Feeling unusually strong, I held up a pretend broadsword and did a few mock swings and parries in the mirror, watching as my muscles twitched and strained under my skin. I’d gotten way into larping in my mid-teens, playing knights, pirates, and wizards with my friends in the park. Of course, that had drawn in school bullies like flies. Rather than give up my hobby, I’d doubled down, learning real swordsmanship techniques on YouTube, practicing with a heavy replica sword until my arms ached. The next time someone came for me, they’d ended up on the wrong side of a big stick.
Now, the strikes, the blocks, the whole routines, all flowed through my memory like a movie. I felt like I could take on the whole Marchand Coven singlehanded.
There had to be only one person to thank for this unearnedgift. We’d all talked about Serenity’s effects on everyone just the other night. So far, Bryce had his enigmatic blue fire, Hunter his increased strength and freakishly large jaguar, Dagger his life-saving superhero tattoo, and now it seemed I’d gotten the Spiderman treatment overnight.
For the others, the power seemed to transfer silently, through mere touch with our shared mate, and maybe that was partly true for me too. But this transformation of mine had clearly come from her blood. I knew it in my heart. And I wished it wasn’t the case.
Because I’d never drunk directly from a person before. Not sinking into the flesh like full breed vamps. Nor had I ever lusted for blood from anyone, until now.
It worried me. Considering her traumatic past relationship with fangs, and the ongoing vamp stalking situation, my growing urges were a major issue. I’d managed to keep a sliver of mental barrier up to shield these desires from her, but how long would it last? Our mind reading and silent speech connection was growing rapidly in strength now that she’d gotten comfortable with the concept.
If she said yes to a full-blown feeding, I’d worry about triggering her past suffering. If she said no, I’d feel, well, like anyone would: rejected and stupid.
Maybe I could stick to the clinical blood draws and ignore my vampire side’s cravings?
Except the thirst was surging, demanding satisfaction.
I shoved it to the back of my mind and flexed again. Bursting with energy, I belted out a few lines of Aragorn’s Battle of Pelennor Fields’ speech. My thrusts and slashes with my imaginary sword struck hard and fast at hordes of imaginary orcs.
“Hey? Are you okay in there?” It was Serenity.
I instantly clammed up, hunching like a caught burglar. “Uh, just goofing around. I’m fine. I—”
“Can I come in?”
I was stark naked. “Sure, but fair warning, I’m ready for the shower.”
“I think I can suffer that.”
The handle clunked, the door croaked, and there she was, fully dressed for work, inspecting me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. She leaned into the door frame, smiling wide and crossing her arms as she gazed at my naked body, eyes widening in apparent approval. “You weren’t joking, you’re really ready for the shower.”
Not a prude, I made no attempt to hide.
“Damn,” she muttered, eyeing my muscles appreciatively. “Where’ve you been hiding all that?”
I shrugged. “Well, there wasn’t so much yesterday.” I flexed and squeezed at the bicep with thumb and middle finger. “It has to be the blood you gifted me last night.”
She licked her lips. “Then my blood’s made a modern day… what’s that famous statue in Italy? The naked guy from the Bible?”
I scrunched my face to hide my flush at the flattery. “Michelangelo’s David?”
“David! Duh! Sheesh, I think your new look short circuited my brain.” Her smile broadened as she lowered her gaze. “Of course, you’ve got himverywell beaten down below.”
Riding a giddy high, I put my hands on my hips and did a comical strut to show it all off. “I guess I’m doing okay then, right?”
She exhaled slowly through her nostrils, her eyes weaving lingering paths all over my body. “More than okay. The car’ll be here to pick us up in half an hour, so get on with washing that perfect body,David.”
She blew me a kiss and closed the door.
I turned the shower on, climbed under the pleasantly refreshing spray and began soaping, thinking of the way she’d drunk in my nakedness. With her brains, unrelenting perseverance, and caring soul, not only did she deserve the world, but she could attain it all on her own. I wouldn’t dare question her natural eye for beautiful design,but I still couldn’t quite believe she’d chosen me when she had the others. I had to prove that despite my fangs, I could measure up, or one of these mornings, she might wake up and change her mind.
Bryce had contracted an armored SUV with two bodyguards to ferry us back and forth to the news station on weekdays, until the Marchand situation was solved. Their shiny aviators bounced light off the rearview mirror into the backseat with us. They had the V-shaped torsos and dirty blonde hair of lion shifters. Powerful paranormals, especially when they fought as a full-sized pride.
Their presence reassured Serenity. Ever since Conrad hadmaybecrashed the funeral reception, she’d been on edge whenever any of us left the house. Her thoughts would invade mine without her knowing—urgent whispers that pricked and prodded at my brain. About needing to get the hell out of town. About bringing danger on everyone in the loft. Even thoughts of packing a bag and “doing what I should have done the second I got out of that den.” They only worsened when the topic of heading into the office came up.
So, I’d confided in Bryce, and he’d doubled security around her, for ease of mind. We had a guy on the street in front of the loft at all times and a brand-new alarm system too, for the rare occasion she might be home alone. So far, we’d always made sure one of us was with her.
Serenity squeezed my hand as the city’s bustling streets passed by, locking her fingers through mine and sending tingles across my body. But her proximity made my stomach cramp, and I threw up a mental net to catch any primal thoughts about laying her down gently in the back of this limo and tasting her veins with a fanged kiss.
