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“Please,” I pressed. “I can practically see your thoughts churning. What aren’t you telling me?”
Amanda sat back in her chair. “All right. Seeing as you won’t let it go. ” She sucked in a deep breath, a look of patient wisdom on her face as if she was about to relay the story of the birds and the bees. “You see, some girls form…bonds. With certain vampires. These girls tend to get jealous. Protective. ”
She’d tossed it off as though it were no big deal, but I knew she was implying something that was a Very Big Deal. Were they saying that Initiates had affairs with vampires? “You make it sound like girls…go there. ”
“Oh, they go there,” she said with a naughtily cocked eyebrow. “I’ve not bonded myself, so I don’t know what it’s like. But I think their bitchiness is one-part chemical—you know, some exchange that happens with the blood—and then I think one part is just plain-old jealous girl drama. ”
I looked to Ronan for a rebuttal, but his face was a blank mask. This was no news to him.
A million questions popped into my mind—most along the lines of Can vampires…? How do they…? Do their bodies—you know?—and I asked the least embarrassing one. “Did Masha have something with Alcántara? Does she still?”
Ronan looked to Amanda, then shrugged. “We don’t know. ”
“And I’d not ask,” added Amanda. “They’d bite your head off. ”
Holy crap. I shuddered. “The vampires?”
“The girls, dolly. The girls would have your head. ”
“See, not all the Initiates are like Amanda here,” Ronan said playfully, patting her hand.
Not all Initiates had illicit affairs with Tracers, he meant? Was anybody here to learn, or was I the only naive loser celibate nerd? “Jeez, this is just like high school. ”
“Wipe that look from your face, Drew. ” Amanda was looking at me sternly.
“It was only a matter of time before you found out,” Ronan said. “But still, this shouldn’t have come from us, here. ”
I schooled my features. “Yeah, yeah, I’m cool. ” Though not that cool, apparently.
“Now finish your lunch,” Ronan told me, “and we’ll go for a swim like usual. ”
Discovering that he and Amanda had a little something-something going on made me feel vulnerable. I needed to learn how to conceal these pangs until I could figure out how to tamp them down permanently. For now, the last thing I wanted was to put on my wet suit and flounder around at his command. “With all this on my mind, do you think we could skip swimming today? You know—so I can recover and all?”
Ronan was back to normal, dunking fries in his curry sauce and chowing down as though he discussed vampire affairs every day, which I guess he did. “What do you think?”
With a sigh, I tossed back my little shooter of blood. A shiver rippled across my skin, the feeling like rain soaking parched land. “I think no. ”
“There’s a good Acari,” said Amanda.
“I’ll swim,” I said with a frown, “but I don’t think I need the lessons anymore. ” My protest was weak, and mostly out of habit.
He pushed his tray away and met my eye. “Do it for me. ” His voice was gravelly and firm. I reminded myself that Amanda was right there and that his irresistible accent was her territory.
But his gaze didn’t waver, and at the command in those deep green eyes, I felt myself waffling. Maybe swimming wasn’t such a bad idea. I squinted hard at him, not trusting the notion. “You’re not doing your trick, are you?”
His brows furrowed. “My trick?”
“You know, the persuasion thing. I hate swimming, but you told me to do it, and now, all of a sudden, I’m thinking it might not be that bad. ”
He laughed, and I think it startled us both. “That’s you just wanting to swim. ” Lowering his voice, he added, “I’ve explained it before—you I need to touch for my ‘trick’ to work. ”
He was able to persuade people to do his bidding using his voice alone. Everyone, that is, except for me. Apparently a high IQ was good for something. It made my brain like Teflon.
“Lucky girl. ” Amanda gave me a playful scowl, and I felt suddenly annoyed with the both of them. I didn’t want to contemplate how his persuasion might work in a relationship. Ick.
He pressed the issue. “Why? Did you want me to persuade you?” He reached a hand out as if he might give it a try, and I flinched away. He was being reckless, and I didn’t understand.
Rubbing my hand where he’d almost touched me, I brought the conversation back on track. “You can’t mean I actually want to go swimming. ”
