Chapter Two

“James Dixon, get your butt on down here!” Shay cal ed up the stairs, then offered Sunny and Kate an extremely apologetic look. “I am so sorry. He knows better than this.”

“Coward,” Mason muttered. He bent down and gave Sunny and Kate each a brief kiss on the cheek, welcoming them warmly, then clapped a hand on Dil on’s shoulder. “Come on, Foxy. Got a new Glock I wanna show off.” The two of them, led by Dil on’s guide dog, headed down the hal .

“Jamie!” Shay cal ed out again. “You’re not getting out of this one.”

Sunny’s face flushed hot with shame. She hated feeling like some odious obligation, a pariah for Jamie Angel to avoid. And even though rational y she realized his issues were with Kate, not her, it didn’t take the sting out of being so blatantly dissed.

She pasted a smile on her face and tugged on Shay’s sweater sleeve. “Forget it, girl. Let’s go eat some of your famous grits casserole.”

One look at Kate, and Sunny could see her friend wasn’t feeling even that generous. She was glancing al about the entry hal as if looking for an escape route. “I’m tel ing you . . . this is a mistake,” Kate said. “You’re rock awesome, Shay, but Jamie’s always been a jerk to me. Let’s just, I don’t know, let’s forget the plan. Heck, we can have New Year’s out at my family’s beach house on Tybee!” she said brightly. “I mean, why not?”

“Because, Katie, you’re not going to let this guy intimidate you or snub you.” Sunny sniffed at the air, feeling her dander rise. As an African-American woman who’d spent her whole earthly life in the Deep South, she had some experience with prejudice and being social y overlooked; she wasn’t about to stand by and let that happen to Kate. Besides that, even when it came to fairly harmless insults, Sunny remained highly protective of Kate.

Shay clearly shared that emotion, and began trotting up the stairs in a huff. “I’m gonna find my brother’s sorry ass. Don’t you two worry. James Dixon! ” she bel owed at the top of the steps. She kept cal ing for him upstairs, sounding completely put out with her brother.

Sunny shook her head in disbelief. “Talk about rude. Where’s that boy hiding?”

“I’m not hiding anywhere,” a deep, highly masculine voice drawled from behind her. “Ready or not, here I come.”

Slowly Sunny pivoted on her booted feet, and found herself face-to-face with the closest thing to a human angel that she’d ever seen. Maybe his name was downright prophetic. With his bright, luminous green eyes, beautiful face, and broad shoulders, she’d have sworn he was hiding a pair of wings on him somewhere.

With a half-cocked, sexy grin, he extended his hand. “Jamie Angel,” he said, his voice pure gravel and seduction. “You must be the friend.”

Sunny blinked up at him, confused, overwhelmed by how outrageously handsome he truly was.

“Friend?”

“Yeah, the one my sis is gunning to fix me up with.” He raked a slow gaze down her body, lingering for too many seconds on her ful breasts. “Now I can see why.”

Kate bounded forward and swatted him on the arm. “James Angel, you shut up now. This is my best friend, and I’l not have you . . . pawing at her.”

He held up both hands innocently. “I didn’t lay a finger on her.”

“No, you just clapped your hound-dog gaze on her like she was fine china at a yard sale. Sunny Renfroe isn’t cheap and she sure isn’t your type.”

“Who says she’s not?” Jamie asked huskily, never moving his sultry-eyed gaze from Sunny.

“You, Kate? We already know I don’t trust you or your kind, so why should I put any faith in your evaluation of my ‘type’?”

“I’m standing right here!” Sunny cried. “Would you both chil the heck out and stop talking about me like I’m not even in the room?” She stomped a foot, flushing at the way Jamie’s light green gaze slid back to her. She returned the stare, tilting her chin defiantly. “Good Lord almighty, Jamie Angel, you’re as bad as they al say. Worse, maybe.”

One elegant eyebrow lifted. “Who al ?”

“Just about every woman in this town . . . your own sister, even.”

Jamie rol ed his eyes. “So Shay wants to fix us up, and yet she’s warned you that I’m a scoundrel?”

Sunny couldn’t help laughing. “Bul ’s-eye. Her exact word for you.”

