“He was about to drink from you,” Rueben said, his voice deep and kind of reassuring despite the blood running down his nose. To Eira’s surprise, Josh handed the other man some kind of wadded up tissue and Rueben nodded his thanks before mopping up the blood. The two of them turned to stare at the other vampire on the floor.
“You clearly want to do the same,” the other vampire said. He pushed himself up on one arm.
“Maybe. But there’s the difference between us, Edward. I wouldn’t do it without asking,” Rueben replied calmly. Eira’s mind wondered on to what it would feel like to be bitten, but she dismissed the thought. Now really wasn’t the time. Maybe later though.
“Oh please, I’ve seen how you are in the Chambers, that blonde you’ve been bringing for months.” Edward snarled, baring his teeth. It was kind of odd for Eira. When she’d seen Rueben’s teeth, her first thought had been about him biting her, seeing Edward’s made her want to run in the other direction. She glanced sideways at Josh, but he had an indecipherable expression on his face, as if he didn’t know what to make of the situation at all.
“That’s not what you think,” Rueben muttered. Eira cocked her head to the side, curious even if she didn’t know what the hell the man was on about. On the ground, Edward raised a questioning eyebrow, but Rueben stayed silent.
“I don’t see what the problem is,” Edward said, climbing to his feet and eyeing the other vampire warily. For some reason, he was now completely ignoring Eira and Josh. Something protective reared up inside Eira at the sight of the malice in Edward’s eyes.
“Need I remind you what happened to the last vampire that tried to bite another paranormal without permission?” Rueben’s words were surprisingly dark. Edward started to laugh.
“Are you seriously threatening me with Eden? She couldn’t take me if she tried.”
“You mean the Eden that’s more than two centuries older than you and got more kills to her name than either of us do combined.”
“Eden doesn’t kill humans, everyone knows that.”
“I wasn’t talking about humans.” A shiver went down Eira’s spine at Rueben’s words. This Eden sounded dangerous, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know anymore. Except that Rueben had used her as a threat against misbehaving, which didn’t make her sound too bad really.
“Whatever,” Edward dismissed, spitting on the floor. “Have her if you want.” He spun on his heels and stalked off, with Rueben staring off after him.
A few moments passed and Rueben turned to face Eira and Josh. Closing the gap between them, he reached out to touch Eira’s face, his fingertips brushing gently against her cheek.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, and in complete contrast to the tone he’d been using with Edward. Eira nodded once. It was a little bit of a shock to discover that a vampire had tried to bite her, and it had certainly cleared her head.
He leaned forward, almost as if he was about to kiss her, and Eira closed her eyes, enjoying the delicious sensation of the wait. She couldn’t explain quite why she wanted his kiss so much. It wasn’t the same kind of want that she felt when she needed sex either. It was almost the kind of want that she felt when she thought about Josh.
Rueben’s face moved closer to hers, and she could feel his breath on her skin, excitement building inside her. Until a loud cough interrupted them. Rueben backed away, and Eira opened her eyes, disappointment running through her; this wasn’t how she wanted it to go.
She turned to look at Josh, and was surprised to see that he had a curious look on his face, nothing like the hint of jealousy that had tinted it while she’d been dancing with Edward.
“I don’t think here is really the place E,” he said, nodding towards all the other people on the street and then down at her hands, which were glowing a very faint white.
“Shit,” she muttered, and concentrated on retracting the frost. She hadn’t even noticed it getting colder around them, a sure way of knowing that her powers had started to manifest.
“You’re a witch?” Rueben asked.
“No,” she replied. “Kind of,” she changed her answer. She didn’t really know what she counted as, it wasn’t like there were many of Jack Frost’s descendants about. Or there might be, but there weren’t any others with powers. She and Izzy got all of those.
“Interesting,” Rueben mused.
“We need to go E,” Josh interrupted. “You have that thing you need to deal with.”
“And I was trying to,” she threw back at Josh.
“I could see that. In the middle of the street. Hardly wise.” She scowled at him, then scowled at Rueben too when she saw him smirking.
“So, E, if your boyfriend is insisting on whisking you away, do I at least get your number?” he asked, changing the smirk into a charming smile.
“It’s Eira, and he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Okay, Eira then.” She enjoyed the way that his name sounded on his lips way too much, which only made her think of how close they’d come to kissing just moments later.
“Yes.” She held her hand out for his phone, which he relinquished instantly. Even as she typed her number in, she reflected on how unusual it was for her to do so. She never gave out her number. Though that was because, normally, she never wanted to see the guy again.
Three
“Stupid men,” Eira muttered to herself, stripping off her dress and stepping into the hot shower. The water pounded down on her, helping to clear her head the rest of the way. She looked at her hands, still surprised over the earlier show of magic. That hadn’t happened since the day she’d met Josh. She wondered what the similarities were between that day and this, but pushed the thought away. It wasn’t going to get her anywhere really. And it wasn’t like the frosts were due. Or at least, she didn’t think they were. She hadn’t felt the tell-tale tingle telling her it was time yet. And she always had, even before she turned eighteen and it became her job.
