Menace and Memory by Whitney Hill

Author:Whitney Hill [Hill, Whitney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: paranormal, fantasy, romance, vampire, urban, north, carolina
Publisher: Benu Media
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Lya

I could tell Cade wanted to ask questions, but his self-control extended to his tongue as well as everything else. I was determined to act like my mind wasn’t racing, whirling like a tornado on the question of what the fuck it meant that I might be offered terms.

“That went well,” I said as brightly as I could while keeping my voice below the level of the bar’s general buzz. There was an itchy feeling between my shoulder blades, like I was being watched, but Samarre and any others of my mother’s House would be keeping an eye on me now.

This wasn’t at all what I’d expected them to be here for. I pushed aside the ache in my heart as the thought of where my mum was crossed my mind. Not here. Not now.

“If you say so.” When Cade sipped his whiskey, he actually swallowed some of it, though whether he was making a point or just agitated, I didn’t know. “Gods, I miss whiskey.”

I leaned into his arm, glad for him to be playing along. “Does it make any difference when I drink it?”

“No. I don’t get a taste, just the effect.”

“Huh.” Maybe I should have been grossed out by the discussion of whether my blood took on flavors, but I really was curious about how it worked for him. “The effect as in…”

“Intoxication. Different than usual and shorter-lived.” He swirled his glass and took another sip. “I can’t truly get drunk off alcohol anymore. Only power. Everything else processes too quickly.”

“You know, it just occurred to me that I haven’t actually seen you power drunk.”

“That’s because you usually pass out in sated exhaustion, and I, being a sleepy drunk, join you for a nap.”

I laughed. “Is that why you’re always dozing after?”

He nodded, and if he’d had any blood tonight, I thought he might have blushed from the chagrined expression and the way he rubbed the back of his head. “If intoxication shows who you truly are, apparently all I want is to take a nap with the woman I love in my arms.”

Laughter burbled out of me again. What he’d said was sweet, but I couldn’t help it.

Cade just eyed me with a rueful smile. “Yeah. Big, scary reputation. Just want to have a lie down and a cuddle. I’m buzzing when I come out of it, but that first twenty minutes or so is like everything’s right with the world and I can finally rest.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why that’s so funny. It’s actually quite sweet.”

He shrugged. “It’s worth it to hear you laugh.”

I started to lean in to kiss him then froze when I spotted a figure over his shoulder, standing in the rain on the patio outside.

“What?” He twisted to follow my line of sight.

“Donatien.”

“Here?” Cade frowned. “I don’t see or smell him.”

“I swear to the Goddess, he was there. On the patio, watching us.” Maybe the itch between my shoulder blades hadn’t been Samarre but Donatien. I waited for Cade to ask if I was sure of what I’d seen, but he didn’t.

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