Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
ETHAN
Sarah wrinkled her nose when I stepped into the house. Moira offered me her shower, but I hadn’t brought extra clothing, and asking Rowan for something wasn’t an option. Scent was an issue for shifters, and I wouldn’t return to the Keep smelling like another Lord.
The vampire insisted we were buddies, but Lords rarely become good friends. There was always posturing and trust issues. I liked Rowan, but we’d never been close.
If Moira was telling the truth, many things had changed over the last…however many years I seemed to have lost. I’d mellowed, Evie and I weren’t at each other’s throats, and Moira and I had formed a strong friendship.
And maybe more if the way she reacted to me when I helped her off the ladder was any indication.
“What happened to you?” Sarah asked. She didn’t run to greet me. While I couldn’t blame her, I had been gone all day and mostly absent last night.
“I was helping a friend with a construction project.” Sarah wouldn’t ask questions. She’d never cared for work outside the house, especially if it had to do with dirt and sweat.
“Oh.” Her eyes moved to my hands. “What’s that?”
I held up the storage container. “Cookies?”
She tilted her head, her golden hair sliding becomingly over one shoulder. “Cookies? Your construction worker friend bakes in his spare time?”
“He’s a she. You’ve met her, actually.”
Sarah frowned. “She’s a shifter?”
“The vampire. Moira.”
Something ugly slithered in Sarah’s eyes. I straightened and watched her carefully. We hadn’t been on the same page the last few days.
“You helped a female vampire with a construction project,” Sarah said flatly. “And she paid you in cookies. Did she pay you anything extra?”
Her voice was too sweet to be sincere. “Sarah. You sound jealous. Is there anything you’d like to talk about?”
She scoffed, a sound I’d never heard her make before. Sarah had always been sweet and submissive, pliable and friendly. This was a sound that sounded wrong coming from her.
My mind rewound back to earlier when Moira smiled at me. She’d been filthy, covered in dirt and cobwebs and mold, and I thought she was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.
I regretted the feeling immediately and had looked away for fear I’d tell her or kiss her or do something unforgivable.
“Women don’t make cookies for men they’re friends with,” Sarah said.
“She didn’t make them for me. These are a couple of days old. Moira sent me home with some because we didn’t have time to eat.”
Sarah watched me with those clear blue eyes for a long moment. Finally, she smiled and held her hand out. “Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll take those to the kitchen. We can share them after dinner.”
Crisis averted. “Thanks. I’ll be quick.”
Sarah’s nose wrinkled again. “No. Take your time. You’re dirtier than I’ve ever seen you.” She took the cookies and stepped away. “And maybe shampoo twice.”
I grinned and pretended to lunge at her. Sarah laughed, but it felt forced and the moment was broken.
“Wash behind your ears,” she said with a smile and hurried away.
I watched her golden hair swing all the way until she turned the corner.
Normally, I watched her because I couldn’t get enough of her. Today, I watched her because I wondered if Sarah was the person I thought she was.
Was I misremembering her or had something happened?
To me? To her?
The ground underneath me felt unsteady and unfamiliar.
Later, under the spray of hot water and the feeling of suds running down my body, I imagined Moira behind me, her fingers scratching through my hair the same way they had last night.
I let out a groan of misery. What the hell was happening to me?