“Think that’s the first time I’ve heard her cal me that?” He stepped much closer, smiling down at her so broadly that his dimples deepened. “What do you say I show you around the place? Take you for a walk down to the creek marsh?”

Those were the words he used, but the message in his eyes suggested something much, much more dangerous. It was as if he were playing a game with her, seeing how far he could push her boundaries while he toyed with her.

Sunny squared her shoulders and drew in a cleansing breath. She had a mission here, and it didn’t include getting ogled by—or ogling—the subject of said mission. “Look, let’s have a nice, pleasant round of introductions, and then we can al — all of us—go sip a little tea, whatever.”

“It’s brunch, Shay style. In the formal dining room.” Jamie gave a gal ant half bow, and the elegance of the gesture was at total odds with his worn cowboy boots and faded jeans. Preppy?

Not so much. Or maybe he was just tricked out in his Sunday casual.

He extended his hand again, and smiled his fal en-angel’s smile once more. “Nice to meet you, Sunny Renfroe. And just for the record? You can be my type anytime.”

The devil. Sunny flushed even hotter, and glared at him. He knew she found him beautiful; he knew that every woman, throughout his short mortal life, had found him sexy, at least to some degree. His gaze drifted down her body, and he actual y cocked his head sideways for a better look at her long legs, which were highly visible because of her miniskirt. She flushed, hoping she hadn’t missed cleaning off some obvious speck of demon’s blood.

“Nice,” he said in a slow, simmering tone. “Very, very nice.”

She’d been around men with money before; they had a tendency to believe they could buy or own anyone or anything that suited their fancy. Wel , she sure as heck wasn’t a show horse or an antique vase or any other object of beauty he could purchase when the whim struck him.

Sunny planted a hand on her hip and repaid his assessing study. She started on his face, taking in the strong jaw covered in light beard growth, then lingered on his ful , luscious lips. But she real y kicked into gear by dragging her gaze down to his hips and mimicking his earlier gesture as she angled for a better look at his rear.

Then, with a nonchalant shrug, she said, “Nice.”

Jamie looked pleased with himself, puffing out his chest. That was probably why Sunny couldn’t resist adding, “I mean, if you like white dudes with wimpy physiques. That kind of nice . . . I guess.”

“Wimpy?” Jamie repeated in disbelief. He was built, and at six foot four, no one had implied he wasn’t strong and muscular since he’d grown seven inches in the ninth grade.

Who was this chick? Shay had said she was human, yet something was different about her. She sure didn’t smell like a vampire, didn’t have that tangy scent that was coming off Kate. In fact, she actual y emanated a kind of gardenia aroma, one of heavenly sweetness. Among Jamie’s many spiritual gifts, he was what he termed “a smel er,” for lack of a better word. It was more than having the sight, which he’d had since he was not quite ten years old. Being able to spot demons was just one part of his unusual abilities. He could also identify supernatural entities based on the way they smel ed. He’d even, occasional y during Easter, smel ed the Holy Spirit while in church. A perfect aroma unlike anything found on earth.

Sunny, with her high-heeled boots and short skirt, smel ed pure and sweet. Could she somehow be a demon, masking her true nature by an act of subterfuge? No, that wouldn’t work, because their entire property was warded against demons and dark spirits. Besides that, there wasn’t a demon within a half-mile radius that he wouldn’t sniff out.

“What are you?” he blurted, catching another whiff of her downright gorgeous scent.

She laughed, a light, tinkling-chimes sound, smiling so hugely that her big brown eyes crinkled at the edges. It was an innocent, total y surprising sort of smile, one that spoke of goodness and true joy.

She looked up into his eyes, her own lovely brown ones sparkling. “Oh, honey, puh-lease! Just because I put you in your place, now I’m suspect?” she teased. “Is it real y that uncommon for you to get as good as you give, Jamie Angel?”

And he actual y blushed. He, the always smooth, ever-unflappable guy, felt heat creep al the way down his neck. It wasn’t what she’d said—it was al in how she was smiling up at him, the warmth in her gaze, the gentle mockery in her eyes. She was so unlike the women he always dated, with their rode-hard-put-up-wet expressions, their stale flirtations . . . and yet she was flirting. Wasn’t she?

“Speechless, are you?” She laughed lightly, and final y broke their long, shared glance by turning to Kate. “He’s a pussycat, baby,” she told her best friend. “Al meow and no bite at al .”

