulsively I grabbed her earlobe between my teeth, biting down just enough to sting. From a distance, it would look like I was whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Her skin tasted as sweet as it smelled. To my surprise, Ruby made a little moaning noise when I bit down on her flesh, the sound going right to my clit.
A little bit of pain turned her on. That was good to know. For later, of course. Right now my priority had to be keeping her safe. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to keep my hands off her when we were alone together. It had been less than a day and I’d already forgotten all the reasons I didn’t want a mate. I was completely obsessed with Ruby.
I probably needed some back-up. With a sigh I decided I’d better come clean to Lois tonight. If she found out on her own – and somehow my boss always figured things out – she’d have my ass.
By unspoken agreement Ruby and I took the stairs up to her condo. Her door had been removed, replaced with a heavy duty steel model that would repel bullets, and the lock now required a fingerprint to get in.
As we entered, I motioned for her to be quiet while I scanned for bugs. I moved through the unit quickly, Ruby at my back. It was a cute place. The main area was open concept, with an island separating the kitchen and dining room. The living area was spacious, the off-white furniture arranged to maximize the view through the windows of the Puget Sound.
“No TV?” I asked curiously, remembering that Ruby said she liked to watch historical shows.
She pressed a button, and a screen came down in front of the windows. I turned to find a projector installed behind us. Hmm, that was handy.
