His smile widened. 'The next best thing."
She thought of the green guck with a shudder. "Liar."
He moved forward to press the cup into her reluctant fingers, his lips brushing the top of her curls.
"I'll make you a deal. You finish that and I'll buy you as many hot fudge sundaes as you can eat."
Abby briefly sucked in the male scent of his cologne before stepping back to regard him with a suspicious glare.
"Okay, what's going on? Zombies? Wizards? The end of the world?"
A raven brow arched. "What are you talking about?"
'You're never this easy to get along with."
He gave a startled chuckle. "Me? Lover, I'm not the difficult one." Dipping his finger into the neckline of the T-shirt, he gave it a tug to inspect the barely-there bra. "Of course, there are moments when you are less difficult than others. Like when you-"
She swatted his hand away. "Dante, I'm not going to be distracted."
He gave his fangs a meaningful lick. "Actually, I think I'm already distracted."
Damn. Her ni**les hardened. Determinedly she kept herself from melting into a puddle.
'You're up to something. What is it?"
"Nothing."
'Try again."
He hesitated and Abby felt her stomach muscles tighten. She wasn't going to like this.
"I have an errand I must run," he at last confessed.
"What sort of errand?"
"I'm returning to Selena's house to see if there are any clues to where the witches might have gone."
She considered his words a moment before giving a nod of her head and setting aside the cup o' goo.
"Not a bad idea. Let me take a shower and—"
He reached out to grasp her arms in a firm grip. "I'm going alone, Abby."
"No."
'Yes."
Her temper soared as she poked him in the chest. Hard.
"Dammit, Dante, it's a little too late to try and keep me out of danger."
"I will not have you taking unnecessary risks."
"The only risk is leaving me alone. You're supposed to be my guardian."
His expression hardened at her stubborn determination.
"You will not be alone here. Viper will keep you safe."
Abby was not impressed. Viper might be all kinds of delicious goodness, but the last time they had stayed at this hotel, they had nearly died.
"From zombies?" she demanded with a poke. "Dark wizards?" Poke, poke. "Creepy crawlies we don't even know about yet?"
Grasping her fingers, Dante lifted them to his mouth to give them a lingering kiss.
"He'll be on his guard this time, I swear. Nothing will get past him."
"I don't care."
"Abby—"
She threw her arms about his narrow waist and pressed her face to his chest.
"Damn you, I can't do this alone," she muttered. If something happens to you, I won't be able to go on."
He lightly stroked her hair. 'You will have to."
"No, I can't." She pulled back to regard him with a resolute frown. "We're in this together, buster, and if you leave here, I'll follow you. I swear I will."
His jaw briefly tightened before he gave a rueful shake of his head. "You truly are a pain in the ass, lover."
"But a most beautiful pain in the ass," a hypnotic voice husked from directly behind her.
"Exquisite," another deeply accented voice concurred.
With a jerk of surprise, Abby turned about to dis-cover two male vampires standing far too close for comfort.
"Holy… freaking… cow," she breathed, her jaw dropping.
Dante was a dark and beautiful pirate. Viper was an exotic aristocrat.
These two…
They were sex magnets.
Gods of lust.
There were simply no other words.
Identical twins, they were tall with the polished golden skin of ancient Egyptians. Their faces were chiseled perfection. High cheekbones with hawkish noses and a noble brow. Their almond-shaped black eyes were outlined in heavy kohl, and there was a hint of color on their full lips. Their long ebony hair was pulled into a braid that hung down their backs, brushing the tiny white loincloth that was all that covered the most bodacious bodies ever seen.
King Tut, take me now, a renegade voice whispered in the back of her mind.
Abby gave a shake of her head, attempting to rid herself of her breathless reaction. A task more difficult than it should have been. Then Dante's arm curled about her shoulder, and the mystical tug of fascination was broken.
She sucked in a deep breath as Dante bristled at her side.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice cold.
"Master Viper requests your presence," one of the twins murmured.
"Master Viper?" Abby grimaced. "I bet he gets off on that."
Two sets of luscious black gazes moved in her direction, both spending an inordinate amount of time inspecting her half-clad form. Something that Abby might have taken as a compliment if she hadn't suspected that they were speculating upon whether her blood was A positive or B negative rather than her dubious attractions.
"We will protect the human while you are gone," Tut One claimed.
'It will be our pleasure," Tut Two echoed.
Abby stepped closer to the vampire at her side. "Dante?"
He pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head. "Why don't you get dressed, and I'll find out what Viper wants?"
She shot him a wary glance. 'They won't—"
"We have been commanded not to taste of you," the first of the intruders interrupted, stepping close enough for her to be cloaked in his rich, spicy scent.
"Or bed you." The second added with a hint of regret as he moved to take a deep sniff of her skin. "Unless it is what you desire."
They both smiled to reveal snowy-white fangs. "We possess many skills."
"Most will not harm a human."
Dante pulled her abruptly backward, his face the stark mask of a predator.
"Touch her and you'll wish you never rose from the dead."
The nearest twin merely shrugged, still sniffing at her hair. "Surely it is for the human to decide?"
"She's decided," Abby retorted as she grasped Dante's hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. Glancing over her shoulder, she pointed a finger at the carpet at the twins' bare feet. 'Just… stay there and don't move."
"A waste," one of them murmured softly.
"Indeed," the second agreed.
Closing the door behind them, Dante pulled Abby to face him. "I must speak with Viper. Will you be okay?"