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HANNAH
The skyoutside the window fades to twilight, but I just reach up and click on the lamp.
Perfect.
The Chair is mine tonight. Not that I had any doubt it would be. I’m one of the few students choosing to spend her Friday evening in the library.
Maybe that’s lame, but at least I’m not studying.
When I stopped by the campus post office, the attendant handed me a care package from home, which included another one of my sister’s selections. Starting off my weekend with a half-vampire heading up a secret government agency, tasked with hunting down rogue supernatural creatures, is as cool as it gets in my book. Literally.
The story is so engrossing that I don’t even realize I’m not alone until Nathan braces a hand on the armrest at my back, so he can loom over me. His sudden appearance spurs a knee-jerk reaction in me.
Like an octopus, I throw out all my limbs. “My chair!”
His dark chuckle washes over me as he stares down at my prone form with his slumbering eyes. “I wasn’t trying to steal it, Shorty.”
“Why’re you still calling me that?” I nudge his thigh with my sneaker. “You know my name now. Paid a high cost for it too. By the way, you look very pretty tonight.”
His grimace makes me grin. I do have to admit, Nathan is slightly more handsome than is fair. Smooth, sculpted lips sit on a freshly shaved jaw. His chestnut hair seems damp, as if he walked over here after getting out of a shower.
Mmm. Nathan in a shower. Now,thatwould be pretty.
With him this close, I can pick up that subtle cloves scent. All combined, it’s a little too much for me to handle.
The scowl he has on gives way to a smirk, so fast that I’m almost positive my teasing didn’t actually upset him at all. “You waited too long to tell me your name. Shorty is how I think of you now.”
“Well then, I’m sticking with Lucifer. I think it fits you better anyway.”
In response, he reaches out to tweak the end of my braid. “Whatever makes you happy, Shorty. Now, come on. Let’s get you out of the library for one night.”
I shake my head, holding up my book for him to see. “I’m good right where I am.”
“One Foot in the Grave?” he reads the title as if confused by its awesomeness. “This is your Friday night?”
“Hell yeah, it is. Vampire huntress kicking some undead ass. What’s better than that?” I snatch my book away from his reaching hand.
He sighs and sits on the coffee table across from me.
I’m simultaneously grateful for the relief from his hovering and regretful that I can’t smell him anymore.
“Okay, that does sound sort of intriguing. But come on, Shorty. You can read anytime. And the library is closing in an hour anyway.”
He has a point. But counterpoint, I’m very comfortable.
Clearly realizing his reasoning hasn’t moved me, Nathan props his elbows on his knees before leaning toward me and throwing out probably the best offer he could make.
“You come hang out with me, and the next time I get the spot before you do, I’ll forfeit it whenever you get here.”
“Deal!” Maybe it would’ve been more prudent for me to take a moment to think his offer over, but then he’d have had the opportunity to take it back. “So, what are we doing?”
He shrugs. “Something fun.”
With a groan, I slide deeper into The Chair. “It’s not a party, is it? Because college parties arenotfun. They’re all overcrowded, sweaty, and full of people trying to hook up with each other.” I’m whining, I know, but if I gave up a night of reading to go stuff myself in some upperclassman’s crappy off-campus house, I’d be pissed.
Nathan grins and pats my knee. “Don’t worry. I won’t make you go to a party. We’ll do something that’s actually fun. But you need to come with me to find out what it is.”
With that cryptic invite, Lucifer clasps my forearm to lever me out of the chair.
