Warriors of Poseidon 06 - Atlantis Betrayed

grandmother into an early grave. Even in the name of protecting her, Christophe couldn’t take over her life. If she let him begin now, he’d never stop. Slowly, gradually, he’d wrap her in a lovely, soft cocoon—with him in control. The Scarlet Ninja would be no more. Fiona herself would disappear, taken over by a useless version of herself who was very well-sated in bed but not in any other way.
    No. He had to learn, or he had to go.
    By the time she pulled the bike over to the side of the road underneath the welcoming coffee shop sign, she’d all but resigned herself to never seeing him again. So when the roar of the second Ducati sounded beside her, she half wondered if she were imagining it.
    The bike shut off.
    “I’m sorry. You were right,” Christophe said.
    She smiled and scrubbed the tears off her cheeks before she looked up at him. “My new five favorite words.”
    “I can’t pretend this will be easy for me, but I’ll do my best,” he said. “I can’t walk away from you. Not now, maybe not ever. I don’t pretend that’s easy for me, either. You’ve turned my world upside down, so the least I can do is trust you.”
    She wanted to throw herself into his arms. She settled for taking his hand.
    “Coffee? While we plan our next move?”
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    “Our next move is clear,” he said. “We’re going to Daybreak, the vampire club. Did you happen to write any vampire stories?”

Chapter 32
    The Daybreak Inn, East End
    The soulful sound of jazz piano and a sultry female voice singing about heartbreak and the man who done her wrong met them when they walked in the doors of the Daybreak club. Fiona had never been in a vampire nightclub, so she looked around her with some interest.
    It was nothing at all like she’d expected.
    Soft lighting turned the space a mellow, smoky gold. Deep chocolate walls and dark brown leather booths accented the rich golden tones of the wooden tables and the spectacularly polished bar. It looked like an old world, old money gentleman’s club from a novel.
    The people who occupied the space were similarly golden. Too beautiful, too perfect to be real. Or at least too perfect to be human. These were all vampires, she’d bet, and every single one of them had turned to look at her.
    “Nice the way you make instant friends wherever you go,” Christophe said next to her ear.
    “It’s my natural magnetism,” she murmured.
    “Actually, it’s the scent of his blood.” The man speaking stared at them with glowing red eyes across a dozen or so paces of open floor. “There’s something different about it. Not human, not shifter, not Fae.
    So what does that leave us?”
    He was movie-star gorgeous. No, not even that. Movie stars would give everything they owned to look as good as this man. He wore a black silk shirt and black trousers as if they had been made for him. They probably had. That kind of casual arrogance only came with title, money, and position.
    She glanced at Christophe and amended the thought. Or Atlantean warrior training and a great deal of magic.
    At the moment, Christophe was busy staring down the vampire. Finally he replied. “Alien. I’m a little green man from outer space.”
    “We’re not fans of aliens here.”
    Fiona put on her best “lady of the manor” smile. Old money, indeed. She could carry her own on this.
    “We’re just here for a drink.”
    “I don’t think so, Lady Fiona. How is Lucinda doing, by the way? Evidently you made quite an impression.”
    “You’re very well informed,” she said.
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    “We simply want to live our lives in peace. The word is out about the two of you, and if I let you drink in my bar, I have trouble with Telios. Nobody wants trouble with Telios, especially me.”
    Christophe stepped right up in the vampire’s face. “Does he have Vanquish?”
    “Even if I knew, do you think I’d tell you? Whoever you are, whatever you want, get the hell out of my club and stay out. I’m not involved in any of that, and I plan to keep it that way.”
    Christophe started to respond, but Fiona grabbed his arm and shook her head. They were slowly, stealthily being surrounded, and this time she didn’t think she could talk her way out of it.
    “Let’s go. He has the right to be left in peace,” she said.
    The vampire turned his dark gaze to her. “Yes. We do. We are content to live in a