“It’s a guy thing,” he said, staring up at the ceiling with a soft smile on his face.
“I get it’s a guy thing.” She didn’t tell him that plenty of women probably liked boobs too. And she didn’t hide her body from him. She wasn’t as slender as she used to be, and even all the cardio and weightlifting he was forcing on her to rehab her entire body, hadn’t left her slender yet. Probably not ever. And that seemed to be just fine with Eli. He liked her just the way she was, and that had made her more confident and secure in her looks and the whole body image department. “You’re breathing as hard as I am.”
“Sex with you is a pretty good workout.”
She hoped it was more than that, but they hadn’t done the whole “I love you” thing yet. No. Despite her gramma’s warning about giving away the milk for free, they had jumped right from defeating a demon and a pack of insane werewolves into bed. Well not right away. They waited a few hours for her to recuperate from all that spent magical energy. But it had been worth the wait. The sex had been glorious. It still was. But… still no, “I love you,” and she wasnotgoing to say it first. And since he still hadn’t said it, he was going to have to work for it.
Releasing the hand he had taken, she rolled over and off the bed, to her feet, and into the bathroom. When she came out, she picked up her clothes from the floor and dressed, ignoring him. When she was fully clothed, she met his warm brownish-greenish eyes and said, “I’ll see you here by 3:30 a.m..”
All that warm light drained out of his eyes. “You’re not staying the night?”
“Things to do, gear to pack, people to talk to.” She patted his foot. “See you in the morning.” And she left his room, picking up her necklace as she went by it. The look on his face was priceless.
Liz
“We thinkit might be a Dwayyo. One with rabies.”
A look of constrained fury and disbelief crossed Cia’s face, and she plopped her fists on her hips. “And you’re going after it? Are you crazy?”
“Yes. And nope.” Liz went back to checking the power levels in her magical batteries. They were large stones that could hold raw energy, which could then be transferred to amulets holding workings—or spells as mundane humans often called them. The batteries were great at what they did, but they were also freaking heavy, as rocks tended to be, and not easy to carry on a hike into the mountains. She put them in the bottom of her backpack and adjusted the positioning of both against the special, super strong mesh. She could now tuck an amulet into the mesh pocket on the outside, which rested against the mesh on the inside, and recharge fast, on the go, without having to take the batteries out and position them with the amulet. On the necklace were the new workings, the ones she had sorta tested, but not really, and certainly not under dangerous conditions, but ones that might come in handy. Including the curse amulet that was technically illegal according to the US council of witches, people who might put her in a null jail if they found out. So, she had to be careful how she used it.
“Liz. You can’t do this.”
What? The untested amulets?She glanced back and Cia was still standing there, arms akimbo and murderously angry.
They were identical twins, and though they had once looked alike, they had changed a lot in the last few years. They did, however, still share bone structure and a lot of the same mannerisms. Cia had always been the adventurous one, had been born with more freckles and had a hotter temper. Over the last few years their body types, fashion sense, and hair had grown in diametrically opposite directions. Cia was model thin and now wore her hair in stripes of blondes, browns, and something closer to her more natural reddish shade. She was also taller in the stellate boots. Cia had a thing for very expensive footwear and even more expensive pocketbooks. And now that she was engaged (secret from the press, but Liz had seen the ring) to the country singing superstar Ray Conyers, she had the money to indulge her passion for fashion.
“Jane Yellowrock talked to the governor. We’re authorized to track down the rabid Dwayyo and capture it or euthanize it.”
“You’re working for …her?” Cia was beginning to sound angry. Maybe even incensed.
“More like she’s working for me,” Liz said nonchalantly. “I got the gig all by myself and pulled Eli and Chewy into it. Eli notified Jane’s legal team about the possibility of the creature’s species and the rest is history.”
“But youhateher.”
Liz frowned and went back to packing, adding a pair of long underwear, extra wool socks, and a commercially packaged first aid kit, to go along with her healing stones on her amulet necklace. She touched the necklace on its charger stone, to find it was nearly full. It would be stuffed full by three a.m., which was the time her cell was set to wake her. “Not hate. Hate is stupid.”
Cia stepped up and took her sister’s hand.
Liz stopped. Everything took on a stronger impact when they touched: the magic seemed to spark between them; the lights seemed clearer and brighter, though they were turned on low in the house they had bought together; and the pain of losing her sister was suddenly sharper, more cutting.
They had planned to live here together forever, bringing their husbands in and adding on bedrooms and baths as needed, raising their children together. She knew that had been a childhood dream, lost forever now that Cia would be marrying Ray. The two of them would live at his place outside of Nashville and they would travel the world together, doing concerts. Their children would be homeschooled and raised on the road and in another state when they were home.
And Liz would live here alone. Forever.
Keeping all that off her face, Liz pulled her twin into the living room and gestured at Cia’s chair. “I have tea. Blueberry Merlot. If you can stay awhile.”
“I’m staying.” Cia removed her fancy leather bag from her buttery-soft leather recliner and pulled out her fancy cell to text her rich fiancée. Knowing she was jealous and hating herself for it, Liz went into the kitchen and poured tea in the prewarmed cups, bringing both of them into the living room. Using the remote, she turned on the gas logs. They had been a gift from Ray. Along with the chair. and all the other stuff he had delivered.
Ray Conyers said he wanted to keep his love in style. But mostly he wanted her all to himself. Or that was what it felt like to Liz, not that she would ever say that to her twin again.
“I’m all yours,” Cia said. “Talk to me.”
Liz curled up in her chair, an old, comfy Lazyboy in a dark blue cloth that didn’t show stains. Just like the one Cia used to sit in, that had been thrown out when Ray sent his presents. And changed their lives.
“This is overdue, I guess,” Liz started. She sipped. Pulled a crocheted afghan over her legs and scrunched her butt deeper into the seat.
“Use words,” Cia commanded. And sipped. “Good tea.”
