utensils hanging over the center island counter. An oversized brandy snifter with my beta, Mr. Fish, rested on the sill of the single blue-curtained window over the sink. A shallow circle was etched in the linoleum for when I needed the extra protection for a sensitive spell, and herbs hung from a sweater rack in the corner.
A heavy, antique farm table took up the interior wall, my end holding a stack of books that hadn't been there earlier. The rest held Ivy's precisely arranged computer, printer, maps, colored markers, and whatever else she needed to plan her runs into boredom. My eyebrows rose at the pile of books, but I smiled because of the jeans- clad backside poking out from the open stainless-steel fridge door.
'Kist,' I said, the pleased sound of my voice bringing the living vamp's head up. 'I thought you were Ivy.'
'Hi, love,' he said, the British accent he usually faked almost nonexistent as he casually shut the door with a foot. 'Hope you don't mind I let myself in. I didn't want to ring the bell and wake the dead.'
I smiled, and he set the cream cheese on the counter and moved to me. Ivy wasn't dead yet, but she was as nasty as a homeless bridge troll if you woke her before she thought she should be up. 'Mmmm, you can let yourself in anytime so long as you make me coffee,' I said, curving my arms around his tapering waist as he gave me a hug hello.
His close-cut fingernails traced an inch above the new bruises and tooth marks on my neck. 'Are you okay?' he breathed.
My eyes slid shut at the concern in his voice. He had wanted to come over last night, and I appreciated that he hadn't when I asked him not to. 'I'm fine,' I said, toying with the idea of telling him that they hadn't played fair, five alphas binding into a round to give their bitch the advantage in an already unfair fight. But it was so unusual an occurrence that I was afraid he would say I was making it up—and it sounded too much like whining to me.
Instead, I leaned my head against him and took in his scent: a mix of dark leather and silk. He was wearing a black cotton tee that pulled tight across his shoulders, but the aroma of silk and leather remained. With it was the dusky hint of incense that lingered around vampires. I hadn't identified that particular scent with vamps until I started living with Ivy, but now I could probably tell with my eyes closed whether it was Ivy or Kisten in the room.
Either scent was delicious, and I breathed deeply, willingly taking in the vampire pheromones he was unconsciously giving off to soothe and relax me. It was an adaptation to make finding a willing source of blood easier. Not that Kisten and I were sharing blood. Not me. Not this little witch. No how or ever. The risk of becoming a plaything—my will given to a vampire—was too real. But that didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the mild buzz.
I could hear his heartbeat, and I lingered while his fingers traced a yummy path to the small of my back. My forehead came to his shoulder, lower than usual, since he was in boots and I was in socks. His exhaled breath stirred my hair. The sensation brought my head up, and I met his blue eyes squarely from under his long bangs, reading in the normalsized pupils that he had slaked his blood lust before coming over. He usually did.
'I like it when you smell like dirt,' he said, his eyes half-lidded and sly.
Smiling, I ran a fingernail down his rough cheek. He had a small nose and chin, and he usually kept a day's worth of stubble to give himself a more rugged cast. His hair was dyed blond to match his almost-beard, though I had yet to catch him with darker roots or a charm to color it. 'What's the real color of your hair?' I asked impulsively as I played with the wispy strands at the nape of his neck.
He pulled away, blinking in surprise. Two slices of toast popped up, and he shifted to the counter, bringing out a plate and setting the bread on it. 'Ah, it's blond.'
My eyes roved over his very nice backside, and I slumped against the counter, enjoying the view. The rims of his ears were a faint red, and I pushed into motion, leaning to run a finger along his torn ear where someone had ripped out one of the twin diamond studs. His right ear still held both studs, and I wondered who had the missing earring. I would have asked, but was afraid he'd tell me Ivy had it. 'You dye your hair,' I insisted. 'What color is it, really?'
He wouldn't look at me while he opened the cream cheese and spread a thick layer on the toast. 'It's sort of brown. Why? Is that a problem?'
Dropping my hands to his waist, I turned him around. Pinning him to the counter, I leaned until our hips touched. 'God, no. I just wondered.'
