Page 21 of The Firebrand
“Indigo, I asked you not to bother anything,” said Alarik.
“You did?” With pirouetting eyes and an innocent grin, she tugged on a coil of wild, black hair that broke free of the Yankee’s baseball cap perched on her head. “Surely you didn’t mean it.”
When she spotted Rein, she leaped from the chair. Running to him, she locked her fingers behind his neck to plant kisses on his jaw. With him at arm’s length, she pinched his cheeks.
A smile teased the serious vampire’s lips, the skin around his eyes crinkling.
Handsome before? Now he was irresistible.
“Boyo!” the mysterious woman shrieked. “Isn’t it great to see me?” She signaled for him to bend down. When he did, she gave him one last peck on the nose.
Rein’s face pinkened. “Yes, Auntie.”
She sprang into the air, her arm high, coming down slam-dunk style. “Swoosh.” Over fifteen beaded bracelets tinkled like a musical interlude.
She fluffed a brightly colored gypsy skirt, her unlaced combat boots peeking out beneath it. A blue T-shirt topped off the bohemian outfit.
Hands on her hips, she sized up Braelyn before rushing her, squeezing her in a grizzly-bear hug and pushing air right out of her lungs. “Yes, you’ll do.”
Oomph.
“I’m Indigo. Alarik’s sister. Rein’s auntie.”
She sniffed at Braelyn’s neck. Her shoulder. “Hmm.” She sidled over to Rein, taking a whiff of him. “I know that smell.” She clapped her hands, dancing around the office, her bracelets jingling a happy ditty. “Arousal.”
“Auntie, don’t stir up trouble. You can’t smell arousal.”
A blushing Braelyn waited for Rein to bristle or pop off with some snappish answer. Instead, he laughed, a deep, joyful sound.
“Oh, you think you know everything. Pshaw. Come, chickadees. Sit down.” Indigo directed them to two chairs in front of Alarik’s desk. She roosted on the arm of Rein’s seat.
“Indigo, dear, this is business. Could you leave us?” Alarik stacked papers, trying to re-establish order in his space.
“No, I couldn’t. And I just love business.” She winked at Rein.
The often-angry vampire kidnapper ate up Indigo’s defiance, and while he was standoffish with his father, he was warm toward his aunt.
Interesting.
Though Alarik sighed, he made no move to shove Indigo out the door. “You were saying, Braelyn?”
She rolled her eyes upward, searching for the thread of conversation. “Yes. About my father’s online tabloid. Nobody who writes forStrange but Trueis a journalist, but I’m studying to become one. In the meantime, I earn money where I can. Wait a minute. I’ve interviewed hundreds of people who were convinced aliens exist. My favorite story came from an aging, dark-haired, brown-eyed Kansas woman who told me a demon had seduced her in her dreams. Her sexy lover visited her every night for a week. Nine months later, she gave birth to a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. The little kid, supposedly the spitting image of the demon daddy, pranced into the kitchen as proof. Holy hell. Excuse my language, but I bet some of those stories were true. Maybe crazy Kansas lady was right.”
“No, definitely false. Few Aeternals cross to Earth.” Rein shut down her musings with a quick answer.
“Liar, liar, pants on fire. They do, Boyo.” Indigo searched her pockets, withdrew a shiny package, unwrapped it, and shoved a piece of gum into her mouth. She offered some to Braelyn, who shook her head. “I’ve enjoyed a male or two on Earth myself. There’s this stud who works in aeronautics in California. When the need arises…” Indigo leaned over to pat Braelyn’s hand. “You understand, chickadee. Anyhoo, I visit him because he’s got a mean rocket thruster. I doubt he calls your paper to complain about my spaceport, though. At least, he never complains while I’m there.” She fist-bumped Rein’s shoulder.
“Sister, this young lady does not want to hear about your sexual conquests.”
“What do you think, Boyo?”
Rein squirmed in his seat.
“So, some stories I have reported might be true? How about werewolves rob a bank?”
“Not werewolves.” Rein crossed an ankle over his opposite knee, his mouth a grim line. “Wolf shifters. The Alliance called in the Firebrands for an assist. Commander Nace in the Northern Stronghold sent his warriors on the capture-or-kill mission.”
“How about the young woman seduced in her sleep by the devil? That was a story I covered about four months ago. The lady was quite convincing, no fuzzy-brain indicators.”
