Page 15 of Little Wing
Holy fuck—there’s no way! He's still doing this?!
“Kait!” I hissed and quickly spun around, tapping the counter to get her attention. “That man—do you recognize him? He’s been showing up at the bookstore and here and I swear, I think he’s legitimately following me. At what point is this labeled as stalking?”
The smile that spread across her face was wild. It was all teeth and dimples that led me to believe I was asking a question that shewas waiting to hear leave my lips. You’ve got to be kidding me. This couldn’t be real.
“He’s also been buying you drinks for the last two weeks.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please don’t remind me.”
“You know ever since that night you basically ran out of here, he’s been showing up almost every day. All this talk of witches—did you put a spell on him or something?”
“I did no such thing!” I yelped. I clutched my glass tighter and let myself steal one more look at him only to find that he was leaning back in my usual booth with just enough space for another person. He held up his drink and smiled a smile so sly and cunning and… disgustingly handsome.
Kait leaned forward and topped off my drink before shrugging. “I’ve got your back, Lo. If he tries something funny, you know I have no problem bringing out my bat. Betsy could use some fresh air.” She nodded, looking over her shoulder to the bat she kept behind her bar.
“Um… thanks.” I could have left and gone back home, sure, but this was my favorite place to be, and I wasn’t about to let some man—some vampire—push me out. No way. I grabbed my drink and my bag and shimmied through the crowd listening to the man with scruffy hair singing sad songs about his ex-girlfriend. At least that’s what it usually was.
I paused at my usual table where Silas was seated. I lifted my drink and one eyebrow, flashing a glare of annoyance. “Cheers.”
“Cheers, Lotus. What a coincidence that we meet again. Here,” he patted the seat beside him. “Want to join me? I think this guy is about to start crying.”
I looked at the empty seat beside him for a second longer. Sitting down wouldn’t hurt. Talking wouldn’t hurt. This was completely harmless. And if it wasn’t, then Kait would come marching with “Betsy.” I would just use this as an opportunity to find out why he’s been showing up wherever I was.
I sat beside him and kept my attention on the small stage just a few tables in front of us. I could feel his full attention on me. The change in energy was truly palpable.
“What’s your drink of choice?” he asked, glancing at my hand that I kept wrapped around my glass. “I’ve been sending some of my favorites your way these past few weeks and you’ve sent them all back.”
“Red,” I responded quickly.
“Blood?”
My lips pressed tightly just as I squeezed the base of my glass with two fingers, using them to drag it closer to me.
“Hmm,” Silas chuckled softly, the sound finally urging my eyes to meet his. Gods, those eyes. When we were turned, our human eye color was stripped and replaced with something truly inhuman. It was one of the first ways that people could identify a vampire and even get a hint of how they were turned. But his eyes were mesmerizing. It took me a long time to realize not all of us would awaken with eyes that were ruby like mine and Luca’s.
“And yours?” I finally uttered, forcing my eyes out of his gaze.
“AB negative. Has a nice aftertaste, if I do say so myself.”
I brought my glass back to my lips and sipped slowly, glancing at him for a brief moment to find him staring again.
“I can feel that, you know?”
Without addressing my observation, he shifted in his seat and rested his arm on the cushion of the booth. I watched the way his body flexed—his clothes weren’t keeping anything a secret. “When’s your birthday?”
“Huh?”
“Your birthday, Lotus. Just want to make sure I’m not missing an opportunity to order you a treat, so Kait can serenade you.”
“September,” I responded quickly.
“Year?”
“I thought vampires were supposed to have manners. No one taught you not to ask a lady’s age?”
“We’re still doing that?” He outwardly laughed and palmed a hand through his brown hair. “You’re good, you know that?”
“At calling you out on your bullshit?” I smirked. This back and forth; I didn’t want to admit it, but I liked it. I liked the way he challenged me. Okay, maybe he wasn’t after my head, but it didn’t mean Reina was right. I wasn’t about to jump into someone’s lap just because they matched my wit.
