Page 13 of Poison's Kiss
"Do me?" he chirps, menace in his eyes.
He never stops with the innuendo, but I walk over and wave my hand to dry his clothes and hair as well.
"Much better," he says with a sigh. "So... now you're living next door to the night stalker who can't be barred by magic? Is that wise?"
Gage flops down on the couch and flips on the TV while bringing out his phone. "No, but it's better than staying in Castine's old home or right next door to there. She's got another place picked out. We're just waiting on the paperwork to run through."
Thad lets a derisive snort free. "It's funny how you keep referring to the two of you as a pair when you're obviously not together."
"Please don't start," I groan, not allowing Gage's witty retort to escape.
They both tighten their lips as a ruckus stirs outside close to the open window, allowing the sound to penetrate the soundproofed home. I rush over to view it without thinking about who it might be.
Kane is fighting with Zee, both of them shirtless in front of the lake. I realize quickly it's not a real fight - it's more of a training session.
My heart flutters in my chest as I stare at the perfection of the immortal body I never should have known so intimately. So many times I knew he was too perfect to be human. I knew a body that divine had to belong to an immortal, but I refused to acknowledge the obvious.
"He really wants Castine, doesn't he?" Thad says as he joins me on Gage's bed.
"Apparently so. What else do we know about her?"
Gage walks in to answer that. "She was blessed with more gifts than I can cipher, all of which were given to her by our kind. I'm not sure what the hell those assholes were thinking, but they made her too damn strong. Though Kane is obviously much stronger than your average night stalker, he still isn't strong enough to take her."
"We don't know that," Thad interjects. "What he did to us... I could tell he was holding back. If he hadn't been, that shit could have gotten ugly very fast."
Sighing, I drop back onto Gage's bed just as the sun disappears from the sky.
"I wish you had sniffed out his night stalker side," I grumble to Thad.
"I wish I had that ability. I can only smell night stalkers when we're both in changed form. When they're in their human facade, their scent is totally different. The same goes for everyone, including you. Your scent will be different when you hit the immortal change and then go all witchy. You'll still smell like you when you're playing human."
"Witchy?" I ask, grinning.
"Witchy," Thad repeats, shrugging. "I have to track in changed form, but the scent has to be strong. Lycans can track in human form and follow a faint trail, but like all of us, they can't sniff out fey power unless the fey is in changed form."
"So, basically it's the same as auras," I grumble.
"Auras?" he muses, tilting his head to the side. "I wouldn't know. Changers can't read auras. We can only feel the effects of what you put off."
He adjusts his pants, winking menacingly.
"Such an ass," Gage mumbles, and then he turns to me. "It's different from auras. You can't read a fey's power unless they drop their guard intentionally. Even if they're in changed form, you still can't read their aura unless they want you to. You can sometimes see their emotions, but only if it's a very extreme emotion. It's the same even with humans. Unless you've got an aura stain... like yours. Then everyone either sees it or feels it."
Great. A tainted aura. I almost forgot. Thad's crude gesture now makes a little more sense. I have to figure out how to cap this off.
"I wonder why my aura stain isn't affecting their coven," I say while motioning toward Kane's house. "None of them even seemed to notice it."
"You won't affect women unless they prefer women," Thad explains, a devilishly excited gleam to his eyes. "As for the lads, they should have felt it. It's likely they'd never admit it though. If they've never come into contact with a mortal bonded to an immortal, they wouldn't even know what it was."
"He knew," I mumble, self loathing digging its claws in. "That's why he did it, more than likely."
He only claimed to have not known I was a virgin. That slimy bastard. Gah! Why can't I just hate him.
Gage discreetly shifts, doing his best not to let me see how affected he is. This is terrible. I just wanted a normal life for a little while, and instead, I threw myself into the most ridiculous immortal drama I can imagine.
"I have to go get ready for the ball. I'll see you guys there," Thad says as he leans over and kisses my forehead.
I giggle a little when his lips quickly find mine in a surprise attack, and then he rushes out of the room before Gage can scold him.
