Page 12 of Magic Pussy

Luke wrinkled his nose. He’d never liked vampires.

To his great dissatisfaction, Rain led him to a bar that smelled of them everywhere.

He swept the room and found only one vampire, but still, the stench lingered, assaulting his nostrils.

Following the direction of his stare, Rain’s attention went to the guy skulking close to the bar.

Vamps had a thing for skulking. Or brooding.

“Charles,” she said with a sigh.

The vamp had been pretty far, and the chatter, as well as the music, should have been loud enough to cover her voice, but he lifted his head like someone had shouted his name. He lit up and winked toward Rain, mouthing, "drinks on me".

"No thanks, I like my vodka without poison," she replied without raising her voice.

Charles' smile bared his canines openly. Luke didn't like that one bit; they might be playing, but no one should even pretend to threaten Rain Phillips. Not while he was near her.

The possessiveness had always been there, but somehow it had gotten worse over the last few hours. He couldn't tell if it was because they were together without the others for the first time, because he'd never really spoken to her before, or because they were standing much closer than they usually were, but she felt like she was his responsibility, his to protect as part of his pride. Just, his.

His grumpy cheetah concurred.

Rain's phone vibrated, and she checked its screen. Her face lit up when she told him that Sara was on her way.

"What is she like?" Luke asked as they made their way to the bar.

Just to hear her speak, or mainly to distract himself from the vamp who was still watching them with interest. Luke could feel his gaze.

Rain lit up when she spoke about her little sister. "Ditzy, adorable, artistic, clumsy--take your pick. Michelle has always been the serious one, and I was the wild one. By the time Sara came along, our mother had given up attempting to tame her kids. She just dotted on Sara, without expecting too much from her, so she's very carefree."

It was obvious that she loved the girl. Rain surprising him by returning the question. "And you? I know you lost your direct family, but do you have anyone left?"

Luke closed off. He could practically feel his face becoming harder, darker.

"No." His tone had changed too. "Ajax is nothing if not thorough. He promised that all Halls would die for what my brother did, and he delivered."

Rain shook her head in disbelief. "And your brother just stole his girlfriend, right?"

Luke hesitated. He hadn't gotten into any detail with the pride; no one had asked, and he certainly hadn't wanted to volunteer that sort of information.

"It's a lot more complicated than that," he started, feeling a little awkward.

But Rain had offered to tell him more about her, and he wanted her to loosen her tongue.

"You're supposed to share your deepest, darkest secrets, remember? How about, you tell me yours, then I'll tell you mine."

The Brat and the Fool

Rain sighed. "Okay, that's fair. So, here's the deal: I was a huge brat. The worst. Michelle can't stand me, and she has every right to feel that way. And I can't stand being with her because it reminds me of who I was."

Luke couldn't imagine Rain doing anything that warranted her sister's animosity.

"Like what, what did you do, steal her pocket money and tell tales on her?" he shrugged. "That's pretty normal, you know."

"Stole her boyfriend, her fiancé, her father's attention, and aimed to take her rightful place at the head of the coven. I also cursed her the day of her exams, once; made her skin blue. She had a choice between going to high school like that, trying to find a counter-curse in under an hour, or not passing her final tests. She ended up going, but the world is still making fun of her over that one."

Oh.

Luke shut it. That wasn't a list of cute, fun things kids did. It seemed mean-spirited.

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