Page 29 of Of Blood and Smoke

“Stop it!” I yelled at him. “No one’s saying anything about me, they shut down gossip right away. I don’t know where the coffee comes from.”

“You think you’re something now that you got this good job and all the attention. Don’t forget who saved your ass and paid your dad’s bills. You wouldn’t even have this new job if it wasn’t for me.”

Brett whirled around and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door, and leaving me alone with my thoughts. It was true. I didn’t know where I’d be if he hadn’t helped me out. Probably dead in a ditch, as my mother used to say.

Since Brett got angry and reneged on his promise to help me pack, I got started. My annoyance over Brett’s accusations lit a fire under me and I had no trouble throwing things into boxes.

He had some nerve saying I was showing off my body to my bosses.Actually, he said "boss.” Who was he talking about—Micha, or Josiah? Christina? Micha was friendly enough to me—if one could call him friendly. He mostly ignored me, but I felt his stare.

Josiah was always lurking around, watching and staring too. It felt like he was scrutinizing everything with suspicion, though you couldn’t tell for sure with his eyes covered.

Christina was antagonistic, at best.

Brett must’ve meant Micha and I had no aspirations toward him—or Josiah, and it bothered me that people were talking about me and assuming things. I made a mental note to ask Ashley about it, but I was positive she would’ve come to me if something was going on.

Granted, it was a bit different that my coffee order waited at my desk every day. The muffin someone left for me was great too. I would’ve thought the Mont Blanc pen was a misplaced item had it not been for the note with my name typed on it.

I either had a secret Santa, or Ipomoea was the best company anyone could ever work for.

SIXTEEN

Josiah

“You need to go meet with Ezra before they send you escorts and take you themselves.” Micha eyed me over a tumbler of vodka, concern flickering in his smoky gaze.

I settled into the bench seat beside him at Fleur de Luna and a matching drink was placed before me. I nodded a thank you to the waitress and she took off, long legs under a short swinging skirt striding back to the bar. “I will, soon. I’ve been distracted.”

He arched his brow, taking a sip of his beverage. “Have you? You wouldn’t happen to be distracted by a tasty little assistant, would you?”

There’d never been many secrets between us, we knew each other intimately. I debated what I should say. “Perhaps.” I tucked an errant strand of my shoulder length hair behind my ear before removing my suit coat and getting comfortable. “What if I was?”

Micha ran his tongue along his teeth and laid an arm on the table. “I’d say you should practice what you preach.”

He had me there.

The bar we were in catered to a very specific clientele. Often, I kept my filter up to protect my over-active senses and keepa clear mind. Doing so allowed me to operate in a socially acceptable manner and blend in with the humans. Technically, due to my half-vampire blood I also contained human DNA but between the gifts of my demonic blood and the added bonus of vampire, the world could be overwhelming.

Some handled it better than others as my kind possessed the same character and personality differences as members of humanity.

Scents, sights, tactile sensations, and the draw of human auras assailed me if I wasn’t careful. In a weak moment, the fragrance of blood could send me into a tailspin, and I’d find myself indulging in a crowded room.

This was a fact, as had happened to me before, hundreds of years ago. The Ancients gave me a couple of options and I accepted the one that sent me into what was known as a soul coma.

A soul coma was a deep, dreamless sleep that could be placed on someone with two different outcomes. One was eternal, and the other consisted of time restraints. Thankfully, mine was the more lenient option and I’d served a brief sentence.

The other option the Ancients had offered was banishment to another realm that I had no desire to visit. My father had always admired my unrelenting drive and dedication to the Court and family was everything to me. I couldn’t lower my guards more than I could handle; I wouldn’t bring shame to my family again.

In a place such as Fleur de Luna, we had freedom. I slightly lowered my inhibitions in the safe environment and took everything in. The only humans in the club should be donors or those sentenced to death for various crimes.

Occasionally, someone found our lair due to loose lips or because they’d been invited by a member. All of them were let in, but not all of them left. The outcasts of society that wandered through the doors searching for salvation in darkcorners sometimes found us, but redemption remained out of their reach.

That had been happening more and more frequently ever since the Fourth Realm-favoring demons wreaked havoc on everything, that lost people became found.

Pulling my sunglasses off, I placed them on the table. “What of your human ward? Have you invited her here?” Human companions were brought here frequently, for various reasons. Sharing was one of them.

I knew the answer, thanks to a faint green tinge around Micha’s head. It looked as if a fairy had sprinkled glittering dust on his hair. “No, I am unwilling to share or expose her,” he said, not denying the jealousy that rose within.

“Have you claimed her?”

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