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Tarnley
Iam not a fan of crowded spaces, and this damn house is so crowded now that even making my way downstairs for a cup of coffee in the morning is a spectacle.
After stepping over all the fae sprawled out on cots in the living room, I finally manage to make it into the kitchen, only to see Bella enjoying the final cup of coffee. Honestly, in my sleep-deprived state, I consider eating her if only for the caffeine boost.
But that would be bad manners. Probably.
“Morning!” she greets, cheerfully.
Bad manners,I remind myself. “Morning.” Crossing the kitchen, I grab the coffee pot and carry it to the sink to refill it. Once that’s done, I carry it back and begin the painstaking process that is prepping the coffee pot before having any actual caffeine.
And after the shit night I had, caffeine is a must.
“How’d you sleep? I noticed we have some new house guests this morning.” She hops down from the counter. “Are they more fae? I couldn’t get a full read off of them, but I know you guys said we were going to be having some soon, so I just ass—”
“They are fae,” I interrupt, desperately wishing I could have had a moment of alone time and also not wanting to be rude to someone who doesn’t have anyone left. Or, perhaps it’s because I feel mildly guilty about my brief snack consideration. Either way, I force a tight smile after I add the grounds to the coffee maker. “Ridley brought them in late last night.”
“So wicked. I mean, my mom used to talk about the fae—but even then, it was more of a wistful fairytale.” She takes a drink. “She wanted to bag one so badly. Thought it would be her greatest achievement to take down a fae.”
Because I’m already irritated over the coffee—maybe exclusively because of this—I turn toward Bella and cross my arms. “No one is bagging a fae,” I say, my voice tight, eyes narrowed on her.How ironic that it was a fae who killed her.
She looks up at me, and her cheeks flush with embarrassment. “I know that. I was just saying. Besides, remember, anti-succubus over here. Party of one.”
The coffee finally begins brewing, and I hear the first drop fall into the glass carafe just as Rainey stumbles in, looking half-asleep still. “Coffee,” she chokes out.
“Making it now.”
She meets my gaze. “You drank the last of the coffee? How many fucking cups did you have?”
“Not me.”
“Sorry,” Bella says, instantly.
“Next time you drink it all, have the fucking courtesy to make more for the rest of us.”
“Yes. Okay.” She sets her now-empty mug down and scurries away, quickly leaving and taking the rest of my annoyance with her.
“You’re in fine form this morning.”
“I haven’t had coffee.” She hops up and slides onto the counter. “Plus, it’s not like our friends allotted for much sleep last night.” After jerking her head to the side, gesturing toward the slumbering fae, she covers her face with both hands and groans. “I am so damn tired. I swear, when this is over, I’m sleeping for a damn month.”
“A month of sleep does sound rather relaxing.”
“You bet your ass it will be. Besides, she should have made another pot of coffee. It’s common fucking courtesy.”
I chuckle. “I contemplated eating her.”
“I would be in full support of that right now.”
We continue our wait in silence, listening only to the sound of the coffee maker doing its job. As soon as it’s finished, I pour us both steaming mugs then head out onto the porch. Crisp air surrounds me, the brief relief from blistering heat more than welcome.
Rainey comes out behind me and takes a seat in an Adirondack chair before taking her first sip of coffee and letting out a groan. “This is spectacular.”
“Coffee usually is.”
“You’re not wrong there, my friend.”
We fall back into companionable silence, and I find my mind drifting to the first conversation I had with Elijah about the woman sitting beside me. I’d told him to leave her to her own devices, that helping her was going to get him killed.
