Page 58 of Witch of My Heart

“You yawn so much. Good thing I think it’s cute,” Blithe chuckled.

“I’m always fucking adorable. I’m a cat.”

“Looks like we’re having chicken alfredo. We’ll have that a lot if Duke cooks. Good part about that is, he’s really good at it. Cold or do you want me to heat it up in the oven?”

“Heat it up, please,” I said and flashed him my most adorable smile.

“You got it. What’s the second note say?” he asked, reminding me about it.

“The dead vampire sounds like he should be roping cattle,” I said and then read it again just to make sure I hadn’t misread it. “Huh? What sort of code is that? Did he leave steak somewhere?”

“No, it’s about our mysterious sticky notes from Liam’s dead friend,” Blithe chuckled. “But if you want steak, I’ll figure something out.”

“No, chicken alfredo is fine. I like hunting birds,” I chuckled.

“No need to pluck this one, at least,” he grinned, sitting down in the chair next to me and putting his hand on my thigh.

A purr vibrated up my throat and I squirmed away from his hand.

“Sorry, mate.”

“Don’t be sorry. I just need to eat before you start revving me up more than I already am,” I said, letting out a long breath.

“Southern stateside accent?” Blithe pondered.

“Maybe, but cowboys were in other places too. Have there been any famous vampires in the rodeo?”

“I don’t think so. That sounds like something I’d have found in all my research about vampires,” Blithe said, his brows knitting together.

“We can look it up later if Duke hasn’t already,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I’d say do it now, but I’m not ready to get up and I don’t want to be alone while you get your phone from the bedroom.”

“That’s okay. It’ll be a mystery either way,” Blithe shrugged. “If I ever die and give cryptic messages like that kick me in the ass, okay?”

“No way,” I shook my head. “One, you’re not allowed to die. Two, I’ll give extra cryptic messages that have no meaning at all. Maybe ‘look in the mayonnaise’ or ‘two tulips away from a dumbbell factory.’”

Blithe laughed and his whole face lit up with it. The timer on the oven chimed and I jumped out of my skin. He stole a kiss, and put his hand over my heart to ensure I was okay before he slid from his chair to get our food.

“Or maybe ‘the catnip has eyes, leave it by the bushes’ or ‘your bird is cursed, leave the door open.’”

“You cannot eat pet birds!” Blithe laughed.

“I can to! I shouldn’t, but I can!” I laughed as the aroma of chicken alfredo filled the house.

“Are you two decent?” Duke’s voice called from the other side of the door.

“Yep. I made enough for you too,” Blithe called back.

Duke wasn’t any wiser about the dead vampire than the sticky note said but having him around was nice. I was so used to Starry, Xi, and the baby running around that the new house would’ve felt empty without him there to take up some of the space.

Chapter Thirty-One

Blithe

After we all grabbed a few more hours sleep, Cord finally hit a cold shower to dampen down his heat and I saw Duke off on his trip. He wasn’t driving all the way home this time. Liam would give him a lift up to the airport and he’d stay home long enough to oversee the movers Fred sent to pack things up. Then he’d be back before the drones even brought our stuff.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay while I’m gone?” he asked.

“I’m positive,” I nodded. “We need to get our stuff and I think we’re getting too old to have our parents handle everything. If Cord wasn’t in heat, we’d go with you.”

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