Page 45 of Fangs and Fudge

I started to nod then stopped myself. “Wait. No. I’m showering because the werewolves keep smelling you on me.”

“Yeah, and that’s a problem,” Vena said from the other side of the door. “So stop being pervy, and let Everly shower alone. And there better not be any bite marks on her.”

Cross’ eyes flashed black briefly, and he let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Must you live with her?” he asked. “I swear she was a fishmonger’s wife in a past life.”

“I must,” I said. “Now close your eyes.”

When I’d slipped, he’d pulled me against him, so all my nakedness was plastered against his tailored self and was currently hidden from his view. I wanted to keep it that way.

He turned his head and looked at us in the mirror over the sink.

“This is a memory that will stay with me through the ages,” he said.

My face flushed.

“Close your eyes or lose them,” I warned.

He chuckled and closed his eyes. Then he had the decency to take my hand and help me straighten so I wouldn’t slip again.

Once I was behind the curtain, he said, “I will wait for you in the living room.”

The door opened and closed again. I did my best to scrub every inch of my front that had been in contact with him. When I reemerged, dressed and my hair towel dried, he was waiting for me in the living room with Vena.

“MC could smell Cross on you,” Vena said. “He pulled me outside because he’s worried you’re under vampire influence like Sierra is. He told me what to watch for. Obsessive behavior. Flash anger. Disappearing in the middle of the night. Stuff like that.” She turned to look at Cross. “We really need you to stop touching Everly.”

Ignoring her, Cross watched me sit on the couch.

“Let them worry,” he said. “They’ll keep you safer because of it.”

“Well, when he says it like that…” Vena uncrossed her arms. “Fine. But no biting. I’m serious on that one.”

“Don’t worry. I fed well last night while looking for your Anchor.”

Vena and I both made faces.

“Yes, I found it rather distasteful, too.” He shook his head. “The sex games the fae play hold very little interest to my kind, but feeding from her was the only way the fae woman would speak to me.”

“Hold up,” Vena said. “Did you have sex with a fae last night?”

“No. I fed from her while her partner brought her pleasure.”

Vena sat and propped her chin on her hand. “You have my attention. I need details.”

“No, she doesn’t,” I said. “Did you find anything about Anchor?”

“I found the werewolves are not the only ones having trouble with the vampires. It seems the vampires had made a deal with the fae here. In exchange for their occasional services in securing sexually uninhibited humans, the fae would help the vampires hide their presence from the werewolves. However, the vampires have recently stopped keeping their end of the bargain. Which is why the woman was willing to speak to me. The fae are growing hungry again.”

Vena and I shared a look. “Hungry? What do you mean?”

Cross smiled slightly. “As I said, there’s a reason the races hid in the shadows for so long. The fae are not as innocent or as benevolent as they would have humans believe. They crave human carnal pleasure. They feed off of it. But don’t worry. The humans they currently have should last them for several more weeks before they need to be released.”

“Damn,” Vena said under her breath.

I couldn’t agree more and touched my chest where my charm hung.

“Could the fae have taken Anchor?” Vena asked. “You said he smelled like lust.”

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