This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress, #5)(17)

“Why don’t we just hang out here until he comes out of the club?” I asked. “If we go inside, we might be recognized.”

I’d left my wedding ring at the hotel we checked into, but I hadn’t dyed my hair or done anything else to disguise my appearance. And Bones’s looks meant he stood out no matter what color his hair was.

He shrugged. “It’s better if we are recognized. We’ll only be in Ohio a few more days, but if we’re seen frequenting pubs, there’s less chance those ghouls will think we’re on to them. They’d expect us to stay hidden if we were.”

He had a point. I’d expected us to stay hidden, after all.

“Besides.” Something cold glittered in Bones’s eyes even though his voice remained light. “If they think we’re unaware of any danger, some of them might be thick enough to try taking us on. I’d only need to keep one alive to verify that it’s Apollyon behind these attacks.”

I shifted in my seat. Put me in a straight-up fight and I had no qualms about getting lethal, but when it came to the sort of interrogation Bones was talking about, I wished there was a better way. There wasn’t, of course. Not when it came to the undead, and if things had to get messy to stop a potential ghoul uprising . . . well, just call me Hannibal Lecter. With cleavage.

Headlights flashed in the rearview mirror as another car entered the parking lot. Tiny and Band-Aid would keep an eye out here. That meant there would be no surprise ambush later when we were coming out of the club, which made me more relaxed.

Bones parked and I got out, brushing a few specks of lint off my charcoal-colored skirt. It was tighter than I preferred, plus low enough to expose my navel and several inches of my stomach with my midriff halter top, but the goal was to look more interested in fun than fighting. The knee-high boots might be expected to contain a blade or two, but only a very careful person would notice the texture of my heels as something other than wood. Or the faint outlines on my back underneath my top as something more than a strapless bra.

Bones was also dressed as though entertainment were his only motivation. His long-sleeved top was made entirely of black mesh, his crystal skin exposed more than it was covered with the material. Leather pants hung low on his hips, tight enough to hint at his assets, but with enough give that they wouldn’t hinder his movements. The all-black ensemble combined with his dark hair only made his pale skin even more striking by comparison, drawing the eye to the muscled flesh those hundreds of tiny holes revealed.

He caught my lingering gaze where the peep show of his skin ended and the front of his pants began—and flashed me a wicked grin.

“Hold that thought, luv. With luck, we’ll be back in our hotel room breaking in the Jacuzzi before dawn.”

If I’d have still been human, I might have blushed. Logic said I should be past the stage where it was obvious that I was mentally stripping and molesting my own husband. We weren’t in the earliest bloom of our relationship anymore, after all. But when Bones approached, his dark eyes glittering with hints of green, gooseflesh still rippled across my skin as though this were a first date. Then everything in me tensed with expectation when he stood as close as possible without touching, only his breath hitting my skin as he spoke near my ear.

“Have I told you how lovely you look tonight?”

A wave of heat rolled over my subconscious, as if my nerve endings had just been brushed with the warmest of caresses. My hands slowly fisted while I resisted the urge to touch him, enjoying the building tension between us. Yes, this was different from the first giddy stage of attraction I’d felt for him, but that didn’t diminish his effect on me. Instead, the desire I felt was richer, stronger, and far more intoxicating when combined with the hold Bones had over my heart.

His scent deepened, that blend of burnt sugar and musk tantalizing me with the evidence that he felt the same way I did. Last night, after leaving the compound, I’d been too emotionally bruised over Don’s condition and my mother’s new deadly aspirations to be in an amorous mood. Plus, we had to fill in Fabian, relocate from the cave, and take the ghost back to Dave in Tennessee before returning to Ohio again. That left little time to do more than grab a few hours’ sleep before heading out for tonight’s activities.

Now, however, I wished we would have spent another hour or so back at our hotel room before leaving for this club. His comment about the Jacuzzi tub made some explicit images dance in my mind. Like how devastating Bones would look wearing nothing but suds—and then nothing but my body.

Another thought teased its way into my mind. Why wait? The backseat of our car is only a few feet away . . .

“You know, in addition to your mind-reading abilities, I may have absorbed some sluttiness from your blood,” I said, giving my head a little shake. Had to be. I normally wouldn’t think of getting it on in a parking lot when we had a reporter to snag inside and two undead friends just a few dozen feet away.

Soft laughter tickled my neck while the invisible caress of his aura intensified. “Be still my nonbeating heart.”

The sinfulness in his tone said he’d be only too open to the idea of delaying our appearance inside the club—and blistering Tiny and Band-Aid’s ears—should I suggest that backseat option. I took a step away, deciding it was in the best interest of my rapidly dwindling propriety not to touch him until we were safely inside the club.