by Michele Hauf
“Yet.”
“Remember, I don’t believe in them.”
He stroked her cheek. “You think when they discover you are the one behind the drug that may be dipping into their sales they’re not going to want to change that?”
“I hadn’t thought of that. But this could be a cure, Kaz.”
He hugged her. His hugs were the best, so giving, and always taking a little, as well. “We’ll look for the lab in the morning, and any talking to faeries you need to do will be done with me along.”
She snuggled against his chest. “How did I get so lucky to find someone like you?”
“You know that first time we saw one another, right after I kissed you, I looked into your eyes, and I knew.”
“What did you know?”
“I knew that you loved me,” he said.
“Is that so?”
Kaz’s kiss was true, seeking, melting against her mouth in a confirmation of all the questions that were tittering about inside her but she daren’t ask.
Do you still love me? Can you love me? Do I offend you? Can you overlook the things I have done?
But most important: Can you still see that I love you?
“You were very perceptive,” she said, and continued the kiss. “And very kind not to do too much damage to those men.”
“You thought they were human?”
She blinked.
“They were vamps, sweetie. You stumbled onto a slaying, so I had to wing it until you left.”
“You mean—after I...?”
“Ashed ’em.”
“And here I thought I had a knack for recognizing vampires. Huh. I did love you that first night I saw you. I have a tendency to rush to happily ever after. You rescued me, pulling me into your arms and kissing me like I’ve never been kissed before.”
“There was a reason behind that kiss.”
“And that reason was?”
He shrugged. “Not sure, even now. Kind of like not knowing the why but just accepting the now, eh? I’m beginning to think, if anyone has done any rescuing in this relationship, that it was you who rescued me. You’ve made me see the world differently, Zoë. I’ve put up a lot of walls. They’ll never all fall down, but you’ve added some windows.”
“I like that. Can you see me through those windows?”
“You’re the only sight I can or want to see.”
“Do you still hate me?”
“I’ve never hated you. I just...”
“I know. It’s the idea of loving me you are having a tough time with.”
“It’s getting easier every minute I hold you in my arms.”
“Really?”
He nodded.
“Do you want to make love to me, Kaz?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“No, but so much has changed since we made love the other night.”
“This hasn’t changed.” He pressed a hand over his heart. “Think Sid will mind?”
Zoë nudged Sid off her lap and turned to straddle Kaz. “He’s a sex cat. He likes to watch.”
“I did feel him snuggle against my back in the middle of the night. It was...”
“Nice, isn’t it, to have a warm kitty pressed against your skin?”
“Sure, but I prefer a warm witch.”
He glided his hands up under her shirt and cupped her breasts. Zoë hadn’t taken the time to put on a bra this morning. His fingers found her nipples and toggled them softly. The touch shot through her system and traveled to her toes, which curled in delight.
She leaned in and whispered, “Let’s make some magic.”
He smiled against her mouth and kissed her deeply. “Should we be doing this with the vampire down the hallway?”
“Yes, we should. He’s sleeping. And how can I not touch you? You give me life, Kaz. Kind of like how my life energy is put forth when I heal. I can feel your energy gush into me whenever you hold me. I want to bathe in it. Drown.”
He unzipped his jeans and lifted his hips so she could shrug them down. His erection sprang free. Unzipping her pants and sliding them to the floor, Zoë stepped out of them, and sat upon her lover’s lap, grinding her mons against his steel cock.
He nuzzled her breasts, and bit through the fabric. Zoë pulled up her shirt, allowing him easy access. The lash of his tongue across her tightened nipple undid her. All the tension that had built up this day rushed from her in a sigh that spilled through the air. She felt her soul tingle in response. No longer misplaced.
Kaz positioned her over him and slid inside her. They assumed each other’s rhythm, and the harmony they created sparked a new and divine magic that she would never master but would forever cherish.
Chapter 20
Kaz trusted that Zoë would be well enough on her own to visit Ian Grim this afternoon without accompanying her as a bodyguard. Grim’s place was not far away, and after Zoë explained to Kaz that Ian was a warlock and had every ward imaginable on his home, he almost didn’t let her go.
A warlock? Weren’t those the bad witches, he’d wondered sternly. And wasn’t she sort of, kind of, maybe one, as well?
Yes, but...
Zoë’s father was warlock and she didn’t consider him bad. But she had decided to keep that bit of information a secret for now. They would have to face the warlock talk soon. They’d been honest with one another about everything else; it wouldn’t be right to keep that from Kaz. But she’d held on to that detail because unless the Light declared her warlock, she was not.
Expecting Dasha—Ian’s longtime lover—to answer the door, Zoë was disappointed when the door opened to reveal a short blond man with a broad smile and tousled hair.
“Ian.”
“Wow. That sounded absolutely dismal. You really know how to make a man feel special, Zoë. Come in. You’re letting in daylight. I need the house dark for a spell I’m working on.”
She entered the dark foyer, lit only by candles, and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dull, yellow glow. How people had lived centuries earlier utilizing only candlelight at night was beyond her.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t seen Dasha for years. I was looking forward to her greeting me. How is she?”
