Chapter One

The club was running itself. The customers were happy, drinks were flowing as hard as the blood, and the smell of sex filled the air. Ah, a regular night at the Bloodrose.

Jonny smiled, watching Duke, his floor manager, smooth out some sort of dispute over a sweet little wolf and his contracted partners: two vampires, both possessive and toothy. Pretty.

Really, these days he wondered why he even came to work. He had made himself obsolete. Sighing, he shook off the ridiculous idea that someone as old as he would indulge in feeling sorry for himself. Especially since he had perhaps fifteen hours of work waiting for him. Obsolete, indeed.

He unlocked his office but didn't bother to turn on the light, sinking down into his cushy chair and debating whether he wanted to order a glass of the house red. He took a deep breath and... blinked. Something was askew.

Something that he should have noticed when he walked in, for a fact. The window was not closed entirely, which he never did, simply because sunlight could be deadly to someone like him.

Jonny stilled, listening hard. Life. He could hear a heartbeat.

Well, perhaps he should have turned on the light. His eyes adjusted with preternatural speed; a thief's eyes may not do so well. He moved with all of the speed he could muster, turning on his desk lamp.

A black blur streaked across the floor, heading toward the window, so quickly that he barely focused on it. Jonny leaped for it at the last minute, only his fancy metal blinds keeping the... whatever it was from getting away. His hand caught in heavy, plush fur, pulling.

The snarl was low, deep, the threat clear.

Oh. No, indeed. He did not think so. Jonny snarled right back, shaking the animal by the ruff.

Huge and sleek, black as pitch, the cat's huge paw batted at the blinds, fighting to tear them down.

"Damn you, stop that." Yanking mightily, Jonny sent them both flying back against the opposite wall, far from the windows. The heavy body landed fully against him, a lashing tail battering his legs.

What a magnificent creature. And... yes. It was male. Exceedingly male. Sort of... amazingly male.