“You look good. Healthy,” he said, and Amanda’s lip trembled.
I watched her actively fight whatever feelings she was having before plastering on a neutral expression. “Thanks.”
An awkward silence ensued. I glanced at Tegan, and she shrugged her shoulders. Lucas cleared his throat. “Right, well, I better get going to Crimson. Are you all coming to the party later, or …” His eyes went to Amanda once more, but she refused to look at him.
“Only me, Delilah, and Ira are going,” Tegan answered. “Everyone else is staying here.”
Lucas nodded. “Right, well, I’ll see you later then. The rest of you have a good evening.”
He left, and Amanda seemed to slump in relief once he was gone. Poor girl. It must’ve been rough getting clean from addiction and then having to stay in a house with the thing you’d been addicted to. Tegan put a hand on her friend’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort. Amanda gave a little nod to show she was okay, and they continued to prepare the stew.
When Alora entered the kitchen, I was distracted from everything else. She seemed to have that effect on me. I called her over to where I sat on the stool before pulling her between my legs and wrapping my arms around her middle, her back pressed to my front. Tegan and Alvie were not so subtly watching us out the corners of their eyes, but I didn’t care. I wanted Alora to be my woman, and I couldn’t give a crap who knew about it.
Leaning forward, I placed a soft kiss on her neck, and she shivered.
“You hungry?” I asked in a low voice.
“Mm-hmm,” was the only reply she gave, and I could tell she was shy about me being openly affectionate with her in front of everyone. Well, she’d better get used to it because I had no intention of stopping.
I stroked my hand across her belly, and when Tegan began gathering vegetables and dumping them into the pot, she watched us curiously. The front door opened and shut, and seconds later, Cristescu strolled into the room. He laughed tenderly when he saw Tegan fretting over her concoction. The tender way he looked at her gave me pause. I’d never really seen the two of them in an everyday environment like this. It made them both seem so normal … and so in love.
So, vamps were capable of real emotions. I had proof standing right in front of me. Another brick on the wall of my prejudice fell crumbling to the ground. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t immediately realise Alora was tugging on my sleeve.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
“I’m good,” I said, lowering my voice to a whisper. “I’m always good when you’re near.”
The way her long lashes cast shadows on her face as she glanced away sent a bolt of arousal through me. Interesting. It seemed I liked it when she got shy. Sadly, my burgeoning stiffy was a problem. I had to think about something gross so as not to embarrass myself … such as Theodore naked.
Brrr.
Yep, that did the trick.
We all sat down for dinner once Tegan’s stew was ready, and despite the mess they made of the kitchen, it actually wasn’t half bad.
Once night fell, Tegan, Cristescu, Lucas, Delilah, and Ira left for the party at Crimson
while the rest of us retreated to our rooms. I thought about inviting Alora to spend the night with me again, but I didn’t want to rush things. With the city how it was, I couldn’t court her properly, couldn’t take her out on a date like I normally would. There was also the possibility that she might be a virgin, which meant going slow was important. I wanted her to feel safe with me and not pressured into doing anything she wasn’t ready for.
I lay down on the bed, bunched up the pillow until it was just right, and closed my eyes. Several minutes later, I started to feel cold, and I realised that the temperature in the room had dropped drastically. I glanced out the window, and there was frost on the glass. The weather wasn’t exactly warm today, but it certainly wasn’t cold enough for frost.
Sitting up from the bed, I walked over to the window and ran my hand along the surface of the glass. I quickly withdrew my hand when a zing of what could only be described as magic flitted across my skin. This was just too weird.
The frost had grown so thick that I couldn’t see out anymore. I jumped when something moved across it, clearing some of the ice, and my heart thumped when I saw a hand. Someone was on the other side of the window—a window high up on the second floor.
Moments later, a circle had been cleared, and I found myself staring through the pane only to be met by Rita’s dark gaze. An unnatural grin formed on her lips as she crooked her finger at me.