“As well as ever. She’ll be home soon. Just ran out for some groceries. And to get away from the smell.”
That’s when Zoë noticed the sulfur that tickled into her nostrils and made her sneeze. “What are you working with? Rotten eggs or—”
“Demons.”
Hands laced behind his back, Ian strode down the hallway. Dressed in a dapper black vest, maroon silk shirt and leather pants, he strode casually.
They passed a room with the door partially open. “Pay no mind,” he said over his shoulder. “The less you know, the better.”
Zoë glimpsed a cage. Inside lurked a short, dark thing with red eyes. It hissed at her. She immediately focused on following Ian. Indeed, the less she knew.
Up a spiraling, dark staircase two stories, they stepped into Ian’s lab, which sported a glass ceiling much like Zoë’s spell room. Here, though, the majority of the windows were grown over with vines, though some sunlight did breach the well-worn, wooden worktable and rows of books and magical accoutrements.
“The only place the sun can shine today,” Ian offered with a gesture toward the windows. “Cinnamon tea?”
“Sure.” Zoë glided her fingertips along a polished brass duck’s-foot pistol that sported four barrels and the impression of the Christian cross on the wood grip. “This looks old.”
“Picked that up for a kiss in the seventeenth century.”
“Does Dasha mind the kiss?”
“She wasn’t born until a hundred years later. And then she died twenty-six years following. So!
What have you brought me today, my fine witch?”
Zoë always blushed at that title. After she’d been cut on the cheek, Ian had offered to help heal it, but she had refused. If anyone were going to heal this scar it would be herself.
“Wait,” he said, and gestured to her hair. “More white than last I saw you. You’ve healed someone close to death.”
She nodded. “A man I love.”
“Ah, love. Fine stuff, that. He treats you well?”
“Yes. He’s human.”
Ian gasped out a hacking noise of disgust.
“Oh, please, Ian, Kaz is a fine man. He’s a knight actually, in the Order of the Stake.”
Now Grim grasped his chest and feigned a heart attack. “Zoë, what in all of Hecate’s great kingdom?”
“Is my falling in love with a human any more shocking than your falling in love with a woman who lost her head in the Revolution?”
“She did find a new body,” he corrected. “Fine. I shall not throw stones. But do be careful, Zoë. Promise me.”
“I will and I am.”
“So you want to show me something?” He rubbed his palms together expectantly. “Please let it be one of those fancy stakes the Order uses to ash vampires.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but it is perhaps more intriguing.”
Carefully, she extracted the faery flechette from her pocket, wrapped in newspaper, and laid it on the table. A fine scatter of faery dust sifted out as she unwrapped it.
“Lovely. Sidhe in nature, yes? Did you handle it without gloves?” Ian laid aside the paper to get to the weapon.
“Yes, but I think the poison has all leaked out.”
The six-pronged weapon sported blunt ends where once had been sharp glass tips. The ineffable metal gleamed iridescently, and there were traces of what Zoë guessed to be faery poison on the ends.
“You say it helped the vampire?” Ian asked.
“Luc is this close to being clean of faery dust,” she said, pinching her fingers together in display. After talking with him this morning, she’d found him lucid, smiling and complaining about the zip tie—yet he hadn’t asked her to remove it. “I want you to take a look at the poison and tell me if it can be used as an antidote to faery dust on vampires.”
“You’ve big dreams, Zoë. Trying to save all the dust freaks in the city?”
She shrugged. “Someone has to do it. I like to know I’ve made a difference. And I think I can with this stuff.” And if it would counteract the harm she had already caused, then she had to try it.
“Even if I could break it down to the smallest elements of composition, I suspect there’s faery magic involved. That’s not something I have access to.”
“Maybe.”
“You’ve been practicing your father’s molecular magic, haven’t you?” he guessed.
“It’s how I made the dust blend in the first place. But it wasn’t the cure I thought it would be.”
“That’s some powerful magic. You shouldn’t let word of it get out.”
“The only ones who know are you, Kaz, Luc and Mauritius.”
“Four people too many.”
“There’s nothing I can do about keeping Mauritius quiet. If the Light deems to cast me out as warlock, then so be it.”
“Don’t say that, Zoë. You’re not cut out for life on the run like your father.”
“You handle it well. I don’t see you running away from anyone.”
“Because I dabble in malefic magic, sweetie. The idiots of the Light don’t dare mess with me.” He sighed and tapped the flechette. “You sure about this endeavor to save vampires? What have the longtooths ever done for you?”
“I don’t require reciprocation. You know I like to make changes in the world.”
“Yes, you’re just so...kind.” Ian shuddered.
“Just look, will you, Ian?”
With a heavy sigh, and a wink, he nodded.
Below, the front door opened and closed.
“That’ll be Dasha. You run down and say hello. I’ll need some time with this.”
Zoë kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Ian.”
“Your kisses are so warm,” he said wistfully. “I’ve forgotten the touch of living flesh.”
