Chapter 13 #2
“I should be happy he was respectful,” Selene began, but her stoic facade crumbled.
“But, Nat, we have this connection. I’ve never felt anything like it.
It was really hard for me to break things off with him .
. . and they hadn’t even officially started.
I thought he felt the same way, but then he just accepted what I said. Not a single protest.”
Natalie smirked. “Did you want him to throw you over his shoulder and take you back to his castle to have his way with you?”
“Of course not!” Selene dropped her fork. When Natalie continued to watch her silently, Selene confessed. “Okay, maybe a little.”
“Just a little?” Natalie teased.
“Even if I do want that, it’s not smart. Not with Daniel around, and I need to keep my eye on what’s happening in Allie and Josh’s situation,” Selene said, stabbing more egg.
“But?”
“There’s no ‘but,’” Selene insisted.
Natalie took a long slug of coffee, then said, “Yes there is.”
Selene chose to eat rather than reply, but she only got through a few more bites. She set down her fork and pushed her plate away.
Leaning forward and lowering her voice, she said, “He made me come on the kitchen counter.”
Natalie spit out the sip of coffee she’d just taken. She swore and grabbed napkins to sop up the mess.
“Sorry.” Natalie laughed. “But you should have waited until I swallowed.”
Selene took her own napkin and wiped coffee from her face.
“I thought this was a family dinner,” Natalie remarked.
“It was.”
“Where were Josh and Allie when Fen was . . . taking care of you?” Natalie tried to stifle a giggle and failed.
“Watching TV in the living room,” Selene said with chagrin.
Natalie gaped at her. “You got naked in the kitchen when Allie was in the next room?”
“I was not naked!” Selene blurted, then her cheeks flooded with heat. She glanced around the room, worried she’d raised her voice, but none of the other customers were looking in her direction.
“Then how . . .” Natalie’s brow furrowed.
“That’s the thing.” The heat in Selene’s cheeks seeped into other parts of her body at the memory of Fen’s hands on her. His mouth. His voice. “We kissed. More than once. But he didn’t touch me. No, I mean, he was touching me, but not the way I would usually need—”
That was as far as she could get without bursting into flames.
Fortunately, Natalie nodded. “I get the picture. And wow.”
“It was very wow.” Selene squirmed in her chair. “I didn’t know there could be that much wow. But I can’t keep seeing him. It’s too risky.”
Natalie signaled Amy for more coffee. When she arrived with the pot and a washcloth to finish cleaning up the table, Selene went quiet and Natalie did the same.
“You don’t sound very convinced, Selene.” Natalie spooned sugar into her new cup of coffee. “You still want him.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Selene said quietly.
Natalie clucked her tongue. “Of course it matters. Yes, you’re taking care of Allie.
And yes, it sucks—no pun intended—that her jerk of a dad showed up and happens to be a vampire.
But you still have a life, Selene. From what Emma said about you, I know you work way too hard. If you want Fenris, don’t ignore that.”
“What if he doesn’t want me anymore?” The question flew out before Selene could stop it.
“I’m not following,” Natalie said.
“He didn’t argue with me.” Selene let all her worries race after the first. “He didn’t tell me that I was making a mistake. He walked away. It was easy for him to do.”
Natalie shook her head. “You don’t know that.”
Selene stared into her coffee cup, having a pity party for one.
“You told him what you need,” Natalie continued. “He listened. That’s all that happened. If you change your mind, tell him. He’ll listen again.”
“But—”
“No buts this time,” Natalie cut her off. “Fen doesn’t roam around Avondale offering women orgasms as some kind of community outreach.”
This time Selene almost spit out her coffee but managed to simply choke on it instead.
“The point is,” Natalie continued, grinning, “he wants you. Only you. And I guarantee he’s willing to wait. The man has been alive for centuries. He knows how to be patient. The question is, How long are you going to make him wait?”
Selene had to finish coughing before she could speak. “I don’t know what to do about Fen, but he did give me this last night.”
She pulled the invitation from her purse and pushed it across the table. Natalie’s eyes narrowed for a moment and then an impish smile danced across her lips.
“My, my.” She stirred her coffee. “That’s an interesting move. I guess I don’t have Fenris Hall figured out yet.”
“What?” Selene frowned. “What’s Beltane? I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s a pagan holiday,” Natalie replied. “Also called May Eve.”
“A holiday that celebrates what?” Selene asked, taking another bite of her omelet. Only a little coffee had splashed her plate.
“A few different things. The arrival of summer—the bright side of the year, we call it. Honoring the goddess. There’s a ritual, and . . .”
