Satin lips, sweeter than any wine…

“Shido…”

Endless silken waves of gold that slipped between his questing fingers…

“Shido…”

Hands roaming wantonly over his body, lingering in all the right places, teasing one moment and oh-so-firm the next…

“Shido… Hey, Shido!”

Tatsuhiko Shido jumped, sitting upright in his office chair. Wide ocean-colored eyes blinked at nothing for a moment before focusing on the hovering form of Guni.

The little fairy-creature glared at him, her bat-like wings fluttering irritably for a moment before settling. “What’s with you? I’ve been trying to wake you up for half an hour!”

Shido blinked again, feeling unaccountably stupid. “Sorry, Guni, I must have been… dreaming…” He frowned abstractedly to himself. Was I dreaming? I can’t even remember what about…

“I’ll say!” came Guni’s emphatic response. “You were moaning and making all sorts of funny noises. What, was somebody tryin’ to kill you even in slumberland?”

The lilac-haired vampire shook his head. “It’s already faded, Guni.” In the dream’s place, however, the first throbbing of a potential headache had crept in. Shido sighed and rubbed at his temples. I wish Riho were here to make some coffee…

Thinking of Riho triggered other recollections. “Shit! Guni, what time is it?” The sun was already down, the sky turning inky with night…

“Half past nine, you big dummy!” Guni scolded. “I told you I’ve been trying to wake you up! It’s not like you to just nod off like that and forget…”

Shido practically jumped out of his chair. Half past nine? Yayoi and Riho would be here any minute, and he hadn’t even changed his clothes yet! “Shit!” he said once more, with feeling.

Guni hovered carefully out of the way as the detective scrambled around the office/apartment, frantically searching for the formal attire he’d picked out for the evening. Deciding to be helpful, she pointed out, “Your tux is lying on the couch where you left it, for Heaven’s sake! Shido, I can’t believe you forgot about the Charity Ball tonight!”

A startled yelp as Shido managed to trip over the coffee table was the only answer.

“C’mon, hurry up! Yayoi and Riho will be here any second, and you’re not even dressed!” Still in her helpful mood, Guni tugged the tie free from Shido’s impossibly long hair while he set to work fumbling with his shirt buttons.

The sound of car doors slamming outside, followed by two familiar female voices, sent Shido scrambling at double speed. Quick, quick, get your damn pants on before they get up here! Fingers stumbled over the mother-of-pearl buttons on the white silk shirt he was attempting to change into.

“Hurry!” Guni hissed as she yanked (with unnecessary viciousness, Shido thought) at the comb she was trying to drag through his hair. “I can hear them coming down the hall!”

Button the shirt, tuck it into the pants, zip up, MOVE IT! Laughter from the hallway; the doorknob rattled and began to turn.

Shido was standing, cool and composed, as Yayoi and Riho entered. Guni let out a sigh of relief.

Riho looked up at him with her wide, guileless eyes. “Oh, ready to go, Mister Shido?”

Shido had been trying for an expression of cool nonchalance, but that all went to pieces as he took in the vision that was Riho. Oh my God…

An off-the-shoulder dress the color of new spring leaves offset the crisp copper brown of her hair, making it almost seem to glow even beneath the cheap lighting of the office. Instead of her customary bun-and-ponytail hairdo, she’d gathered the sides up with two elegant silver combs, leaving the rest free to spill down her back in a cascade of touchable waves.

Shido’s numbed brain allowed his eyes to wander as they pleased, traveling from her wide eyes made even larger and more luminous with subtle touches of eyeshadow and mascara; down to the temptation of her mouth, painted a glistening strawberry hue. And then, since his eyes were meandering south anyway, his eyes made a shortcut down to the rather daring décolletage of her dress.

Yayoi’s throaty purr interrupted Shido’s visual journey. “Well, Riho, I’d say your Mister Shido likes the dress.” Amusement rippled through her tones.

“I, um…” Riho sounded both pleased and embarrassed. “Mister Shido? Ah, Mister Shido, um, my eyes are up here…”

Sea-green eyes snapped back up to her face. “Oh! I, uh…” He coughed. “Nice dress,” he finished rather lamely.

Guni snickered over on her perch on the edge of the desk. “Nice comeback, Mister Smooth.”

Shido spared her an irritated glance before refocusing on Riho. She’s so beautiful…

A long moment passed. Yayoi cleared her throat. “Can we get going? We’re going to be late.”

Late? Going? Huh? It took him a second to remember. Oh, right, the ball! He looked at Yayoi for the first time. “Right, sorry. Let’s go.”

