by CoraLee June
I could feel the happiness radiating off her, and my heart melted a little bit. I smiled down at her, kissing her on the top of the head before looking back toward her friends. I extended my hand for Ryan to shake and then gave Yaz a small hug, which she completed with air kisses.
“I’m so happy to meet you both. Drew has told me so much about you.”
“Oh darling, the pleasure is all ours. We haven’t seen Drew this happy in a long time. Plus, I was getting worried about her Tinder addiction. It’s nice to know she’s getting some consistent dick now.”
“She’s so grumpy when she’s not getting boned,” Ryan agreed.
I stored that information away and chuckled.
I’m starting to regret this. Drew’s mind link came in loud and clear; it was like we were truly transitioning into using it with ease.
Yaz continued, “Now, please tell me that you made dinner. We love our Drew, but she really can’t cook to save her life,” Yaz said in the light airy tone I had come to expect from her.
“I can too cook,” Drew defended herself as she swatted Yaz with a dish towel.
“Sorry, love. I’m with Yaz,” Ryan said, wrinkling his nose and pulling his lips into a grimace.
“Well, I did make dinner, and you two will be eating your fucking words for dessert.” Drew took the five steps into the kitchen to evaluate what she pulled out of the oven right before answering the door.
She stood in front of the oven, not moving for a little bit too long for everything to be okay. I excused myself from the debate Ryan and Yaz started up over Yanny or Laurel and joined Drew in the kitchen.
“I burnt it,” she whispered.
“I can see that.”
“I don’t want to tell Yaz and Ryan.”
“What’s your plan?” I asked.
“Stand here all night until they get bored and go home?”
I looked over the scorched meat to see if there was any way to save it, but there was no hope. Instead, I swept my arm over the dish and knocked it to the floor, breaking the glass and spilling the contents.
“Oh no, Drew, I’m so sorry. I ruined your perfect dinner.”
She rushed to clean it up before either Yaz or Ryan could see that it was inedible to begin with.
Thank you.
Anything for you.
This mind link was making my dick twitch. Score for intimacy.
“It’s okay, I brought a pizza coupon. I had a sneaking feeling we would need it,” Yaz said, going for her purse. Yaz didn’t need to use coupons for pizza, but Drew had told me that she loved the thrill of getting a good deal. Apparently, she was the type of woman who would load up her online shopping cart with thousands of dollars of high-end makeup, clothes, and shoes but then cancel the whole order because she didn’t want to pay six dollars in shipping.
She dug around for a few minutes before pulling an envelope out of her purse. “Huh, what’s this?” She slipped her finger under the flap, and when she pulled it open, there was a small pop, and suddenly we were all being showered with glitter. We all stood there in shock, assessing the sparkling damage. Yaz started giggling, and soon everyone else had joined in.
“Diego, love, you’re so sparkly!” I looked down at myself and had to take a calming breath.
“Why the hell am I covered in glitter?”
“I’m so sorry. I completely forgot that Daddy put this in my purse. Sometimes he likes to get kinky with the craft supplies and…”
So, this wasn’t just any glitter. This was kinky sex glitter.
“Can I call him Edward Cullen from now on?” Ryan asked Drew in a low whisper. “I mean, look at him. He’s a sparkly vampire.” Drew elbowed him in the side.
“Daddy likes to cover my kitty with glitter and take photos of it,” Yaz explained, as if it were normal to talk about at dinner parties.
“Come on, glitter boy. Let’s get you cleaned up,” Drew said while grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the bathroom. It wasn’t until we were behind the closed door that she burst out laughing.
“You’re a sparkly vampire, Diego,” she whispered between harsh laughter. I started stripping out of my suit, sending the craft herpes to the floor. She wouldn’t be laughing for long. This shit was going to be all over her apartment until the end of time.
“I resent that,” I growled as she helped me out of my pants and trailed a finger on the waistband of my underwear. I grabbed her wrist.
