Sweet boy. “Just don’t soil the rug,” she quipped.
He gave a mock growl. “Funny.”
A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she frowned. “You usually hide when you hear my dad coming. Why didn’t you this time?”
Riley shrugged, the movement bouncing her head up and down. “I wanted him to see me. I want to be able to come and go as needed without fearing he’ll shoot me on sight.”
“Smart.”
“Genius.”
Her lips twitched. “Okay, returning to the subject at hand. I asked some questions a few minutes ago and you ignored me. I’d really like you to answer now. So. First up. When will we know if I’m for sure a Drainer?”
“Actually, let’s not return to this subject. Let’s forget the Drainer thing for now.”
“No. I can’t.” Not when he might be in danger. “Answer, please.”
He uttered another sigh, warm breath ruffling fine strands of her hair and brushing them against her brow. “Food will make you sick, because your body no longer needs or wants it. You’ll begin to crave close proximity to witches and other creatures, and you’ll know them, what they are, what they can do, before you ever even see them.”
Stomach churning… None of that helped her case. She’d already begun to sense when creatures were near. She’d known Marie was in town before she’d seen her. And yeah, she would love to experience that rush of power again. Craved it, as he’d said.
“Tell me if any of that happens.”
She would do more than tell him. She would show him. She pushed from the bed and strode to her desk.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding out.” Maybe she should have waited until she was alone, but he needed to know just as much as she did. Shaking, she pulled a candy bar from the top drawer, where bags of nuts and other candies rested. Her emergency study stash. She peeled back the wrapper, turned to Riley, who was stiff and anxious, and bit into the top.
Usually, she would close her eyes and delight in the sweetness of the chocolate. This time, the food was like ash in her mouth. Her stomach tightened up, ready to revolt, but she did it, she swallowed, and it was like swallowing a lump of coal.
Regret hit her first, then the sickness Riley had promised, strong, consuming, raking every inch of her. Bile rose, burning her throat. Any second now, she would—Eyes wide, she rushed to the bathroom, hunched over and vomited into the toilet. Over and over again.
When her stomach was finally empty, she brushed her teeth, once, twice, then swished mouthwash for several minutes, until every part of her mouth tingled from the alcohol. All the while, her shaking increased.
No. No, no, no.
“Better?” he asked when she entered the room. “Fine.”
“Could be nerves.”
“Yeah.” But she knew, deep down, she knew, and so did he. They might not want to face it, might want to deny it with every fiber of their beings, but they couldn’t. Not any longer. She was different now. She had changed.
She was a Drainer.
Almost in a trance, she walked back to the bed and reclaimed her spot at his side. She would have to leave him. If she didn’t, she would one day hurt him. Was this the last time she would ever be with him like this?
“I’m sure it’s nerves. A self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said, voice devoid of emotion now. “I told you that you would be sick, therefore you were.”
He’d always been the realist, she the dreamer. Now it seemed their roles had reversed.
“Riley,” she said softly.
“Nope,” he interrupted, as if he suspected where she was headed. “We’ve covered that topic of conversation. Now we can move on.” He pressed another kiss into her cheek. “I want you to know that when I said we were maybe dating yesterday, I was still in shock. I didn’t mean it, and I want to kick my own ass. We are dating, so don’t you dare think about seeing someone else. You’re mine, and I don’t share.”
Sweeter words had never been spoken, and she should have been flying through the clouds, lost to happiness. Except, she found herself saying, “Riley…I just don’t know. I mean—”
“Oh, no. Hell, no.” He rolled over, pinning her to the bed, his weight smashing into her. He was heavy, but it wasn’t unpleasant. She liked it, liked having him there. “Are you trying to break up with me?”
No. “Yes.” Oh, God, she couldn’t believe she’d just said that. He was her everything, and yet, she was dangerous to him. She wasn’t going to risk his life, even to keep him, which she wanted to do more than anything else in the world.
“Things are more complicated, yes, but that doesn’t mean we’re over.”
Tears burned her eyes, springing up, spilling over. “Yeah, it does.” Stop it. Stop talking. Don’t do this. “We’re…over.” If there were any other way…and maybe there was. She would find it, if so, as planned. Research, experimentation. Whatever.
But until then, no Riley. No feeding her addiction to him. No enjoying him, relying on him, expecting and needing him.
His eyes narrowed. “If that’s the case, then you won’t mind taking your self-defense lessons from me.”
And have his hands all over her? How would she resist him? “That kinda defeats the point of what I’m trying to do.” Protect you for once.
“And what are you trying—”
“Mary Ann,” her dad called from downstairs, his voice echoing from the walls and interrupting. “You up?”
“Yeah,” she called back.
“Breakfast will be ready in twenty.”
“Thanks.”
“Welcome.”
She squirmed free of Riley and stood, keeping her back to him. “You should probably go. I have to get ready.”
He sat up. “I’ll leave, but I’ll return and walk you to school. Unless you want to skip and head into town to find another witch. The more bargaining power we have, the better off we’ll be.”
He was asking for her help now, rather than trying to leave her behind to keep her safe. Powerful stuff. He had to know how much that affected her. “Can’t. I’ve got a Chem test, and I can’t miss.” Not that a perfect grade point average mattered in the afterlife, but part of her wanted to pretend this was a normal week.
“All right, I’ll—”
Victoria suddenly appeared in the center of the room, and Mary Ann yelped, hand fluttering over her heart. The vampire princess was paler than usual, her features tight with concern.
“You have to come with me,” she said to Mary Ann. “Aden’s trapped inside Shannon’s body and can’t get out.”
Mary Ann had seen Aden possess a body before—Riley’s wolf form, actually—and the sight had shocked her to her soul. Now he’d possessed Shannon? “I’ll dress and meet you at the ranch.”
“No. That will take too long. I’ll teleport you.”
She stifled a groan. “All right. I have to get past my dad, though, and convince him I’m headed to school.” No Chem test, after all. “I’ll meet you at the gate to my neighborhood.”
“I’m going with,” Riley said, standing.
Victoria shook her head, adamant. “You can’t. You prevent Mary Ann from using her muting ability. You have to stay behind.”
Stubborn, he said, “I’ll walk her to the gate, then, and you can leave me there.”
After a harried nod, Victoria vanished.
Mary Ann was silent as she tugged a sweater and jeans from her closet; she was silent as she dressed in the bathroom. When she finished, she gathered her books and backpack. Still silent. Riley had already removed his jeans—where had he stored them?—and transformed into a wolf.
Together, they raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. The scent of eggs and bacon wafted through the air. Her mouth didn’t water, but her stomach didn’t threaten to revolt again, either. An improvement.
“Dad,” she said in greeting.
He turned, spied Riley and froze, his expression both disgusted and terrified. There were lines of tension around his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept after he’d left her room. “Dear Lord. I didn’t realize how big that thing really was.”