Natalie’s voice trailed off, and she frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Selene put her fork down.
“Are you planning to attend?”
“Maybe,” Selene replied. “Will you be there?”
“Yes,” Natalie said. “I have to help with the ritual.”
“What does that involve?” The hairs on the back of her neck prickled at the word ritual.
“That’s what I can’t figure out about this invitation.” Natalie’s gaze grew distant.
Selene had to swallow the lump that formed in her throat. She didn’t like the expression on her friend’s face.
“What do you mean?”
Natalie took a long time to respond. She appeared to be weighing her answer, and that made Selene even more nervous.
“Fen will be involved in the ritual this year,” Natalie finally said. “I wouldn’t think he’d want you to see—”
She broke off and frowned.
“Oh my god.” Selene swallowed a knot of dread. “It’s not a sacrifice, is it? Is he going to kill something? Like a goat?”
Natalie looked stunned, then exploded into laughter. “No, no! Nothing like that. There’s actually very little sacrificing that occurs in the magical world. At least not that I’m involved in—or Fenris, for that matter.”
“Then why—”
“Never mind,” Natalie said quickly. “You should come. It’s a great party. Ask Tim and Marley about it. They’ll be going for sure.”
“Okay,” Selene said, still wondering what had given Natalie such pause a moment ago. “Should I bring Allie?”
Natalie shook her head. “I don’t think you’d want Allie there. It’s not really an aunt-niece kind of event. Some stuff might be over her head.”
“Thanks for the warning label.” Selene smiled.
“No problem,” Natalie said.
Daniel Brix couldn’t stand that he’d been reduced to spying, but he snuck another glance at Selene from across the restaurant.
“Ow!” He jerked his leg back when the tip of a steel-toed boot met his shin.
“Stop looking at them,” Rowena snapped. “You know you can’t go over there. Marie would rip your intestines out.”
“I’m not going over there.” Daniel rubbed his shin. “And I can look. She’s not going to see my face.” But he pulled the hood of the sweatshirt down further just in case.
“What are you going to do today anyway?” Rowena asked. “Sulk again?”
“Shut up.”
“You’re getting pretty good at it,” she sniped.
“I’ll just watch her.” Pathetic. All this skulking around. It was beneath him.
“Watch her from where?” Rowena’s ruby-lipped smile wasn’t kind. “It’s pure luck she showed up here. There aren’t that many businesses that have underground doors and tinted windows for vamps who want to be out in the day.”
“It’s not pure luck,” Daniel snapped. “I know the kinds of places Selene likes. I figured she would come here. She and Emma would always go out for breakfast when they were upset. Something about food helping them problem solve.”
“Weird,” Rowena muttered.
“Do you know the woman she’s with?” Daniel’s eyes traveled across the room again.
“Only by reputation,” Rowena said. “That’s Natalie Lyon. She’s a witch.”
“A witch?”
“And she owns a salon,” Rowena continued. She lifted her fingers to toy with her long hair. “I’ve thought about getting an appointment, but she has a waiting list a mile long. Then there’s the whole witch thing. I don’t like witches.”
Daniel agreed. Witches were bad news. Couldn’t be trusted, and some of their spells were downright nasty. The only good thing about them was that they weren’t hard to kill—as long as you caught them by surprise.
The waitress paused at their table. She looked like she wanted to laugh. “Is something wrong with your food?”
“No, everything is fine,” Daniel said quickly.
The waitress shrugged and continued on.
“This is stupid.” Rowena wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe I’m sitting here. The food is making me queasy.”
“Just drink your blood,” Daniel said.
“Why did we even order food?” Rowena asked. “It’s not like the waitress doesn’t know we’re vamps. The owner is Fae. They serve blood. We’re covered.”
“We need to blend in,” Daniel grumbled. “We have food so we look just like the other customers.”
He pushed the eggs on his plate around with his knife. Rowena was right. They reeked.
“I don’t know why I let you talk me into this.” Rowena covered her plate with a napkin, then sucked on the straw in her glass.
Daniel snagged her hand. “I thought you were on my side.”
Rowena jerked free, folding her arms across her chest. “I said I thought Marie should have stood up for you when Fenris came to the coven. The werewolves have a stranglehold on this town. Marie needs to grow a pair. She’s a vampire.
We don’t bow down to other paranormals, and I think she’s forgotten that.
But I didn’t say you should stalk your daughter and her guardian. ”
“What would you do if you were in my situation?” Daniel countered.
She laughed harshly. “I would forget the woman. When a werewolf pack leader chooses a mate, you don’t get in the way. Not if you want to keep all your limbs.”