Page 23 of Soul Sucker

Despite her arrogance, Ella appealed to him at some visceral level he didn’t really want to contemplate at this point. He imagined her waiting in bed for him to come out of the shower, of how soft her body would feel against his hardness, how she’d probably make him laugh…

When he came out of the shower, his cell was lit up and he paused to read the text from Alexei. “Guess who I found in the bar? Our favorite empath and one of her buddies. Come down and say hi.”

“What was that about me cramping his style?” he asked his reflection. He rubbed his wet hair with a towel, and then carefully folded the towel and placed it on a chair. He was too tired to pretend to be charming to anyone, let alone an empath. He’d have to shield all his thoughts and that took energy he just didn’t have. He stalked into the steamy bathroom, put the bath mat away, and scrubbed at the steam on the mirror. Damn, he looked like shit. That settled it. There was no way he was going anywhere near that bar or that damned empath.

* * *

“He sounds okay,doesn’t he? His name is Peter.”

Ella read the letter from OCOS and then glanced up at Laney. Her redheaded friend was sitting bolt upright on the bar stool, her long legs twined around the central pole. She wore a flowery dress and red shoes with four-inch heels that Ella seriously coveted. They were seated in the recently restored Gold Rush Hotel bar which was awash with crimson, gold and stained glass fixtures and fittings that somehow suited Laney to a T. The bar was getting busy and it was hard to hear above the congenial roar.

“Yeah, he sounds great.” Ella wasn’t lying. The guy chosen for Laney was college educated, had a full time job, coached junior soccer in his spare time and liked a lot of the things Laney liked. His heritage was the minimum requirement for the mating program of one-sixteenth Otherworld, which meant he’d be pretty normal by human standards. “He plays the guitar and loves modern art.”

“I know,” breathed Laney. “He sounds adorable.”

“Are you going to meet up with him then?”

“He lives in Chicago, so we’re going to try and hook up over the internet and take it from there.”

“That’s great.”

Laney grabbed her hand. “You really mean it?”

“If this is what you want, then you should go for it.”

Laney let out her breath, picked up her cocktail glass and toasted Ella. “I’m so glad you approve.”

“You don’t need my approval, hon.”

Laney’s blue eyes filled with tears. “I know but we’ve always done everything together, and we always said we’d go out in a blaze of glory over the side of the Golden Gate Bridge.”

“Things change, Laney. We have to do what we have to do.”

Laney put her glass back down on the bar and fixed her gaze on Ella. “So how about you?”

“I’m not sure yet. I still have some time to think about it.”

“About three and a half weeks by my math. My birthday is less than a month before yours.”

“Okay, then a few weeks.” Ella fidgeted with her coaster. “I don’t know, Laney. I’m not sure I want to keep doing this anyway.”

“So you’d rather go quietly mad?”

Ella finished her cocktail and looked longingly for the bartender. “Don’t push me, hon. I’m happy for you, but let me make my own choice on this, okay?”

“Okay, sweetness, but you know where I am.” Laney turned toward the bar and the bartender appeared instantly. “Two more chocolate martinis please.”

“Coming right up.”

Sometimes she suspected that Laney had Fae in her ancestry. She had the ability to command the attention of bar staff, find parking spots and helpful shop assistants with a mere blink of the eye. It was a skill Ella definitely lacked. She still got asked to show ID to prove she was old enough to drink.

A flash of motion in the mirror behind the bar made her turn in her seat. She nudged Laney. “Are you up for a little company?”

“Sure. Who is it?”

“My favorite Russian.”

“The new guy you mentioned from work?”

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