She stepped out of the shower and towel dried her hair. She contemplated tying it up so that it was out of the way, but decided against it, it wasn’t like anyone was going to see her anyway. Josh had made sure of that. And now she’d have to sort herself out in an attempt to keep her succubus side happy. Or as happy as that side could be without full blown sex. She frowned. It really had been a while, she should have taken her chance with Rueben while she could, bystanders be damned. “Snap out of it Eira,” she told herself, wrapping a warm fluffy towel around herself and exiting the bathroom. She lived alone after all, it wasn’t like there’d be anyone to see her naked. Well, she supposed that wasn’t quite true. Josh had a tendency of walking in without knocking, but she didn’t see that as a bad thing. Especially not tonight. In fact, that fantasy would probably be dueling with thoughts of Rueben’s teeth against her neck for her attention later.
“Hello, Eira,” an amused male voice said. Eira jumped, letting out a short scream. Turning around, she saw a man she’d never met before lounging on her sofa. She took him in, but couldn’t think of a word to describe him except for summer. It was like his entire being glowed, and while he had brown hair, the word didn’t quite do him justice. The same with his eyes, it was almost as if they possessed every colour imaginable. They were kind of mesmerising. To the point that Eira almost forgot he was an intruder in her home.
“Who are you?” she asked breathlessly, hating that he was evoking that kind of feeling in her.
“Does it matter?” He smirked as he asked.
“You’re in my flat uninvited, so I’d say yes.”
“If you were really that bothered you’d have called for the overprotective witch next door.” He looked down at his nails, examining them closely as if he was bored. But she didn’t buy it. His eyes never actually strayed from her, and they were making her feel a little bit exposed. And not just because she was only wearing a towel.
“He’ll come if I need him to,” she responded, relieved to finally know what Josh was. She’d have it out with him
later about not telling her. Right now, she had more important things to deal with.
“Oh, I’m sure he will.”
“What do you want?” She gave an exasperated sigh.
“How’s the magic, Frostie?” he looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers and everything seemed to stand still. Mesmerising had been the wrong word. His eyes were beyond that. She couldn’t think at all while looking into them.
“Fine,” she said eventually. She held out her right hand and summoned a handful of snowflakes. Not a particularly useful power, but it was pretty at least.
“And the power to bring the frosts?” he looked amused.
“It’s not time for that yet.”
“Isn’t it?” He arched an eyebrow, causing panic within Eira. She’d assumed the frosts weren’t due yet because she hadn’t felt the familiar tug telling her they were ready, but what if there was another reason they weren’t here? She grabbed her phone from the coffee table and paged through the calendar, trying to keep on eye on the smirking man on her sofa. Looking through the days, she saw that he was right. The frosts had been due yesterday, and they were never late. She’d just been so distracted with the other things in her life that she hadn’t actually checked. She clicked through the calendar again just to check she’d not got the dates wrong.
“How do you even know about this stuff?” she asked.
“It’s pretty common knowledge, Eira.” He drew out her name as if it was a delicacy, and she liked the sound of it, despite knowing that she shouldn’t. And that she should probably focus on getting him the hell out of her flat.
“Maybe, but what I am isn’t at all.”
“Hard not to know when you’re waving around your magic in public.” He raised an eyebrow and she scowled at him. No way was he going to make her feel bad about something that she hadn’t realised was happening. Not that it wasn’t worrying that all it had taken was an almost kiss from Rueben to set off her magic. It was. Especially when thoughts of the blond vampire had her feeling all hot and bothered almost as soon as they started. She really should have made sure she brought a guy back with her before the end of the night.
She eyed up the man on her sofa, wondering if he’d be game. She certainly would be. While she still didn’t know his name, or anything about him, he was certainly attractive enough, and his broad shoulders would be perfect to grab hold of while screaming out in ecstasy. Down girl. Now wasn’t the time for thoughts like that.
“No,” he said firmly.
“Huh?”
“I can tell what you’re thinking, Frostie, and the answer is no. Our first time together won’t be while you’re desperate like this.”
“I’m hardly desperate.” She folded her arms across her chest, which only caused her breasts to appear more prominently beneath the towel she was wearing. An idea sparked, if she let the towel slip a little, then maybe he’d take advantage of the situation. He was eyeing her up, and had been since he’d arrived, even if he was doing his best to seem uninterested.
“You’ve got a look.” There was an edge to his voice, confirming her suspicions that he wasn’t as in control as he wanted to be.
Eira took a step towards him and unfolded her arms, allowing the towel to slip a little.
“What look?” She fluttered her eyelashes and pouted her lips in a move that she knew from experience worked almost all of the time. Men were so easy to predict sometimes.