* * *
Kaz returned home and only then remembered the vampire he had zip-tied in his back room. Just thinking about him there made him wince. A week ago this situation would have been impossible because he wouldn’t have known Zoë, or cared to see the smile on her face.
Life had changed.
Actually, life had changed him. And it felt better than the first winter snowfall and wearing brand-new mittens. Good times, when he’d been a kid and his only worries were where to find the highest hill to go sledding, and how fast he could clean up his room so his mom would make him hot chocolate as a reward.
He’d not thought about his mother, or the fire, in a long time. But telling Zoë about it had opened something inside him. He wasn’t sure if that something was good, though. His job demanded he keep a certain distance from emotion, yet more and more, he was opening his heart for Zoë to peer into.
Shucking off his coat and tossing it across the back of the couch, he strode down the hallway to look in on the longtooth. Luc stood up against the wall and offered him a nod as he entered.
“How’s it going?” Kaz asked, hooking his thumbs on his pockets. He could be nice to a vampire. He did it with Vail all the time.
“Boring. But man, I feel so clear.”
“That’s a good sign. Do you trust yourself?”
“I think so.”
“Not exactly the answer I’m looking for, man.”
“I do and I don’t. I mean, if you could just take the zip tie off, I promise I won’t lunge for you.”
Kaz slapped the stake holstered at his hip.
“I’m not stupid,” Luc offered. “At least, I’m not now that the dust is out of my system.”
Kaz fished a knife out of his back pocket and held it before him, eyeing the zip tie about the vampire’s wrists even as he spoke to himself. I’m not going to do it. No way. No how.
He placed the blade against the plastic strip and locked eyes with Luc. He didn’t want to stare too long, but was compelled to seek...something. Trust? Hell, no. He’d never trust a vampire. Or an addict. Humanity? Vampires were creatures. Some of them had once been human, but consuming blood had changed them, made them monsters.
“I care about her,” Luc offered. “I would never hurt her.”
For some reason, Kaz chose to believe the vampire with the missing fang, and slid the blade through the plastic strips. Yet he slammed the blade tip up under Luc’s chin.
“I will not take my eyes off you, longtooth.”
“You going to watch me shower?” Luc swept a palm down his arm, which glinted with faery dust. “This stuff is impossible to wash away, but—”
“There’s a rain barrel up on the roof. I know there’s something about rainwater removing faery dust. I’ll go take a look. Shower’s down the hall.”
“Thanks, man.”
Luc strolled past Kaz toward the bathroom and he didn’t even feel the urge to stake him.
Changes, indeed.
After retrieving a five-gallon bucket of the rainwater and leaving it at the bathroom door, Kaz tugged out his cell phone. Zoë should have returned by now.
“Why doesn’t she have a cell phone?” He shoved it back in a pocket. “She’s into all the old stuff, no technology. Would she be upset if I got her a phone?”
The urge to know where she was, to be able to check in with her, was strong.
“I am so whipped.”
He sat on the couch, spreading his arms across the back. Sid jumped onto his lap and put hi
s front paws up around his neck and met his nose with a kitty kiss.
“I love you, too, Sid. Even if you do have a weird habit of watching me have sex with your owner.” He stroked the cat’s sleek black fur and hugged him onto his lap. “I think I’m in love with your owner, as well. And I’m hating that idea less and less. What do you think of that?”
The cat meowed softly, as if he approved.
“Hey, Sid, haven’t seen you in a while,” Luc said as he strolled into the living room, wiping his hair with a towel. He’d put on his jeans, which glinted with dust in places.
With a hiss, the cat sprang from Kaz’s lap and hightailed it down the hallway to hide in the bedroom.
“Cats don’t like me,” Luc said as he sat on the easy chair opposite the couch. He hadn’t put on his shirt, and Kaz couldn’t see a glint or flicker of faery dust on his chest. On the other hand, it was in his best interest of staying alive to give the vampire a dressing down, so he studied his exposed skin closely. He didn’t see a single glint.
“So tell me about you and Zoë,” he said.
The vampire propped an ankle across one knee and leaned back in the chair. His eyes were dark and shadowed, as if he’d been on a three-day bender. Kaz was surprised he didn’t look worse for the addiction that had been riding him for months.
“What has she told you?” Luc asked.
He didn’t like that answer. It implied that the vampire wasn’t going to tell him anything he didn’t get approved by Zoë, and that, indeed, he had things he didn’t want to tell.
“How long have you two been friends?”
“About a decade. We go way back. She didn’t tell you how we met?”
“Nope. Wasn’t witch’s blood poisonous to vampires until recently?”
“Yeah. So? You think I bit Zoë?” The vampire scoffed. “Never have. Never will. I love her, man. She means the world to me.”
“Interesting.”
“Being friends with a vamp does not require giving blood.”
Unease climbed up the back of Kaz’s neck. It was strange to notice. Had he let down his guard around this vampire too easily? The breed was dangerous. He would never be completely safe around one of them.