“Yeah, Marquin told me about your special mission, which is the only reason I’m not kicking your ass right now. Though, we all thought you’d be back a bit earlier.” She gave him what looked like a playful shove, but there had to be vampire strength behind it judging by how he stumbled back a step.
Was this his wife? Lover?
Cora had a feeling vampires were probably more open about their relationships, but would he have really tried to sleep with her if he had a woman at home?
Maybe. She still wasn’t convinced he wasn’t the villain in the story. She might be imposing human morals on a being that had none. Or at least not any that resembled hers.
Deciding she was done playing voyeur, Cora stepped forward. “Uh, hi,” she said awkwardly, flinching when the woman whipped her headaround.
The female swept her eyes up and down Cora for a long second then grinned.
It was incredible, that smile, like someone turned on the sun, and Cora’s completely heterosexual body reacted in an intriguing way that she would have to revisit later.
“Is this her?” the woman asked Saiden in a gushing tone with enough bubblegum quality to her voice that made Cora think more cheerleader and less creature of the night. The cute white tennis skirt and baby blue tank top probably weren’t helping either.
Saiden nodded, and the next thing Cora knew she was being swept up in her own hug. Any lingering doubts that this woman might be a vampire were squeezed out of her. Vamps really took bone-crushing hugs to a much more literal place.
“Hey, Tressa, you might want to let her go,” Saiden cut in. “Cora is turning a rather suspicious shade of purple.”
Tressa laughed and relaxed her hold, giving Cora a chance to take in a deep lungful of air.
“Tressa, is it?” Cora asked, stepping back and rubbing her sore arms. “It’s, uh, nice to meet you. I’m glad to see Saiden’s prickly demeanor isn’t representative of all vamps.”
Letting out a twinkling laugh that Cora could practically feel dance along her skin, Tressa said, “Oh, gosh no. Sadie here is a special kind of grumpy.”
Saiden cringed. “I thought I asked you to stop saying that, Tress.”
She turned and gave him a wide-eyed look of complete innocence. “Say what? Grumpy? If Cora has spent more than five minutes with you, she already knows.” Tressa winked at Cora over her shoulder.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I’ve begged you repeatedly for over a hundred years now to not call me Sadie.”
“Aww, is Sadie-Wadie worried about his image as a big bad rogue vampire hunter?”
“I’m remembering now why I left before you got to Seattle,” Saiden replied, rubbing his face.
Tressa laughed again and grabbed Cora’s arm, tucking it in her own as she led them toward the front door.
“Well, I’m going to show Cora around and find her some dinner since I doubt you fed her. You are more than welcome to stay here and practice your brooding, ‘mkay, Sadie Bear?”
A groan came from behind Cora, and she didn’t even try to fight the smile that spread across her face. She would need to remember his little nickname the next time he pissed her off.
Tressa leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “Never let another vampire know if something annoys you. When you live as long as we do, you have to entertain yourself somehow.” Standing up she called out, “Isn’t that right, Sadie Cakes?”
A laugh bubbled up and out of Cora when Saiden’s groan took on a louder, more pained quality. Much like when she kneed him in the nuts yesterday.
“So, are you his wife or girlfriend?” Cora asked hesitantly as they approached the front doors.
She really wanted to like Tressa. There was an infectious quality about the woman’s energy that seemed to wrap around Cora and pull her in, like a planet orbiting a sun, unable and unwilling to break away. It wasn’t enough to shake the jealous feeling that still gnawed at her insides, though.
Tressa halted abruptly, and it was only her strong grip on Cora’s arm that prevented the otherwise inevitable face plant on the cement steps.
Glancing over at the now statue-still vamp, Cora couldn’t quiteplace the look on Tressa’s face.
Shock? Confusion? Disgust?
Seconds ticked by as Tressa evaluated Cora before throwing a glare back at Saiden. All teasing vanished from her voice as she asked, “Saiden, why does Cora think I might be your wife?”
Cora turned around to look at Saiden who thrust his hands back into his pockets in what she was beginning to recognize as his go-to posture when uncomfortable. His ability to shift from ‘potential serial killer’ to ‘teenager struggling to ask a cute girl to prom’ was doing funny things to her insides. Things that were getting harder to ignore or dismiss.
