Vampires Need Not…Apply? (Accidentally Yours #4)(31)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“Sleeping with women and giving them pleasure is not a valid comparison. And did you just admit you enjoyed watching me suffer when you found me in the hospital?” he asked bitterly.

Hmmm… “Maybe I enjoyed watching you suffer a little. You were being pretty damned cranky, and if I recall correctly, you even wanted to throw away your life.”

“Maybe I was cranky because someone killed my cat!” He pressed his body against hers.

“I said I was sorry about the cat! Okay? I’m sorry. He came out of nowhere!”

“What kind of person kills someone’s cat while they’re in the hospital? Blinded in an accident?”

“I can’t bring back your cat, but at least you have your sight again. And look! You still don’t appreciate the second chance you’ve been given. Can’t you just be happy?” Though he was ten inches taller and outweighed her by a good hundred pounds, she pushed back with her body, refusing to lose any ground in their battle of the wills. After all, she was a goddess and he, only a lowly, yummy… Wait! No! Icky vampire. Dammit, if he didn’t feel warm and hard and masculine in all the right places. She’d never had such delicious contact with another. This was better than that damned ride at Euro Disney all the vampires loved. This was better than bagging ten ra**sts in one night. This was—gasp!—better than a 50 percent off sale on cotton floral prints at Fabric Land! Knees don’t buckle. Knees don’t buckle.

“This isn’t a second chance,” he yelled. “I am a disgusting, goddamned vampire!”

“Yes. You are! Be happy!” she screamed back.

“Wait. You think I’m disgusting?”

Hell no! Not even a little! “You said it, not me,” she replied.

“Let us just see what’s under that veil, shall we?” He swiped for it, but she caught his wrist and growled. “Nobody touches the veil, Bub…” Goddammit, the contact was euphoric. Tingles and shivers banged their way through her body. The bliss of touching another living being, without it being… well, work related, was sinfully enjoyable. It felt like she was ha**ng s*x with her hand. Errr, not sex with my hand—’cause that’s really no fun after seventy thousand years—but sex through my hand.

She squeezed his wrist a little harder and made a tiny groan. Thankfully, he was too darn busy glaring with those olive-green eyes and snarling with those beautiful lips to even notice.

“What are you hiding under there, Elvira?” he whispered. “Or is it Jeepers Creepers? Is your face mangled and twisted? Do you wear that to keep the children from screaming?”

Ixtab stood on her tiptoes and leaned into him. She couldn’t pass up a chance to soak in more of his deliciousness. And was that…? Oh yes, it was. Ixtab’s eyes practically rolled inside her head as she felt his slightly firm c**k against her stomach.

Does he even realize?

Ixtab almost lost it right there, and by lost it, she meant tear off her clothes and throw herself at him shamelessly. She even wanted to remove the veil and show him her face. Could she do it? Betray her vow?

The tablet began to vibrate on the table, and both their heads whipped in its direction. Antonio glanced back at Ixtab’s veiled face, then down at their bodies pressing tightly together. His face suddenly turned bright red.

Oops. He just realized.

He stepped away and turned toward the tablet, giving her his back. “Leave,” he snarled.

“But I—”

He went for his microscope. “Leave. Go find someone to murder, Morticia.”

Ixtab growled under her veil. Not because he’d insulted her—hell, maybe he had every right to be mad. Who knew? But her brain felt like it had been scrambled, leaving her completely disoriented. It must be something about touching him. Yes. Perhaps she was drunk. That would explain why she’d gone from loathing the man to being completely and utterly… Oh. My. Gods! I’ve gone mad! I’m lusting after a vampire!

She headed for the door and heard Antonio hiss under his breath in disgust as she left.

Chapter Diecisiete

Hoping the crisp winter air might clear her fuzzy mind, Ixtab stood on the penthouse balcony looking out across the lights of the city.

Dammit, could this situation be any more confusing? She actually wanted him. Him. A vampire. As in, would chew off her own leg for another chance to touch him. How could this have happened?

And oddly enough, it was nothing like the feelings she’d had for Francisco. Not even close. This felt like someone had injected her with a giddy love potion that turned her heart into a quagmire of flutters and odd palpitations every time she simply thought of Antonio. It was completely overwhelming. And irrational. And scary. And fun. And exciting. And dizzying.

She took a deep breath.

There’s got to be a reason for this. Some… rational scientific explanation. A chemical reaction perhaps?

Fancy fudge! No it’s not. I like him. Really, really like him.

No! It cannot be.

Well, it doesn’t matter how you feel. He hates you. Loathes you!

Did he truly think she went around killing random people for fun? How could he possibly believe such an idiotic idea? It was true she enjoyed hunting those with dark souls who plagued humanity with their evil ways. Who could resist such entertainment? Rapists and those who abused children were an especially nice catch. And the animals she often used in a pinch—well, she tried to find ones with diseases or that were nearing the end of their furry little lives. The way she saw it, they would die soon regardless, and before they departed this world, their lives served for the higher good. Of course, the poor people who ran over the suicidal squirrel, cat, or dog didn’t appreciate their sacrifice, but the world was full of such imperfect situations.

For him to think she simply went around enjoying her job? She hated her job. It was hands down the worst deity gig on the planet. Hell, even Máax, her banished brother, aka the One No One Speaks Of, had it better. And as for those she killed by accident, there was only remorse. She had the veil to prove it.

“Everything all right?” Julie appeared at her side staring with one of her soothing, angelic smiles.

“Sure. No. Maybe. Okay, it’s a disaster.”

“Are you speaking of the tablet or the physicist?” Julie questioned.

“Both, I guess. We can’t seem to keep from wanting to tear each other’s heads off.” She sighed. “You’d think a creature with my years would know how to handle a male.”