TJ Michaels

Note for Readers: You must be over eighteen to read this excerpt.

EXCERPT from HATSEPT HEAT
Vampire Council of Ethics Book 3
By TJ Michaels, Copyright 2007
Samhain Publishing, All Rights Reserved

She was right in front of him, give or take a block or two. He’d been dead-on earlier at the temple—her schoolteacher clothes had indeed hidden one curvy little body. The dark slacks and short jacket she wore fit to a tee. Certainly he’d never seen such a perfect ass move under a pair of pants like that.

Kenoe felt a grin tip up the side of his mouth, followed by a chuckle. Here he was, a Seeker for the Vampire Council of Ethics on his first vacation in three years, and instead of enjoying it he was stalking a human who had no idea she was in his sights.

Wait, wait, wait. Back the hell up. He absolutely was not stalking a human. He was, uh, simply keeping an eye on the people who were out enjoying the evening. It didn’t matter where you were, it was dangerous on the streets at night, and he would protect her, damn it. Didn’t matter that it wasn’t his job right now.

Kenoe ducked behind a tree as a fellow Seeker passed him by. He kept his mouth closed and head down, pretending to study one of the placards that were common in the city. This one was planted at the base of one of the many trees and told what kind of tree it was and the significance of long ego events that occurred on this very spot.

Moving on, he came to stand in front of a building sporting a huge yellow backlit billboard. Kenoe’s sharp eyes sought out his quarry. Quarry? Sigh.

Guess once a cop, always a cop, even when I’m supposed to be relaxing.

Not to mention the woman was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she’d turned into the soba noodle restaurant up ahead?

And when was the last time he’d lost a person, any person, once he’d put his keen nose to the task of tailing them? He was the best damned tracker in the whole Seeker corps but he couldn’t manage to keep up with one female. A human female. He must really be losing it. If it were possible to smack himself in the back of the neck for being so careless, he would have.

Maybe this was for the best. Perhaps he should go back to his hotel and just call it a night. Besides, he’d come here to find himself, not find a female. He was supposed to be spending his time in meditation, enjoying the clean mountain air and touring the land of the samurai. Letting his inner self heal from all the pain and blood that had been a constant since he was a baby vampire. The same pain that had architected the walls around his heart—walls recently fallen as a result of patience and love from his friends-turned-family.

He wanted the same love and commitment enjoyed by his closest colleagues—Bix and Dr. Carin, Alaan and Tameth. Yet at the same time Kenoe couldn’t quite see bringing a woman into his world. It was too damned unstable and unsure.

Thoughts swirling like wind tossed leaves, he stopped down the street a ways under a huge cherry tree right outside a small teashop. Even in the dark the ripening fruit was visible amidst the abundant leaves. Too bad he’d missed viewing the famous cherry blossoms back in April. They were reputed to be so thick and full, it looked like the trees were covered with snow. But in a few weeks the Toraijin Festival, an international music, food and cultural exchange, would take place here. Perhaps he’d stay long enough for that, then…

The only warning he got was a hint of something exotically sweet with a bit of tropical tang wafting from behind him, a fragrance he recognized—the woman he’d spotted in the temple earlier. The question was, how the hell had she snuck up on him like that?

Before his mind could catch up with his circumstances, Kenoe Hatsept did something he’d never done in his life, even in the presence of a human—he sheathed his fangs.

“Are you following me?” came a voice as soft as down and as smoky as aged whisky. The words were spoken on a whisper from mere inches away.

Without turning to face her, he replied just as softly, “I am not following you.” Heat crept up his neck at the total, flat-out lie. Hell, he was an undercover vampire cop, yet he was embarrassed at telling less than the truth to a possible target? No, no, wait. She wasn’t a target.

This is new, he thought sarcastically. Pushing his newfound, and currently unwelcome, conscience away, he said, “But since we are both in the same place at the same time, perhaps you would join me for a bite?”

A bite…of her. Now that sounded good. His fangs twitched behind his lips.

No biting, Kenoe. No. Bite. Ting. Keep ’em sheathed, man.

She stepped around his body, eyeing him with an inkling of suspicion. Or was that plain old curiosity? Her stylishly cut hair fell in loose waves. A few strands blew into her face. She raised her head and their gazes met. She gave him a smile. Kenoe’s world tilted sideways.

With a simple, “Okay”, she turned away, took a few steps and then looked back over her shoulder. “You comin’?”

The irritation at having lost her trail a few moments earlier faded, and Kenoe grinned like a damned fool.