He frowned back at her, his earlier flirtation gone. Initial y, he’d been playing a role with her, one that was intended to annoy the crap out of Kate Rabineau and possibly even tick off Shay for having set him up like this. But al that was changing by the mil isecond because of one simple fact: Sunny was ravishing, with honey-dark skin that had a glow to it, almost as if she’d been touched by the sun. Her eyes were wide set and almond-shaped, with long, dark lashes. They gave her a mysterious look—they were also sexy as living hel . Ordinarily, he’d have been al over her for the duration of her visit, but he was truly unsettled by the unusual, eerie innocence he sensed in her. It was downright otherworldly, and he couldn’t be wrong about that fact.

“Jamie?” Sunny prompted, staring up into his face. This time she sounded almost . . .

concerned.

He studied her, rubbing his temple. There had to be a way to pin down her true identity and nature. His mind whirled, grasping at any number of possibilities. The radiance of her burnished skin was lovely, but it wasn’t normal or human. This chick literal y seemed to glow a little.

He squinted down at her, as if somehow his sight might kick into overdrive and cough up the goods on the woman. “I . . . Seriously, Sunny. Where’d you come from?”

“I grew up here, in Savannah.”

“From what age?”

“Since I was a kid,” Sunny said, eyeing him oddly. “Why?”

He turned to Kate. “Do you see it?” he asked, even though he knew she was the last person who’d validate any theory he might form about her best friend.

Kate didn’t balk or deny, but she did stare at him as if he weren’t quite speaking English. Then she turned sideways and took a good long look at her friend. After a moment she shook her head in confusion, facing him again. “Jamie, what are you talking about? I’m the only vampire in this house right now.”

He shook his head numbly. “She’s not a vamp.”

“I’m glad you can see that.” Sunny laughed, the sound musical, beautiful. Strangely soothing and hypnotic.

“No, trust me; I realize she’s not a bloodsucker.”

Sunny scowled at him. “Now, that, Jamie Angel, is just plain rude. And you here, in your big plantation house, I’d think you’d know better how to treat a lady.”

“I’l treat you to the ful -court press once you admit it.” He gave her a slow, devilish smile, his trademark. It never failed to unravel female composure, and get him whatever or wherever he wanted.

Sunny just scrunched her nose up at him, utterly unaffected. “Admit what?”

“That you’re not human.” He folded both arms across his chest with a self-satisfied gesture. “Not even close.”

“Of course Sunny is human.” Shay came trotting down the stairs. “And about time you showed up. First, you vanish when we’ve got guests coming. And now? You harass them. Good work, big brother. Thanks for being completely embarrassing.”

Jamie pointed at Sunny, sputtering, “How . . . how can you not see it, too?”

“Jamie.” Shay eyebal ed him hard, but before he could explain that he real y was just cal ing it like he saw it, his sister linked arms with Sunny and Kate. “Come on, ladies. Let me show you some proper hospitality. Just ignore Neanderthal James.”

Jamie skulked behind them, slowly meandering toward the dining room in their wake.

Something about Sunny Renfroe wasn’t right; he was sure of it. He didn’t get an evil vibe off her, but his senses were definitely picking up that she was supernatural in nature. He just didn’t know if she was a threat. He knew enough about evil, too, to realize that it often came dressed up and looking pretty . . . and a lot like what you most wanted. Also, it wouldn’t be smart to forget that the wards protecting their property had been compromised several times lately.

Yet how could he explain the instant attraction he’d felt awaken inside of him, an almost magnetic pul toward Sunny Renfroe? He prided himself on never reacting this strongly to any female; he had far too many wal s in place to do so.

Besides, she wasn’t even his type, although he’d always had a thing for big brown eyes like hers. And for curls, and she a head ful of light brown corkscrew spirals that tumbled to her shoulders. Watching those curls bounce as she walked into the dining room, he had to fight the urge to rush after her and stroke one, wrap it around his pinkie.

But evil often came looking pretty and ful of seduction. He vowed to remember that. He’d assumed a position of détente regarding Kate and the Savannah-area vampires, but whatever Sunny was . . . Wel , he’d made no promises not to expose or hunt other paranormal creatures.

