Page 28 of How to Entice a Fiend

“Orrrrr are you saying I’m only half a man because I don’t have an arm and a leg?” I ask.

“And he said it,” Alexei mutters.

I grin, very much pleased with myself. “Well, it’s cold out here, so I’m heading in. Don’t want to freeze off the remaining limbs, you know?” I decide, leaving them to it.

Inside, I curl up on the couch as Artie, our Irish wolfhound, and Hela, the teeny mutt, curl up on top of me. Artie likes it best when he crushes my body, but I can never move him because whenever I try, he gives me the saddest look and I am the biggest sucker.

I open a book and start to read before realizing that it’s beenquitea while since I left the others and Marcus hasn’t returned. “Do you think they got lost?” I ask the dogs, even though the house is right next door.

Artie doesn’t care enough to get up, so I slide out from under him and peek outside. The lights are off in the barn that Claude made workers build in an astoundingly short time. While the interior isn’t quite finished, the temporary stalls are up and it’s enough to house the horses if the weather is too bad for them to be outside.

I stuff my feet in my shoes and Hella and Artie join me on my jog over to Claude’s house, which is right next door. I don’t even bother knocking since I’ve been told not to… I mean, I guess it’squite apparent I’m here when the vampires can likely hear me long before I reach the door.

The dogs head inside with me as I discover that it’s rather cold in here.

“What’s going on? And why’s it so cold?” I ask.

“Our furnace went out,” Claude says as Alexei fixes up a little heater aimed near the pipes. “Marcustriedto help.”

There’s so much emphasis on “tried” that I immediately reach for the furnace room door, but Marcus quickly sets his hand against it.

“It’s dangerous, you don’t need to go in there,” he informs me.

“It’s… dangerous? Like did the furnace turn carnivorous or something?” I tug at the doorknob for all I’m worth, but Marcus simply has a finger pressed against the door, keeping it shut. “Artie, attack!”

Artie, having no idea what’s going on but pleased to be included, bounds over to see what’s happening. I use the distraction to open the door and look at the way the furnace is hanging at an odd angle.

“Oh wow, Marcus. Your assistance was certainly unforgettable,” I say.

“Claude told me to jimmy it while Alexei gave it a kick… it really was a joint effort.”

“It was dead before Marcus got his hands on it,” Alexei assures me. “We have a new one coming but not until tomorrow.”

“We’re going to have to stay at your place tonight,” Claude says. “It’s much too cold in here for us.”

“Aren’t… you… vampires?” I ask.

“I think if we all sleep on our sides in spoon position, we’ll fit just fine,” Claude says, ignoring my comment. “Marcus and I used to snuggle all the time. It was so cute how he’d just holdme tight and tell me everything was going to be okay. Aw, little Marcus was the cutest.”

“That does sound super sweet and cute,” I agree.

“You can sleep on the couch,” Marcus says, clearly no longer sweet enough to hug his brother to him.

“Do I get the bed?” Alexei asks.

“You guys can just stack on the couch,” Marcus decides. “Or you could just sleep in your house.”

“My cat will get cold,” Alexei says. “Otherwise I would sleep here.” Then he scoops the cat up and heads for the door like the decision has been made.

Claude reaches for Alexei. “Hon, do you think my clothes will get cold? Do you think we should put a heater in there?”

“Yes, I’d definitely pull a heater away from the necessary areas and put it in your room with clothes that I’ve seen you wear outsidein the winter,” Alexei says.

“You’re right!”

“It was a joke,” Alexei says before muttering something under his breath.

“He just said he loves my clothes,” Claude announces.

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