Thank goodness they didn’t desire to do so.
She frowned.
Actually, with Seth at the helm, the world would probably be far better off. But he and his immortals seemed content with safeguarding those they could in secrecy.
Grunts and thuds carried down the hallway from the basement’s training room. She was tempted to peek inside and see who was fighting, but opted instead to return to Aidan.
A door beside her suddenly swung open as she passed it. A hand shot out, curled around her upper arm, and yanked her inside.
Gasping, Dana stumbled a bit as the hand released her. The door slammed shut behind her… and she found herself in a tastefully decorated, vaguely masculine bedroom.
Lisette, Sarah, Melanie, Krysta, and Heather faced her.
Lisette might have been the one who had yanked her into the room, but Dana wasn’t sure.
A human woman was present as well—Nicole maybe? She was Krysta’s brother Sean’s Second.
Ami was there, too.
Dana wasn’t sure exactly what Ami was. She seemed human. But the immortals spoke of her as if she was something else. Something more. More than a gifted one anyway.
And every single one of them was very protective of her.
The door opened, and Tracy slipped inside.
The eight women clustered together and regarded Dana with expectation, as though they had heard that her psychic abilities could foretell tomorrow’s winning lottery numbers and they were waiting for her to impart them.
Their eyes shone brightly with… excitement?
But none spoke.
It was weird.
“Um… hi?” Dana offered hesitantly.
“So?” Lisette blurted, her pretty face lighting with a grin. “Is it true?”
Dana’s mind went blank. “Is what true?”
Tracy gave Dana’s shoulder a playful shove. “Come on! Don’t torture us. We want details. Give ’em up.”
“Give what up?” Dana asked, smiling despite her confusion. They were like children trying to get the inside scoop on Santa’s bag of presents.
“Did you really kiss Seth?” Melanie asked. “Heather said you did.”
Lisette nodded. “You did, didn’t you? I can’t believe it!”
Dana laughed. That’s what this was about? “Yes, I did. But—”
Several of them erupted into speech, talking over each other and blurting so many questions and comments that Dana couldn’t sort through them all.
She looked at Ami, who stood silently on the edge of the circle, her lips curling up in amusement.
Ami shrugged. “They’re very curious,” she offered softly in explanation.
“Yes, they are,” Dana agreed.
Aidan had told her Ami was one of the fiercest fighters among them, but Dana found it hard to believe. She was so shy. So sweet. Dana just couldn’t imagine the petite redhead tearing apart crazed vampires with katanas. But she had apparently done a hell of a lot of that in the past.
The women wound down and quieted.
“Seth isn’t just their leader,” Ami said. “He’s like a father to them. To me, too. And he’s so powerful that none of the female immortals or Seconds would even think about coming on to him despite his obvious appeal.”
“Well,” Lisette corrected, “some of us might have thought about it, or rather fantasized about it, but we would never have dared act upon it or try anything untoward.”
“I can see why,” Sarah tossed in. “He’s Seth. He’s… I don’t know… larger than life.”
“Way larger than life,” Krysta added.
Nicole sighed wistfully. “He’s so hot though.”
Tracy nodded. “I would’ve totally hit that if Seth wasn’t so freaking powerful and all-knowing. That shit is intimidating.”
Ami’s smile broadened. “You know he’ll be able to read all this in your thoughts, right?”
Tracy’s eyes widened. “Oh crap!”
Lisette laughed. “Zach will, too. Or rather he already has. He’s in my head right now, making growly jealous noises. But I don’t care. He knows he’s the only man who can make me burn. And I want to know.” She met Dana’s eyes. “How was it? It was good, wasn’t it?”
Dana pursed her lips. “I shouldn’t say. If I do, Aidan might read it in your thoughts and—”
Lisette whooped. “It was good! I knew it! I knew it!”
Krysta nodded with a grin. “She wouldn’t worry about Aidan’s reaction if it had sucked.”
Dana winced and smiled at the same time. It was true.
Ami shook her head. “You may as well tell them. They have hours to kill before tonight’s meeting and won’t think twice about keeping you here and badgering you until you crumble.”
Dana groaned when the other women vowed to do just that. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”
An expectant hush descended.
“It was good,” Dana admitted. “It was really good.”
More exclamations erupted.
“But Aidan is better!” Dana called over the throng. She didn’t think they heard though. They were too busy demanding more details.
“Were his lips soft?”
“Did he use his tongue?”
“Did his eyes glow?”
“Did he grab your ass?”
“He grabbed your ass, didn’t he?”
“Did he touch your breast?”
“Feel you up a little?”
“Or maybe a lot?”
Dana laughed and again looked to Ami. “Is it really that big a deal?”
Still grinning, Ami nodded. “According to Immortal Guardians’ gossip, Seth hasn’t touched a woman since he lost his wife thousands of years ago.”
Dana’s mouth fell open. “Really?” That was so sad. And sweet. And unbelievable, all at the same time. Seth was hot.
Ami shook her head. “That’s what they say. So the fact that you kissed him—even inadvertently, believing he was Aidan—is huge news in their world.”
The women continued to pepper Dana with questions and offer speculations.
Tracy sidled up to her. “I know what you’re thinking.”
Dana eyed her with amusement. “I seriously doubt that.”
Tracy grinned. “You’re finding it hard to believe that such immensely powerful, kick-ass warriors as these who hunt and behead and tear apart vampires for a living would go all girly over you kissing Seth.”
Dana laughed. “Actually, yes. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Tracy shook her head. “Most immortals have lived hundreds of years. Thousands even. And they’ve seen just about everything there is to see in the world. So when something surprises them… and this really surprised them… it’s kind of a huge deal because that just doesn’t happen very often. If at all.”
“Oh.” Dana supposed she could understand that.
Tracy lowered her voice. “Plus their world can be pretty dark sometimes. So something light like this is all the more appreciated.”
“Hey,” Sarah called over the chorus of voices. “Did anyone win the pool?”
Ami gave them all a disapproving frown. “Are you serious? You all had a pool going?”