Midnight Marked

Ethan frowned, considered. “What else?”

She nodded, tucked a lock of red hair behind her ear. “So, the weird thing is that the order of the symbols doesn’t really make sense. We’ll find a few symbols that do something, a phrase in the correct order, but then they go wonky again.” She pointed to one of the phrases. “This, for example, this is a nullification equation.”

“What does it nullify?” Ethan asked, head cocked.

“Whatever you want it to. It’s like a magical verb. Particularly, a verb of subtraction. But it doesn’t do anything without an object to nullify, which also has to be spelled out.”

Ethan’s gaze tracked to the next group of symbols. “The lion, the beaker, the—what is that? A waterfall? They’re the objects?”

“Theoretically, yes.” Paige pointed to the next phrase. “This is the troubling part—the time, the position. When and where the sorcerer is supposed to make all this happen. It’s gibberish, alchemically speaking and astronomically speaking. The planets don’t align that way.” She looked at me. “It’s taken us two hours to figure out we can’t translate this phrase, and there are hundreds more phrases just like it in the equation—ones that don’t make sense in context.”

The soft sound of footsteps had us all looking up. The Librarian strode toward us in a collared shirt, his wavy hair sticking up in tufts. He reached us, looked protectively at Paige, then at Ethan.

“It’s late,” he said. “Any objection if I get her out of here? She could use a break.”

Ethan checked his watch, looked surprised by the time. “Your work is very appreciated,” he said, lifting his gaze to Paige. “And I think you’ve done plenty of it for the night.”

“Good,” she said, “because I’m beat.” Right on cue, she yawned, cupping delicate fingers over her mouth. “Sorry. Long night.”

“For all of us,” Ethan said, gesturing to the door. “Get some rest. We’ll close up the library.”

There weren’t many vampires who could pull off a suspicious look at their Master, but the Librarian managed it. “But, Sire . . .”

Ethan arched an eyebrow. “I’m fairly certain we can turn off the lights and close the door. We probably won’t even allow Malik to test the sprinkler system.”

The Librarian’s expression was dour. “That’s not funny.”

Ethan just smiled. “Take a break. Have a drink. Get some rest.”

Paige pushed back her chair. “Maybe I’ll have some sort of brainstorm in a dream.” Although the sun wouldn’t affect her the way it did us, many other supernaturals slept during the day, as if they’d adapted to our schedule.

She glanced at us. “You’re heading out, too?”

Ethan smiled. “As soon as we see that you’re tucked away.”

“In that case, we’re out,” the Librarian said, and led her to the door.

“I’m surprised he doesn’t sleep on a cot in the back,” I muttered when the door closed behind them.

Ethan grinned. “He requested it when we remodeled the House and added the library. He’s very committed to his job.”

“So’s Margot, but I don’t think she sleeps in the pantry.” Not that that would be a bad way to go. “I didn’t know the library wasn’t original.”

He frowned, gesturing to the space. “There was a room, more akin to a study than an actual library. The Librarian created the initial plan, coordinated the assemblage of our collection. I don’t think he would be offended to hear me call it his life’s passion. Well, other than Paige. He is a man in love.”

I smiled. “She’s the only one who gets to call him Arthur. That’s sign enough.”

He chuckled. “In the same way that you’re the only one who gets to call me Ethan in that particular tone.”

From the gleam in his eyes, I assumed he meant a seductive tone. “I better be. I hear anyone else is taking liberties, and we need to have a serious talk.”

“You’re the only one I allow to take liberties,” he said, and the gleam in his eyes deepened.

There was something about this sexy, beautiful man in this sexy, beautiful library that made my mouth dry.

“Then I should take advantage,” I said, and walked toward him, put my hands on his thighs.

I slid my hands from his lean thighs to his lean abdomen, felt his sharp intake of breath, the clench of muscles beneath my hands. His body was warm beneath my hands, seemed to radiate heat.

I lifted my gaze to his; the green of his eyes had deepened. He watched me with intent interest, and with the arousal we’d already halted twice tonight.

“I have plans,” I said, adjusting my body against his. I tangled my hands in his hair, pulled his mouth toward mine, and sank in. At other times, there might be kisses of love, of companionship, of solidarity. This was a kiss of banked passion, of heat, of promise. Ethan’s throat grumbled possessively, predatorily, as he deepened the kiss, tilted his body toward mine.

He pulled back, stared at me with silvered eyes languid with desire. “We should take this upstairs.”

I shook my head. “Here. Right here.” Others had had their fun tonight. I figured I was due.

Ethan opened his mouth to argue but then closed it again and slyly. “Very well, then.” He walked to the double doors, locked them with a loud metallic click that echoed across the room. When he stalked back, he picked me up, set me on the table, and stepped between my thighs. He was already rigid, already ready, and he moved a hand between our bodies to ensure that I was, too. He didn’t have to worry. I closed my eyes, arched back against passion.

Sensation pummeled me, and the first golden arc of pleasure swept over me like a firestorm, igniting every nerve in my body. “Ethan,” I cried, nails digging into his shoulders as I worked to keep my grip on him, on reality.

My head spinning, I focused on stripping him of clothing. His shirt, mine, hit the floor, were joined by pants, shoes. And then we were naked in the middle of the Cadogan library, his body lean and hard with muscle and desire. I put a hand on the flat of his abdomen, watched his defined muscles stiffen.

“You are beautiful,” I said, lifting my gaze to him. His eyes were silver now, his fangs bared, his gorgeous face framed by hair that gleamed golden in the moonlight. To an unsuspecting mortal, he’d have been terrifying. But to a vampire, to me, he was the embodiment of life and energy and strength. He was passion and desire, the hunger that would never really be sated, the eternal craving.