Then the battle cat—who didn’t belong in this house filled with vampires—stalked past him, snapping and roaring, clearly annoyed with the owl hovering too close to the giant beast and hooting.
“This place is fucking weird.” That said, Kraft stomped down the hall to play checkers with a lycan. With any luck he’d get the fucker to finally playApex Legends.
He was sick of losing to some asshole middle schoolers who kept stealing his loot.
* * *
Kaia didn’t understandwhy Orion was looking at her like that, or why he stayed in the water several feet from her while she sat on the dock. Without thinking about it, she cast a light obfuscation spell to keep them hidden from any passersby.
She had an odd revelation that she no longer needed that borrowed camouflage charm to protect her and chalked up her new power to Becoming. Excited yet nervous, she hoped she got more of her dad’s powers than her mother’s.
It wasn’t uncommon for young magir to “level up,” as Macy called it, when a second puberty of sorts hit. A magical growth spurt in mages happened anywhere from twenty-five to thirty years after birth. Her father’s aging had slowed and he’d risen from novice to exceptional mage, way before most mages grew in power. He’d also had an affinity for demonkind, which explained his close friendship with her Uncle Anton—a full demon very unlike his evil relations. Personally, she’d thought her father partially responsible for Uncle Anton’s kind side. But no one had ever believed her when she’d mentioned it. Just something she’d always sensed.
Kaia didn’t mind being lesser in power than her contemporaries. She had a great life, wonderful friends, and if she hungered for a romantic partner, well, she could always turn to books or movies until that special someone came into her life.
Yet here he was, floating while staring at her as if annoyed with her very existence.
But beneath the irritation, she sensed worry, fear, and... relief?
“Orion, are you okay?”
He nodded to the spot beside him. “Come in with me. I want to talk to you.”
Giving orders rather than asking, she noticed. The old Orion would have gently requested her company or moved to the dock to join her. But the real vampire, she supposed, was used to giving commands.
She shrugged. “Okay.” Not that she needed an excuse to swim, or even better, to swim with Orion. Sliding through the water, she drew abreast of him and let herself sink.
He sank with her, and they watched each other, the light of her special vision kicking in so she could see the handsome vampire scowling at her.
In a deep voice, he said, “You look all right.”
“I’m fine.”
“Good, good.” He continued to watch her, and his attention caught on her hair waving in the water around her. “You look pretty.”
She’d swear she felt him cussing in his head,acting stupid for a female of all things.Confused, because it felt like his thoughts, she nevertheless ignored her imagination and smiled at him. “Thank you.”
They continued to float, staring at each other, and she gasped when she looked down his body, her vision clearing the darkness, to see a naked Orion in all his glory. As she stared, his dick grew hard, pointing at her.
“It does that around you.” He gave her a hint of a grin.
She laughed, though she could feel her cheeks heating. “I remember that.”
His smile faded, his gaze intense. “Tell me.”
“What?”
“Tell me what our time together at the lake house was like. I can’t remember all of it. The sea witch’s actions are clear in my mind, though some of her questions are fuzzy after she used that dagger. But my time with you is coming in bits and pieces.”
She swallowed. “What do you want to know? And before you ask, for the twentieth time, no, we didnothave sex.”
“But we did other things. I know that.” He swam closer, and she refused to back away. “I want to know how I held back. Even now, I hunger for you. Not just your blood, but your mind and body.” He looked her over. “You’re small but put together well. Soft and slight, not as curved as most sea nymphs I know. You’re sexy but standoffish. You don’t put out a vibe.”
“Avibe?” She hated the stereotype about nymphs being nothing but lusty females needing to pleasure sexual partners—men, women, other, it didn’t matter. If you were a sea nymph, you obviously wanted sex. Sadly, for all the sea nymphs she’d met, that held true. But not for her.
“You don’t have it.” He caught a strand of her hair and let it trail through his fingers. “Or do you? You’ve seen my kin. You have male roommates.” He seemed to surprise himself with the information, and his brows drew close in a scowl. “Do you want them too?”
“No. Just... ” She caught herself. “I don’t want anyone.”
