Page 76 of Perfectly Perplexing Zombie

“Kiss it. I want to touch every part of you, Wendall. There is not a single inch of you that I find repulsive. No matter how bad it gets, even at the very end, I will want to touch and be near you. I do not find your scent offensive. I do not find your deteriorating flesh a deterrent. You are simply Wendall, and I cherish every last cell.”

Wendall sucked in a breath. His lips twisted in what appeared to be frustration. “I hate this. I want to cry. Everything in me says tears should be rolling down my cheeks, but there’s nothing. My cheeks should be flushed, and my cock should be an uncomfortable rod stuck in my pants. But my body won’t do any of those things.”

I understood now why zombies didn’t retain their conscious thoughts, their souls. It was a far worse cruelty. Wendall remembered how his reactions should be, but they were as lost to him as his beating heart. Conscious zombies were cruel beyond what even nature would allow.

Words were lost to me. Leaning down, I pressed my lips against Wendall’s. His lips were slightly chapped but soft and pliant. Wendall gasped, and I took the invitation to slip my tongue inside, running it along the seam of his lips and along the edges of his dull, human teeth. His tongue tentatively met mine, and he groaned, leaning farther into the kiss and grasping my shirt in his fisted hands.

Seconds ticked by, and I had no desire to either count them or move from my current actions. Nothing in my life had ever felt this fulfilling or right. Had I control of Aurelia, I would have wished for time to stop, forever stuck in that blissful moment.

But I did not have control of the djinn, and Trinket didn’t appreciate being squashed between us.

Her squawking grew in pitch and finally forced us apart. Trinket’s continued barks and chittering pulled Wendall’s attention to her and brought a fond chuckle. “Sorry, Trinket.” Wendall vigorously scratched the top of her head. “We, uh…kind of got carried away there.” Wendall’s shy grin lit me up from within.

“Apologies, Trinket.” I followed Wendall’s lead, and Trinket calmed before scurrying out of Wendall’s lap and back onto his shoulder. She must have deemed it safer territory.

Wendall’s humor turned into something quieter. His expression eased, and he looked at me with a softness I’d never seen before.

“Thank you, Ray.” His smile was sadly grateful. “I never thought…” He lowered and shook his head. “I don’t think it matters what I thought. Life seems oblivious to our plans and just goes on however it likes. I think maybe the secret might be to stop fighting its path and learn to roll with life’s ups and downs. It’s hard to give up control, but when you do, the world’s joy opens up and welcomes you with open arms.”

I’d been wrong. One didn’t have to live a hundred or even a thousand years to gain wisdom. Wendall Galen had discovered life’s secrets in a little over twenty precious years. The world truly was about to lose something infinitely special.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Wendall

Customers were thin, and nearly all of them were vampires, but Dusk wasn’t a ghost town. A few vampires hung around outside, forming Dusk’s typical entry line. Pete was still at the door. Bax had wandered in and was having a conversation with Mr. Moony. Johnny kept the blood coming, and Mr. Moony’s nestmates greedily drank it down. Leon had to step in once or twice to school some of the younger vampires. Evidently, there was a fine line between taking too much and too little. They all wanted to be at peak strength, but drinking too much placed vampires in a type of blood coma. Johnny described it like babies finishing a bottle and contentedly lying down for a nap. It was weird thinking of vampires likebabies,but I thought I understood.

Ray’s unexpected kiss and cuddles carried me into the evening in a more relaxed mood than I’d imagined possible earlier. I wish I could have kept that feeling wrapped around me like a protective coat, but that was impossible, and soon I was so jittery that Johnny sent me to the back to clean the few dirty glasses.

Eleven turned into eleven thirty, which slowly rolled toward midnight. Hamish and Ray seemed confident Professor Stover would show. I wasn’t so certain, and Vander and Mattie were having doubts too. Stuck in the back with me, hidden out of sight, Vander, Parsnip, and Mattie were huddled together. Parsnip was trying not to flutter his wings, but occasionally, Mattie’s sneezes were quickly followed by Parsnip’s apology.

“You want to go out and hang with Peaches?” Vander asked.

“No,” Parsnip said with a sigh. “I’m sorry I’m so nervous. I don’t mean to be, it’s just—”

“There’s a lot to be nervous about, Parsnip,” Mattie soothed. “No need for apologies. If I could fly, I’d most likely be spinning circles around the room.” Mattie waved her hand in front of her face. “It’s so small back here. It’s a bit on the claustrophobic side.” I’d never thought of it that way, but we typically didn’t have three full-grown individuals and one pixie with wings fluttering about.

Parsnip shifted as far to the side as possible. “I’m sorry. Maybe I should go out and sit with Peaches. It’s just…I don’t really want to leave Vander. I know it’s getting late, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to show, but just in case Stover does pop in, our bond might keep him safe, and I don’t want to—”

“Hush.” Vander pulled Parsnip to his chest and held him close. “We’re all a little high-strung, and no one wants you to be anywhere you don’t want to be.”

I had no doubt that Vander had tried to keep Parsnip away, just like Mr. Moony had asked Peaches to stay at his orchard. Neither pixie thought much of that idea and insisted on being with their partners. I couldn’t blame them. I may have rejected Ray’s offered bond, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be away from him now. Given Professor Stover’s interest in me and the fact I worked here, no one thought it was a good idea for me to be MIA. I don’t know what I would have said if they’d asked me to hide out somewhere else. I know I wouldn’t have been happy and would have argued.

Mattie checked her watch again and sighed heavily. “As much as I’m not looking forward to this, I’m to the point where I just want to get it over with. I don’t think my nerves can take another day or seven of this crap.”

“Can’t argue that,” Vander agreed while rubbing circles on Parsnip’s back between his wing muscles.

Perched on my shoulder, Trinket knew something was up and hadn’t been her typical, playful self. She was stiff and alert. When her tail tightened around my arm, I knew something had changed.

Vander and Mattie sucked in harsh breaths at about the same time, and Parsnip asked, “What is it?”

“She’s here,” Mattie answered, fingers grasping the fabric covering her chest. “I’d never felt a djinn before Aurelia. I’m glad I already met her or else I’d be a worthless puddle on the floor. The first time we met, Iwasa worthless puddle. It’s hard to describe the immense magic emanating from her. It’s…”

“Overwhelming,” Vander supplied. “Those had to be some powerful witches back in the day.”

“They were,” Mattie acknowledged. “But there was a price to all that power and greed, and they paid heavily for their arrogance. In many ways, witches keep paying.”

I considered Mattie’s presence and thought I understood. She wasn’t personally responsible for their creation, but she still showed up and was trying to help clean up, or at least contain, the mess.

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