“I suggest you keep your hands to yourself, Drew. I’m trying to make a good impression, and your friends might get concerned if they heard you screaming my name.” She swallowed and blushed. Fuck. I jerked her closer. “You have some glitter on you as well. Maybe we should shower together? Conserve water and all of that.”
“Yaz would want to video tape it for her Onlyfans account,” she deadpanned.
Nope. Not doing that. What the fuck was an Onlyfans? I made a mental note to google it later.
“Want me to have Rocky get you some new clothes?” she asked.
“Please do,” I replied as she turned on the shower and left me alone in the room.
The hot water felt good on my skin, and seeing the glitter washing down the drain felt even better. What kind of self-respecting vampire sparkled? I used the pink mesh sponge to scrub away as many of the tiny glimmering specks of evil off me as I could. When I was done, Drew’s loofah looked like a disco ball.
Rocky had brought a new pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, but not a clean pair of boxer briefs. I thought about going commando, but with Drew’s friends here, I needed to keep my cock in check. I couldn’t risk getting a hard-on, so I sighed and shook out the glitter-covered pair as best I could before pulling them on. I’m sure Drew would get a kick out of my tinsel dick later. If I was lucky, maybe she would have a thing for kinky sex glitter. Wasn’t there a pop song about disco sticks?
I quickly finished getting dressed and tossed my ruined clothes in Drew’s bedroom before returning to the living room. All three of them were still laughing as they attempted to clean the glitter off every surface in the apartment.
“I’m so sorry, Diego. I had no idea it was a glitter bomb. But you pulled it off very well. If your current career doesn’t work out for you, I can get you a job as a go-go dancer,” Yaz offered.
“Oh Diego, yesss, you would be a great go-go dancer!” Ryan snorted.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I laughed along, trying to be a good sport.
“Speaking of careers, Diego, what is that you do?” Yaz asked.
I never had to hide my career before, and being put on the spot made me pause. “He’s an accountant,” Drew rushed out. Ryan snorted. Yaz nodded and forced a smile.
Accountants are boring. She’ll never ask questions about your job because she’ll be terrified that you’ll actually talk about it. I learned that trick from a famous porn star, her mind told me.
I forced myself not to laugh. “Yeah. I’m an accountant for a pretty large corporation—”
“That’s great!” Yaz interrupted. “So how did your presentation go, Drew?” she asked, changing the subject immediately. I made a mental note to remember that little trick.
“It went great,” I answered. “She’s leading the new paranormal peen project.” I wasn’t sure if that was the actual name, but I was sticking with it. I rubbed Drew’s shoulders, but she looked sad about something. I didn’t like the look on her face.
What’s wrong? I asked.
She didn’t respond. I suddenly grew anxious. Was it something I did?
“Um, actually, Lacey fired me today…” she said out loud.
Ryan gasped dramatically. Yaz arched her brow. “Why?” they both asked.
“The pitch didn’t actually go very well, and Lacey decided it was best for the company if we parted ways. She called me a couple hours ago, but I didn’t want to ruin our night.” Ryan and Yaz hugged Drew as they cursed Lacey for being such an idiot.
What? Why didn’t you tell me? I can compel her to
give you your job back.
No, Diego. That wouldn’t be right. I wouldn’t feel right. I want to earn what I have.
I knew there had to be more to it, but did Drew know? Why did you really get fired? Nobody knows that the first round of your pitch didn’t go well.
I think Lacey is jealous of my status as a vampire. She’s been trying for so long to become a member of the coven, and then I just fell right into it. She’s about to age out and…
Fuck. Another reason for Drew to resent being turned.
She seemed off today. Besides, she likes being the boss. Having a vampire subordinate means that at any moment she could be compelled to do what I say. She loves her authority too much to let that happen. It’s probably why she wants to be a vampire so badly.
