What had she been doing before her world flipped?
Snow was the first image she got. Not a lot, just a thought there wasn’t much left as spring quickly shooed winter away. She remembered smiling, and cool wind on her cheeks, messing her curly red hair around.
The excitement was what she felt, as if she’d been searching for something for a long time, and it was almost within reach.
What was it?
Her memories sped up. She imagined herself in Easthallows, waving at some of the humans there. Nice people.
She saw herself step inside Impossibilities Inc.; a small shop only seen by people of her world and owned by a once-powerful witch who’d been turned into a cat. There had been a fight in there… more like a fierce argument with Layla about…
Damn, the rest was blank!
She remembered storming out, seething. Determined… to do something.
Now her head was pounding, which felt like an improvement. Her blood was pumping, and she wasn’t as cold anymore which was a small blessing.
Newfound energy battled with tremendous fatigue. Her brain wanted to go to her office, or back to Easthallows to see Layla, while her body was spurting curses ordering her to rest.
“Stop wiggling.”
A quick look at Finn showed not a single dark reddish hair on his head had moved. Had she imagined his voice?
Then he opened his eyes and turned his head to her. At first, she saw worry, followed by annoyed exasperation. “You need to sleep.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “I know that, but I can’t. And I think I know where to start looking to discover what happened to me. I have to go to my office, and then into town…”
One more wiggle, a vain attempt to get her ass off the couch as her body slowly shut down.
“Help me up. We have work to do.”
She wasn’t surprised when the vampire gave her that frustrating, sexy grin of his, his green eyes shining with mirth.
“Can’t wait to see that. Be my guest. Can’t wait to scrape you off the floor.”
He had the uncommon talent of making her want to strangle him. “Help me then. Use those big arms of yours to help me stand and walk to my office.”
Still, he didn’t move. “Can’t this idea of yours wait ’til morning? After you get some decent sleep?”
“No!”
Only an arrogantly arched eyebrow was her answer. Even if she hated to admit it, he was right. With a sigh, she lay back. “Yes. But I won’t be able to sleep, so what’s the point?”
“I may be able to help with that.”
It was her turn to be dubious. “Are you proposing something R rated? Because if that’s what you’re thinking, I might feel obliged to fry your old Irish ass.”
With a low laugh, Finn shook his head and stood. He moved the little coffee table out of the way and disappeared for a moment before coming back with the blankets from her bed. After turning them into a makeshift mattress, the vampire lifted the blanket on her knees and set it aside.
Gently, Finn took her in his arms as if she weighed nothing and lowered her to the blankets. Before she could say a word, he used her discarded blanket to wrap her up.
“You think I haven’t tried lying down?” Her words were sarcastic, but his reply touched something deep inside her.
“Shut up, witch.” Finn stretched himself out beside her, and before she could react, he turned her, so she faced the fire and hugged her from behind. “I know you have powers, but I have a few of my own.”
Violet snorted. “Sure, if you say so.”
“We vampires have many. One we use often is glamour. It’s powerful, especially on a witch at the end of her rope. When I use it, I could probably convince you of anything. That you’ll find eating toads delicious or that pink is your new favorite color. I can even make you fall asleep.”
She giggled, not believing him. Closing her brain to his words, she realized his Irish accent felt like sweet honey filling her ears. The deep rumble was soothing, and Violet smiled at all the nonsense he was saying as her body fell into a deep slumber.
Chapter 7
It was like one moment she was falling asleep, and the next one, she was wide awake. The effect was so sudden, Violet felt disoriented, even though she was lying down.
She was surprised at how rested she felt. The blurry fog that had threatened to drown her thoughts was gone, and she didn’t feel cold. While she still hadn’t fully recovered, it was an amazing improvement.
When she turned her inner assessment outward, a familiar smell filled her world. She didn’t often get the chance to be so close to Finn, but she’d recognize him anywhere without a doubt. It was a mix of crushed leaves, rain, and whiskey that caused her belly to stir. The sensations she’d felt when he’d drunk her blood bubbled inside her. She should have been angry that he’d used his vampiric superpowers on her last night, but he’d done the same during his drinking. Fangs puncturing her throat should have been painful, but it wasn’t pain that had filled her world back then, but pure lust, as if her body had caught fire.
The tingling over her skin intensified. Draped over a sleeping Finn, her thigh over his legs, her hand over his stomach, she could feel his muscles under her fingers. Vampires didn’t breathe except to blend in, so in sleep, he appeared dead. His face was so relaxed, ever young. She detected a faint reddish shadow over his square jaw, and it amazed her that vampires still had simple human functions. It was fascinating. Or maybe it was Finn who was fascinating to her.
Violet knew she should despise what he was, but she couldn’t put him in the same category as the others. He’d proven himself to be trustworthy and valuable countless times. A man of
