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What really drew her to Hathen, beyond these obvious attributes, was his penetrating stare; One that never left her face as she continued her questioning of him and the two females who accompanied him to the station.

Tearing her eyes away from him, she forced herself to concentrate on the tearful pleas of Clotilde, herself a stunningly beautiful specimen. Clotilde boasted creamy skin, vivid eyes that shone pure violet from a carved sculpted face, and curly blonde hair that fell to her shoulders in a lithe, majestic fall.

“
Ma’am, please do not arrest Hathen,” her rhythmic voice pleaded with heart felt emotion. “He is like a father to me. He and the den are the only family I have.” Her gaze hardened as she turned to face Scarlet, who sat hunched and expressionless in a corner chair. “I never liked Scarlet. She meant to break up our family, destroy us all.” She inclined her head toward Hathen, shaking it vigorously. “We tried to tell Hathen, but he was too taken by her beauty.”

“
Welcome to the world of men, young one,” Jess snorted.

Clotilde’s smile was brief and forced.

“
Even so, Ma’am, Hathen was the man who saved my life tonight.” She pointed a lithe but accusing finger in Scarlet’s direction. “He saved me from that creature.”

Scarlet remained motionless, only stared straight ahead with dead black eyes.

“
Ma’am?” Jess tilted her head, brows furrowed. “Did you try to harm this young lady tonight?”

“
She is not a lady.” Scarlet continued to stare straight ahead, her voice deep and menacing. “She is an incubi. A walking insult to vampires, a betrayer to the legend of the bloodsucker….”

“
Listen, I’m not asking for an extended character reference of Clotilde.” Jess snapped, rolling her eyes heavenward. “I’m asking if you tried to do harm to this young woman.”

A chill coursed her spine as Scarlet turned to face her, eyes blazing and fangs bared.

“
I want to alleviate the earth of all false vampires!” She bellowed. “And, much like the legend Madame Bathory before me, I yearned to drink her blood to refresh my beauty.”

An unimpressed Jess folded her arms before her. “Yeah well, next time just try Botox. As it stands, Miss, I’m going to have to charge you with attempted murder.”

Letting loose with an unearthly growl, Scarlet soared upward from her corner chair. She flew in a flourish over Jess’s desk, tackling her with bared fangs and sharpened claws.

Jess was prepared. Throwing the marginally smaller woman to the ground, Jess cuffed her with remarkable ease as the room was flooded by a flurry of the officer’s colleagues. Scarlet snarled, as two of the officers escorted her to a nearby holding cell.

“
Suffice it to say I’m recommending some anger management courses for the duration of your stay!” Jess called after her, lounging back in her chair and folding her hands behind her head.

Laughing and applauding her with marked glee, Hathen and Clotilde performed a spirited high five before Hathen graced her with a daring smile.

“
Madame, that was amazing.” He gestured toward Jess, eyes alight with admiration. “I have never seen a human keep their cool around a vampire.”

Jess smiled.

“
I could say the same about you,” she arched her eyebrows. “That woman almost killed your friend here tonight, and you didn’t kill her, or for that matter, threaten to take her to the police. Instead you said you’d just take her home.” She cocked her head, spreading her hands in a gesture of confusion. “May I ask why?”

Hathen leaned forward across her desk, pinning her with a questioning stare.

“
Madame, let me answer your question with a question. Have you, in your official capacity, ever encountered a prostitute who was beaten or sexually attacked?”

Jess bit her lip.

“
Unfortunately yes,” her voice barely above a whisper. “It breaks my heart.”

Hathen nodded, stroking his chin in thought.

“
And does it also break your heart when she is afraid to press charges against her attacker because she is afraid you will arrest her because of her profession?”

Jess looked down at her desk, nodding slowly in response to his question.

“
I would never arrest a victim, only the attacker,” she told him. “However, I do know that there are others on the force who would arrest her as well.” She brought her fist down hard on the desk before her, finishing through gritted teeth, “It’s shameful.”

She felt surprisingly calm as Hathen seized her chin in his hand, lifting her head until her gaze locked with his.

“
You are an amazing woman, Jess Green, not to mention very perceptive.” He smiled. “Most of your fellow officers here would have arrested Clotilde and me this evening, throwing us in the same cell with the monster you have in custody.”

Jess shook her head, knowing he was right.

“
The two of you did nothing wrong” she uttered.

Hathen met her words with a low, dry chuckle. “As the kids of today would say, true that” he joked. “Yet in the eyes of most mortals, vampires, like prostitutes, are wrong.” He shrugged.

