He presumed this because Aurora was standing at the door to the back, her eyes on him.
“You have a beautiful laugh,” she called softly.
What he had was the hope she liked getting a spanking.
Because she’d earned one.
And she was going to get one.
He didn’t share that.
Instead, he said, “Thank you, my sweet.”
She sent him a soft smile, then folded in the back of his car.
He folded in the front and reluctantly headed them toward what would eventually be a dinner of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Chapter Eighteen
I Got Skills
Delilah
“Everyone in the compound has been quarantined,” Gregor stated as all the members of The Three sat around the table in the conservatory, listening to him. “Stephanie has begun her interrogations with the human staff.” He turned his eyes to Lucien, then to Callum. “Rooms have been set up for the both of you, Ryon, Cosmo, Calder, and Caleb, so you all, as well, can start working to find the traitor, or traitors, as the case may be.”
“Uh,” I cut in hesitantly, having zero experience with interrogation tactics but still thinking they had a sure thing and should use him. “Wouldn’t it go a lot faster if Abel just mind-controlled everyone to spill their secrets until he found the bad guys, or gals, as, erm, the case may be?”
Gregor blinked at me.
“I mean,” I cautiously went on, “he could get them to ’fess up, then he could get them to keep doing their dastardly deeds, except we’d control what they’re doing and saying.”
“Seems a good plan to me,” Abel muttered.
I looked to him to see him grinning at the table, but I felt his hand come out and curl around mine.
“I apologize,” Gregor said, and I turned my eyes to him. “I’m unused to having someone with Abel’s extraordinary skills available for such tasks. You’re correct, Lilah, that would likely make things go a great deal faster, not to mention put us in an advantageous position.”
I smiled at Gregor and gave Abel’s hand a squeeze.
He squeezed mine back even as he looked to the vampire. “How about I get started now?”
“Capital idea,” Gregor murmured, his lips twitching as he pushed back his seat.
Everyone was on the move then, including Abel and me. But when I got to my feet, I tugged his hand.
When his gaze caught mine, I said, “I wanna watch your awesomeness in action.”
He gave me a grin that lit his eyes, the grin beginning to turn the blue one brown. “You got it, pussycat.”
That was when I gave him a smile.
* * * * *
“You’re done,” Abel stated, then looked at me and said softly, “Next, Lilah.”
I nodded to him as I switched off the video camera on its tripod, which was pointed at a woman who was sitting in the lone chair in the room. She got up and started walking to the door. I opened it for her but stuck my torso out before she got to it and looked to Caleb, who was waiting in the hall.
“It’s not her. Next,” I told him.
He jerked up his chin and I got out of the woman’s way.
I closed the door after her and looked to Abel. “You okay?”
“Been at this three hours, lost count of how many people been in that chair, and we’ve got nothing,” he answered, looking and sounding frustrated.
I moved to him and put a hand on his chest. “This is a lot of work, baby,” I noted. “Does it drain you to do it?”
“Outside of bein’ hungry, I’m good,” he answered.
“Maybe we can take five minutes for you to draw from me.”
His distracted eyes focused sharply on me and he stated, “You are not a meal, Lilah.”
“I know, but—”
“We do that, every time we do that, you get somethin’ out of it, same as me. It never becomes me takin’ what I need from you. It’s always something for the both of us.”
God, I loved my werewolf vampire.
Still, I leaned in closer and said quietly, “I love that you want that, honey, but just so you know, I always will get something from it even if it’s just knowing I’m giving something to you. But just saying, the more you take from me, the more goodness I get from your superpowered saliva.”
His intensity cleared and he lifted a hand to cup my jaw. Then he dipped his head and took my mouth in a light, sweet kiss.
When he lifted his head, he murmured, “Couple more. Then we’ll take a twenty-minute break so I can get what I need and give you all you need.”
That way worked for me so I smiled, got up on my toes, and gave him my own light, sweet kiss.
When I was pulling away, a knock came at the door.
Abel’s hand dropped and I turned to the door, calling, “Bring them in.”
Caleb opened the door and escorted a man inside while Stephanie stood in the frame. The man looked unconcerned. Then again, they all did, seeing as we were currently working our way through the vampires and I’d noted that vampires tended to be pretty cool customers.
On the other hand, the staff had been freaked. Then again, you wouldn’t want a bunch of vampires and werewolves to think you were up to no good. Further, the bad guys had no way of knowing what Abel was capable of (unless there were bugs, something we couldn’t know for certain there weren’t until Abel found the inside man, or woman, as the case may be) and could exonerate them, or not, pretty quickly.
I moved to the wall and settled in for the quick show that, even though I’d seen it often over three hours, I still thought it was cool as shit.