Yayoi was looking her best tonight, too. Her ensemble was the proverbial “little black dress”—spaghetti straps held up a plunging neckline that displayed her generous cleavage. The skirt of the dress was short and slightly full, showing off her legs to perfection.

Shido could just feel his flirty smile sliding into place. Gliding closer, he murmured, “Why, Yayoi, you look good enough to eat.”

Over on the desk, Guni rolled her crimson eyes. “Oh, I never saw that line coming.”

Yayoi laughed and gave him a coy smile. “I’m certainly glad that you think so, Shido. Maybe later you’ll get to test that theory, hm?”

It was the same old back-and-forth, and meanwhile, Riho was pretending not to fume. She wasn’t very good at it, however, so Shido decided to calm the waters now, before they got to the party. Cupping her delicate face in his palm, he turned her eyes upward to meet his.

“You look incredible,” he said, a smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

She blushed prettily, as he’d expected her to. “So do you,” she murmured with endearing shyness. Reaching out, she twirled a lock of his unbound hair around one finger. “I like your hair…”

Yayoi cleared her throat again, and the two vampires jumped like teenagers caught necking on the couch. Of course, Shido mused absently, Riho still was a teenager… And now that he thought about it, a bit of necking sounded like a pretty darned good idea…

Whoa, down boy! What’s with me all of a sudden? He gave himself a mental shake. Stay focused, Shido. Save the… extracurriculars for later.

Shido did the polite thing and held the door for the ladies, waving to Guni (who was staying behind, for once) as he shut off the lights and followed them out.

Alone in the office, Guni harrumphed and crossed her arms. “What a scatterbrain. He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t trip over his own feet tonight! Jeez, since when has Shido been so absentminded?”

Stretching out comfortably across the desk blotter, Guni stared up at the cracks in the ceiling and chewed absently on the ends of a lock of her primrose-colored hair. “Maybe it has something to do with that dream he was having…”

The sleek red sportscar pulled up to the Omonoyama Hilton at exactly 10:05 p.m.

Once again playing the gentleman, Shido got out and circled around to the driver’s side to open the door for Yayoi, then helped Riho climb out of the back seat.

Yayoi tossed her car keys to the waiting valet and looked about with a low whistle. “The NOS went all out for this one.”

Riho smoothed her dress down and almost unconsciously took hold of one of Shido’s arms. Her eyes were enormous. “Oh, wow! Look at all the limousines! And all the rich people in their fancy clothes…”

“It was a good idea for the NOS to hold a charity event for the victims of ‘Breed attacks and their families,” Shido murmured.

“Yeah.” Riho’s voice held the barest shade of sadness as she no doubt recalled her own parents’ demise. Freeing his arm from her hold, Shido gave her a quick, comforting hug; the new vampire looked up at him with a grateful smile.

Yayoi’s smile was both amused and gently understanding as she watched them. Shaking her head, she grabbed Shido’s other arm. “Be a gentleman and escort us fine young ladies inside, would you?”

The detective couldn’t help smirking at the young doorman at the entrance of the hotel. “Being chivalrous certainly has its benefits,” he called to the lad.

The twelve-story luxury hotel was even ritzier on the inside. Plush scarlet carpeting and gleaming white marble tiles ushered them toward a grandly spiraling staircase that was wide enough for six people to walk up side-by-side.

“The party’s already underway in the Grand Ballroom,” said Yayoi. “It seems we’ve arrived fashionably late.”

“Of course, Yayoi Matsunaga could never be anything but fashionable, right?” murmured an unfamiliar voice behind them.

Attached as she was to his arm, Shido could feel Yayoi stiffen before she forced herself to relax. Turning with a rather stiff smile, Yayoi inclined her head politely at the woman who’d spoken. “Hello, Minaka.”

Minaka turned out to be a tall, leggy blonde in a pale violet dress that was just this side of indecent. If Shido had thought Riho and Yayoi’s dresses to be daring, then this woman was a true daredevil. Her neckline plunged clear to her midsection, and it took a moment for him to realize that there was actually material there; the sheerest of beige fabrics created the illusion of naked flesh from collarbone to navel.

Minaka smiled, and the expression was more than a little saccharine. “So glad you could make it, Yayoi.” Chilly violet eyes heated up quite a few notches as they took in Shido’s form, and the smile turned flirtatious. “Goodness, but don’t you look good enough to eat.”

Shido almost choked at having one of his own lines fed to him. A dozen snappy responses leapt to mind, ranging from playful to downright suggestive, but Riho was at his side looking displeased, and Yayoi obviously disliked the woman, so he settled on a neutral response.

He inclined his head, much as Yayoi had done. “Tatsuhiko Shido; I’m pleased to meet you, miss.” There. Surely Riho couldn’t be jealous over that.

