Page 5 of Perfectly Perfect Pixie

Interesting how a single meeting can change one’s long-held beliefs and opinions. I’d held those beliefs longer than most at well over six hundred. Fairies were the only species known to live longer than vampires. Even the oldest known vampire wasn’t as old as most fairies.

My car pitched and dipped as I rounded a curve, coming around to see . . . was that a bus? I leaned over my steering wheel, eyes wide. Few things surprised me, and I cherished the emotion when it occurred. My eyes did not deceive me about the bus or the drunken group of dwarves dancing and merrymaking. One was even passed out near the wheel of the bus. I certainly hoped their kin realized before the bus loaded and turned for home. While the thought held some appeal, I didn’t want a dwarf death to mar Peaches’s event. Pixies didn’t share vampires’ fond fascination with blood and death.

I parked a good two car lengths away from the raucous dwarves, then stepped out into the cool night air, inhaling deeply. I didn’t need to breathe, but vampiric death hadn’t diminished my enjoyment of pleasant scents. For reasons unknown, something was enticing about the clean, country air. Then again, it could have been that Peaches’s scent infused everything. Even without the magical pixie barrier surrounding his land, I’d still know the edges of those boundaries by smell alone. I was sure other species would as well.

Taking a wide berth around the singing dwarves, I searched the area, seeking Peaches’s golden-blond hair. As a top predator, it didn’t take me long to find my prey.

I stilled, every muscle locked down, my chest tight, and my movements halted. Hades knew why because I didn’t. Attraction didn’t always have a rhyme or reason. Not that I couldn’t reason out why I found Peaches so intriguing. It had started that very first night—when Peaches swooped into Dusk, hell-bent on finding Phil and hauling his ass back to Sedrick’s house. Peaches had been full of piss and vinegar. He’d also been full of fear. That fear had fueled him. It had set fire to his will and rained down on Phil.

I’d walked up from my underground living quarters to find a diminutive, golden-blond pixie filling my bar with golden dust. Dusk’s lights had lit upon that dust, making it shimmer and sparkle like a golden storm. And at the center of that storm—Peaches.

My foot moved, first my right, then my left. Hands listlessly draped by my sides, I casually sauntered toward my target. Surprisingly, Peaches was alone. His lips were lifted in a wide, happy grin. Throwing his head back, Peaches let loose weightless laughter. The deep gold tips of his hair drifted lower, shifting over his ass and dipping below his fluttering wings. Gold pixie dust filled the air and glinted in the overhead lights.

Following Peaches’s gaze, my eyebrows lifted when I saw Ruthie Voss—her enormous dire wolf form cowed along with her brother, Dillon. Heads tucked between their paws, they were getting a stern talking-to from their uncle and alpha, Sedrick. Phil fluttered nearby, the tips of his toes barely off the ground while pink pixie dust surrounded them in a haze. When I looked closer, I could see Phil was far from upset. Instead, he appeared to barely be holding back the laughter Peaches so readily released.

Just as quickly as it had erupted, Peaches’s giggles ended. His head twisted, and his gaze locked on my approach. My night vision was impeccable, and I didn’t miss the instant flush drifting up his neck and tinting his cheeks.

“Good evening, Peaches.” I kept my voice cool and nonthreatening. I’d had several interactions with Peaches since the first night we met. I’d never given him pause to fear me. Peaches was no fool and far from unintelligent. He was too smart not to consider me a threat.

“Lucroy.” Peaches’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of crimson—high spots of color against his lightly tanned skin. “I wasn’t sure you’d be able to make it tonight.”

“No?” I raised a single eyebrow. “I told you I would come.” I was a vampire of my word.

Turning toward me, Peaches remained airborne, his toes about a foot off the ground. I’d noticed that about him, about most pixies. They preferred to be off the ground. Fingers twisting, Peaches’s gaze shifted toward the ground before focusing back on me.

“I know, but it’s Saturday night. Dusk must be busy. I hope you didn’t leave anything important on account of me.”

Sweet. And terribly sincere.Maybe that was part of Peaches’s charm. Sincerity was a rare commodity, and vampires desired rare artifacts. That didn’t necessarily mean something tangible.

“Don’t trouble yourself.” I verbally dismissed Peaches’s concerns. “Johnny’s behind the bar tonight, and Pete and Bax are stationed at the door. Even if they weren’t working tonight, Dusk nearly runs itself. I’m afraid I’m little more than a figurehead these days.”

“I doubt that,” Peaches argued.

Little did he know just how wrong he was. Dusk did practically run itself. There were incidents. We catered to too many species not to have any, but the staff was well-trained and most had been with me for years. They knew my will better than me some days.

In a word, I was bored.

Peaches didn’t need to know that, and I wanted to soothe his worries. “Regardless, unless you’d like me to spend the night with you, I will be back at Dusk long before it gets busy.” I added a saucy wink, testing the waters.

Peaches’s wings stuttered before instigating a rapid-fire movement almost too fast for my eyes to follow. Pixie dust filled the air, and I refrained from breathing.

“I . . .” he stuttered. “The cottage doesn’t have a basement or a windowless room, for that matter. I like sunlight, and Mae and Don made sure it’s well-lit.” Furiously shaking his head, Peaches flew closer. “I don’t think it would be safe.”

I was momentarily stunned. Peaches hadn’t necessarily argued against the idea. He was merely concerned I’d be little more than a pile of ash come morning. I wasn’t sure if Peaches understood what he’d possibly implied. His flaming cheeks and gasping lips made me think he had an inkling.

While I found Peaches’s reaction wonderfully curious, his discomfort didn’t sit well with me. Trying to change the subject, I tilted my head toward the prostrate wolves. “Care to tell me what has Sedrick in full-blown alpha mode?”

Peaches’s smile was instantaneous and painfully honest. “Dillon and Ruthie wanted to run in their fur. They promised to be good and not to cause any trouble.” Peaches chuckled, a quaint snort echoing every once in a while.

“I take it that didn’t work out as planned?”

“No.” Peaches shook his head, golden hair swirling around his shoulders. As it moved, sparkles within his hair caught the light just right, twinkling to life. “They got a little rowdy. Dillon tackled Ruthie, sending them sprawling and rolling over each other. They barreled into the tent.” Peaches pointed at a white tent across the way, well over two-thirds of the tent no longer standing but laid out on the ground. “Thankfully, a lot of the humans were already gone, but I’m afraid most of the remaining apple pie was tossed on the ground. Dillon and Ruthie wound up rolling through it. They’ve got apple pie all over their fur.”

While in the air, Peaches doubled over, arms wrapped around his middle as he continued laughing. “Goddess, you should have seen Sedrick’s face. Phil’s too. I think Sedrick’s more embarrassed than angry, and Phil . . . He just burst out laughing. Goddess, bless him. He’s trying so hard not to break into peals of laughter. Sedrick is trying to be so stern, and Phil . . . it’s all he can do to keep it together.” Turning to me, Peaches tilted his head, the laughter gone but the grin still firmly affixed. “I mean, it’s just pie. No one was truly hurt, and once Mae and Don got over their shock, they started laughing too.”

Hands tucked behind my back, I allowed a twitch of my lips, the barest hint of a grin. “I’m sorry I missed that.”

Peaches nodded his agreement. “You should be. It was even more entertaining than watchingInterspecies Habitat.”

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