Reign of Night (Thorne Hill 7)

I almost say red but then look at Lucas and smile. “I’m pregnant, so I can’t drink.” Lucas smiles back, liking hearing me say that out loud.

“That’s what we’re out celebrating.” Lucas takes my hand again.

“Congratulations, that is wonderful news,” the manager says, doing a shitty job acting like he cares. He wasn’t here when Lucas flashed his fangs, but I wonder if anyone around is listening in and wondering how this works, with me being pregnant and him being a vampire. “Is there anything I can offer you instead?”

“The uh…” I look at Lucas.

“Croque monsieur,” he orders for me and then says something in French, making the sullen-faced manager smile. He replies to Lucas in French, and both talk so fast I can’t discern anything, though it’s not like I know how to speak French anyway.

“I like hearing you talk in a different language,” I tell him once the manager leaves. “It’s hot.”

“I think the same when you’re speaking Enochian.” He laces his fingers through mine. “Are you okay, Callie?”

“Yeah, overall. I feel a little shaky inside, but that was more satisfying than it should have been. I keep saying I’ve let it all go and moved on, but I get so angry any time I see his face.”

“You control your anger much better than I would. I’ve killed others for crossing me in much less nefarious ways than what the Martins did to you.”

“I know, and I think it’s time to remind you murder is messy. If we bury any more bodies on our property, I’m going to have to resurrect them only so we can burn their remains.”

Lucas chuckles. “Fuck, I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

A woman in a power suit at the table next to us raises her hand, getting my attention. Shit. Did she overhear that? We were talking quietly, and I think anyone would assume we’re joking even though we’re totally serious.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t help notice those people bothering you,” she starts and glances at the woman she’s seated with. “We’re lawyers, and we might have something here.” She angles her chair toward us and looks over at where the Martins were seated. “Do you know who that man was?”

Keeping up my pretense, I shake my head. “No, I don’t.”

“That’s Senator Martin,” she whispers. “And we’ve been gathering information from human-vampire couples like you.”

“Information for what?” Lucas asks.

“A discrimination lawsuit.”“Are you tired, my love?” Lucas asks. We just got back into the car after leaving dinner. The food was amazing, and knowing Nancy and William Martin were staring at us the whole time, fuming over my lack of reaction, was the cherry on top.

“Not yet, surprisingly.” I pull the seatbelt over my lap and turn up the heat. “Is Eliza working tonight?”

“She should be. It’s a weekend, and the Taproom is always busy.”

“Want to go see her?”

“You want to go to a bar?” Lucas asks incredulously.

“Yeah, I’m really craving something hard on the rocks.” I shake my head. “That sounded dirtier than I meant it. And yeah, we can go see her. I haven’t been there in a while, and I can get another sparkling water with cranberry. And maybe some lime. That sounds refreshing, doesn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lucas chuckles. He leans over and kisses me before heading in the direction of the bar. It is busy, but we get lucky like usual and find someone pulling away right as we pull up. I pull on my hood and put on my gloves, preparing for the short walk.

Lucas wraps his arm around me, and I look up, smiling. “Thanks for taking me out. It was really nice getting out of the house and out of my own head, if that makes sense.”

“It does, and I’m glad you had a nice time. We should do this more often.”

“Yeah, for sure.” I rest my head against him. “Now if I can only get Kristy and Evander to finally admit their unrequited love for each other and then we can double date.”

“Have they ever expressed feelings for each other?” He looks at me dubiously.

“Yes.”

“Feelings of love or sexual desire.”

“I’m sure,” I go on. “And I’m sure they just haven’t realized how much they’re meant to be. Come on, you have to admit it would be perfect. My best friend and my brother together forever. We’d double date and it would be fun.”

“Please tell me you won’t go slipping your friends love potions now.”

“Ohh, thanks for the idea!”

Lucas shakes his head, and I laugh. “Love potions don’t work, do they?”

“No, you can’t make someone love you. You can make someone think they do, but those feelings are obsessive, and they can turn dangerous. People do crazy things for the ones they love, and they tend to go completely homicidal when they’re forced into a fake obsessive type of relationship. But if all they need is a nudge in the right direction…”