“But it’s okay. I think I want to start my own company, and this is my opportunity to do it,” Drew said out loud with a smile. “When I was doing the pitch and it didn’t go as I planned, all my hard work was hanging on the approval of men who probably didn’t know the difference between the clit and the urethra. I realized I didn’t want to pitch great ideas for people who didn’t see the value or importance of our work. I’m not just making dildos, you know? I also want a larger portion of sales to go toward sex education and empowerment programs. I think I could get a loan. I’m so grateful to Lacey for everything, but maybe firing me was the best thing she’s ever done for me.”
I didn’t think it was possible to be more enthralled with Drew, but here she went and made me fall even harder. “I think that’s an incredible idea,” I said with a genuine smile.
Yaz and Ryan enthusiastically echoed their support for Drew, and she beamed with pride. I loved that she had friends who built her up, and I understood now why she fought so hard for them.
“Okay,” Drew said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s celebrate by ordering that pizza. I’m starting to get ‘hangry.’”
This immediately sparked a heated debate about whether pineapple belongs on pizza or not. Yaz was firmly in the pro-pineapple camp, while Drew and Ryan argued so passionately against it I thought a fight might break out.
“Why not just get two pizzas?” I asked. All three of them turned to glare at me.
“Oh, that’s so cute,” Ryan said.
Cute? Did he seriously just call me cute?
“That’s a lovely suggestion, darling. But that’s not how this works,” Yaz told me in the same voice you would use to explain colors to a toddler.
“It’s kind of a tradition. We either make new and valid points until someone caves, or we argue until we are so hungry, we don’t care if the pineapple is there or not,” Drew explained, as if this were a perfectly reasonable way to order pizza.
They immediately went back to yelling over each other. As I watched Drew bickering about pizza toppings, I could feel her happiness. Being here in her apartment, with people she loved, doing something so trivial but so familiar. I was happy I was able to give that to her.
Stop thinking lovey dovey thoughts at me. I’m trying to focus on this debate, she thought at me, a twinkle in her eye.
“Never,” I whispered, loud enough for her to hear.
Drew
“You can’t wear that,” Betty said. She was sitting on the edge of my bed with her slender legs crossed. The fur coat she wore looked expensive and out of place compared to my frumpy pajamas. I wasn’t exactly sure why I invited her over, but the woman had grown on me…and I needed fashion advice. Betty did have style.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because it’s last season and clashes with your complexion,” she replied while inspecting her nails.
Okay. Inviting Bitchy Betty over was a mistake.
“I already have a dress for you to wear. I sent it to the dry cleaner because I wore it on a date with Rocky, and it smelled like sex.”
My brows raised. “You and Rocky?”
“Don’t look so surprised, child. He’s technically older than me, but he doesn’t look it. He appreciates my wise perceptions of the world. Plus, there is something to be said about experience. Did you know natural borns stop aging when they hit thirty? I swear, seeing women crying about hitting thirty pisses me off. Thirties are the prime of your life!” She wiggled on the mattress and squeezed her eyes shut. “And let me tell you. Thirty-year-old men are virile, and they know what they’re doing, honey.”
“Get it, Betty,” I said with a smirk.
“I already got it, honey,” she replied while licking her lips. “I’m pissed he has to work tonight. Coven dinners are such a drag. For being a superpowered species, you’d think they’d get more creative. I was hoping for at least an orgy, not some Harvard graduates dancing naked and petitioning me to change them while I sucked from their least scandalous vein. I mean seriously, I don’t want to talk about their research while I’m eating.”
I sighed while picking up a pair of silver pumps I wore to a divorce party once. “Seems everyone wants to be a vampire, huh? I found out that my boss is a fang chaser. She fired me over it.”
“Bitch. I can’t blame her for wanting it though. It’s nice being immortal. But a little bit of fanfare and theater would make the entire experience more enjoyable,” Betty complained. “Anyhoo, your dress is crimson red. Gorgeous. And those heels you’re clutching will look great with it.”
“How should I do my makeup?”
“You really are useless, aren’t you?” Betty sighed. “Sit. I’ll do it. We have time before your dress gets here anyway.”
