Seduced by the Darkling

“Why me?” Still feigning nonchalance, and still clutching the pencil in her hand, Jazlyn rose from her seat and perched a hip on the edge of the table. Her palms were sweating, and she ran her fingers through her hair to dry them.

For the first time since she had met him, Zachariah smiled fully, amused at her words. “You have said that you know all that you need to know about your ancestry, so I think we will leave that unanswered for now.”

Damn it. Jazlyn scowled as she realized that she had boxed herself into a corner. Her insurmountable stubbornness wouldn’t let her take back her words, however.

“Well, you have to give me something to go on. Right now you’re asking me to write a story about nothing.” Zachariah inclined his head at her words, conceding the point.

“Very well.” He steepled his fingers beneath his chin, considering. Eyes that were the color of pine life pinned her with the intensity of their gaze as he made sure that he had her attention.

“The woman whose body was found this evening was murdered by a vampire.” Jazlyn was left with her mouth hanging open like a guppy as Zachariah reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and extracted a stiff white card. He held it out to her, but she remained frozen, staring at him like she’d just witnessed the second coming.

“You are distressed.” He stepped toward her, but she held a hand out in protest. “You asked for a piece of information. I have provided you with it. Now, since I gather that you need some time to process this, I will leave you this card. Consider my proposal, and contact me here if you wish.” A choking sound escaped Jazlyn’s throat.

Hell yeah, she needed time to process this information. This guy was nuts. Gorgeous and certifiable.

“Keep the card.” She fought to still the trembling in her muscles, trembling due to his increased proximity.

She didn’t know if the trembling was now from fear or from desire. He smelled so good, like leather and whiskey.

“I’m not going to do it. Vampires? I’m no sucker, Mr. Novak. And I’m not going to believe your desperate attempt to keep me interested.” He raised an eyebrow at her again, and Jazlyn felt herself flushing.

This was a man who clearly would have no trouble keeping a woman interested.

“Desperate, am I?” Zachariah took a step closer to her, then another. The pencil fell from Jazlyn’s fingers as he reached toward her with the hand that held the card.

Jazlyn felt herself tremble. She tried to tell herself that it was with fear—it had to be fear, or she was a very stupid woman—but she knew that that wasn’t it or at least not all of it.

Zachariah very softly brushed the stiff paper over her cheekbone, down her face, then over her lips. Jazlyn’s mouth was dry as cotton with a feeling that she couldn’t quite describe.

“I want you to write the story, Jazlyn.” He moved the card from her lips, down to the hollow of her throat and between her breasts. Her breath caught in her throat as he tucked the paper into her cleavage.

When she looked up from the paper to gaze into Zachariah’s face, what she saw there made desire coil tightly in her belly.

He looked like he wanted to take a bite out of her. At that moment, she might have let him.

“I want it to be you, but if you won’t, I will find someone else. Think on that.” His fingers trailed lightly over her skin as he released the slip of paper, and Jazlyn felt her breasts tighten at the slight touch.

She didn’t say anything. What could she say? He was a crazy man who thought that vampires were real. He wanted her to write a story about them. And even with all of that crazy, he had her insides tied into knots of need.

She shook her head in refusal, but she knew at that moment that he’d said the magic words. No way would she give a scoop to someone else. She would at least look into it, crazy or not.

Zachariah stepped back and studied her seriously. “You should also know that I am a vampire as well. We are not all creatures controlled by our base desires.”

Jazlyn squeezed her eyes tightly shut and pressed her fingers to her temples.

This guy was crazy hot, but the emphasis was on the crazy.

When she refocused her eyes, intending to ask him to tell her more, she found he’d disappeared. Blinking in disbelief, she looked frantically around the room.

He had to be somewhere; no one could move that fast.

There was nothing in the empty apartment besides the frantic pulse of her heart and the slightest movement of the teal curtains by her balcony.

He was gone.

Chapter Three

Esme’s Magic Emporium was a small stand-alone store in an area of town that left quite a bit to be desired. The front door was heavy wood instead of the typical glass seen in modern businesses, and the air surrounding the shop seemed thick, laden heavily with something that Jazlyn couldn’t quite put her finger on.

It was dusk, the sun a ball of fire hanging low and pregnant in the sky. The shop would be nearing closing time, and that was why Jazlyn had chosen that time. She didn’t want to risk running into anyone she knew, and though the shop was off the beaten path, there was a coffee shop nearby that she knew to be a favorite of the local police.