“Out,” Ethan orders, his jaw a little tight.
Lucas grins and glances at his fingernails. “You and I are supposed to be going somewhere, remember?”
“We’ll go tomorrow. I’m busy, and I said get out.” Ethan’s voice is calm but I can tell Lucas’ presence is irritating him.
“Where were you two gonna go?” I ask.
Lucas flashes his fangs at me. “Just out for a couple…refreshments. You want to volunteer instead?”
I immediately understand his meaning, drawing away from Ethan. “Oh. You should probably get going then. I’ve never been the volunteering type.”
I hold myself together, making sure that I don’t let my discomfort show. I never even thought to wonder where they might be getting their blood from these days. Surely they don’t have access to their usual donors now that they’ve been exiled from the south side.
“I can feed tomorrow,” says Ethan, pulling me back to him. “It’s no big deal.” He stops to look at Lucas. “You can go alone if you’re unable to wait.”
“Fine,” Lucas answers, rising from the sofa.
“Hang on,” I say. “Where do you go for blood around here anyway?”
He shrugs and I feel Ethan’s hold on me tighten. “Night clubs. Drunk humans are much more easy to compel.”
“Right,” I reply, not liking the sound of that one bit. “Well will you at least promise me you won’t feed from the same human twice?”
Lucas laughs, but there’s a spike of anger to it. “I have no inclination of creating another Amanda, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“You sure about that?” I question. If I’m not mistaken, he seems a little bitter in his mentioning of Amanda, bitter and forlorn. God, don’t tell me he bloody misses her. That’s just fucked up.
“Positive,” he answers harshly and then leaves the room. A few moments later the front door opens and slams shut.
“I can’t believe it,” I whisper to myself.
“You can’t believe what?” a sexy voice asks me. I’d almost forgotten that Ethan had his arms wrapped around me.
“I think Lucas might be secretly pining for Amanda.”
“The pink haired girl?”
“Yeah. He misses having her throw herself all over him, I imagine. Not to mention having a ready supply of blood on tap.”
Ethan’s laugh vibrates through me, his lips touching my hair. “You only think that because you see him as selfish and cold. Lucas might have his flaws, but he’s not as bad as you imagine.”
“Yeah well, you only think that because your standards are different to mine. And you didn’t have to help nurse Amanda back to health after her addiction. She would have died if we hadn’t used magic.”
“I apologise on Lucas’ behalf for that ordeal, but can we not talk of this? I want you in my bed.”
Trying to break from his hold is a futile effort, so I squeeze my eyes shut and call a little magic to me. It strengthens my muscles and enables me to shift out of his arms. Wow, that was impressive, even if I do say so myself.
“You are surprisingly strong for one so small,” Ethan says, with a mixture of amusement and suspicion.
“What can I say, I work out,” I quip, even though the closest I ever get to working out is fighting off vampires and sorcerers who are after my blood – and intent on my death.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he questions, seeing me move closer and closer to the door.
“I told you this can’t happen.”
“And I’m telling you that it can. Let yourself go for a change.”
“I let myself go last night. That should keep me tided over for a while.”