Chapter 4
Audrey
“Good morning, dear cousin,” Tilly says brightly as I stumble into the kitchen. “Sleep well?”
“Coffee,” I croak out through barely opened lids.
Anita hasn’t even deigned it an appropriate hour to crawl out from under the pile of blankets on the couch.
I concur wholeheartedly as the earliest traces of dawn are but a smidge through the window, but I’m making my best attempt at being a good guest.
Tilly pours me a cup and slides it toward me. “Sorry, all we have is decaf right now.”
I grumble a couple of expletives under my breath then plaster on a smile. “Guess I’m heading to The Flowering Teapot for the good stuff before I head to The Horned Pearl. Going to need some proper caffeine if I’m required to be a functioning conversation partner while Calixta does my nails.”
“Sorry. If we had more of a heads-up I would’ve gotten you the decent stuff.”
“No worries,” I breathe out after a tepid sip. “While I’m in town later, I’m going to ask around about housing and if anyone knows of anything available. I love you, but I don’t love waking before the sun, nor do I love your couch.”
“Wait until you hear what we’ve done on that couch,” Tilly says, grinning over the lip of her cup.
A shudder works its way down my spine. “Don’t tell me you let me marinate in your sex juices all night. Ew.”
“It’s been washed, but if that’s going to be a problem for you, then I’m going to have to apologize for the kitchen counters too, and the table, and the—”
I hold up a hand as I cut her off. “I get it. I get it. Well, you got it is probably more apt.”
We descend into a fit of giggles as Bodin enters the kitchen. He heads straight for his wife and bends down to run a tusk up her neck, leaving a light red mark in its wake before he claims her mouth in a bruising kiss.
Taking that as my signal to leave the kitchen, I swiftly make myself scarce and burrow back under the blankets, pulling Anita into my lap as I sip at my decaf.
After a while, Bodin grunts his goodbye and Tilly waddles into the living room, rose-cheeked and glowing as she lowers herself into a seat with a contented sigh.
“You two are couple goals, you know? You look so happy it makes me sick,” I say, knowing Tilly understands my heart when I give awkward compliments like this.
“I know you don’t like relationships, or haven’t found someone worthy enough to be obsessed with. But, if you one day do meet someone, my wish for you is that they’d make you as happy as Bodin makes me,” Tilly says sincerely, running an appreciative hand over the marks going down her neck.
“Sickening, honestly,” I breathe out with a faux huff of annoyance.
We settle into a comfortable silence as my free hand strokes gently down Anita’s back. The little cuddle muffin snuggles closer until her snout rests under my shirt, her wet nose tickling my skin and warming my heart.
An apology is written across Tilly’s furrowed brow as she looks over at me.
“So, about the housing situation. Bodin talked to his mom last night while the girls were over. He wanted to catch up on anything he might have missed at the meeting. It seems like there aren’t a ton of options for you, but I’ll tell you about the ones you have. ”
I crack my neck like I’m getting ready for some kind of battle. “Hit me. Anywhere’s better than this couch.”
Tilly’s nose scrunches as she mutters hesitantly, “Aurelius offered his spare bedroom.”
“Mothman who propositioned you back in the day with his funky dick? That guy?” I ask, recalling the story of Tilly shooting him down so expertly.
Tilly’s nod is small. “That would be him. But he’s worked a lot on himself lately. And he’s seeing someone.”
I quirk a brow at her. “You mean the satyr who had his hands down Aurelius’s pants at The Singing Seahorse on the last karaoke night I was here for?”
“The one and only.”
Surely Tilly knows this isn’t a viable option—for anyone, except the satyr it seems. If I got propositioned like she did, I might just cut the guy’s dick off and shove it down his throat.
I might even rip his balls off too and shove them up his ass for good measure.
I think that would be frowned upon though.
Clearly Tilly is much more adept at handling situations like that than I am.
“Pass. Next.”
Tilly cringes through her next suggestion. “Uhm, we could kick Charlie out of Bodin’s old apartment and ask him to move in with Aurelius, then you could take his place above The Bandaged Heart?”
