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As if reading Moon’s mind, Chen’s gaze zipped to the enormous L-shaped black leather couch set in front of the giant flat-screen TV.
“Okay, okay.” Moon chuckled and held up his hands. “That’s my purchase. Mom had a respectable love seat and chairs set in here with this floral pattern, but it had to go. This is more comfortable for binge-watching shows with my friends.” Moon turned and pointed to the plain navy curtains that hung over the front windows. “I also changed the curtains. Mom had these white lacy things that looked bad with the black leather.”
Chen’s lips did their twisting thing when he was trying not to laugh. “I can imagine.”
Moon darted to the nearby dining room and dumped everything he’d picked up on the already overloaded table. He returned to the living room to grab Chen by the wrist. With a wink, he launched into a whirlwind tour of the first floor, flitting through the dining room and kitchen. He backtracked to race up the stairs.
“This is my first time in an American home and a witch’s home,” Chen stated as they headed to the second floor. “Would you say that your home is typical of Americans and witches?”
Moon stopped at the top of the stairs and tilted his head to the side as he thought about it. “Probably typical for the American family.” He continued down the hall past the guest room to what had been his old childhood room. Throwing a smirk over his shoulder, he pushed open the door and flipped on the light. “But not a typical house for most witches.”
“I…oh…” Chen whispered as he followed Moon into the room with pale-blue walls. Not that he could see much of the walls. Several wooden boards with pegs filled the walls. Each board held part of his vast collection of knives, daggers, swords, and just about any other bladed weapon in existence.
Yet, the room didn’t feel like an armory. Interspersed between the displays were framed pieces of paper that held drawings and intricate designs related to spells.
When Chen spoke again after several minutes, his voice was hushed like they were strolling through a museum. “These…these are not for fighting.”
Moon wasn’t sure if he was making a statement or asking a question.
“I can use them in a fight, but that’s not my primary intention with them. As a blood witch, I can use the blood of others to power my spells, but it’s not nearly as effective as my own. Different ceremonies and spells demand different blades.” He walked over to a board covered in more mundane knives that could have been used for everyday things like hunting, fishing, or even basic self-defense. “These would work for basic protection spells. Nothing fancy.”
He crossed the room to a display covered in intricately designed blades of different sizes and styles. “But these are for some very complex spells. Most of them I’ve never been brave enough to use. They belonged to my mother. She never got around to teaching me all of their uses.”
Chen turned to him and took Moon’s hands in his cool hands. His thumbs ran down the length of his fingers before he flipped Moon’s hands over so that their palms were up. Chen smoothed his thumbs over his palms and then moved across his wrist and forearms. It took Moon a minute to realize that the vampire was searching for cuts and scars. He was wrapped up in the vampire’s deliciously cool touch. There was something so calming about the way Chen’s fingers brushed over his body. It was as if he were born to be a soothing balm that relieved every ache and pain, no matter how old or deep.
“You say that you use your own blood, but there are no scars. No old wounds.” There was a new tightness to Chen’s voice, but Moon refused to believe he was disappointed that Moon wasn’t marked up.
“Nah. It’s one of the first things my mom taught me—how to heal a wound as soon as I had what I needed. No drop of blood should ever be wasted, she used to say. No scars on me.”
Chen still didn’t smile or even appear relieved.
Moon caught Chen’s hands when he tried to pull away. “What’s wrong?”
“I find myself conflicted.” Chen lifted his gaze to stare at one of the intricate spells hanging in an ornate frame on the wall. “Your magic looks very much like an art. I am both curious and in awe of it. But the idea of you hurting yourself makes me furious. I don’t like the idea of you causing yourself any kind of injury, even for your magic.”
Oh, this isn’t fair.
Not fair at all.
Without even trying, the vampire was trying to melt a heart Moon had thought immune to softer emotion. Chen was turning it into a useless puddle of mush. In the same breath, Chen had called his magic art and said he didn’t want him hurt. What was he supposed to do with that?
