Page 104 of Blood and Bonbons

The price tag for all of that made my heart hurt. The total equaled three months of busting my butt at Blur. However, since I would be using Cross’ money, I handed over my credit card, willing to benefit from the reward points his purchase would earn me.

“Let’s drop off this bag in my car, and we can get a phone,” I said as we left the store.

“We’ve done enough shopping today. Let’s revisit the phone tomorrow.”

I agreed. After the early wake-up and the extensive shopping, I was exhausted. Plus, it meant more time alone with Cross and his keen sense of smell. While Vena might agree to Cross sniffing out Miles’ apartment, she’d also get her hopes up. And I didn’t want to do that to her.

As I drove to the apartment, I distracted Cross from our route change with some not-so-idle chit-chat.

“So, do I have to worry about your ex sending more feeders to our house?”

“Leave her to me.”

“She must still love you since she sent you an actual human.” I wanted to know what level of obsessiveness I was dealing with in his stalker ex.

“She does not love. Vampires are proprietary. She wants what she used to have.”

Okay. Definitely code-red stalker level.

I glanced at Cross, wondering how he felt about her. He sounded detached right then, but was it because he didn’t care or because he’d anticipated his ex would send him a feeder?

And if she didn’t love, why had she been his lover at one point? Or did he leave her because he’d found out she couldn’t love? Could Cross love?

I had a lot of questions that I was too chicken to ask. Mostly, I didn’t want to know the answers. Cross was growing on me.

When I parked in front of Miles’ apartment, I scanned the area for the fairy I had “accidentally” whacked.

“Where are we?” Cross asked.

“Vena’s brother lives here. You don’t want Vena to pull me into more danger, which I agree with, by the way, and the only way to do that is to figure out what happened to her brother. With your sharp sense of smell, I’m hoping you’ll look around and pick up a scent.”

“I’m not a dog. You have half a dozen mutts at Blur you could choose from.”

“Would you rather I ask them?” I asked, a little surprised given his previous distaste.

He opened the door. “No.”

Fighting not to grin at his sulky answer and quick exit, I got out with him. We walked the path to Miles’ door, and like the last time, that damn fairy flew out at me from the bushes. I screeched and stepped behind Cross.

Using him as a shield, I clung to the back of the t-shirt he still wore.

“It’s a blue-winged rodent.” The amusement in Cross’ tone wasn’t lost on me. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of it.”

“One tried to kill me.”

“I’d like to hear that story after we’re done here. Perhaps over lunch?”

I felt him wave an arm at the fairy and waited for the movement to stop before I peeked around him.

“You are quite adorable, Everly,” Cross said, twisting to look back at me. “I do wish I would have been awake when you realized you fell into a fairy den.”

“No, you don’t. It wasn't pretty.” I straightened away from him and smoothed out the wrinkles I’d made in his shirt. He held still for me, and I understood why when I looked up and caught his black-eyed stare.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, pulling out the key I still had for Miles’ door.

As soon as we entered, Cross said, “The strongest scent is most likely the brother.”

Heading to the kitchen, he stopped at the table that was still covered in research on vampires and picked up the vampire propaganda pamphlet.

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