I’m already shaking my head. “The skittish hairy dude? Yeah, I know I have some bite to my words, but I never considered myself to be a purposefully mean person. And that move would be mean.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Tilly confirms softly.
Needing to tease my cousin a little, I say, “Just because you kicked Bodin out of this cottage when you moved to Starry Hill doesn’t give the rest of us the right to do that.”
“Hey, that’s a low blow.” Tilly chucks one of her colorful pillows at me and it sails over my head, hitting the wall with a light thump.
“It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?” I ask through a laugh, giving Tilly’s stomach a pointed look.
“Yeah, yeah” Tilly says, patting said stomach affectionately.
Looking up at me again, she fixes a smile on her face but the slight wince doesn’t escape me.
“Uhm, another room that was generously offered to you is Pierre’s attic.
Apparently it’s a little stuffy up there, but at least it’s not this couch? ”
My hope dwindles as I blow out a slow breath. “Not to sound like an ungrateful bitch or anything, but isn’t he the dude that shouts at people for getting frisky in town?”
“You know about that?”
I shrug. “Calixta and Beryl told me.”
“Bodin and I were also reprimanded before. But yeah, I don’t see you enjoying life much if you had to stay there. Especially if you were looking to entertain someone for an evening or two. Any prospects in that area?”
My mind instantly flashes toward Arran, to the look we shared last night, the way he didn’t flinch from my suggestive wink, but rather returned my stare with a glint of hunger limning his eyes.
As Arran stood out there in Tilly’s moonlit garden, flashes from the dreams he’s starred in flooded my mind, each one hitting me more fiercely than the one before until my heart was racing and my pussy weeping.
I didn’t miss the way Calixta’s eyes slid toward me, her succubus senses probably picking up on the spike in my arousal as my pussy pulsed at the thought of Arran’s fangs piercing my neck while I rode his long, thick fingers.
After the girls had gone back to their respective homes and Tilly and Bodin had retired to their room, only then did I allow myself to replay some of those delicious images.
Only because I love my cousin so much did I refrain from reaching for the stash of toys I brought with me. Respect and thankfulness for being my safety net, and all that.
What if I stayed with Arran again? Could that be why he was here last night? To offer me his spare bedroom?
First, though, I need to tell Tilly about our last little sleepover before I can broach the subject of possibly becoming her neighbor. Temporarily, of course.
When I’ve been quiet too long, Tilly prods me again. “Audrey?”
I place my empty cup on the side table and tuck Anita a little closer on my lap. “Talking about prospects, but not necessarily in a sexual way…”
“Yes?”
I keep my eyes on Anita, my hand gliding across her soft fur as I ask casually, “What if I stayed with Arran? In one of his spare bedrooms?”
“Arran?” The surprise in Tilly’s voice is bright. Too bright.
I narrow my eyes. “Why are you being weird?”
“Funny you should bring him up, because he’s your other option.”
Cocking my head to the side, I ask, “Why didn’t you say that in the beginning?”
“Look,” Tilly starts, raising both hands. “He offered you a room at the meeting yesterday. But I’m not sure if you’d like living in his castle.”
“Why not?” Having found nothing wrong with it before, and actually having enjoyed the charm of the old building, the big four-poster bed, the candlelit sconces, and the sweet gesture of Arran leaving a tray outside my bedroom, I feel a little defensive of the vampire, his home, and his hospitality.
Tilly’s brows shoot high up her forehead as she studies me. Then she starts ticking off on her fingers. “He doesn’t have any electricity. No modern luxuries. No lights, no TV, no phone—”
I see where Tilly’s going, so I interrupt, “Nowhere to charge my toys.”
“That too.”
“I might just ask him to help me out instead.” The words are out of my mouth before I can catch myself.
“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Tilly hedges after a beat.
“No. He’s hot.” In for a penny… “And older, which means he comes with experience. I bet he won’t need an instruction manual to find my clit. Plus, a girl’s got to find out what those fangs do, eh?”
