Page 8 of Vampires Don't Give Hickeys
The living room had changed somewhat. The coffee table had been pushed against the TV, and the hardwood floor was covered with blue mats.
Eddie rounded into the living room from what I guessed was the kitchen, and my heart took flight at the sight of him. He wore dark pants and a suit jacket, unbuttoned, over a white dress shirt, the top few buttons of which were undone. His messy blond hair had fallen over his glasses, and he shoved it back to peer at me with those disarming orange-yellow eyes of his.
His sinful lips twitched as he pushed up his glasses. “Hello, Sunshine.”
“Hi, Eddie. Uh...” Why was here I again? Not to undress them with my mind. “I brought the books back.”
He nodded. “I appreciate that.”
Jacek crossed to stand next to him, and my whole being tightened at the sight of his back. Long white stripes marred his skin, across his shoulders, and down his spine. Scars. Horrible ones. He looked like he’d been flayed open again and again. I sucked in a shaky breath, clenching and unclenching my fists, my nerves vibrating as I wondered who could do something so brutal to him.
“I see you’re not covered in blood tonight,” he said, turning to face me again as he stood next to Eddie. “Easy night slaying?”
Eddie stared at me through his glasses, likely reading every thought on my face before I blanked it.
“Yeah, not too bad. And I knocked off a little early to do more research.” Of the Eddie and Jacek variety, but also the demon variety. I only had a few nights left before my birthday, after all, so I needed to get cracking on how not to become the devil’s bride.
“Research. Right.” Jacek nodded as if he didn’t believe me, probably because he’d heard me eyeball fucking Eddie upstairs last night.
“Looks like I caught you in the middle of...” I shook my head at the mats on the floor. “Gymnastics?”
Jacek flashed that panty-dropping grin and crossed his arms. “Judo, actually. I teach a variety of martial arts to vampires a couple nights a week, sometimes here and sometimes not. A family of four just left before you came here.”
“You...” My eyes bugged out of my head. “You teach martial arts to vampires?”
“Yeah. It helps pay the bills. Eddie here works as an online law librarian.”
A teacher and a librarian. That was so unexpected for some reason, even though it made total sense. It was also hot as hell. Men who used their brains were rare in Podunk City, but it had always been an instant turn-on of mine.
“Eddie’s the brains of the operation.” Jacek looked at Eddie and rubbed his mouth like he wanted Eddie to do the same and get rid of some stray blood or something. Eddie took the bait and brought his hand to his jaw, but then realized it was all a joke when Jacek burst out laughing.
Eddie rolled his eyes. “Jacek’s not that good at martial arts. He knows I could take him out if he gets too territorial.”
Jacek threw back his head and laughed. “Oh, is that right? How many years do I have on you again? A hundred and sixty?”
“Doesn’t matter, old man,” Eddie said. “I know ways I could take you out without breaking a sweat.”
An image of the two of them sparring leaped into my head, shirtless obviously, the smell of testosterone thick in the air. I honestly didn’t know who would win in that fight since I’d never seen either one in action, but it would be quite a sight to see as long as no one really got hurt. An arm-wrestling match would work too. Or just standing around shirtless.
Jacek crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Eddie. “I’ll bet you fifty dollars that you can’t even hit me.”
Eddie shook his head, a pitying look on his face. “Do you not remember the last time you bet me and lost?”
“That was to see who could bite into a waterbed filled with blood and drain it the fastest.” Jacek chuckled. “I don’t think anyone really won that bet.”
I grinned at the playfulness between the two of them. I never knew vampires could be so lovable and...real. It kind of made me feel guilty about being a slayer, but I’d never met any quite like these two. I mean three...
“Where’s Sawyer?” I asked. “Is he here?”
“Yeah, he’s here.” Jacek walked barefoot over the blue mat, angling his back away from me. “He keeps to himself mostly.”
Yet I’d felt him mentally undressing me from behind last night on the way here. Did he not want to see me or talk to me like these two? It made no sense, but I couldn’t help the twinge of hurt that gave me. I didn’t even know him. Not like I knew Jacek and Eddie, but still. I was getting to know them, and Ilikedthem. It would be nice to get to know Sawyer too.
“Ready?” Eddie jerked his head for me to follow him up the stairs, his citrine gaze like a hot caress against my skin.
“Yep.”
We started for the library upstairs again and seated ourselves at the table where a fresh stack of books waited, along with a steaming cup of coffee and another slice of pie. I was going to gain so many pounds with this devil proposal research, but I was strangely okay with that. Because pie.