I sat in the chair at the small vanity in my room. I didn’t really have a ton of makeup, but I loved the look of the small vintage white desk and mirror combo. I felt like a movie star, and whenever I took the time to sit and apply one of the three eyeshadows I owned, I liked to pretend I was a famous YouTube guru and narrate my makeup routine.
“You know you use the wrong type of foundation for your face, right?”
Bite me.
“Obviously, if I had known it was wrong, I wouldn’t have gotten it,” I snapped. Realizing that Betty was literally messing with my face and that came out a little harsher than I meant, I added, “What would the right stuff be so I can get it?”
“Your skin is naturally gorgeous.” Aww shucks. “This stuff makes you look like a cake face. You need to let it breathe. Try a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream. It’s a shame to smother your skin the way you have been.”
There was a knock at the door, and Betty drew a line of concealer across my cheek as she turned and ran to answer it. I heard Rocky’s voice followed by high-pitched giggles from Betty.
I had to fight my internal bias and not gag at the mental picture of Betty and Rocky doing naked Twister. She was eighty, and he looked...my age.
“Thank you, big guy,” she cooed.
“It’s the least I could do, since I was the one that...ruined it.”
Oh gross. I didn’t want to know how or why or what had been ruined about the dress Betty wanted me to wear. When I heard the door slam shut, I forced myself to not look grossed out and smiled. “Rocky bring the dress?”
Betty licked her lips. “That’s not the only thing he brought. Gosh, that is one tall glass of water!”
She started unzipping the garment bag, and the second I saw the silk material, I knew that this dress was a stunner. “Betty. Wow. Are you sure you don’t mind letting me wear that?” I asked.
She shrugged it off. “Figured it’s the least I could do. You’re a vampire because of me.”
Betty’s words were scary close to an apology. Was she feeling remorse? Or guilt?
I coughed before answering. “I’m actually starting to like the way my life is turning out,” I admitted. “It might not have been what I imagined for myself, but I don’t blame you anymore.”
Betty looked down at the ground, then back at me. “Oh shush. Let’s get you ready. Everyone is curious about the woman King Diego is courting. Let’s really give them something to talk about.”
I fel
t like I was ready to walk the red carpet in the dress. The silky ruby material clung tightly to my curves before falling to the floor in a small train behind me. The dress only had one shoulder, which made finding a comfortable bra a bitch, but Diego’s face when he saw me made the pinching strapless bra totally worth it. He was standing outside the ornate doors that led to the dining hall.
“You look stunning tonight, Drew,” he purred, wrapping his arms around my lower back. I breathed in his earthy cologne and planted a soft kiss on his lips. He was wearing a black on black suit that fit like it was made for him. Hell, it probably was.
“You look pretty damn good yourself. Let’s go inside so I can show you off.” I moved toward the door, but Diego didn’t loosen his hold on me.
“Not so fast. We’ll go inside in a minute.”
Diego was up to something, he hated being late. I didn’t look that good that he would suddenly not care about being late to a coven event. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t freak out. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to get anxious over nothing.”
What the suck was happening? A flurry of thoughts raced through my mind from being caught and publicly reprimanded for manipulating my license test to being forced to feed from a human to prove my loyalty.
“Since you accepted my courtship, we are going to be introduced as an official couple to the coven tonight.”
I breathed out an initial sigh of relief, grateful that I wasn’t going to be publicly humiliated. Wait. No, this wasn’t a good thing. Butterflies swarmed inside my stomach, and I was about to tell Diego that I would rather not when music started playing.
“That’s our cue, let’s go,” Diego said casually and then opened the doors.
It was an entrance fit for a king. Everyone stood and politely golf clapped as we sauntered into the room. Well. Diego sauntered. I clung to his arm like a nervous cat in heat. I caught Betty’s eye, and she winked at me.
Be a badass, Drew. You’re sort of dating this dude now. Might as well work it. I straightened my spine and tried to look confident as he led me over to the council’s table where he pulled out my chair, and I settled next to Claire. “You look lovely today, Drew.”
