Page 39 of The Slayer Seduction

“What are you doing?” he says low into my ear and I clear my throat.

“Grinding up lavender. You don’t need to stand so close.”

“I know,” he says, not touching, just hovering over me.

The rational part of me, the side I always rely on, wants to hex the shit out of him and push him away, but this other part of me, the one I don’t have any control over, wants him even closer.

It’s almost as the instinct is riding him too as his hand moves and he grips my hip.

“You don’t need to fear me, sweet Iris. I would never take this away from you. This is your identity outside of domesticity. You are a smart and powerful woman and we will be equal in all ways.”

I blink rapidly, tossing the lavender into the cauldron. “Did you learn that from your reading last night?” I ask, trying not to find him endearing.

“Most of the information seemed to make incredible sense to me. How could one look at a woman like you and ever dispute your power?”

My breath hitches as his thumb rubs against my hip.

“I know you fear what I am, what I must do, but I’m trying. For you, I’m trying my hardest.”

Quickly, I move out of his grip and shift to another potion table. I can’t let him get that close again. He jumbles up all my thoughts, and what I need is to stay clearheaded.

The Slayer is not charming…okay, he is. But he’s a killer, I have to remember that. Thinking of Adam helps too. He doesn’t say another word as he watches me flutter about the space, not a single clue that I’m working on deceiving him.

Chapter 20

The Slayer

She didn’t shriek when I touched her, though she wiggled away from me.

When she fell asleep last night, Scarlett nudged me and we came up with a game plan. She told me I need to show Iris who I can be, even though I’m not exactly sure who I am outside of being a slayer. Scarlett explained I could be more. The idea resonated with me.

Who was I outside of a killing machine? What did I want outside of my mate? What did I like, what didn’t I like?

I knew I enjoyed watching Iris make potions, the smell of her apartment, the way a page of a book feels under my fingertip while I’m reading. There were other things I liked that I never really considered before, like the way the sun hit my skin while I waited for the vampires to come out at night, or the way lightning bugs glittered in the summer.

Don’t get me wrong, I was antsy. I wanted to leave the apartment, hunt down the first vampire I saw, and drive a stake right through their heart—but I wanted Iris to like me more.

The vow kept me in check, and I was endlessly grateful for that.

Iris working on her potions was magic in itself. She hummed under her breath while she worked, and it was a mix of using her hands and magic while she brewed. I wish I had some fresh oak to fashion more stakes, but I don’t think she would like that.

“She wouldn’t,” Adam says.

The bastard had been real quiet since he talked to Iris and his voice nearly startled me.

“She doesn’t even know half of how bad of a killer you are. If she does, she’ll never stay.”

I hate that he’s right. That Iris will never love all of me, but I’d be content with a piece. If she could just love a portion of me, that would be enough.

It reminds me that I want to know every piece of Iris.

“Are potions your main gift?” I question, my words shocking her for a moment, almost like she forgot I was here.

“Uh. No. It’s more so a hobby, I’m a…well, I guess I’m a seer.”

“You see visions?”

“Yes.”