After everyone had wrapped up brunch, Mason brought out a margarita machine, and the vampire crew al seemed to think that cocktails in the afternoon was a splendid idea.

Pain in the ass, that was what it was. Jamie had hoped they’d already be heading out the door by now, not settling in for the long haul. He’d participated in enough Cinco de Mayo celebrations to realize that one margarita had the mystical quality of becoming two or three.

Jamie tailed Mason into the kitchen, where he stood, starting to read the machine’s directions.

“So tel me you saw it, too,” Jamie hissed under his breath.

Mason glanced up at him curiously. “Saw what?”

“That Sunny girl is supernatural in nature. It can’t be good, either, considering she’s cavorting with known vampires.”

Mason laughed, and started reading the directions again. “Having a vampire in the house has your dander al in a knot. Chil and be nice to them.”

“I was plenty polite to them both. I even pul ed Kate’s chair out for her at the dining table.”

Mason smirked. “Wel , don’t you get the good-citizenship award for gentlemanly excel ence?”

“Damn it, Mace, take this seriously. I’m tel ing you—that female ain’t right. She’s not human, and she’s here, in our house. What’s to say she’s not doing recon work as we speak? Trying to find the way into the cel ar to destroy some of our lore?”

“I can hear her laughing in the dining room,” Mason told him matter-of-factly. “Sounds real y sinister, too, man. Better go arm yourself down in the cel ar, get that new Glock of mine.”

As if to underscore Mason’s sarcasm, at that exact moment he heard Sunny’s light, sweet-sounding laughter as she said, “He’s not that hot.”

Him. They were laughing at him; he knew it.

“She is not human,” he ground out.

“What are you saying, then? That she’s a demon?” Mace gave him a hard-boiled stare, the kind of glance he’d probably used to intimidate privates and even squeaky-new lieutenants under his command back in his Marine Corps days. “ ’Cause we both know she wouldn’t have made it past the wards if that were true.”

Jamie sighed. “Didn’t stop you from suspecting Juliana a few months ago, the fact that she’d gotten past the protections—and it turned out you were right.”

“Partial y right,” Mace corrected. “Juliana had accidental y bound herself to a demon. She wasn’t one.... That’s how she was able to get past the wards.”

“So then why are you automatical y assuming I’m wrong, not that maybe I could be on to something? Just like you were on the right track with Juliana. But no, I’m half-cocked and seeing things that aren’t there!”

“Jamie, come on, now.” Mace set the directions on the kitchen counter and turned to face him.

“I’m listening to you.”

“But you don’t believe me.”

“I didn’t sense a damn thing about her—so to speak.” Mason laughed and Jamie gave him a mirthless look in return. “I could sense Juliana’s demon from the moment I laid eyes on her,”

Mason argued. “With Sunny, I get nothing. Shay’s obviously got nothing, too.”

“Maybe I’m just a better hunter than you both.”

Mason rol ed his eyes. “Oh, you did not just say that.”

“I’m the eldest, which means I’ve had the sight longer than either of you.”

“You’re the head honcho, bro, but that don’t make you the most talented in our bunch. You are wrong sometimes.”

“Name a time.”

“Uh, how about now? It’s not just Shay and me against you on this one. Dil on’s developed a real y strong gift with his hunting, too. So that’s three of us who don’t sense anything wrong with Sunny.”

Mason’s boyfriend, Nikos, came into the kitchen right then, and Mace’s eyes lit up when he saw that Nik had arrived. “Hey, you know how to work a margarita machine?” he asked as Nikos gave him a quick kiss.

They shared a flirtatious glance as Mace handed over the directions, and it was clear that Mason had already halfway forgotten his conversation with Jamie. It was annoying to be around people who had recently fal en in love, and Jamie rol ed his eyes, thinking about how passion blinded people to plain good sense.

Wait. That was it.... He could use that very thing against Sunny. Get her guard down, then learn the truth. She’d responded to him physical y, even though she’d tried to knock him down a few pegs. He’d seen the lust and arousal flare in her eyes, and he’d smel ed the desire radiating off her skin, too.

Come New Year’s night, he’d find a way to get much, much closer to the woman and, in the process, discover her secret. Then again, why wait at al ? What was wrong with enacting his seduction plan today with the power of a few margaritas?