Demon Moon

wristbands; and the fragile, ethereal brunette, who wouldn’t have been out of place in Rivendell. Beside them, a female who didn’t hide the suspicious anger tightening her full lips.
    Like everyone else Colin had spoken with, they had a brief moment of disconcertment as he moved close enough for them to really see him. Anger quickly replaced it on Darkwolf’s and Arwen’s faces, coupled with slight unease.
    The suspicious female was more outspoken in her reaction. “What the fuck did you just do to us?”
    “Gina,” Arwen admonished softly, but her gaze remained hard as amethyst as she stared at Colin, then at Savi. “We’re his guests. If he chooses to exercise his power over us for his pleasure, we’ve only ourselves to blame for accepting the invitation.”
    “There’s no need to blame anyone. He can’t help it,” Savi said. She turned and dragged an empty chair from the next table. Breaking the metal frame in half would have made a fantastic show of strength, but would have likely been misinterpreted as an attack. Not to mention, beating up a chair would look ridiculous. “It goes away the better you know him.”
    Colin nodded. “Please accept my apologies for your discomfort. It is unwittingly done, and my consort speaks the truth: the longer the acquaintance, the less effect it has.”
    She allowed him to pull her down onto his lap, straddling his right thigh. His hand rested on her hip; the weapon strapped above her knee would be immediately available to him.
    She doubted they knew Sir Pup had countless others in his hammerspace.
    Darkwolf’s mouth was closed, but she saw the movement of his tongue beneath his lips, as if he was running it over his fangs. Telling Colin that he was not without his own weapons, Savi realized.
    A vampire who wouldn’t rely on blades and bullets. It was oddly reassuring.
    “You speak as if you expect our acquaintance to be of a long enough duration that it would matter to us,” Darkwolf said. “It doesn’t. We’ve no use for a vampire who flaunts the very tradition and law that has kept us safe for centuries.”
    Colin smiled lazily; his manner still easy, but no longer flirtatious. “You’re mistaken,” he said. “Nosferatu and demonkind would have eradicated or enslaved us centuries ago had not Guardians held them in check; your safety has come neither from tradition nor law, but from Caelum.”
    The word elicited neither surprise nor puzzlement in their expressions—but then, they could have read Hugh’s book or played DemonSlayer. Probably had done both.
    And the dubious glance Arwen and Darkwolf exchanged indicated they knew very well it wasn’t a fictitious place.
    “We have Guardians to thank for our continued survival?” Arwen shook her head. “I think not. Except for the nosferatu last year, the only beings who’ve ever posed a danger to vampires have been the Guardians.”
    That was likely true—but twisted in such a way Savi wouldn’t have been surprised if Dalkiel had been the one to bring that truth to their attention. “You personally knew vampires who’ve been killed by them?”
    The color had to be the result of contact lenses, but the effect was still striking when Arwen leveled that purple gaze at her. “Yes, little human.”
    “And what kind of vampires were they?” Savi asked. Little human . Hobbits had saved Middle Earth; Arwen should really know better. “I bet not someone you’d like to have over for a sip from your neck.”
    Arwen blinked quickly and looked away from Savi, toward Darkwolf.
    “They were all assholes,” Gina said. “Mostly rogues. Taking blood from humans, killing others. The kind of vampires the elders—if we’d had any left—would have convened a court for and judged.” She snarled and turned to Darkwolf when he made a motion for her to hush. “I told you fuckers this after the blond demonfucker told us all that shit, but you stupid assholes wouldn’t listen, were all ‘Vampire Power!’ and—”
    “Gina,” Arwen said softly.
    Savi had to hide her grin when she felt the tiny tremor of Colin’s laughter against her back. Her amusement quickly died when his fingers skimmed over her hip, across her bare stomach. A light shiver of arousal ran over her skin.
    “You knew he was a demon.” Colin gave no indication of his triumph, though Gina’s outburst had helped them enormously.
    Savi fought to keep her thoughts coherent as he raked his nails up the inside of her thigh. Why? She could