“Dear God,” McKell said now. Had he expected them to balk at kissing each other, even after offering to do so?
Without pulling her lips from Noelle’s, she aimed the gun toward him, keeping the barrel flat against her friend, hidden. Then she released Noelle’s ass, let those fingers trace the waist of the jeans, as if desperate to sink down, past her panties and into heat, knowing the vampire’s attention followed, all the while allowing the gun a straight shot.
She squeezed the trigger.
A blue beam erupted, lighting up the night, nailing him in the chest, and stunning him in place. Boom. Done. For the next twenty-four hours, he would see and hear everything around him, but be unable to move.
Too. Easy.
The kiss ended, and Noelle grinned down at her, all white teeth and smugness. “Wow. I really felt your passion for me that time.”
Ava rolled her eyes as she stuffed the gun back into her friend’s pants. “Shut up.”
“Seriously. How long have you been walking around with this huge crush on me?”
“Like you could handle me.”
“Egomaniac.”
“Narcissist.”
Noelle glanced at the unmoving McKell and tsked under her tongue. “What an amateur.”
“I know, right? Mia said he’d be a challenge.”
“Clearly our idea of a challenge differs.”
“Who falls for the lesbian act anymore, anyway?” Ava asked with a disappointed shake of her head.
“Men. Always.”
“Yeah, but this one’s a vampire.”
Noelle patted the top of Ava’s head as if she were a child. And stupid. “A vampire with a penis.”
“True.”
As if the insects surrounding the camp realized the vampire no longer posed a threat, they began to sing and chirp. Amid the chorus, she and Noelle approached McKell. He still sat upon that rock, still held those blades, only now he was immobile. Both of them crouched so that they were eye-to-eye with him.
“He really is beautiful, isn’t he?” Noelle observed.
Since Ava wouldn’t be enjoying him anytime soon, she saw no reason to praise him. “He’s okay, I guess.” God, those eyelashes stretched forever. And up close like this, she could see the flecks of emerald mixed with the violet of his irises. What an odd combination. Odd but gorgeous. Even better, there was a rose tint to his cheeks, as if he was flushed with arousal. For her and only her.
Noelle patted his cheek, just as she’d done to the top of Ava’s head. “Don’t let this destroy your desire for me, McKell. Like I told you, I called dibs, so if you just cooperate with Mia, you and me will be rolling around in bed before you know it. Well, maybe. You were a very naughty boy, and I’ll need to tame you first.”
What was AIR going to do with him? Ava wondered. Question him, yes. She knew that. Test his blood, she knew that, too, since certain vampire blood was the only thing that could defeat a deadly alien virus that caused cannibalism in humans. But would they torture him for hurting several agents? Keep him locked up for the rest of his life? Eventually kill him?
A shame if they did. So pretty. “Let’s discard his weapons and drag him to the car,” she said, straightening. Better to get back to business than consider circumstances she couldn’t hope to change. And shouldn’t want to change.
“But he looks so heavy.” Noelle straightened as well, towering over her.
Most people towered over Ava. She hated it, but no one had invented a way to artificially lengthen legs, so she’d learned to deal. And by “deal,” she meant she beat anyone who teased her into a bloody pulp. “Hence the reason I said drag and not carry.”
A groan. “Why not call AIR and have them swoop in to pick him up?”
“Because we’ll miss our Victory Walk through headquarters.”
Indecision played over her friend’s beautiful face. “I do like a good victory walk, but I don’t like the thought of sweating. Oh, I know!” Noelle brightened. “If you drag him on your own, you can have him. We’ll pretend I never uttered the word dibs.”
“Hell, no. I already told you he’s too cranky for me. He’s all yours.”
“You need to get laid more than I do. Your last overnight relationship”—she air-quoted the word relationship—“was, what? Six months ago?”
“Seven, thank you very much.” And five minutes after the guy had fallen asleep, she’d snuck out. As always. But she’d known then, as she knew now, that having sex with him had been a mistake. He was an AIR trainee like her, and now that all their coworkers knew he’d nailed her—he had a big, stupid mouth—the other guys assumed she was easy, and constantly made a play for their turn.
How much worse would the situation be if she slept with a criminal? Even so sexy a criminal?
“Lookit. I’m only thinking about your health,” Noelle said. “You’ve been so tense lately, and—oh, my God! I just had the best idea.” Grinning, she clapped and twirled like a toddler who’d just discovered a room of candy-flavored toys. “Let’s take pictures with him before you drag him to the car.”
Split-second subject changes were a Noelle Tremain trademark. “No way. And you’re helping me drag.”
Ignoring her, Noelle settled on McKell’s lap. “Me first. I plan to tell everyone he’s my new boyfriend. Since he is. Someone, and I won’t mention your name, Ava, is just being stubborn about a little heavy lifting.”
She was the stubborn one? Ha!
But she knew when she was beaten. Noelle wouldn’t budge until she had her pictures. Sighing, Ava withdrew her cell and captured a few images while her friend switched poses. Over and over again. If she wasn’t mistaken, murderous rage blazed in McKell’s eyes the entire time. Way to poke at the bear. And yet she never stopped snapping those pictures. And not because of Noelle.
One, McKell was completely edible on film. Something a guy like him had to appreciate. And two, once AIR had him, she probably wouldn’t see him again and definitely wouldn’t be able to point at him and say, “Guess what? I bagged and tagged him,” to other agents.
Now she could say the words, and when those agents replied, “There’s no way a shortie like you could have taken down a hulking vampire like McKell,” she could bust out the photos. Everyone would be impressed. They’d stop looking at gutter-raised, baby-faced Ava like she needed to be in a kitchen baking cakes—or in bed waiting for a man and charging two hundred an hour.