“Why the hell am I even awake?” Rob groaned. “I’ve been craving wine all night and it’s all your fault.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Oh yeah, you’re saying your energyisn’tthe same color as a deep merlot? That’s crap. Your damnburgundyenergy has been making me wanna drink and giving me a contact boner all night.”
Oh no. There was a chance all this was actually my fault.
Though appearing in my late 30’s at most, I was getting closer to 80. Demons and fae were among the supernatural creatures who aged slower than humans. And in my nearly 80 years, I struggled to remember ever meeting a more inept mage.
At least he hardlyseemedimpressive. I assumed he’d be totally oblivious to anything beyond the physical.
But Rob deserved more credit than I gave him. He wasn’t just cranky about expecting and then not getting sex. The comment about the color of my energy confirmed it. He felt my energy here in my home… where my presence was strongest.
Yep, this was definitely my fault. He’d been stewing in sexual frustration and incubus pheromones all night with no release. Well, without the release he craved.
"You can tune out my energy,” I suggested. “There’s teas or meditation—"
"So now I’ve got homework? It just keeps getting better."
“You being opposed to extra effort is perhaps why you’re unemployed and covenless.”
Okay, I shouldn’t have said that. He seemed incapable of shutting up last night and now he fell quiet, and I knew I touched a nerve.
I’d been screwing this all up since I invited him back here. Rob shouldn’t be expected to know we rarely brought home strangers for sex. There was just no upside in not using the trusted systems and safeguards at the clubs. He clearly lacked experience with our kind.
Our powers were attuned to certain desires and feelings, putting us close to a person’s body, spirit, and emotions all at once, so we preferred feeding from well-adjusted people who were confident in themselves and what they desired.
Rob did not fit those criteria and had an already eccentric personality, making him… an acquired taste, to put it nicely. So he wasn’t to blame for taking my invitation the wrong way. I should have known better. Then Rob felt foolish and rejected and I let him. I might be able to see inside people and reveal their desires, but that did not mean I liked or even knew how to handle people’s feelings at any other time.
Only one option remained for what came next.
"I apologize."
"You do?" Rob dropped the container of strawberries he’d finally selected at my words.
The lid popped open, fresh fruit spilled over the floor—I averted my eyes. I needed to get through this without focusing on the mess.
"I run my own company and my own clan. Numerous people work for me while I oversee everything. Our club apparently has a six-month long waiting list for those interested in offering their energy to me—"
"Okay, is this an apology or you bragging?"
"I usually find it very easy to work with people, "I explained.
“Yeah, my experience is the opposite.” Rob grimaced. “Thanks for pointing that out.”
"What I mean is, it’s very easy to get along with others because they bend over backwards to accommodateme. That’s the good thing about success in some ways, but it’s nothing I particularly deserve, and apparently I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve completely forgotten how to meet someone in the middle."
The strawberries were just there on the floor, long past the five second rule. My hand clenched into a fist, resisting the urge to tidy up. I did not like messes. And yet I’d invited this walking mess of a man into my home.
"So… are you saying you’re wrong?" Rob wondered.
“You’ve made some valid points.” A lot easier to say thanI’mandwrong. “If we work together, I’ll need to be more considerate.”
Rob thought that over. “Even better.” He grinned. “You’re sayingyou’rewrongandI’m right.”
Ew. Of course the bastard pressed his luck, all smug now that I apologized. A small part of my brain insisted that his gloating was much better than him insecure or hurt.
But did he have to be so damn annoying?
