“Well, geez, finally. Anyone tell you; you sleep like the dead?” a horribly familiar voice drawls at me as I open my eyes.
I groan. “You. What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Aren’t you impressed I got here?” other me asks. “After your disdain the other day, I thought you would be happy I mastered the art of time shifting.”
“Ergh, hardly. Now I have to look at your slutty self every time you decide to pop on over.”
“Well, I won’t take offense at the slutty remark, seeing as you are quite pot-shaped yourself there.”
I sit up then, remembering that Cole has left me and why.
“I am surprised to find you alone. I hate sleeping alone. Where is your husband?” she asks idly as I glare at her lying on the bed next to me.
“He isn’t here,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Obviously,” she says. “You are taking too long to come back. I am here
to ensure you go to my sire today.”
“No, I told you I am not going to sleep with him pretending to be you. You just go and do it. He already wants it.” So, that isn’t exactly true as what he wants is to have sex with me, but whatever. A technicality. I am sure she can work around it.
“No, it has to be believable the first time. You must do it. I will tell you everything else you need to know if you do,” she wheedles.
I sigh. I am still no further in trying to figure out how to get rid of the cursed thing. Maybe I could go and talk to him. Try and convince him, with words, to give me what I need. Or better yet, go and pretend I had sex with him. She doesn’t need to know; I mean it isn’t like she is going to stand there and watch. My eyes snap to hers, or would she? I wouldn’t put it past her.
“If you are thinking that you can go and pretend to fuck him just to get what you want from me, think again,” she says.
Crap. Me and my stupid expressive face.
“Look, I would go, really, but I have a whole load of shit to deal with here. Personal shit. I just can’t step away and trust me when I say that now is not a good time for me to be putting it out.”
“Get caught doing someone outside of the circle, did you? Been there, done that. It’ll blow over. I mean, Christ, it isn’t like they can live without you. Where you go, they follow,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Not this time,” I mutter.
“Please,” she says to my surprise. “I need you to do this, he responds to you. God knows why.” She ruins the heartfelt plea with an insult. Nice.
“He responds because I am what he wants. He doesn’t want a slutty, power hungry harpy.” I borrow this from Devon, and it has the desired effect as she glares at me. “Try being nicer and more loving. Get him alone and focus entirely on him. Forget everyone else, just let it be about him. Look into his eyes, touch him, be interested in what he has to say.”
She frowns at me. “Huh, interesting. So, like, love the one you are with sort of thing.”
Erm, I wouldn’t put it quite like that, still sounds insensitive, but if she gets it that way then all good. “Yes. Exactly,” I say.
“Show me,” she says. “Come back with me now and show me how you do it. You don’t have to sleep with him this time, just let me see what it is you do.”
What it is that I do? She makes it sound like a job. “How?” I sigh.
“I will watch you.”
“From where? Like some kind of Peeping Tom?” I am not comfortable with this plan.
“Just Shift into me and come with me. I’ll show you.”
Well, doesn’t look like I have a whole lot else to do and she said I don’t have to fuck him. Only problem is, he knows it won’t be her and if she is watching she will know that too. I chew my lip. “Why don’t you see me interact with one of my own? It’ll be real then.”
She thinks it over. “Fine. Get one of them up here.”
“It’s things like that you have to stop saying,” I grouse as I climb out of bed. “I need a shower. Give me five minutes.”