Page 3 of The Vampire and the Case of the Cursed Canine

Mum stared at me, judging me, until I grew uncomfortable. Not only was my dog inappropriately large, he wasn’t papered and pampered. Arabella had pink nails, for Pete's sake. ‘Hmmm,’ she said finally.

‘Your room is this way,’ I said hastily to distract her from making more complaints about Fluffy.

The spare bedroom had a bed, a dresser and a walk-in wardrobe; it was rather plain but luckily it was clean and prepared with fresh bedding. ‘Oh my,’ Mum said faintly. ‘It is rather basic.’

Did she expect the Ritz? I bit my cheek and cleared my throat. ‘It’s not much but it’s mine.’ And her comment in the car had been right: it was much better than my miniscule studio flat back in London.

There was a ruckus from the kitchen – high-pitched barking and a kitten screaming. I ran out to save Shadow, but I should have known better because my lynx kitten Shadow wasn’t in any danger – he was creating it. All puffed up, with his stubby little tail looking like a pom-pom, he had Arabella trapped in a corner. His claws were extended and his attitude was sassy. Whoops: Shadow could definitely eat Arabella if he wanted to.

I hastily scooped him up before Mum could see him threatening her darling. No doubt Arabella had done something to provoke the fight because Shadow was a chilled-out lynx – unless you were the beast beyond the barrier and then he was a warrior of epic proportions.

I deposited him with Fluffy. ‘Keep an eye on him and don’t let him go Rambo on Arabella,’ I murmured to my dog. He barked and sat to attention.

I went out to help John and Connor bring in the remaining bags from the sports car then lugged them to Mum’s room, stacking them in a row like a mini-Wall of China. And to think there were still twice as many bags at the docks … I shook my head in disbelief at her sheer excess.

I left my mother to potter with her bags and went to complete the next British ritual in welcoming a guest: making them a cup of tea. For her and me, it was our favourite form of familial pretence.

By the time I’d prepared the tea the way Mum required, Lee had arrived with the rest of the bags. A quick glance outside showed the monstrous size of the vehicle that had been necessary. I caught Connor’s eye and mouthed a quick thank you. He smiled warmly, melting me with his icy blue eyes.

After we’d unloaded, I snagged him and tugged him into my bedroom. As I kissed him, the reassuring zing shot through me; where once it had been a torment, now it was a comfort.

I drew back. ‘I’m not sure I can cope with this. With her.’

He tucked some stray hair behind my ear. ‘Bunny, you’re the law around here. You’re strong, fiercely independent, totally contrary, incredibly clever and kind to boot. I am grateful to your mother for birthing you – but say the word and I’ll run her out of town quicker than you can say “Fuck awf!” in your cute British accent.’

I grinned. ‘I can say it pretty fast.’

‘I know.’

I blew out a breath; it felt like that was all I’d done since Mum had arrived – deep breathing and sighing.

He was right; she was getting under my skin and making me forget all I’d done, all I’d become. I was a new Bunny, and she didn’t know this one; she wasn’t going to stomp all over me, like she’d done my whole life. I was going to be polite, respectful – and firm.

I kissed Connor again. ‘You’re the best. Do you know whether Mum has found a place for John to stay?’

He shook his head. ‘Not with me, but we have facilities. I’ll run him out to Kamluck and set him up in the barracks before dawn. I didn’t see a daylight charm on him.’

‘Thanks. You're the best boyfriend ever.’

He looked amused. ‘I’m not sure the boyfriend label fits me. You’ll eventually have to tell her that we’re more than that.’

‘I know, but she’s ped. It’ll take a bit of explaining.’

‘Plenty of peds believe in soulmates,’ he pointed out.

‘True.’ Although I agreed, I was pretty certain that Mum wasn’t one of them. I couldn’t recall seeing my parents ever kiss – heck, they barely touched – but everyone’s relationships were different; what you saw on the surface might be very different from what went on behind closed doors. I found myself hoping that Mum and Dad were affectionate to each other when they were alone because if they weren’t…? I shook my head. To go through life with such coldness was no way to live.

‘I’ll grab John after a cup of tea,’ Connor offered.

I kissed him more firmly and mentioned out loud what I’d thought earlier. ‘How about we leave John and Mum here, and Fluffy, Shadow and I come and live with you?’

His eyes heated up. ‘Don’t tease me,’ he growled. ‘I’d love that, but we both know you can’t.’

I sighed. ‘I know, but it was worth a shot.’

‘We should go back out there.’ Connor was still looking at me like I was lunch. ‘But first, a quick lesson in not teasing me…’ His lips touched mine and this time the zing was so hard I gasped. Could he control its force? My head swam and the kiss left me heated and panting.

He drew back and assessed the state of me with a satisfied smirk. ‘Tea time.’

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