“But won’t that put your staff at risk?”
Anthony lifted his chin and frowned. “I’ll have you know I’ve always protected my staff. I don’t care if they’re being threatened by another vampire or an ordinary bully. I’d put my undead life on the line for any one of them, and Ruxandra can go to hell if she doesn’t like it. I think she understands that now.”
“Let’s hope so,” Nick said. “Because here she is.”
As predicted, Ruxandra waltzed into the bar arm in arm with a handsome stranger.
Crap, Drake thought. I don’t think I can take much more drama.
The next day as Bliss opened the office door to drop off her purse before work, she spotted Claudia bent over an open drawer. Unable to stifle an irresistible tease, she wolf-whistled.
Claudia snapped to attention and swiveled to see Bliss grinning at her.
“Oh, it’s you. Thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to kick one of the customers out of the inner sanctum.”
“Nope. It’s just little ol’ me.” She hung her purse on a hook in the closet provided for the employees.
“Didn’t you wear a coat? It’s still raining, isn’t it?”
“No, sweetie. It’s just a light mist and it takes two seconds to walk from my home to work. Gotta love the commute.” She didn’t mention having a big ex-cop escort her the few steps between her apartment and the bar.
“Glad to hear it. So, how’s it going otherwise?”
“Otherwise? You mean like job-wise? Relationship-wise? Health-wise?”
“Sure. Why not? How’s every little thing?”
Bliss shrugged. How do I tell her everything’s fine except, oh yeah, I found out I’m dating a dragon? “You know… the usual.”
“Good. Sometimes the ‘same old, same old’ is a welcome relief.”
Bliss would have argued that point a few days ago. Now it seemed like sage wisdom.
“You know something? Lately I’ve been wondering if my mother isn’t kind of right. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to live in the suburbs in a nice home with a nice, normal man and maybe raise a couple of sweet kids?”
Claudia almost dropped the folder she’d been holding. “Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a heart attack. It’s just that… you know. Things have been a little crazy in the city lately. First all those fires, now all this rain…”
Claudia raised her eyebrows. “You don’t think they have fire and rain in the suburbs?”
“Oh sure… rain maybe, but the fires? At least in the burbs you don’t have to worry about one home wiping out a whole block.”
“Are you worried about Drake?”
Bingo, but not because he’s a firefighter. “Maybe a little.”
“He’s a professional, Bliss. He knows what he’s doing, and from what I hear, he loves it. You shouldn’t ask him to quit if you really care about him.”
“Yeah, he’s really… into it.”
“So, is he into you?” Claudia sported a playful grin.
“Uh… you could say that.” She couldn’t help the soft smile. “He told me he loves me.”
“Awesome. You two make a cute couple. Are you thinking of moving to the burbs and raising kids?”
“Probably not.”
Bliss remembered what Drake had said when they first hooked up. I can’t get you pregnant. She was in such a lust-induced haze that she hadn’t paid much attention at the time. Now it made perfect sense. I’m not a dragon. How could we possibly have children together? Another thing made sense, too. Zina’s claim on him.
Claudia must have noticed a change in Bliss’s mood. She scrutinized her friend. “You look… sad. Is everything okay? Really?”
Bliss pasted a bright smile on her face. “Of course. I’m fine. Everything’s great. I’m just worried about the contest.”
Claudia didn’t look like she quite believed her. “Okay. You know if you ever need to talk, I’m right here.”
“Thanks. I know.” She strolled toward the door. “I’d better get out there and serve those thirsty customers.”
For once she was grateful for a busy bar. She wouldn’t have time to ruminate, obsess, and otherwise drive herself crazy over the heady new situation that had slapped her upside the head.
About midway through her shift, Bliss heard sirens blaring… and they were getting louder. That meant they were close and getting closer. Shit. Not again.
Drake was working an overnight shift. He was probably in one of the trucks, if this was a fire. She hoped she was hearing police sirens instead. How sick is hoping for a robbery or attempted murder instead of another fire?
She grabbed a rag and strode to the table nearest the window, hoping to get a peek as either fire or police vehicles roared by.
Flashing lights lit up the night. Please be blue, please be blue. When the sirens deafened her, both red and blue light bars whizzed by. That meant both police and fire were responding. Crap. Well, maybe they needed the EMTs, not the firefighters. Somehow she knew that wasn’t the case.
As the sirens slowed down and stopped altogether, she realized the incident couldn’t be far away.
Suddenly the front door burst open and an excited man she recognized as a semi-regular shouted to the whole bar: “Hey! The bank on the corner is on fire.”
Some of the customers took it in stride, not moving from their bar stools. Many got up—joking about cold, hard cash turning hot and crispy—and followed Phil out the door.
The bank on the corner? Horror struck Bliss like a punch in the chest. “My designs!”
She threw the rag on the floor and charged out of the bar. Running at top speed, she made it to the corner before the firefighters had completely unfurled their hoses.
She spotted Drake. Part of her wanted to rush over and beg him to rescue her safe-deposit box. The other part of her knew she should stay out of the way. He didn’t need to get suspended twice in one month. Besides, how could he get into her safe deposit box without her key and the bank personnel? That’s why they called it a safe deposit box. She cupped the sides of her face and gazed in horror.
She watched him work. He strapped on his protective gear and rushed up the steps.
“Give me the hydro ram,” he shouted. One of the guys who followed handed him a sophisticated-looking tool. He had to try a few times but finally forced the door open. Smoke billowed out as Drake led the other firefighters into the building.
Her heart beat a little faster. Knowing he was fireproof certainly helped relieve some of her fear. Knowing he was such a heroic figure—and that he was hers—well, that got her heart pounding in another way. No wonder so many women go nuts for firefighters.
Someone sidled up to Bliss, and a female voice murmured, “Pretty cool, huh?”
Cool? A burning building? She turned toward the voice, ready to give the woman a piece of her mind, when she recognized her. That’s the woman who beat up Drake.
“What are you doing here?” Bliss made sure the woman understood that she knew exactly who was standing next to her and was none too pleased to see her.
“I’m watching the excitement, just like everyone else is.”
“Do you think you could do it from somewhere else?”
“Only if you come with me.”