Phil opens a package of band-aids and looks at me with abhorrence. Slowly shaking his head, he says, “You’re joking, right?”
“Nope. I figured it out before he could do it, obviously, and I think in the end he really wouldn’t have, but he played me.” I bite my lip, mind flitting back to the first time I saw Easton. I was so angry, so scared. So alone. He used every insecurity to his advantage, but I can’t deny that we shared a connection. That he understood the loneliness too.
Mine was because I was away from my family at the Academy, thrust back into a house that made it clear I wasn’t wanted. And Easton…he was born into a life he didn’t want.
“Though it all worked out. I’m here now.”
Phil puts on new gloves and pulls my skin closed with butterfly band-aids.
“I’m glad you and Abby are getting close now. It’s really made her happy.”
“Me too.”
He finishes bandaging up my arm, and Lucas catches his eye as soon as he turns, removing the memory of the witch hunters, instead telling Phil that I slipped and fell outside.
I feel bad, but with Abby already keeping my true heritage from him, this is for the best.
“That cut is pretty nasty,” Phil says, eyes glossing over as the spellbound memories take over. “Keep a close eye on it, and if it starts to look red or feel hot to the touch, let me know and I can prescribe you an antibiotic.”
“I’ll put healing balm on it,” I say, hoping that’s a good enough excuse for my fast healing. “And thank you, Phil.”
“It’s the least I can do. Thank you again for coming over so Abby could get some rest.” He walks us to the door where we say goodbye, and then Lucas and I leave.
He picks me up, set on zooming me across the street, but I protest.
“Lucas, put me down.” I push out of his arms. “I’m fine. I wrestled with a hunter, got shot from behind, but lived to tell the tale with a cool new scar.”
Lucas just grinds his jaw and takes my hand, tipping his head up and sniffing the air. He’s holding the arrows in his other hand, and we still move rather quickly, walking down the block to his estate.
“Can you up the warding?” Lucas asks when we get in.
“Of course.” I open the front door and hold out my hands, repeating the incantation I said at my sister’s house. Letting out a breath, I step back inside, kick off my shoes, and go into the sitting room right off the foyer, falling onto the couch.
“Are you all right, my love?” Lucas is at my side in seconds.
“Yeah, just feeling a little overwhelmed. Give me a second and I’ll be fine.”
He takes my hand in his and gives me a squeeze. “Do you want wine?”
“I’d love wine.”
“I’ll get it for you.” He gives me a kiss and then gets up, going into the kitchen. I let my head fall back and shut my eyes for a moment, and then sit up, inhaling deep, and dig my phone from my purse.
Lucas comes back into the room with a glass of Moscato. I take a big sip and set it on the coffee table.
“So the VC,” I start and look up at Lucas. “They want you to join them?”
“They have for years,” he reminds me. “They say I’m influential in the vampire community.”
There’s no arguing that he is. Lucas is the oldest vampire in the area, if not the entire country.
“Can they force you into joining?”
“They can put the pressure on, but no, they can’t force me. Don’t worry about it, Callie. Once I’m out of Chicago, they won’t care as much. Vampire politics aren’t really a thing in Thorne Hill.”
I rest my head against his shoulder. “Good.”
“Do you feel up to calling that hunter?”
“Yeah. I’ll do it now.” I pick up my phone and call Miranda. She answers on the second ring.
“Callie?”
“Yeah, it’s me. How are you?”
“Um, fine. Are you okay? I mean, you’re calling.”
“I’m good, well, besides a hunter firing a silver-tipped arrow at my heart.”
“Oh my god. But you’re fine, I mean, you have to be since you’re talking to me, right?”
“Yes, I stopped him before he could kill me, but the asshole got away. He knew I was with a vampire, though, and there are only a select few hunters who know I’m a witch who’s also dating a vampire so, I was hoping to see if you knew anything about this.”
“I don’t, but let me ask East. Can I call you back in a few minutes?”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I say, and she quickly ends the call. I trade my phone for the wine and take a big drink. Lucas pulls me into his lap once I set the wine down. I’m straddling him, and heat floods through my veins. I rock my hips and feel his cock start to harden.
He puts his lips to my neck, kissing and sucking at my skin.
“Are you hungry?” I moan.
“You’ve lost enough blood tonight, my love.”
“I didn’t bleed that much,” I counter. “There’s plenty for you.”
“I’ll eat you in another way tonight.”
“Mhhhh,” I moan as he gently nips at my skin. “I can live with that.”
He bunches my dress up and runs his hands down along my back. I move up on my knees and he cups my ass with both his hands, lifting me a bit and moving me closer, so my breasts are in his face.
“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he groans, and I toss my head back, pressing my breasts against him. I sink back down onto his lap and kiss him hard, pushing my tongue into his mouth. Lucas runs his hand up the back of my head, taking a tangle of my hair in his fist.
He kisses me, hard and desperate, and then flips us over so I’m on the couch. Moving with vampire speed, he gets to his knees on the floor, parting my legs. I let my eyes fall shut and my lips part as anticipation floods my veins.
I lift myself up just enough for him to pull my panties down. He tosses them on the floor and dives right back in, spreading my legs and putting his lips to my inner thigh. A chill makes its way through me, and I bring my hands to his head, gripping his hair.
He’s slowly kissing his way up to my core when my phone rings.
“Dammit,” I mutter, but Lucas doesn’t stop. I open my eyes and reach for my phone. It’s Miranda, and I reluctantly push Lucas away so I can answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Callie. I talked to East and he said he has no idea who would have gone after you. He asked around, and everyone we run with knows not to mess with you.”
“Well, someone did, and they knew what they were doing. The arrow was silver-tipped and has engravings on it.”
“There’s another group of hunters in Chicago, one we don’t work with. Would it be possible for us to come over and take a look at the arrow?”
Lucas puts his mouth back to my thigh, fangs grazing my flesh. My eyes flutter shut, and I don’t want to do anything but Lucas right now. “Can I send you a picture?”
“I have to look at it with an infrared light. Do you happen to have one?”
“No,” I say, a little too breathy as Lucas runs his tongue up my thigh and right between my legs, teasing the entrance to my pussy. I bring one hand down to his head again, taking a handful of his hair. “I…I don’t.”
“Are you in the city? Or at your house?”
“I’m here. In…in Lincoln Park.” Lucas parts my legs and dives right between, tongue thrashing against my clit. It’s all I can do not to let out a groan of pleasure. “Come…come over. I’m at Lucas’s house on North Orchard Street. My Jeep is parked die…directly in front. It’s a big white brick house.”