“
They have to punish us, not because of what we do, but who we are. I was afraid that if I killed Scarlet, even in defense of my den, I myself would be treated like a murderer.” He looked down at the table, his sumptuous lips drawing downward in a pronounced frown. “And that if I brought her into the police station, I wouldn’t be allowed to leave.”

His eyes flew wide as Jess reached across the table, grasping his hand in hers.

“
I can guarantee you, Hathen, that the incubi of this city will know complete and total protection under my watch.” She nodded. “When I assumed control of the city’s vampire unit, it was never my goal to rid the city of vampires, just to make sure that vamps and humans live together in peace.”

“
And we can, bella” Hathen squeezed her hands, his voice lined with an earnest tone. “None among us drinks blood, and we have a number of human friends.”

“
Oh, that’s what I’ve heard.” Jess snorted. “I’ve heard you have quite a few female friends in particular.”

For the first time in recent history, Jess Green saw a vampire blush. And blush deep.

“
Well, the gentlemen of my den are always willing to offer our protection to any lady who needs it,” he arched a teasing eyebrow, searing her with a seductive gaze. “And anything else she so desires, for that matter.”

Gulping hard, Jess shifted her attention to a giggling Clotilde.

“
You are one. Lucky. Woman.” She informed her.

“
Trust me Miss, I know,” Clotilde grinned, adding with a slight tremble, “That is when some creepy bloodsucker isn’t trying to make me her lunch.”

Jess nodded.

“
One of the goals of the vampire unit is to rid the city of rogue vamps,” she explained.

“
This is a goal we share,” Hathen said quickly, wagging a finger for emphasis. “Bloodsuckers not only threaten the peaceable incubi, they give us a bad name.” His voice lowered to a tempting purr. “When we bite, love, it’s only for pleasure, not for pain.”

Jess let loose with a nervous giggle, then wondered at this foreign sound.

Police chiefs don’t giggle.
She pulled her hands from Hathen’s grasp as she rose from the table.
And we don’t flirt with vamps. No matter how blasted and unforgivably hot they happen to be.

Aloud she said, “Hathen, I would like to extend an invitation to you.”

“
Would you now?” Hathen teased her with a cat-like grin. “Whatever it is, I accept.”

“
Good” Jess said, squaring her shoulders and returning to her business like self. “Then you will do me the honor of acting as a special adviser on our vampire unit?” She arched her eyebrows. “Our in-house expert on all things, um…” she fumbled for the right word, “vampiric?”

Hathen rose to his feet in a graceful flourish, Clotilde following suit.

“
I would be honored,” swiftly answered, “but on one condition.”

“
Oh I just can’t wait to hear it.” Jess replied, in a sarcastic yet honest tone.

Hathen grinned, nudging her across the table.

“
I would like to discuss the conditions of our partnership over dinner tomorrow night.”

“
Now how did I not see that coming?” Jess shot a knowing wink at Clotilde, who giggled in response. “I would love to Hathen.”

Jess immediately recognized the beautiful, elegant interior of the Victorian Inn; a low lit, upscale eatery situated on the north border of Clearview.

She marveled at the sleek scarlet fabric that lined the walls of this bistro, along with the crystalline chandeliers that hung from its ceiling. She stopped to sniff the lush red roses that graced her corner table, and to run her hands across the lush lace cloth that lined this same table.

Also stirring her heightened senses was the brass-bordered mirror posted on a far wall. It was an exquisite looking glass that showed her the image of a woman transformed.

She dressed herself that evening in a ruby red dress that fell loose around her curvaceous form. It sat on her ivory skin to flawless effect. Her dark eyes shone in the luminous light afforded by the chandelier; this same light lending a magical sparkle to her shimmering diamond necklace. Her hair, meanwhile, was brushed upward into an ebony bob that was light and feathery to the touch.

“
Madame, I must say it. You are beautiful.”

She immediately recognized the deep and rhythmic tones of his warming voice, yet she saw no earthly signs of it's owner.

She could hear Hathen. She could smell his lush, citrus-tinged scent. She even felt the gentle brush of his long blond hair against the surface of her velvet-clad shoulder. He was right behind her.

“
You don't have a reflection” Jess stated, eyes still firmly fixed on the mirror.

“
Of course I don’t have a reflection, Jess. I’m a vampire, remember?”

Jess rolled her eyes.

“
Which means you can also read minds, right smart alec?” Jess swung around to confront the annoying undead; only to see the most beautiful masculine vision she’d ever beheld.

Dressed in a tight-fitting black velvet dinner suit with a crisp white shirt, Hathen’s blond hair flew free and wild around his sturdy shoulders, framing a carved bronzed face that shone in the light.

His eyes had the glow of an angel, yet his full, moist lips was devilish in comparison.