After a slight hesitation, he dips his head and kisses me. I sag with relief. He’s here. He’s safe. He’s standing in front of me. Alistair deepens the kiss, his tongue tracing my lips, then dancing with mine. There’s a raw edge to the kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck, trying my best to assure us both that he’s alive.
We argued again earlier. He wanted to stay over after my shift, but my place isn’t vampire-proofed yet. I need to order more blackout curtains for the living room. When he pushed for Luca to stay instead, I realized it wasn’t about wanting to spend time with me at all. He wanted to assign me a babysitter. I told him to forget it. Alistair and Luca are the kind of guys who will take over if they aren’t given limits—but him leaving the club upset and distracted? That’s on me.
Alistair moans, and I jerk as I realize it’s from pain and not pleasure. “Shit, be careful,” I snap, pulling back, then wincing at my tone.
“You’re cute when you’re worried.” He smiles widely, his fangs visible.
Luca chuckles. His laughter cuts off abruptly when he looks back at Ciprian.
“What the hell did you do to him, anyway?” I ask, shaking my head as a light snore escapes his mouth. “He has no sense of self-preservation.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Alistair settles carefully in an armchair, his features tight with pain. “Before the blood loss made everything fuzzy... Ciprian showed up. All three of the angels freaked out, and he cut them down one by one, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.”
I study Ciprian, confused by Alistair’s description. It doesn’t match what I’m seeing. With his platinum-blond hair falling over his eyes and his face slack with sleep, he doesn’t look like a ruthless killer. He looks... fuck me, he looks adorable.
“We don’t know what kind of demon he is, do we?” I turn to Alistair for confirmation, and he shakes his head. With a network of informants at his disposal, he’s far more likely to know people’s secrets than Luca or I.
“He’s powerful,” Alistair murmurs. “Beyond that, I can’t say.”
Luca lifts his head, his eyes widening. “After Ciprian found the angel outside the club, that regular walked by us and didn’t glance over once.”
“Are there any rumors of demons who can turn invisible?” I ask.
“Yes, although I’ve never seen one,” Alistair says, then drops his head back against the chair. “But how would I know if I had?”
“Even if he can become invisible, that doesn’t explain why we weren’t noticed either,” Luca says.
“It doesn’t add up.” I frown at Alistair. “And he offered a vein when you needed it?” In my experience, no one in the Fringes does something for nothing, especially if it involves making themselves weaker. Ciprian must have an angle.
“He did want to make sure you heard about his heroics.”
My mouth drops open as I look between Alistair and Luca with disbelief. They both burst out laughing, and I roll my eyes. Ciprian stirs on the couch, but instead of waking up, he rolls over on his side, nuzzling his face against the pillow.
“Unbelievable,” I mutter.
On the coffee table, his cellphone vibrates, but he doesn’t wake up.
“That thing has been going off nonstop,” Luca says. “It’s four o’clock in the morning.”
“Booty call?” Alistair asks.
I pick it up, but Ciprian must have some common sense because the phone is locked. It doesn’t even show a preview of the missed messages.
“Could be a girlfriend,” I say.
“With the way he’s been all over you and Luca, I doubt it’s a girlfriend,” Alistair teases.
Luca glances away, but not before I notice the blush crawling up his cheeks.
I put the phone down and scoff. “That rarely stops anyone from walking into the club.”
“That’s true,” Alistair agrees. “But I don’t get that impression from him. It’s hard to explain, but I trust my sense of people, and he doesn’t strike me as disloyal.”
“That’s so sweet.”
In sync, we whip our heads toward the couch, where Ciprian is grinning, one black eye cracked open like a bat avoiding a porch light. “For the record, I’m not... disloyal, that is.”
“You wouldn’t advertise it if you were,” I point out.
