Still, even he couldn't ruin her mood. She looked at her hands again as she took another forkful of food. She'd never thought the sight of them, with her right finger slightly crooked from being broken as a child and her nails perpetually chewed off, would make her so happy.
Spade came back into the kitchen. He'd been booking their flight and rental car, though they'd still stay tonight at Ian's. With her improved mood, that didn't even bother her anymore.
"Ah, and here's Baron DeMortimer again," Ian said, twirling his wineglass. Something thick and red was in it. Denise had been telling herself it was wine so as not to be grossed out.
Spade's mouth tightened at the mention of his former title. "We're set to leave in the morning," he told Denise.
She glanced at the window. Ian didn't have a clock nearby, but it was very dark out. Morning could only be a few hours away.
Ian winced. "Traveling so close to dawn? You must be in quite the hurry to find your illicit drug."
That note of challenge was in his voice. Denise ignored it. Ian was fishing for information, but he wasn't going to get it from her.
Spade ignored it, too. He went to the seat next to her, sitting with an effortless grace that looked like his body somehow poured itself into the chair. His fingers idly tapped on the edge of the counter while his dark eyes watched her.
"Finished?"
Denise glanced down. Oh, so her plate was empty again - and a fourth one really would be pushing it.
"Yes."
She rinsed it and put it in the dishwasher, gritting her teeth at Ian's comment that he had other humans who could do that. But she didn't snap back a caustic reply, reminding herself that they were leaving soon and Ian would only enjoy her display of temper anyway.
It wasn't until Spade closed the bedroom door behind him that Denise concerned herself with what the next few hours might bring, with the two of them alone in a room and her attraction to Spade growing more obvious by the minute.
Randy. Thinking of him made her feel both wistful and guilty. She still loved Randy, still missed him, but somehow Spade had gotten under her skin in a way she didn't seem to be able to hide. Yes, it had been a long time since she'd had sex, but Spade wasn't the first attractive man she'd been around. Why was he the one who stirred her so intensely? Why did she feel so drawn to him, both physically and emotionally?
Denise's heart started to race. What if Spade wanted her, too? If the other times he'd stared at her with heat in his eyes, it hadn't been bloodlust? Spade disdained relationships with humans, but he admitted to having sex with them. Could she do that? Sleep with a vampire who thought her humanity made her unworthy of anything more than casual sex? The idea was insulting.
And yet could she say no if Spade started to touch her the way he had in the park? To kiss more than her throat with that knowing, passionate mouth? She'd had a hard time controlling her cravings lately when it came to food. Would this craving prove more powerful than her pride, how she missed Randy, and her intention to leave everything supernatural behind once she got these brands off?
Denise didn't want to find out. "I think the food upset my stomach," she lied, and rushed to the safety of the bathroom.
Spade waited until they were well into their flight before he told Denise about their change in plans. She'd been antsy enough once she saw they weren't flying commercial, but a twin-engine prop plane instead. No need to upset her with the rest of the itinerary before she needed to know about it.
"We're not going to Vegas. We're going to your parents' house in Virginia," he told her.
Denise looked stunned. "Why?"
"They're your closest family, and I don't fancy taking Raum at his word that he won't kill one of them in an attempt to motivate you to greater speed. Demons aren't trustworthy, to say the least."
"But we can't tell my parents about this. My parents aren't in the best of health, not to mention they know nothing about vampires, demons, or anything paranormal."
Spade waved a hand. "Nor shall they. You'll introduce me as your new beau and tell them the good news that you're sending them on a cruise."
Denise simply stared at him for a second. "My parents are Jewish, and my aunt and cousins just died within a few weeks of each other. They're not going to go on a cruise; they'll barely be done sitting shiva!"
"They'll go once I'm done changing their minds - and before you protest, what is more important? Their lives, or your aversion to me using mind control on them?"
Her mouth opened and closed, as if she was about to start several arguments but then discarded each one. Spade watched in amusement despite the seriousness of the topic. She looked quite fetching that way.
"All right," she said finally. "I don't like it, but you're right. Their safety is more important."
One potential argument averted, now on to what would really upset her.
"In case Raum isn't following you through your brands, it's important we throw him off from tracking us the normal way," Spade said, unclipping his seat belt. "Which is why we won't be on this plane when it lands."
"What?" Denise gasped, looking around in sudden agitation. "No way. I'm afraid of heights. If you think I can strap on a parachute and go skydiving, you're crazy. I'll puke and then pass out before I can even pull the cord."
Spade didn't say anything, but the look on his face - and the lack of any parachutes on the plane - must have clued her in.
"Oh hell no," she said, whitening.
"It's the best way to find out if Raum is lying about the brands," Spade replied, unclipping her seat belt even though she smacked at his hands. "I've already tranced the pilots into believing we were on the plane the whole time and then disembarked with them in Vegas. And you don't have to fret about pulling a cord with me."
Denise didn't look comforted in the least. "You're out of your mind! Splattering on the ground won't kill you, sure, but I'll be nothing more than a stain wherever I land!"
"I won't let you splatter," he said, picking her up when she clung to the seat in refusal. "We have to do it now; we're flying over the right area."
"This is too much," she argued as he dragged her over to the door, sliding it open and bracing them both in the sudden vacuum of wind. "Don't do this, Spade, don't do this - "
"Hang on to me and close your eyes," he replied, settling his arms around her.
Denise cursed him, but she grabbed him with the hold of the damned. The co-pilot stood, ready to close the door behind them and then forget about their jump, just as Spade had instilled in him earlier.