“Frostie...” his voice came out almost strangled and she smirked, pleased with the reaction she finally seemed to be getting out of him. She let the towel fall to the ground, leaving her naked in front of him. While she could tell that he still didn’t want to, his eyes roved up and down her body, taking in all the dips and curves she was blessed with as a part of her succubus nature. She’d have to thank her great-great-grandMother for those at some point. If she could find her. Winona was a renowned wanderer, and even her mate didn’t know where she was half the time. Eira had always wondered about that. If she ever found her mates, then she’d never let them go. She wouldn’t want to. Spending every minute of every day with them would be her ultimate goal. Except, why was she thinking about mates in the plural sense? She’d never thought like that before. Maybe it was just the stress of the day, and her body’s needs catching up with her.
A soft groan came from the brown-haired man in front of her, and an arm fastened around her waist, pulling her towards him. A split second later, warm lips met hers and she opened instantly in response, pushing her body towards him and enjoying the sensation of the hard man against her. He was lean but muscular it seemed, which was fine by her, she could work with that. She nibbled his bottom lip, and he let out another groan, pulling her closer to him.
Almost as suddenly as it started, the kiss ended as the man pushed Eira away. She frowned, her fingers lifting to her swollen lips.
“What the hell?” she bit out. She hadn’t wanted the moment to end, and he shouldn’t have wanted it to, not with her powers in full swing, and she had little doubt that they were. Plus, he was clearly attracted to her, and there was no way for him to deny that when she’d been pressed up against him mere moments ago.
“Not like this.”
“So, you keep saying.” She folded her arms again, and his warm multi-hued eyes flicked down to her naked breasts. Yes, he was definitely attracted to her. Which just added to the mystery of why he’d stopped.
“You don’t even know my name,” he pointed out, but he didn’t have her convinced. She still thought there was something more going on behind this.
“You could just tell me,” she said, steeling her eyes in an attempt to stare him down. Which most likely failed considering that her lust was far outweighing her anger at that point in time.
“Leth.”
“Okay, so why’d you stop, Leth?” she asked, testing out his name. She liked the way it sounded, and ran it through her head a few times, unintentionally adding it to Josh and Rueben’s names as she did. She liked the way all of their names sounded together. Maybe she was beyond saving on the lust scale after all.
“It’s not the right time.”
“What?” She almost choked on the laughter that was attempting to bubble up inside her. “You realise what I am right? And that sex with me would be the best you’ve ever had?” She didn’t normally use that line on people, but it was true. The combination of succubus and frost magic tended to completely blow minds, and she was sure that Leth would be no different. He was still a man after all.
“Sex with you will without a doubt be the best I’ve ever had, but now is not the right time.”
“And when is?” Despite herself, she was kind of curious.
“When you know exactly what’s going on. I’ll tell you at dinner. Say seven tomorrow at that little Italian place?”
“A date? You’re seriously rejecting sex then asking me out on a date?” She almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Nor what he was suggesting. She was naked for heaven’s sake, and he was acting like they had to do things the right way.
“A date,” he acknowledged, before walking out through her front door and leaving her both confused and curious about what had just happened.
Four
“You look like shit.”
“Great, thanks Josh, just what every girl wants to hear,” she muttered, shooting daggers at him over the rim of her coffee cup. Really, what did he expect when he’d taken every opportunity to cock block her last night? Well, him and Leth, whoever Leth might actually be. She guessed she’d find out at dinner.
“That’s not what I meant, E…”
“Just save it,” she snapped, and instantly regretted it. She knew that realistically it wasn’t Josh’s fault that she’d gone too long without. She could have gone out without him and found someone, it wasn’t like she’d ever struggled to before. But she hadn’t. And she didn’t like examining why she hadn’t much either. She knew that her feelings towards Josh weren’t returned, but that didn’t stop her wa
nting to remain as faithful to him as possible. If he was with her, then he was giving permission. Well kind of. She’d rather he didn’t to be honest. Unless it was with Rueben. Or Leth. Damn, she really needed to pull herself together.
“E...” He reached out towards her and she took a step back, stumbling slightly and sloshing her coffee onto the floor.
“Hell,” she muttered. As if the day was actually getting worse. She felt awful, apparently looked awful, and now she spilled things all over the place. It might not ever come out of the cream carpet.
“Let me,” Josh said gently. She scowled at him.
“Let you what? Wave a hand and clear it up? Cause you can’t do that. Or can you and you’ve just never told me about it?” Her words flowed out of her without a thought, and Josh’s face blanched.
“What?” His voice shook, and she knew that she’d maybe pushed a little bit too far. She shouldn’t have let on that she knew he was a witch. Stupid girl. She should have waited for him to tell her; otherwise how would she explain it?
“You’re a witch, right?”
“Well, yes, but...” He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, clearly looking uncomfortable.
“So you can just clear it up with a wave of your hand?”
“Well, yes, but...”
“Then do it.” She tried to channel her anger through her eyes, and from the look on Josh’s face, it worked. He held out a hand and green sparks danced along it. With one flick of his wrist, he cleared the coffee from the floor, making the carpet good as new in a fraction of the time it would have taken Eira.
Happy her carpet was saved, she turned on her heels to walk away from him. “
Saving Eira (Fated Seasons Book 1) Page 2