Page 14 of Mutual Obsessions

“I’d like to talk to both of you if I could about the charity, but first, where’s my friend, Cubby? I saw him with your nephew— Oh! Is he Stephen’s son? Neither of you looks old enough to be Rory’s father.”

See, I can be nice. He even said it himself. Go to the third floor and let me come out. I’ll talk to him since you’re too prim and proper to do it. I want to fuck him into the mattress. You want to read poetry with him and talk about flowers.

“No. Rory is Sabine’s son. He and Cubby were going to Biloxi for a few days to enjoy the beach. He should return by Thursday. I understand if you’re concerned about the pace of their relationship. I was surprised by it myself. Rory told me they’re going to get their own apartment when they return, which is sudden, I know, but in my experience, young love has a mind of its own.”

“You’re telling me Cubby is love struck and has thrown all common sense he had out the window? He graduated in the top five percent of our class, Etienne. I find it hard to believe Cubby fell in love so quickly." That shit only happened in movies.

“Matters of the heart are complicated. I’m sure Cubby will be in touch when they return to The Quarter. They wanted time alone to get to know each other, and Rory and Cubby live on the second floor with my sisters and Thomas. Not the privacy a new love deserves for it to blossom.”

Go upstairs and let me out. All this sickeningly sweet bullshit you’re spewing is about to make me puke. Go now, or I will scare the fuck out of everyone here by making an immediate appearance.

I could feel the beast growing inside me, and I knew he meant business. “Excuse me for a moment, Ryker. I need to attend to something. Have another drink.”

I hurried back through the kitchen and up the stairs to my rooms on the third floor. I stood in the middle of the room and relinquished control. “Thank you, Etienne. Give me my sight.”

This time, it was me without a voice. No. You know the deal. If you can’t easily see the humans, you won’t harm them!

“You are truly an idiot sometimes, Etienne.” He counted the steps to the table where I kept his white cane because I refused to relinquish sight to him. We’d played the game for centuries, and I didn’t see us changing things now.

Stephen

I patted my hands down the body I shared with Etienne. The lace and the ruffles were too much for me, so I went to my closet and found an outfit to my liking. A pair of leather slacks and a silk shirt. I slid my feet into the leather monk strap boots we’d fought about and stretched my fangs because I could.

Once I was ready, I grabbed my cane and went downstairs, tapping as I made my way through the kitchen, restaurant, and into the bar. I’d forgotten to ask which stool Etienne had occupied, so I followed my nose.

Etienne thought he could trip me up by not sharing certain aspects of our unfortunate existence because he believed himself to be the supreme vampire, but if it wasn’t for me, he’d have been dead as a doornail after that dust up with Killian’s beast. I had to give Etienne credit. He’d put up a hell of a fight that night until he nearly got our head ripped off, which was when he released me. I’d taken care of the problem in short order.

If I could get Etienne to see that sharing mutual time with me would be more productive, we could peacefully co-exist. He refused to see it as a workable solution because of Killian’s horrific behavior. He was convinced all the beasts behaved in that fashion. I was a much more dignified beast than Killian’s. Etienne and I were far more alike than he wanted to admit.

Once Ryker’s scent hit my nose, I followed it to the beautiful human with the intoxicating pheromones. “I’m sorry I didn’t come down sooner. Etienne didn’t tell me until a moment ago that you were here. What are we drinking?” I carefully sat on the stool next to the sexy man and folded my cane.

That was the one thing Etienne had over me. He could restrict my eyesight if he wished, and he did it most of the time just to be an asshole. He gave me free rein when we were hunting because he benefited from my actions. The rest of the time, he didn’t trust me. I believed him to be a control freak, but I kept that to myself.

“Etienne, this is ridiculous. Take out those stupid contacts and talk to me. And you changed clothes for what?”

God, the man was glorious. I’d seen his smile through Etienne’s eyes the night Ryker and Cubby came to the restaurant for dinner, and it lit up the room. Etienne and I agreed on that one. Ryker was a beautiful human.

“I promise you, Ryker, these are not contacts. I truly cannot see. Hence the cane.” I tapped it on the bar for emphasis.

“Stephen. What can I get you to drink?” Sabine was one of the bright lights in my abysmal world. She and Etienne had attempted a relationship long ago, and things were going very well until Sabine wanted things to become sexual between them. That wasn’t where Etienne shined, so it wasn’t surprising that her beast tried to court me. When I rejected her, Sabine and Etienne stopped seeing each other because Sabine merged with her beast to look for another lover.

I’d made it known to all in my coven that I was only interested in men, which had been met with mixed reactions. Etienne still hid his sexuality like it was a dirty secret. He had for years. I loved to flaunt my attraction to men at every opportunity just to piss Etienne off. I’d tried to help him with Farrah, but she still died by her own hand. Etienne had held it against me ever since.

“Whiskey, please, Sabine.” I then turned my face toward Ryker. “Do you like Giles Danvert? Seems like an uppity asshole.”

Ryker’s deep laugh made me smile. “I shouldn’t say anything against a man you’re interested in hiring to establish a nonprofit organization. What exactly are you hoping to accomplish with your new endeavor?”

Not directly answering the question. Very diplomatic. The sound of Etienne’s voice in my head was like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Sabine placed the glass on the bar next to my hand, and the pungent scent of the alcohol tickled my nose. I got no buzz from the whiskey, but I did love the smell. Etienne had been a prohibitionist back in the day, and he still believed liquor was the undoing of humankind, though he had loved his wine during his human days. Myself, I loved the taste of hard liquor. It was even better through a human source as it overtook their bloodstream. That was a great fucking time—literally.

“As Etienne conveyed, we have money lying around that could do some good in the community. You impressed him with your passion project comment. Etienne came to me with the idea of hiring your firm to help file the paperwork to establish a nonprofit because we don’t know how to begin the process, but I made certain to ask Giles Danvert that you be involved. I hope I didn’t do anything detrimental to your future at Danvert & Rogers.”

Ryker was quiet.

“Did I say something to upset you? I can’t see your face, which means I can’t read your body language.”

Don’t you dare try to take him away from me. He wants to be friends with me. He won’t tolerate your crassness or deviancy.

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