Page 4 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

I scoffed, but I was willing to give it a go. I wanted to make this work, and I would try my hardest to master the art of baking. After all, you just followed a recipe? How hard could it be?

Chapter Three

As I stared at my creation, I was a little in awe of it.

Nico stood beside me, his arm brushing mine. "I've never seen anyone with that much natural skill." He paused as we both gazed down at the tray. "That much natural skill at destroying something that should be foolproof."

I shook my head, poking at the burnt edges of the brownie, then swirling my finger around the still uncooked batter of the middle. It basically defied physics, and Nico was right, that was pure talent. I flopped forward, folding my arms on the stainless steel workbenches then pressing my forehead against them. This was a mistake. A massive, epic, failure. They'd write children's rhymes about how shitty I was. I'd kill the undead at this rate and a major case of Salmonella seemed like a bad way to go.

"What am I going to do?" I mumbled into my arms. "This was stupid. Maybe I should get someone else to reopen the store. Maybe you could do it and I could be counsellor?" I could work in that pop-culture horror show that Nico called an office.

He pulled me up, resting his hands on my shoulders. "You just need practice, and I am happy to do this over and over again until you get it right. First brownies, then a croque-en-bouche."

"Cock-in-what-now?"

Nico blessed me with another one of those smiles. "Not cock'n, croque en- you know what, don't mind that. You are going to master this, Raine, because you have conquered every other thing life has thrown at you and I know this is not even half as difficult as becoming a vampire and trying not to eat everything in sight."

Well, when he put it like that.

He stepped closer, his eyes so mesmerizing, I couldn't look away if I tried. "Raine, I'm going to kiss you. Would that be okay?"

Hell yes.

I didn't know if I said it out loud or just in my head, but I closed the gap between us. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine in what was an almost innocent gesture. Until his fangs scraped against my lower lip, the sting making me hiss and the taste of my own blood setting something off in my brain that I couldn't control. I deepened the kiss, purposefully piercing his lip with my own fangs. The taste of his blood hit me like a bus, knocking the breath from my lungs and flooding my veins like a shot of the 100 proof vodka that one of my classmates had snuck home from the Ukraine. My eyes crossed and I let out a ridiculous noise between a moan and a whimper. I wanted more.

More of his kisses.

More of his blood.

More of his body on mine.

My hands slid under his shirt, tracing the lean lines of his body, the slow taper of his waist into the hard muscles of his back. I pressed my nails into his shoulders.

"Raine," he gasped, dragging his lips away, and something about him being as breathless as me from our kiss made me preen. I caught his lips with mine again, sliding my tongue into his mouth, tasting him, teasing him, daring him to take more.

He growled low in his throat, his hands sliding down my back to grab my ass. Then he tore himself away. "Raine, I-" his body seemed to shudder. "I want to court you properly."

Ugh, I'd just had this issue with Walker, my sexy, yet upstanding, Sheriff lover. He had wanted to do it properly and I'd almost died without ever knowing exactly the depth of his love. I wouldn't make that mistake of waiting around with Nico, but I could respect his need to take it slow. So I dragged my hands from under his shirt and nodded. "Okay. We can do it slowly. We have eternity, right?"

A sad smile tugged at his lips and I desperately wanted to kiss it away. "It seems like I've been waiting for eternity already." He straightened, and pushed the tray of brownie monstrosity toward me. "Do you want to take these home or should we..."

"Trash them? Yeah, let's do that. I love the guys. I wouldn't want my cooking to be the thing that sends them permanently to the grave."

Nico laughed, cleaning up all the ingredients, still staring at the brownie like the failed cake would tell him where it went wrong. I could tell him where; the moment he put a wooden spoon in my hand, the whole recipe had gone wrong. I picked up the pan and took it to the trash can. Angeline had taken the time to empty it on her way out of town. She was considerate like that. Damn I missed her.

Wiping down the surfaces of the kitchen, because somehow I'd managed to get flour in places that I hadn't even been cooking, I shook my head. How was anyone ever going to forget that this had been someone else's dream that I'd stolen? Hell, if you added my friendship with Ella and Cresta, owner of the Boutique and Beauty Salon respectively, I sometimes felt like I'd stolen Angeline’s life.

When the place was sparkling and untouched again, I stood back. This was mine now. Beneath the guilt and dread, a trickle of excitement bubbled against my ribs.

"Let me treat you to lunch," Nico said softly, bringing me out of my thoughts. I nodded and walked back out through the shop. I threw a quick look at the library of books, looking glorious even in the dull street lights. I locked up the doors, pocketing the huge skeleton key.

Nico held out his arm, and I wrapped my hand around his bicep. “We will come back tomorrow and try again. Don’t be disheartened.” It was hard not to be a little disappointed that I wasn’t a baking goddess straight away, but anything worth learning was worth the time.

We strolled across the square human slow, enjoying the full moon on a perfectly clear night. Apparently everyone had the same idea today because the diner was almost filled to capacity with the lunch crowd. I spotted Judge at the counter, but I hesitated, looking over my shoulder at Nico. He smiled warmly, motioning me forward. “Let us go sit with your lover.”

“You don’t mind?”

He shook his head. “On the contrary, Raine.” He left it at that.

---