Deal With the Devil Read online

  I fought the urge to blush as she stepped back and took in my appearance. I had dressed to impress tonight in a deep red dress that was cut low in the front and even lower in the back. In fact, it was impossible to wear a bra with it so I was being extra careful of the way I moved so that silky fabric that covered my breasts didn’t slip off my shoulders and reveal more than just my neck and back. The dress ended around mid-thigh and I had on a pair of black open-toed heels that made me several inches taller to go with it. Since I was already so short and Jude was so tall, I felt like I needed something to level the playing field. Besides, the heels made my legs look long and slender and sexy and gave my walk a confident strut that I liked. My hair was down, the curly ends brushing against my bare back and my makeup, while minimal, was absolutely perfect.

  I had taken hours to get ready but it felt like longer than that while Jude’s maid stared at me. At last, after a long moment of scrutiny, she nodded at me in a friendly way. “Yep, real nice. Well, come right this way, Miss Luz. Mr. Jude said to take you straight in to the study.” She turned and headed down the hallway, leaving me to follow her in bewilderment.

  “Uh, you keep the house beautifully,” I said, feeling that I needed to make some conversation.

  “Oh, it ain’t hard, child. Not like there’s much to do ‘sides sweeping and dusting. And I don’t have to cook like I did at my last job on account of vamps don’t eat.” She grinned over her shoulder at me.

  “I guess that would simplify things a lot,” I said helplessly, wishing I could think of more to say. We walked the rest of the way in silence and stopped in front of the same carved wooden door that I remembered from last time.

  “Well, here you go. Hope you enjoy your visit, Miss Luz.” She nodded at me and was turning to go when my curiosity got the best of me.

  “Wait.” I put a hand on her arm, waiting until she faced me. “I’m sorry,” I said, feeling awkward. “I know it’s none of my business but I guess I’m just surprised to see a were working for a vamp.”

  Her bright eyes flashed. “You’re a were too, missy—my nose tells me so. So I could just as well ask what you’re doing visiting a vamp same as you can ask what I’m doing working for one.”

  “I’m sorry I offended you—forget I asked.” I dropped my hand but she grabbed it in both of hers. Her grip was warm and dry, her skin worn smooth as a baby’s with age.

  “Now, I didn’t mean it like that, child, so don’t go gettin’ your back up.”

  “I’m not,” I said, surprised.

  “Well, all right then.” She smiled. “I like you—mostly because Mr. Jude likes you. And he’s been powerful lonely an awful long time so seeing him find a lady friend does my old heart good.”

  “I’m, uh, glad to hear it,” I said, not sure how to take her revelation. At least now I knew that Jude didn’t invite women over to his home to party all the time. It was nice to know that we were exclusive—at least as far as Rosie knew. I found myself smiling back at her.

  “As for why I work for him—I have my reasons. Mr. Jude has been powerful good to me and my family. He got us justice when no one else could. You know?”

  Of course I didn’t know—I had no idea what she was talking about. But I nodded at her anyway and that seemed to be good enough for Rosie.

  “Well, now, I best be getting on. Tell Mr. Jude if he needs anything he can call me but to make it quick. I’m about to go for the night. All right?”

  I nodded again. “All right.”

  “Good.” She pressed my hand briefly before letting it go. “You have a blessed day, Miss Luz, and it was mighty fine to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you too,” I said, actually meaning it. She might be a little strange but it was clear that Rosie was devoted to Jude. And it was a relief to meet another living soul who saw him as a decent person instead of as an evil, bloodthirsty vampire who was ready to kill and maim at the drop of a hat.

  Rosie grinned at me with a mouthful of false teeth and shuffled off down the hallway, humming quietly to herself. Shaking my head, I turned toward the door and let myself into the study.

  Jude was sitting on the low leather couch as still as a statue, staring into the fire that was crackling quietly to itself on the hearth. In the firelight his marble pale skin was painted with gold and crimson. I caught my breath at the beauty of his profile.

  My small intake of breath seemed to rouse him from whatever reverie he’d been lost in because he looked up at me, smiling. “Luz. It’s good to see you again.” He rose in one fluid motion and was standing in front of me almost before I could blink. Taking my hands in his, he stared into my eyes. “You’ve outdone yourself tonight. I’ve never seen you looking more beautiful.”

  I felt my cheeks getting hot at his compliment. But I needed to keep my mind on the subject at hand instead of thinking how deep his green eyes looked and how good he smelled. I took a deep breath. “I came to talk, Jude. I need to ask you…”

  “Of course you can have some of my blood. I’m so glad you’ve decided to do another exchange with me.”

  I pulled my hands away. “Don’t read me like that—I don’t like it.”

  “Forgive me. It was just one of my flashes—you were thinking about it so strongly it came through before I thought about it.”

  “Are you sure that’s all you see? Just the surface of someone’s mind?”

  He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under the black T-shirt he wore. “Just their most recent thoughts, yes. And it doesn’t even happen very often. In fact, this is only the second or third time I have caught flashes of your thoughts and you know if it happened every time I touched you I would know much more about you than I do.”

  I blushed again, thinking of how much and how intimately he had touched me. But I needed to get something out of the way before I let myself be carried away in the moment. “I do want to do another blood exchange,” I said, looking up at him seriously. “But after I tell you why, you might not want to.”

  “Why would I not want to?” As he spoke, he led me over to the couch and seated me on it. “Would you like some wine?”

  “Um…sure.” I was determined not to get off track. “You might not want to because I want to try again to shift—to change this next full moon.”

  He shook his head as he poured me wine that was so dark it looked black in the firelight. “And why would that bother me?”

  “Because,” I said patiently. “The whole reason you wanted my blood in the first place was because I’ve never shifted. You said there was more power in it that way so after I shift…” I shrugged. “It won’t be as…as potent, I guess.”

  Jude sat beside me and offered me a delicate long-stemmed crystal glass half filled with the dark wine. It smelled fruity and rich. I took a small sip and made an appreciative noise.

  He nodded at my glass. “Do you like it? I was still young when it was made.”

  “It’s delicious,” I said truthfully. “But you still haven’t said how you feel about me shifting.”

  “I think you should do what makes you happy. I suppose the only thing that concerns me is the fact that you’ll be more interesting to your own kind when you can change and you might forget about me.”

  His response surprised me. “How could I forget you? You’ve helped me so much.”

  “I hope that isn’t the only reason you’d try to keep me in mind.” He took the wine glass from me and held both my hands in his much larger ones.

  “So…you won’t mind if my blood changes flavor or potency or whatever?”

  “Luz, I have a small confession to make. It isn’t your blood I am as interested in as you. It’s true that having never changed your blood has an energy about it that is rare and delicious but I would have been just as eager to spend time with you even if you had been shifting every month for years.”

  I frowned. “They why didn’t you say so? Why make such a big deal about the energy in my blood and how you wanted to taste it like fine wi