Page 28 of Grave Curse

Her growl was pure comedy. “I guess.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“Look, I know this is probably just a random shot in the dark, but, um… You didn’t send me anything like a… a care package? Not that I think you actuallycare,” she added hastily before I could even open my mouth. “And you know what? Now that Ithink about it, I don’t think it was you. Because youdon’tcare—not about me or my health. Not to mention you had no clue I would need a care package like the one I got this morning, so you know what? Forget I even called.”

“Did you like it, Snap?” I lowered my voice, because that’s exactly what I’d do if she were in the room with me, and I could press my mouth against her ear. Breathe her in. Listen to her breath hitch to a tremulous halt. “Tell me you liked it.”

There was a heavy beat of silence. “What?”

“What was your favorite item? The sunglasses? Do yourself a favor and try the Alka Seltzer before anything else. I know it’s gross, but I swear by that shit after a night of hard drinking. Then maybe go for a few crackers to soak up the acid in the stomach, and a banana for some much-needed potassium. I know you don’t like Gatorade, but it’s probably better for you than just pure water, though you should carry that Fiji bottle around with you today as well. Oh, and if you’ve got a problem with any of this, I want you to know my door is always open for you, so feel free to come and find me. I’d fucking love that.”

“You…” She couldn’t seem to find her voice. “It wasyou?”

“Oh, and before I forget, you should probably wear a turtleneck today.”

“Wait, what? A turtleneck? Why?”

“You were so soft and sweet last night, I couldn’t resist. Your hair would probably cover my mark, but unless you want to show it off, a turtleneck is the only foolproof way to keep that mark just between us. And for now,just between usis how it has to be.” With that, I hung up and headed out.

I had to find out all about Olive and her big brother Red Flag.

Chapter Eight

We’re Monsters Too

Ginger

My car looked the same.

My shop looked the same.

When I looked in the mirror, my reflection was as it had always been.

But everything was different now.Everything.

Last night was a blur. I barely had a memory of making it to bed, but I did remember how the mattress began to spin the moment I laid down. Then I couldn’t find the floor—something that normally would have made me snort with laughter. But after that, everything faded into fuzziness. All I remembered for sure was feeling warm and safe and… loved.

Loved?

Never. The very idea made me laugh, and not in a fun way. I didn’t know what love was, not even in a familial way, since Audrey had been the worst mother ever. There was no way I would have known what it felt like to be loved.

Funny thing, though.Lovewas exactly what it had felt like. Which was why I had assumed it had just been a dream. I doubt I would have even remembered someone being in bed with me if Tyr hadn’t mentioned the hickey he’d left on my neck.

Warmth flooded through me to pinpoint on that painless bruise where neck met shoulder, now safely covered in a white turtleneck. I’d needed both a handheld mirror and the bathroom mirror to see the hickey he’d put on me, and it was one heck of a sight—bright reddish purple against the whiteness of my redhead’s skin. I thought I’d dreamed about that love bite too, aswell as a fever-hot body I’d thought was a wall lying on top me like I was his favorite brand of mattress.

But it had been real.

All of it.

Scarlet and orange leaves swirled by as I unlocked Vixen’s Den and turned on the OPEN sign. There were several facts I needed to face on this blustery October day. One, Tyr had obviously known I’d gone out with Roxie last night and tied one on. He’d been ready to help me deal with the spinnies, and the hangover care package he’d sent told me he knew what crappy shape I’d be in this morning. That meant only one thing.

Tyr was watching me.

I shivered and looked around the shop’s front room as if expecting to see spies lurking in the racks of bedazzled thongs or maybe behind the sequined pasties display. When I’d first moved out on my own, Tyr had assigned a security detail to me. It had been a young prospect, a bad idea if there ever was one, because young guys thought with their dicks. Older guys did too, but at least they had some experience in overruling that particular appendage. This prospect had zero experience in curbing his primal urges, so when he followed me to a movie theater downtown, I easily persuaded him to follow me into a bathroom for a little “fun.” In short order I’d talked him out of his clothes, claiming that it made me hot to watch men undress. Then I stole every last stitch and busted out of there as fast as I could, and I didn’t stop running until I was in Tyr’s office to dump the pile of clothing on his desk.

That had been the last of my security detail.

Or so I’d thought.

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