Page 57 of Hot Blooded
“It’s colder than a vampire’s dick out there!” she huffs as she climbs into the backseat.
I gasp, my mouth open in shock.
Lena grins crookedly, peering at me with a cheeky expression from the backseat. “Too much?”
I choke out an incoherent sound.
Lena only shrugs. “We had to break the ice and get over it sooner or later.”
“I suppose we did.” And soon, I find myself chuckling along with her and Reign.
Maybe I should have never been annoyed about her and Alastair in the first place, but I was an emotional wreck that night. And I’m still confused about their relationship.
Reign drops us off at a spa where he has made reservations for us to be pampered—a whirlpool soak, a steamy sauna, pedicures, and lunch… plus unlimited girl talk.
“This is heaven. Thank your boyfriend for me,” Lena says, taking a sip from the rim of her champagne flute as we settle into the massage chairs.
I wiggle my toes in the warm lavender-scented water of the pedicure-chair basin. “I think I can manage a way to do just that…”
She gives me a wry grin. I guess the champagne has gone to my head, I’m not normally the type to kiss and tell. But Lena is basically my only girlfriend, and I’m overdue for some dishing.
“Did you know?” I ask her. “About Reign and Alastair…”
Lena gives me a serious look. I don’t need to say anything more. The nail technicians are still nearby, and not completely out of earshot.
“Isuspected,” she says carefully, taking another large gulp of champagne. Vampires don’t live in the dark shadows like they once did. They are accepted and much more mainstream now, but most tend to keep to themselves because of ridicule and condemnation that occurs—mostly in small towns where people just aren’t as accepting to newcomers.
“And you’re good with it?” I ask again.
Lena nods. “Doesn’t bother me.”
Interesting…
“So, you and Alastair?” I give my eyebrows a playful wiggle.
“Nah. He’s fun to play with, but I’m not looking for a relationship.”
I love Lena’s honesty.
“Plus, he’ll probably get bored and move away again soon. I hear it’s a pattern with them.”
“Hmm,” I say thoughtfully.
“What about you… Are you and Reign, a thing?” she asks.
I take deep breath and think it over. But I have no reason to lie to her. “We are,” I confirm. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“Seriously?” she laughs.
My face falls and I nod.
“Oh shit, girl. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sure he’s into long-term relationships… even as you, um, age…” her voice trails off, thankfully.
I can’t bear to tell her my hope though, that he’ll turn me. That will probably scare the shit out of her. Hell, it will scare the shit out of Libby if I ever admit it to her. Is that something you tell people before you do it? There’s a lot of moving parts to this that I need to work out.
That’s if Reign will even turn me, because if he won’t, then I have to think seriously about the long-term reality of our relationship…
It hasn’t occurred to me before, but Lena’s probably right. Reign will probably get bored, especially as I grow old and he stays young.
