Warriors of Poseidon 05 - Atlantis Redeemed

humanity?
    Stranger and stranger when truth sounded more like the plot to a comic book, but that was life these days. Everybody plotting to take over the damn world; nobody content just to let people live.
    People, and their friends, and their friends’ babies.
    When the second person in a row gave her a strange look, she realized she was letting too much of what she was thinking show on her face, and she paused to pretend to search for something in her purse to gain a little time to compose herself.
    Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
    Page 69 of 232
    A wave of cold lifted the hair on the back of her neck a moment before a deep voice spoke near her ear. “May I assist you with anything?”
    The voice sounded so familiar, but when she looked up into the vampire’s pale face, half-hidden by oversized wraparound shades, she realized she had no way to know why. Unless, of course, she asked him. Sometimes a direct approach was best, as one of her journalism profs had been fond of reminding them.
    “Tracy Baum, Neuroscience Quarterly. Did we meet earlier tonight?”
    A seductive smile played around the edges of his sculpted lips. She was suddenly glad of his glasses, which protected her from falling into thrall from his eyes. His black hair brushed his shoulders, and he was tall and very well built, filling out his black-on-black tux in a way that had quite a few women nearby checking him out. The vamp who’d grabbed her earlier had been tall and strong, too, but that wasn’t enough evidence to convince her that this was he.
    “I’m afraid not. I would remember meeting such a lovely woman, Ms. Baum.” He bowed. “But I would be happy to correct that oversight. Will you dance?”
    It was just what she’d wanted, a dance with a vampire. But still she hesitated. Something about this vampire made her even more wary than usual.
    He held out his hand and his smile turned mocking. “Surely you’re not afraid of me?”
    Even recognizing it for the challenge it was, she couldn’t resist. “Of course not. I’d love to dance.”
    As he took her hand and led her to the dance floor, she glanced back to be sure Brennan was holding on to his calm, and was instantly sorry she’d done so. He was staring at her, his face hard, and even across the expanse of floor and the crowd that separated them, she could almost feel him straining toward her. If she made it through the dance with this vampire, it would be a miracle.
    She offered up a silent prayer for miracles.
    “You know my name, but you haven’t told me yours,” she said, smiling up at the distorted reflection of herself in the vampire’s glasses.
    He pulled her into his arms for the dance, a slow song that bemoaned love lost and loneliness.
    “My apologies, Ms. Baum. My name is Devon.”
    “Call me Tracy, please,” she said automatically, her mind whirling with possibilities. Curiouser and curiouser. If this were Devon, and he really had been the vamp outside, regardless of what he would or would not admit to . . . well.
    This dance suddenly had real possibilities.
    Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
    Page 70 of 232

Chapter 11
    “So,” Tiernan said, noting for future reference that vampires felt very, very cold, even through formal wear, “nice car.”
    Devon laughed. “You like it?”
    “What’s not to like? The Gallardo LP560-4 is not exactly your mother’s Buick.” She realized what she’d said and inwardly groaned. “Not that you had a—”
    “Mother?”
    “Buick. I’m figuring you more for the mother with a carriage, or four slaves that pulled the chariot, perhaps.”
    He laughed again, but this time it sounded like he was truly amused, not just being polite. Then he pulled her into a twirl and caught her at exactly the right moment. The vampire was quite a good dancer, she was chagrined to admit.
    “Not very many women could recognize that car. Are you a car enthusiast or simply a very good reporter?”
    She saw no reason to lie. “Both.”
    “I see. Then I must reward you by telling you that, in fact, my mother owned a single mule, but it was for use in farming only. She walked everywhere she needed to go, which was not very far, since she lived her entire life without venturing from the five-mile radius of her farm.” His voice had grown softer as he spoke, making her wish yet again that she could see his eyes. Her truth-telling senses weren’t rattling, but she’d never had very good results with vampires, so