all our limbs still intact. “If you’re still up for it, I’d love to take you to dinner.”
“Don’t you have duties to attend to?”
Aric brushed his knuckles against my cheek. “I passed them to Gemini. I don’t like what happened to you, or what I exposed you to. My wolf needs to ensure that you’re safe before he can fully settle.” He grinned. “So how about you help us out and have dinner with us?”
My growling stomach responded for him and made him chuckle. I met his grin with one that would trump any tween meeting Gaga. “I’d love to go out. What are you in the mood for?”
Aric pulled onto the small incline leading into my neighborhood, humor dissolving from his face like an ice cube in boiling water. “Vampire on a stake.”
“What?” I thought I misheard him until I took in our Colonial.
I jumped out of my seat like I’d sat on burning tacks. The very naughty Catholic schoolgirls draped their long legs against the white porch railings like a bunch of lazy monkeys waiting to bite, pull hair, or sling poo. Misha and Danny were also there, standing at the bottom of the light blue wooden steps engaged in conversation. Neither appeared happy. Danny’s brows shot up over his Coke-bottle black-framed glasses when he caught sight of Aric’s Escalade . . . and his not-so thrilled expression.
Aric parked along the curb. Right behind Misha’s Hummer limo with the BYTE ME plates. “Please don’t do anything, Aric.” I leapt out of the SUV, and even though my side was technically closer to the sidewalk, and my speed was generally faster, Aric reached Misha first.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
A glint of annoyance flickered in Misha’s cold gray eyes when he caught my hands clasped over Aric’s. Aside from that, Misha ignored him to face me. I only wished the good Catholics had disregarded us, too. Instead they soared off the porch, over the rhododendron bushes, and landed in crouches hissing at Aric. “Oh, shut up!” I snapped. I glanced between Aric and Misha. “I don’t think I need to remind either of you about the treaty forbidding you to tear out each other’s throats.” Both ignored me. The tension between them bitch-slapped the air, so yeah, a gentle reminder appeared worth mentioning. I cleared my throat, adding as much force as I could muster considering that I stood between two of the world’s deadliest preternaturals. “No bloodshed allowed— especially on neutral territory.”
I said it. I meant it. Too bad I was dealing with a pair of hothead Alpha males who hated each other.
Danny backed away, tripping over the steps in his haste to reach the front door. He swung it open, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Bren, Bren . Get out here. We got trouble!”
A deep voice called from inside, “Keep your panties on, Dan, I’m coming.” Bren sauntered down the steps barefoot, wearing a stained white T-shirt and black basketball shorts. Potato chip flakes stuck to his dark, scruffy beard as he munched. As a lone wolf, he and Aric weren’t exactly pals, but his dislike of vampires made him take a position on Aric’s other side. He shoved his hand into the Lay’s bag tucked under his arm and reached for more salty goodness. “Hey, Ceel,” he said between bites. His laid-back disposition suggested indifference, but in the end, lone or not, Bren was very much a werewolf. His beast nature would attack if provoked, and so would the loyal friend within if the vampires threatened my safety.
Misha’s long blond hair draped against his high cheekbones, eclipsing his already hard stare. “Where were you today, Celia?”
“She was with me,” Aric answered.
Misha continued to watch me, which was very much a good thing. Treaty or not, had he met Aric’s glare, his wolf would interpret it as a challenge and I’d spend the next week scrubbing fur and blood off my walkway. Misha’s tone hardened, not a good thing considering that it hadn’t started as cheery to
“Don’t you have duties to attend to?”
Aric brushed his knuckles against my cheek. “I passed them to Gemini. I don’t like what happened to you, or what I exposed you to. My wolf needs to ensure that you’re safe before he can fully settle.” He grinned. “So how about you help us out and have dinner with us?”
My growling stomach responded for him and made him chuckle. I met his grin with one that would trump any tween meeting Gaga. “I’d love to go out. What are you in the mood for?”
Aric pulled onto the small incline leading into my neighborhood, humor dissolving from his face like an ice cube in boiling water. “Vampire on a stake.”
“What?” I thought I misheard him until I took in our Colonial.
I jumped out of my seat like I’d sat on burning tacks. The very naughty Catholic schoolgirls draped their long legs against the white porch railings like a bunch of lazy monkeys waiting to bite, pull hair, or sling poo. Misha and Danny were also there, standing at the bottom of the light blue wooden steps engaged in conversation. Neither appeared happy. Danny’s brows shot up over his Coke-bottle black-framed glasses when he caught sight of Aric’s Escalade . . . and his not-so thrilled expression.
Aric parked along the curb. Right behind Misha’s Hummer limo with the BYTE ME plates. “Please don’t do anything, Aric.” I leapt out of the SUV, and even though my side was technically closer to the sidewalk, and my speed was generally faster, Aric reached Misha first.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
A glint of annoyance flickered in Misha’s cold gray eyes when he caught my hands clasped over Aric’s. Aside from that, Misha ignored him to face me. I only wished the good Catholics had disregarded us, too. Instead they soared off the porch, over the rhododendron bushes, and landed in crouches hissing at Aric. “Oh, shut up!” I snapped. I glanced between Aric and Misha. “I don’t think I need to remind either of you about the treaty forbidding you to tear out each other’s throats.” Both ignored me. The tension between them bitch-slapped the air, so yeah, a gentle reminder appeared worth mentioning. I cleared my throat, adding as much force as I could muster considering that I stood between two of the world’s deadliest preternaturals. “No bloodshed allowed— especially on neutral territory.”
I said it. I meant it. Too bad I was dealing with a pair of hothead Alpha males who hated each other.
Danny backed away, tripping over the steps in his haste to reach the front door. He swung it open, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Bren, Bren . Get out here. We got trouble!”
A deep voice called from inside, “Keep your panties on, Dan, I’m coming.” Bren sauntered down the steps barefoot, wearing a stained white T-shirt and black basketball shorts. Potato chip flakes stuck to his dark, scruffy beard as he munched. As a lone wolf, he and Aric weren’t exactly pals, but his dislike of vampires made him take a position on Aric’s other side. He shoved his hand into the Lay’s bag tucked under his arm and reached for more salty goodness. “Hey, Ceel,” he said between bites. His laid-back disposition suggested indifference, but in the end, lone or not, Bren was very much a werewolf. His beast nature would attack if provoked, and so would the loyal friend within if the vampires threatened my safety.
Misha’s long blond hair draped against his high cheekbones, eclipsing his already hard stare. “Where were you today, Celia?”
“She was with me,” Aric answered.
Misha continued to watch me, which was very much a good thing. Treaty or not, had he met Aric’s glare, his wolf would interpret it as a challenge and I’d spend the next week scrubbing fur and blood off my walkway. Misha’s tone hardened, not a good thing considering that it hadn’t started as cheery to
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