The Tomb of Blood

Kara chuckled, clearly amused by Rose’s snarky remark. She shrugged. “Fine. Your loss,” she said, still smiling as she took another step back, putting a more appropriate amount of space between them. She leaned against an angel statue that was missing one of its wings, and she crossed her arms, causing her thin, black tank top to stretch tight against her muscles. That sideways, flirty smile returned to her lips. “So, tell me, Rose: What do you want to talk about?”

“Uh…well,” Rose began, “I know that you were Alana’s lover.”

“Do you?” Kara asked with an amused smile.

Rose continued, “I want to know if you still consider yourself her lover.”

“That would depend on how you define lover,” Kara said cryptically.

“You can’t answer questions with questions,” Rose complained.

Kara stepped away from the broken angel statue and crossed the space between them. Kara’s soft, enticing scent overwhelmed Rose’s senses again, as Kara stepped closer to her. “You’re asking me questions because you want to know more about me, and I’m asking you questions because I want to know more about you,” Kara said, her lips curving into a seductive smile. She leaned in close, too close, and whispered, “So far, I’m the only one winning this game.”

“What?” Rose sputtered. “You don’t know anything about me.”

For what must have been the twentieth time that night—Rose had lost count, by this point—Kara’s gaze swept down her body, lingering on a few very specific places. A smirk tugged at her lips. “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?”

Rose swallowed. “Kallias doesn’t trust you, but Erik does,” she sighed. “I just want to know if I can trust you. I want to know if you’re on our side.”

“Part of my appeal is that no one knows which side I’m on,” Kara said.

“What are you saying?” Rose asked. “That you’re a double agent?”

Kara’s brows furrowed. “A what?”

“Sorry. Human word,” Rose muttered. “You’re playing both sides.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Kara said evasively. She tilted her head to the side, and her light blue eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Tell me what you think.”

Rose didn’t hesitate. “I think that you disagree with what Alana’s doing. I think that you know her better than anyone else and that you want to stop her.”

Kara’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, and a pleased smile spread across her face. “Then, it sounds to me like you already know which side I’m on.”

Rose nodded. “But what I don’t understand,” she continued, “is why you’re with her. Erik fell in love with Alana because he fell for her mind games, but you’re too perceptive. You see through all of that. So, why are you with her?”

Kara moved even closer, until the front of her body pressed against the front of Rose’s body. “Let’s just put it this way,” she whispered, “I like to keep my friends close and my enemies closer, and I like to keep Alana very, very close.”

Rose tried to pull air through her lungs, but it didn’t seem to be happening, not with this gorgeous, seductive vampire standing so close. “Then, you and I…” She swallowed. “We are on the same side? I can trust you?”

“Looks like it, sexy,” Kara said with a wink.

Rose watched as Kara turned away from her and began to stroll up the steps. “Kara?” she called out. “Can I ask you one more question?”

Kara turned toward her. “You can ask as many questions as you want.”

“Why do you keep calling me sexy?” Rose asked curiously.

Kara stared at her for a moment. “Because you don’t realize you are.”