He grinned at her. “You ask a lot of questions.”
She bit into her food, unfazed by his observation. “Comes with the territory.”
“So you ask everyone this many questions about their history? Or do you just want to know more about me, specifically?” Why he wanted to know, he couldn’t say. It shouldn’t matter.
“A little of both, I guess. I’ve never met a Normal in Magickal law enforcement. Not an agent, anyway. You’re unique, and that makes me want to know why. Also, we’ve had wild and crazy awesome sex, so I’m curious about you. If it were a one-nighter, that would be one thing, but for the moment we seem to have agreed to an affair. I like to know what I’m in for.” She licked the crumbs off of her fingers, and he almost groaned watching that pink tongue swirl around her fingertips. His dick took that moment to remind him that only she had gotten off during their little couch caper earlier.
He forced himself to look away from her mouth. “You know there are Magickal branches of all public services, right? Hospitals, police, military, etcetera.”
“Yeah, I was around when that became a common practice.”
“Right, well. I did a couple of missions with some Magickal units in the marines. Force Recon. I wasn’t special forces, but I’d spent enough time in country that I knew my way around. Every now and then they’d tap me for something because I was a Normal who could play both sides, as it were. One of the guys I worked with—a vampire—introduced me to Luca.”
“Ah. Okay.” She drummed her fingers on her leg. “What about your dad?”
He blinked at the abrupt topic change, and realized this was how she kept her suspects off guard when questioning them. He wasn’t sure how to take that—being grilled like he’d committed a crime instead of giving her multiple orgasms. “What about him?”
“Well, your mom remarried to a werewolf, right?” She propped her bare feet on the coffee table, and he grinned when he saw the fire engine–red toenail polish. Such a great metaphor for her—she kept the fire hidden where no one else could see.
“Yeah.” He decided if he was going to be treated like a suspect, then he was going to be an uncooperative one. Let her ask what she wanted, but he wasn’t volunteering. It would be interesting to see what she wanted to know about him. How much was personal and how much was professional. So far, it had been pretty even, wanting to know about his career but also wanting to know why he’d made the decisions he’d made. Could go either way.
She shot him a look, telling him she knew he was being difficult. “Which means your dad wasn’t in her life anymore ... right?”
“He died when I was a kid. Cancer.” He winced when he said it. Decades later, and that word still stung, that life-stealing diagnosis. “It was totally out of the blue. He was a marine, so he went in for a routine exam, and they found something weird, so they checked it out and ... boom. Cancer. One day he was fine, and within a couple of months, he was gone.”
Sympathy shone on her face. “It had to be rough to lose him so young. I’m sorry.”
“It was rough for everyone.” An understatement. He’d spent a long time devastated and more than a little pissed off at the world. It was only a matter of time before everyone left him behind—his wife had more than proved that—but that first lesson in reality had been harsh. “My mom managed to hold things together for me, but I know she took it pretty hard. It took Darren a long time to get her to go out on a date with him. Good thing he’s stubborn, or Mom probably would have stayed single for the rest of her life.”
“And now she’s a werewolf.”
It wasn’t a question, but maybe it didn’t need to be. As far as he knew, if a fanged Magickal—the only two races who could turn Normals to Magickals—married a human, they turned them. He’d never heard of a husband or wife turning down the opportunity. No, only one stepson. He almost smiled, remembering the shock in his stepfather’s family when they learned he’d decided to stay human. They loved him, but they didn’t get it. No one did.
“Yep, for about twenty years now.” And his mother seemed happy with that. He was happy for her. She deserved it after losing his father. “They waited until I was eighteen before my stepfather Changed her. Wolf magic can be unstable, and they didn’t want to leave me an underaged orphan.”
“Sounds like a good way to handle the situation.” Her gaze turned thoughtful. “Do you like your stepfather?”
He shrugged. “I love him. He makes my mom happy.”
“He changed your life forever by making you both aware of magic,” she pointed out. “You don’t ever wish you didn’t know about this flaming hot mess that is the Magickal world?”
A direct hit. He chuckled. “Our lives will never be the same again, but I think we’re both okay with how that turned out for us. Though I have to admit it’s been a big relief for me since Chloe’s project has had such a breakthrough. When her treatment hits the market, I won’t have to worry about either of them dying at the full moon.”
The less he had to worry about the people he loved dying on him, the better. He’d had enough of that, and working in the field he did made it even more likely that those he was close to might meet a tragic end. He accepted it for himself and those who chose this life, but his parents were just regular people. He’d be just as happy not having to stress during the moon cycles.
Her eyebrows drew together. “Are you considering letting your stepdad Change you, now that lycanthropy is becoming stabilized?”
“No.”
Now her dark brows rose. “You haven’t even considered it?”
He folded his arms over his chest. “It wasn’t the danger that made me turn it down in the first place, so no, I haven’t considered it since the first time I said no.”
“What was it that made you turn it down, then? Most Normals I’ve met over the centuries either fear or crave the powers of Magickals once they know they exist.” She tilted her head, scrutinizing him. “You don’t seem to fall into either category.”
A smile that he knew was just a little bit mocking crossed his face. “And that bothers you, that you can’t fit me into some neat category?”
“It makes me curious.” She waved a dismissive hand. “After this many years, I’ve found that the only thing you can expect from people—Magickal or Normal—is that they’ll surprise the shit out of you. So you’d better expect the unexpected or you’ll get caught with your pants down.”
He flashed a grin. “I like you with your pants down.”
She pursed her lips. “You’re a pain in the ass. Are you going to answer my question or not?”
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head, exaggerating a baffled expression. “I’m still stuck on the mental image of you with no pants. What was the question?”
“Why did you decide you didn’t want to be a Magickal?”
“Because I’m not a Magickal.”
“Is it really that simple?” The incisive look she gave him didn’t waver for a moment, and he was damn glad he wasn’t a criminal. He’d hate to face her in an interrogation, though he’d be glad to use her when they found a suspect for this murder.
“Not everyone wants to live forever, Selina.”
“Five hundred years isn’t forever.” A wry expression molded her features. “Especially when you’re in that final century.”
“It might as well be forever to me. I’m looking at a hundred years, max.” He sighed, as unsure how to explain it as he’d ever been. “I was born Normal, that’s what I am. Everyone always asks ‘why not?’ But my question is ‘why?’ Why do I have to want to be something other than what I am?” He spread his arms and gestured down at himself. “There’s nothing wrong with what I am. If I’m okay with it, why can’t everyone else be? Magickals may see mortals as inferior, but ... this is who I am, and I’m good with that. I don’t want to be anything else.”