Embraced by Blood. Laurie London

      JACKSON SET DOWN the empty cereal bowl and caught up to her at the elevators. “Lil, wait up. I didn’t mean to stir up old feelings. Should’ve just told you we got the information through some intelligence in the field without mentioning who the source was.”

      “I can assure you,” she said coolly, “there’s nothing to stir up. Any feelings I may have had for him are long gone.”

      He wasn’t so sure, but he wasn’t about to argue with her. “Listen, I know this is going to sound out of left field since you and me—well, we haven’t gotten together in forever. But … are you going straight to sleep when you get home or do you need a little company?”

      Well before she’d met Alfonso, Lily and Jackson had rolled around in the sack together a few times just for fun. Like all modern vampires trying to control their naturally aggressive tendencies, they needed the tension release that only sexual activity provided. He’d never considered it serious, and neither had she. Just a fun way to work off the edge. And right now she looked like she could use a little tension reliever.

      “Wow, out of left field is right.” She smiled. “Jacks, you know I love ya, and the shagging was fun.” She knocked him on the arm and he knew the no was coming. “But that was forever ago, like you said. We hang out now, have fun. You tell me about the women you date, and I try to keep them all straight. I’m afraid you’ve become more like the little brother I never had. A little brother with giant muscles. Jeez, what are you feeding these things?” She smacked his biceps again with the back of her hand. “It’d be weird now. Sorry, love.”

      He hadn’t really expected she’d take him up on it, but it never hurt to try. And it wasn’t completely altruistic on his part either. After all, she was hot and had a smoking body.

      After glancing at her watch, she pressed the elevator button and twisted the cord of her hood around a finger. What was she anxious about? Did she have to get back home for something?

      Then it dawned on him. No wonder she seemed anxious and in a hurry. Kip was probably waiting for her back at her place.

      “Sorry to have kept you from your boy toy,” he said. “I’ll let you get back to him.”

      A confused expression flashed across her face. “What are you talking about?”

      “Kip. Isn’t he waiting for you back at your condo?”

      “Kip? Why would you think so? For one thing, he’s totally not my type. Too young and probably way too inexperienced.”

      Jackson gave her a skeptical look. Since when was being the more experienced partner in a sexual relationship a bad thing?

      “I’m serious. He’s probably crashed in the bunk room by now. It took us a little longer than normal to track down a revert and I think he was pretty tired when we finally did. Go check if you don’t believe me.”

      “I don’t think so. Xian just made up one of the beds for Gibby and mentioned that Kip wasn’t there. I just assumed you and he—”

      “You’re way off. Hey, there’s Xian now,” she said, looking behind him. “Let’s go ask.” She brushed past him and strode down the hallway.

      As they got closer to the kitchen, the smell of warm chocolate nearly brought Jackson to his knees.

      “I’m glad you’re here,” Xian said to Lily. “I wanted to get these to you before you left for Willow Run.” The small, dark-haired man offered her a bundle wrapped neatly in brown paper, tied with a frilly pink bow. “Brownies. No nuts. I promised Zoe I’d send some with you the next time you headed up.”

      “Oh, Xian, that’s very sweet of you,” she said, taking the package from him. “She adores your brownies. Thank you.”

      Brownies? Jackson’s mouth was watering already.

      For a moment he forgot why they needed to talk to Xian as he scanned the granite counters, first the large island with some frou-frou wicker basket arrangement, then around the perimeter, looking for a pan, a platter or the friggin’ plate that held them. He was about to ask Xian if he’d made any extra when he spotted a lidded plastic container. Bingo! He beelined to the far side of the kitchen.

      Lily started asking Xian a bunch of questions, but Jackson was only half-paying attention. He removed the lid and—Holy cow, they were frosted.

      “I put nuts in the batch I made for everyone else,” Xian called over his shoulder as he touched the wall-mounted Comm screen.

      “Is there anything you can’t do, Xian?” Grabbing the container, he shuffled back to the other side of the kitchen, trying to decide which one to eat first. The biggest brownie or the one with the most frosting? The biggest, he decided, and fished it out, smearing chocolate all over his fingers.

      “Yes, get you to approve the latest expense sheets. I’ve got Guardian and trainee credit card bills due soon. Dom never makes me wait this long.”

      “Oh shit, sorry. Remind me later, okay?” Jackson stuffed the thing in his mouth and crunched down. Not surprising, it was fan-fucking-tastic. Moist, chewy and very chocolaty. “Xian, you know it’d really suck if you Van Helsinged and teamed up against us. I’d miss all the food.”

      “Jackson!” Lily’s eyes narrowed.

      “What? I’m joking. Kind of.” He sat on the counter and crossed his legs. “Sorry, Xi, if I pissed you off.”

      “No worries. But if you don’t get your feet off my clean granite, those will be the last brownies you ever eat.” The man’s eyes sparkled with amusement as he punched a few more buttons on the screen.

      Jackson obeyed and crooked his pinkie, which was covered with frosting. “See, Lil? Xi and I are tight.”

      Not that Jackson actually thought Xian would sever his loyalties to their kind, deciding instead to hunt and persecute vampires as a handful of humans had done over the years, but he liked to tease the guy anyway. When Darkbloods had slipped into the family bakery late one night, targeting them because a few of them were sweetbloods, Xian and his sister would’ve been dead if it hadn’t been for Guardians. They hadn’t arrived in time to save his mother, but because he and his younger sister were not sweetbloods, the Darkbloods hadn’t gotten around to killing them before the Guardian showed up

      Grateful and insisting he owed the team his life, Xian eventually became the administrative manager for the Seattle field office, where he did a little of everything, including occasionally volunteering as a blood donor. And making some kick-ass desserts. Although Jackson could do without all the fish and healthy shit the guy loved to fix.

      “No, it appears Kip is not in the field office,” Xian said. “His badge has not been scanned since—” Xian touched the screen again “—since eleven forty-three last night.”

      Lily’s face paled. “That’s the time we left for our shift. I assumed he was entertaining one of the women. Are you sure?”

      “I am certain of it.”

      Jackson licked his fingers one by one. “I don’t understand. Weren’t you working the shift together, Lil? I thought he was shadowing you.” He grabbed another brownie and held it out to her.

      Glancing at his hand, she cocked an eyebrow and shook her head. He shrugged and shoved the piece of heaven into his mouth.

      “He was with me on second shift, but I had him drive my car back to the office while I walked home. I … I wanted to clear my head after a somewhat difficult capture.”

      He considered taking yet another brownie, but decided two were enough. Any more sugar and he’d never get to sleep. Then again, as soon as the others saw the brownies, the container would be picked as clean as a chicken leg in a tank of hungry piranhas, so maybe he should take a third.

      “That’s your very own container,” Xian said, obviously following his train of thought. “Didn’t