Page 37 of Perfectly Perfect Pixie

“That’s okay. Ogre’s picked up the slack.”

It was a morbidly true joke. “Thankfully, fairy law has put an end to pixie enslavement.” Or at least known cases. Ogre addiction didn’t end simply because the law changed. The desire was still there. Only the consequences had changed. Addiction didn’t always care about consequences.

Peaches’s wings rose but still hung low. Pixie wings weren’t meant to do that. Seeing Peaches like that hurt something inside me, something I’d long considered dormant, if not completely dead.

“I could kill you.” With his head hung low, Peaches’s hair covered his face. “I’m a threat to you. That’s why that vampire in the bar seemed so disgusted by me. I thought he was just being an asshole, but—”

“Freddiewasbeing an asshole, Peaches. Do not excuse his behavior. Freddie has a place in my nest by my rule alone. He has pushed my good nature far enough and will be cared for in due time. Do not spend one more second on his noxious words.” My disgust with Frederick was growing. However, my disdain for those who chose to follow such vitriol was even greater.

“But he had a point.” Closing the distance, Peaches’s fingers grasped my shirt, bunching it as he pulled tight. “I’m a danger to you.”

Feeling threatened by a pixie was laughable. Peaches’s misery was not. He was truly concerned.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Lucroy. That’s the last thing I’d ever want to do.”

“I know.” And I did. Trust was typically a hard-won commodity. Oddly, trusting Peaches had been instinct. Nature pixies normally didn’t have a malicious bone in their body. Not unless their bonded territory was threatened. Social pixies were a different matter. One I had no desire to explore.

Leaning his forehead on my chest, Peaches’s kept his grip on my shirt. “Where does that leave us?” His voice was muffled but audible. “I like you, Lucroy. I really do. I haven’t . . . I mean, I’ve liked other pixies before. A brownie once too, but I’ve never felt like this. I don’t want to give this up, what this could be, but I don’t want to hurt you either.”

Always careful of Peaches’s wings, I wrapped one arm around his waist, and my other hand gripped the back of his neck, pulling him in tight.

“I told you that story to explain my words last night, but it only explained part of them, Peaches. If you’ll remember, I said I didn’t believe anything that smelled as good as you could be toxic. It is only a theory that drinking pixie blood is what weakened Horatio. Vampires have many enemies, typically within their own nest. Another could have taken advantage of the controversy and poisoned Horatio. Perhaps Horatio had simply had enough of vampire life and willed himself to die. He wouldn’t be the first vampire to choose that course of action. There are other possibilities.”

“Yeah, but how do you know for certain?” Peaches raised his head, resting his chin on my chest, his golden eyes glinting with unshed tears.

I grinned, careful of my fangs. “We do another test? Scientists rarely base an answer on a single case. I see no reason why Horatio’s case should be any different.”

Peaches pushed away, shock and horror clearly written across his face. “You can’t be serious?”

“Oh, I assure you, Peaches. I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

ChapterSixteen

PEACHES

No, no, no. Lucroy could not be serious.“I can’t believe you want to take that kind of chance.”

I walked away, pacing. Soon my wings took over and lifted me off the ground. I still paced but did it in the traditional pixie way, using my wings to take me back and forth across the room.

Finally stopping, I turned on Lucroy and pointed a finger in his face. “You might be willing to take the risk, but I’m not. I will not hurt you.”

There. I’d said my peace.With my arms defensively crossed over my chest, I hovered in front of Lucroy. His fathomless black eyes stared back at me. Silent, he stood there. Time ticked by, and my confidence faded like my dust.

“Say something,” I finally demanded.

“What would you like me to say?”

I stomped, but it did little good, considering my feet weren’t touching the floor. “I want you to say that you’ll give up on this crazy idea.”

“No.”

I flew backward, nearly slamming into the wall. “No?” What was wrong with him? Drinking my blood wasn’t worth the risk.Iwasn’t worth the risk. “How can you say that?”

“Very easily. Peaches, do you believe I make decisions on a whim? That I value my own existence so little? I have lived for well over six hundred years. I have not managed that feat by doing foolish things.”

“Maybe not, but you said it yourself. Sometimes vampires get tired of existing. That might have been what Horatio did. How do I know you’re not just doing that now?” When you got right down to it, I didn’t know Lucroy that well. He didn’t strike me as someone on the verge of giving up on life, but what did I know?

“I assure you, that is not the case.” Lucroy came closer. He placed his hands on my arms and pulled them apart, loosening my body and pulling me down so he didn’t have to look up to speak to me. “The day you came into my bar, demanding to know where Phil was, my heart picked up speed. Do you know how rare that is for a vampire? It was like you brought sunshine back into my life. The time I’ve spent with you since then has only reaffirmed that feeling. I will not willingly give this up. I should, but not out of concern for my safety, but for yours. I fear my desire to be near you is greater than my control. I am a vampire, Peaches. Your blood is a part of that. It would be impossible for me to be intimate with you and not thirst for your blood. I could try to deny that part of me, but it would only lead to bitter violence. I am afraid that when it comes to vampires and dating, blood is always on the table.”

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