Page 29 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

“Hey, I didn’t say shehaddrugged me.” Phlox gave me a winning grin. “I played along well. It’s easy to fall into expectations. Oxley and Sylvie expect a passive pixie and that’s exactly what I gave them.”

“I would say I am sorry I missed the performance, but I doubt I could have contained my rage.” Ripping those two to shreds sounded well and good, but that wouldn’t prove informative.

Sitting back on my lower thighs, Phlox tilted his head to the side, his long hair flowing over his shoulder and pooling around my legs. Without thought, I ran my fingers through his silken strands. The banded colors played along my fingers. Realization hit me that his hair was a play on his shifted form.

Which reminded me… “What kind of a cat are you?”

This time, Phlox’s grin accompanied lightly flushed cheeks. “Pallas’s cat.”

I blinked. “Forgive me, I do not know the species.”

Phlox waved me off. “Not many do. They’re not native to this part of the world. My pixie mom ran into my dad somewhere in Mongolia. Auntie Tandra said it wasn’t a love match, but they did have a spark andviola.” Phlox waved a hand down his body. “Here I am.”

“Yes. Lucky for me.” I pondered what he’d told me and verbally rolled the name over my tongue. “Pallas’s cat. Your other form is beautiful.”

Phlox’s flushed cheeks deepened in color. “Thanks, but, uh…Pallas’s cats aren’t known for their tameness. They might be pretty, but they don’t do domestication. If you’re ever in that part of the world and come across a true, wild Pallas’s cat, steer clear. They might look cute and cuddly, but they’re anything but.”

“Thank you for the warning. I believe I have my hands full with the Pallas’s cat sitting in my lap. I have no need to quest for more.”

“Oh…well…” Phlox spluttered, and I enjoyed his discomfort. Had the circumstances been different, I would have continued teasing him. As it was, we most likely could not afford the time.

“You’ve been awake longer than me and know the situation better. Given your escape routine, I assume you have a plan.”

“Eh…sort of.” Phlox filled me in on the original plan, the one my capture had upended. “I don’t think we can wait the week. If Sylvie’s to be believed, her magic fried my tracking chips. I’ve still got Vander’s mark and as far as I know, it’s still in working order. I can’t contact him through it, but he should be able to find me. Same with Byx’s hair clips.” He touched the quiescent meerkats slumbering away. “So, they can find me, but shouldn’t show up for a week. Like I said, I don’t think we can wait that long. It’s better if you’re worth something to them, but even then, I don’t think it’s wise sticking around. You can take the troll. A witch might be a different matter. She’s weaker right now. I’m not sure how long it will take Sylvie to regain her magical mojo, but I don’t think we want to be here when she does.”

Unfortunately, Phlox was correct. As far as strength and speed were concerned, no species could best a vampire. But magic was a different matter. And right now, I wasn’t as nearly as certain as Phlox that I could take down a troll. My body was weakened and my flesh scorched. I needed to feed.

I don’t know if Phlox could read my thoughts or had figured my state out on his own. Regardless, with barely a questioning glance he tilted his head, exposing the heavenly slope of his neck.

My body stilled. My eyes locked onto that flesh and the blood flowing below. I could hear the delicious sound of it speeding through arteries and veins, that pulse increasing as Phlox’s heart rate thrummed.

“Phlox.” I licked my arid lips. “You do not need to do this. I am not so desperate for sustenance.” I craved his blood, and it took all I had to offer him this out. But what I said was correct. It was not life or death. Not yet.

“I know I don’tneedto, but I want to. You’re thirsty and my blood will help heal your wounds. I need you as strong as possible if we’re going to make it out of this in one piece.”

Phlox’s words stung. Was he offering simply out of duty? While practical, that option didn’t sit well with me.

Clamping my mouth shut, I acted like a teenage vamp, turning stubborn and mulish. “I can manage just fine,” I protested.

Phlox rolled his eyes. “Just feed, Leon. I know you want it, and I don’t mind.”

He didn’t mind?I squirmed, valiantly keeping my mouth closed.

“Goddess save me from prideful vampires.” With a flick of the newly formed claw on his finger, Phlox sliced open a thin line of skin. Crimson slowly seeped to the surface trickling down his neck. The scent hit me like a nuclear bomb. Phlox always smelled divine, but this…his blood exposed and so very close.

My lips parted and my eyeteeth dropped. Still, I made no move.

“Come on, Leon. Drink. Let me do this for you. Iwantto do this for you.”

Those magic words stirred me to action. I’d like to say I didn’t lunge for him, but that would be a bald-faced lie. My teeth struck home, piercing Phlox’s delicate skin. I shamelessly moaned around the warm blood flooding my mouth, slipping down my throat and quenching a hunger I’d fought for weeks.

No other blood could ever be this delicious. I was done, hooked on a single donor source. Should Phlox deny me, deny our bond, I would wither away to little more than a starved husk. Most likely I would walk into the sun before that day happened. It wasn’t just Phlox’s blood I needed to survive; it was the whole package I held within my arms. Pixie or Pallas’s cat, Phlox was mine.

Phlox was my beloved.

ChapterEleven

Phlox

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