no,” Wilhelmina said, “I’m so sorry.”
Sebastian looked up from the wet splotches to see something akin to a smirk on Wilhelmina’s lips. As soon as she realized he was looking, the smile faded into an expression of innocent dismay.
But Sebastian knew what he’d seen.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he said and slipped out of the booth. Before Wilhelmina could step back from him, he caught her wrist and tugged her along with him.
He felt her struggling, and he also noticed a few patrons watching them, but that didn’t slow him down, nor did it cause him to release her. Out of the corner of his eye, he even noticed Constantine, one of his bouncers, starting down the stairs toward them. But once the giant bouncer realized it was Sebastian, he stopped and returned to his post.
So he was making a scene. The truth was—he didn’t care. He’d had enough of this klutzy, strange, and altogether distracting (in a bad way, he asserted to himself) vampiress.
Not to mention, this had already been a thoroughly unpleasant night. He’d had to deal with the health inspectors, which had been downright ludicrous. And dangerous. He worked hard not to give anyone a reason to question anything about this place. Now, twice in one week, the authorities had been called here.
One of his main concerns was always to keep Carfax Abbey on the right side of the law. That kept the law out of the club, which allowed the preternaturals who worked and patronized Carfax Abbey to remain safe.
He was equally religious about the security of his human patrons. Which was why he had so many bouncers and cameras stationed all around the club’s bars, dance floors, and exits. If an incident happened, which was rare, it was dealt with internally. But overall, he’d been lucky. The preternaturals that came here understood the rules and followed them. And keeping on the good side of the law and other officials had served him well and kept everyone safe.
The health inspectors had found nothing in the club to question and left feeling the caller’s claims had been ridiculous. Just as the police had. But having two anonymous calls in a week to officials was too unusual to be a coincidence. That made him nervous.
And this clumsy waitress was the last straw of the evening.
He tugged her into the employee lounge. Valerie, one of his cocktail waitresses, stood in front of her opened locker, reapplying her ever-present deep red lipstick. When she saw Sebastian’s expression, her eyes flashed between him and Wilhelmina. She swiftly tossed her lipstick back into her locker and shut the door, with a sharp, metallic clang.
She didn’t speak as she passed, but Sebastian noticed she gave Wilhelmina a worried look as she left the room.
Sebastian frowned. He was hardly an ogre. Then he turned to look at the hand he had clamped around Wilhelmina’s delicate wrist. She stared up at him, her eyes wide behind the lenses of her glasses. For the first time, he realized her eyes were blue, the deepest blue he’d ever seen, like a dark midnight sky.
And they were frightened. He now sensed that fear like a glacial chill snaking down his spine.
He dropped her wrist, suddenly feeling regretful of his abrupt behavior. As soon as she was released, she took several steps back from him, rubbing her wrist, those wary blue eyes watching him.
“I’m sorry,” he said, feeling more guilt course through him. He wasn’t usually an easily angered person. He’d made an art of being laid-back and carefree, but the events of the past few days had made him tense. Hell, forget cops and health inspectors, and anonymous callers, she made him tense.
He watched her, hoping she’d say something. She didn’t. Instead she frowned down at her wrist. More guilt rushed through him.
“I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that,” he said.
“No, you shouldn’t have,” she agreed quietly. She still stared at her wrist.
“Listen,” he said, stepping toward her. Her head snapped up at his approach, and she stumbled backward, keeping the same distance between them. Fear shot from her like warning flares, making the air snap with the emotion.
Sebastian frowned, but then stepped back himself. He didn’t understand her extreme reaction, but he didn’t want to scare her any more than he already had. His behavior had been bad and he was more than a little irritated with himself at his lack of control. But he didn’t think it merited the kind of fear that surrounded them.
“Please forgive my rude behavior. I overreacted. It’s been a rather stressful night, but I shouldn’t take out my strain on you.”
She didn’t respond and continued to stare at her wrist. Her fingers played over the spot, caressing the place where his hand had touched her, as if to rub away pain. Suddenly he remembered the feeling of her skin against his. Its soft, velvety texture.
He pushed the memory away, trying instead to see if he’d hurt her. Despite his brusque behavior, he didn’t think he’d grabbed her that roughly. Not to mention, vampires did not injure easily. He couldn’t see any marks or redness marring the unusual paleness of her skin. Even the scratches he’d seen earlier were gone.
He paused, staring at the back of her hands.
“What’s your cat’s name?” he asked suddenly.
Wilhelmina’s gaze snapped up to meet his. “What?”
“Your cat? What’s its name?”
“Spot,” she said without pause, but Sebastian could see more uneasiness in her eyes.
He couldn’t tell if her uneasiness was over his question or just over him. Her expression certainly didn’t reveal if his sudden suspicions were founded—that she was the one making the calls to law enforcement about his club.
Scratches weren’t much of a lead. But then she had also set off the sprinkler, he knew that for a fact. Had that been another attempt to damage his business? Had she brought rats into the club?
He studied her, trying to see or sense something that would either validate or deny his thoughts. He found nothing. Just a small vampiress with the darkest blue eyes and palest skin he’d ever seen. And again, he was struck by the word Nadine used to describe her. Lost. At the moment, she seemed very lost.
Before he thought better of it, he touched her pale cheek.
“Spot? Good name.”
She remained perfectly still under his touch. Again, he felt a prickling of fear around her.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked softly, certain that he must have for her to be so scared of him. Even now.
She shook her head, causing his fingers to rub against her smooth skin. Wisps of her black hair, which had escaped one of the messy knots on the top of her head, tickled the back of his fingers.
Sebastian swallowed as overwhelming desire rocketed through him, sudden and intense and as unexpected as a landmine. He frowned, telling himself the need rippling over his skin and tightening his groin was just an inappropriate reaction to stress, just as dragging her through the crowded bar had been.
He told himself that several times, but he couldn’t