'Oh.' His hands went about my waist, and clearly relieved, he inhaled slowly, seeming to take my very soul in with him. A spark of desire jumped from him to me, going right to my core to catch my breath. I knew he was scenting me, reading in the slight tension of my body pressing into him my willingness to turn our embrace into something more. I knew our natural scents mixing was a potent blood aphrodisiac. I also knew Ivy would kill him if he broke my skin even by accident. But this was all old news, and I'd be a fool if I didn't admit that part of Kisten's allure was the mix of deep intimacy he offered along with the potential danger of him losing control and biting me. Yeah, I was a stupid, trusting girl, but it made for great sex.
And Kisten is very careful, I thought, pulling coyly away at the low growl rumbling up through him. He wouldn't have come over if he wasn't sure of his control, and I knew he teased himself with my off-limits blood as much as I tested my will against the supposedly better-than-sex carnal ecstasy that a vampire bite could bring.
'I see you're making friends with your neighbors,' he said, and I eased from him to reopen the window and wash my hands. If I didn't stop, Ivy would sense it and be out here glowering like a shunned lover. We were roommates and business partners—that was all—but she made no attempt to hide that she wanted more. She had asked me once to be her scion, which was sort of a number-one helper and wielder of vampire power when the vamp in question was limited by sunlight. She wasn't dead yet and didn't need a scion, but Ivy was a planner.
The position was an honor, but I didn't want it, even though, as a witch, I couldn't be turned vampire. It involved an exchange of blood to cement ties, which was why I had flatly refused her the first time she'd asked, but after meeting her old high school roommate, I thought she was after more than that. Kisten could separate the drive for blood from the desire for sex, but Ivy couldn't, and the sensations a blood-lusting vamp pulled from me were too much like sexual hunger for me to think otherwise. Ivy's offer that I become her scion was also an offer to be her lover, and as much as I cared for her, I wasn't wired that way.
I turned off the tap and dried my hands on the dish towel, frowning at the butterfly wings drifting closer to the garden. 'You could have helped me out there,' I said sourly.
'Me?' Blue eyes glinting in amusement, he set the orange juice on the counter and shut the fridge. 'Rachel, honey, I love you and all, but what do you think I could have done?'
Tossing the dish towel to the counter, I turned my back on him, crossing my arms while I gazed out at the cautiously approaching wings. He was right, but that didn't mean I had to like it. I was lucky Matalina had shown up, and I wondered again what she wanted.
A warm breath touched my shoulder and I jerked, realizing Kisten had snuck up on me, unheard with his vamp-soft steps. 'I would have come out if you needed it,' he said, his rumbly voice going right into me. 'But they were only garden fairies.'
'Yeah,' I said with a sigh. 'I suppose.' Turning, my eyes went over his shoulder to the three books on the table. 'Are those for me?' I asked, wanting to change the subject.
Kisten reached past me to pluck an early daisy from the vase beside Mr. Fish. 'Piscary had them behind glass. They look like spell books to me. I thought you might find something to Were in them. They're yours if you want them. I'm not going to tell him where they went.'
His eyes were eager for the chance to help me, but I didn't move, standing beside the sink with my arms crossed, eyeing them. If the master vampire had them under glass, then they were probably older than the sun. Even worse, they had the look of demon magic, making them useless since only demons could work it. Generally.
Uncrossing my arms, I considered them again. Maybe there was something I could use. 'Thanks,' I said, moving to touch the top book and stifling a shudder when I felt a slight sponginess, as if my aura had gone from liquid to syrup. My torn skin tingled, and I wiped my hand on my jeans. 'You won't get in trouble?'
The faint tightening of his jaw was the only sign of his nervousness. 'You mean in more trouble than trying to kill him?' he said, flicking his long bangs from his eyes.
I gave him a sick smile. 'I see your point.' I went to get myself a cup of coffee while Kisten poured a small glass of orange juice and set it on a tray he pulled from behind the microwave. The plate of toast went on it, shortly followed by the daisy he'd taken from the windowsill. I watched, my curiosity growing when he gave me a sideways