Tilly relaxes into her seat, a sly smile pulling on her mouth as she tuts, “Oh, if you only knew.”
As a nurse practitioner, my cousin possesses extensive medical knowledge when it comes to the bountiful attributes of creatures.
She’s regaled me with a few stories over the years, some intriguing me, others intimidating me.
But when it comes to Arran, I think I might want to leave it up to spontaneous discovery—if it ever came to that.
“Don’t tell me,” I say, holding up a hand. “If anything were to happen, I’d rather find out in the moment. Unless it’s bad, then of course tell me.”
“Good choice. And I think you might be very pleasantly surprised by the fangs.” Before my brain can ponder that too long, Tilly’s gaze turns earnest. “Listen, Arran’s a bit of a loner, a little stuck in his ways, and he’s not particularly good with change.
But the guy has a good heart. Please don’t break it. ”
“Me? I’d never.” And I mean it.
Arran has been nice enough but I essentially don’t know him, so no one has to be concerned about any kind of romantic feelings between us. However, if it was late at night and I happened to trip and accidentally fall pussy first onto his cock, I certainly won’t complain.
I’m definitely not the type to need a meaningful emotional connection to find mutual release. If Arran is like that though, then I’d totally back off entertaining any more thoughts about his cock, and his fangs, and his hands, and…
Tilly settles a little deeper into her seat and tries to look as casual as can be as she asks, “So, when did you meet Arran? I can’t remember ever seeing you two talking.”
My shoulder lifts in a light shrug. “I might have stayed in his castle before.”
Tilly’s gasp is sharp and she leans as far forward as her very pregnant belly will allow. “You and Arran?”
“Before you get too excited, nothing happened.” Well, not physically.
My dreams ever since then are a completely different matter.
“After the last karaoke night I was here for, I went to Bodin’s old apartment, but found Charlie there.
He suggested I try Arran’s place. Since everyone was either asleep or busy hooking up at that time of the night, you included, I waltzed over and made myself comfortable in one of the castle’s spare bedrooms. He didn’t seem to mind, even left me water, cookies, and a lantern. ”
A slow grin spreads across Tilly’s lips and her eyes spark with a familiar lick of mischief that all the women in our family possess. “Well, what do you know? Seems like Arran is full of surprises.”
I can’t help but wonder what other kinds of surprises the handsome vampire has. “Seems so.”
“At this rate, you might surprise us all by finally convincing Arran to get a generator.”
I’m already shaking my head. “Hell no. I’m not imposing on the dude like that. I’m not telling him to change anything about his home or how he lives. Besides, I’ll probably be back home before the power thing actually starts to bother me.”
A small snort bubbles up from Tilly. “Sure. We can have this conversation again in a month.”
I pull Anita up onto my chest and let her nuzzle against my neck as I sigh out, “Tilly, it’s all temporary. Once the investigators have the proverbial smoking gun, I’ll be heading home on Shinsu’s boat.”
“But there’s no exact timeline for that,” my cousin counters. “My thoughts are that it’s better to be mentally prepared for all eventualities.”
I hate it when she makes sense. “At least Arran has running water.”
“That’s a very positive outlook to have. I approve.”
“Why thank you, Nurse Tilly. Flushing toilets do make me happy.”
Tilly braces her hands on the armrests as she pushes herself up. “Now I have to get to work. Will you pop into The Bandaged Heart while you’re in town? I’d like to go over your prescriptions and order your insulin just to ensure we have enough stock on hand.”
“Sure, I’ll swing by.”
Hesitating on her way out of the room, Tilly turns back toward me. “Not to pry or anything, but when do you plan on chatting to Arran?”
“Later. Need a shower first.”
“But you will talk to him?”
“Of course.” My lips twist into a devious grin. “Can’t risk another night on the jizz couch.”
Tilly’s grin matches mine. “Who knows, you and Arran might just make your own jizz couch in the castle.”
“Don’t give me ideas.”