And indeed, the girl did look rather relieved. Mentally, Shido chuckled.

Minaka, however, didn’t seem at all bothered by the cool response. If anything, her smile grew even warmer and more inviting. “The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Shido,” she purred. Did he imagine it, or had she put more emphasis than necessary on the word “pleasure”?

“Might I introduce my date, miss Riho Yamazaki?” He made a point to stress the words my date. Riho caught on to the tactic and fairly glowed with happiness and triumph as she smiled at the other woman.

“Good to meet you, Minaka,” she said.

Again, the blonde seemed unperturbed. “Be careful someone doesn’t steal that tasty morsel away from you,” she said laughingly, winking at Shido. Tossing her head to clear her long bangs from her eyes, she headed past them for the stairs. “I’d best be going before the boys declare me AWOL and mount a recovery expedition.” She gave them a little finger-wiggling wave, and then actually had the nerve to blow a kiss Shido’s way. “Toodle-loo!”

Riho watched her go, pretty face set in a scowl. “Ooh! What a shameless woman!”

“Who was she?” Shido asked, one eyebrow quirked curiously.

Yayoi shook her head. “Minaka Murasaki, newest member of the NOS Investigation Squad,” she sighed.

“You mean she works on Nightbreed cases, just like you?” Riho wrinkled her nose in distaste at the idea.

Yayoi made a similar face. “She’s busier sleeping her way to the top than she is in solving actual cases, if you ask me.”

Shido sighed. “Some people will do anything to attain what they see as a high status,” he murmured thoughtfully. He raised his eyebrows. “Well. Shall we go up? The party is waiting.”

Laughter and music greeted them as they entered the Grand Ballroom.

Everywhere there was evidence of high society. Imported fashions from Paris and Milan complemented the glitter of expensive jewelry, which caught the lights from the crystal chandeliers high overhead. People stood gathered in groups or pairs, sipping champagne from fluted glasses and sampling hors d’oevres from the carefully balanced trays of passing servers.

Yayoi claimed a glass of the bubbly golden liquid for herself, and Shido watched her sip it with a poorly repressed sigh of regret. Apparently Riho shared his sentiment, for she mourned aloud: “I wish I could try champagne, but now I guess I never will.”

“You’re not old enough to drink, anyway,” Yayoi said, finishing off her glass and snatching another from a passing tray.

“Take it easy on that stuff, Yayoi,” Shido warned. “It goes right into your bloodstream. So if you get drunk…”

The brunette laughed. “Just what I’d need, a couple of drunken vampires on my hands! We’d all have to call a cab to get home.”

“Mm.” Shido glanced around automatically, afraid of someone overhearing, but no one nearby was paying them much mind.

He heard Riho give a longing sigh. Curious, he turned to her, only to find her facing away from him, eyes trained on the dance floor where couples waltzed together like in some romantic fairytale.

I should ask her to dance. The thought drifted through his mind a moment before Yayoi elbowed him sharply in the ribs. He raised questioning eyes to her.

“Shido, you numbskull, ask her to dance!” she hissed, midnight blue eyes alight with humor, affection, and (no doubt) the champagne.

Shido affected a hurt expression. “I was about to!” he hissed back. Turning away from Yayoi brought him up behind Riho.

He couldn’t help himself. Leaning down, he brushed the curve of her ear with his lips. When he spoke, his voice was a breathy whisper. “Would you care to dance?”

Riho turned, wide-eyed and blushing. “Mister Shido?”

He could feel himself smiling as he took her hand and gently led her out onto the dance floor. “Come on. They’re playing our song.”

Riho felt heavenly in his arms as they danced. Though obviously unfamiliar with the formal steps, she was, as always, delicate grace personified. Shido found himself lost in the trust and delight shining in her doe-brown eyes… Trust for him. Delight caused by him. It was completely wonderful.

She’s so warm… He pulled her in close, burying his face in her feather-soft hair. Her shampoo smelled sweet and fresh, like… Like rosemary and lavender.

“Mister Shido…” Riho sighed happily and allowed herself to be held close. “I wish this moment could last forever,” she whispered, almost too softly to be heard.

So do I, Riho… Shido closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the scent of rosemary and lavender was overwhelmed by the smell of musk and spice and beneath it, the wild coppery tang of blood. Even as Shido’s eyes opened, a horribly familiar voice purred in his ear, “May I cut in?”

With a gasp Shido jerked away, whipping around as he did so, knowing who would be there and dreading it. No! Not tonight! Not now!

Cain smirked, feral golden eyes flashing with amusement. “Did I startle you, Shido?”