Shepherd spit out his coffee as Eve returned to her chair to gather her belongings.
Reuben gestured to Claude. “You mentioned you’re a hairstylist?”
Claude straightened his shoulders as if there was no doubt.
“We have a few girls who, uh, they don’t like what we’ve done.”
Claude narrowed his eyes. “And what have you done?”
Reuben shrugged. “A hairstylist isn’t in the budget. Last week the new guy gave them all the exact same cut. They’re not happy.”
Claude rose from his chair. “If you bring them up here, I’ll fix your mistakes. But only on the condition that someone with an ounce of talent pays attention and takes notes.”
“I don’t think you can fix what’s been done, but you can show us a few tricks.”
Claude folded his arms. “You don’t think I can fix bad hair? Challenge accepted. Bring me all your supplies, and let’s get this done before their bedtime. And for future reference, cutting hair isn’t the only way to give someone a fresh new look. I’m also going to show you how to create buns and properly braid.”
“Lord have mercy,” Reuben said on a laugh. “You’re gonna make some kids happy.” He looked at Shepherd and me. “Anyone else have talents we can borrow?”
I shrugged. “I can suffocate a man with my thighs.”
Reuben’s smile waned when he lifted his gaze to the field behind me. “It looks like we found your friends.”
I twisted around in my chair and rested my arms on the railing. Christian swaggered across the field with a roguish smile on his handsome face. No glasses, his Henley shirt shredded and bloodstained, and Viktor’s bag in hand. A man accompanying him branched away toward the entrance to the greenhouse.
Christian reached the side porch and crooked his finger, calling Eve over.
She cautiously approached the wood railing and was eye level with the Vampire. Her plump cheeks bloomed red when she looked down at the palm of his hand.
Christian returned her wadded-up gum wrapper. “The next time you decide to toss your trash and there isn’t a trash receptacle, use your pocket instead. Don’t be a litterbug, you hear? Have some respect for the world around you.”
Eve took the wrapper and fled.
“Says the man covered in blood,” I muttered.
He leaned in and gave me a chaste kiss.
“I take it by the glint in your eye that you killed the lion?”
“Aye.”
“Took you long enough.” I wiped his bloodstained beard with my sleeve. “Did you play with your food?”
“That’s why I’m late.” He dropped the bag. “I’ve certainly worked up an appetite.”
“There’s soup and bread.”
“That’s not what I’m hungry for, lass.” His eyes lowered. “What’s wrong with your hands?”
A strange golden light drew my attention, and I lifted my palms.What the hell?I shook them as if I could somehow remove the glow with a flick of my wrist.
“That’s never happened before,” I said, rubbing them against my jacket.
Christian gripped my wrists and looked me firmly in the eye. “You’re not doing that yourself?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t feel like anything. Energy always tingles. Sometimes it heats up my hands, and other times it causes pain. This is just… weird.”
I held up my hands and looked at them as if they were giant lightning bugs from a prehistoric era. A few seconds later, the light extinguished.
