Shadows and Stars

by Becca Fanning

  “Right. And who would you pair me with?”

  She swallowed before licking her suddenly dry lips. “Well…with the female vampire, of course.” She bent forward to study her list as if she’d developed a case of cataracts in the past few moments. Every name was already branded into her mind. Raven Nightshade. Even the female vampire’s name sounded dark and sultry…dangerous with a sexy edge. The bitter green stain of unwanted jealousy coated Penny’s taste buds, and she swallowed to force it away.

  “Of course.” Vincent repeated her last words, his tone dry, and when she dared look at him, a ghost of a smile hovered on his lips.

  She twisted for a better view of his face. “Don’t look at me like that.” This time, she intended those words to be harsh, but they came out as a plea.

  His features softened as he trailed his fingers over the side of her throat and moved to stand in front of her. “You know I’d do anything for you, but if I really have to go through with this ridiculous farce, let me do it with you.”

  Suspicion crawled through her even as every synapse tingled with want. “What do you mean?”

  “A double date. You sit with your match, I’ll sit with mine, and we’ll all have a lovely mating.”

  “Meeting.”

  He shrugged again. “Whatever, sweetcheeks. Meeting, mating, don’t you want the end result to be the same?”

  She took in his brown hair, full lips, and laughing brown eyes, and her resolve faltered. “I don’t know.” Tapping her pen in a nervous drumbeat against the table, she skimmed the list again. Mating…mating… Her gaze fell on the category column. Mating and…werewolves. The two went hand in hand. She underlined the name of the female werewolf with her finger. Luna Steele.

  “What are you doing?”

  She looked up.

  Vincent’s curious gaze roved over her face.

  “I’m doing my job, I suppose. Identifying pairs.”

  “What about our date?”

  She gave an exasperated sigh. “It wouldn’t be our date. You need to meet Raven. She’s Raven Nightshade, by the way.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Raven Nightshade? Really? She must have named herself—that much dark and dangerous just screams Vampire Inferiority Complex. If anything, she’s in need of your therapy services, not a date with a healthy male specimen.”

  Penny shrugged, although a tiny seed of pleasure bloomed at his reaction. “Well, it’s not like I chose it for her. But you’ll see if her name suits her soon enough.”

  “Fine. And who’s your match?” The way he spat out “match” left no doubt as to how he felt about the idea.

  “I…um…I…well, he’s a wizard.”

  “Yes. Witches and wizards. I get the idea. Have I seen him around?”

  “Maybe.” She forced a casual attitude she didn’t feel and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “He works in the kitchens.”

  “Oh, I don’t bother with that whole eating thing.” He smiled, giving her the full benefit of his fangs. “What’s your future husband’s name, then?”

  “Hmm?” She tucked her hair behind her ear and widened her eyes at him as though she hadn’t understood his question, because naming her match made him real.

  “You know, your mate, your meet. Whatever.”

  “My meat?” Revulsion crawled across her skin at the sudden idea of intimacy with a man she hadn’t even laid eyes on. She looked away from Vincent. “His name is Neville.” At Vincent’s muffled snort, she refocused on him.

  “Sounds like a great match.”

  Choosing to keep the peace, she ignored him. “Anyway, I might start with one of the other pairs first. No point trialling my new service on myself. I won’t be in any sort of position to make adjustments or problem shoot.”

  “Not just on you. On us. I’m with you, don’t forget.” He laced his fingers through hers, and she didn’t pull away.

  SEVEN

  “THANKS FOR COMING to see me, Luna.” Penny shuffled her papers on the desk in an attempt to look like she knew what she was doing.

  A brief grimace twisted Luna’s face, and she cleared her throat as she pulled her ugly hand knitted cardigan tightly around herself. Hairy looking and probably itchy, that thing had a smell all of its own.

  “Why am I here?” Her softly spoken voice matched her wide eyes hidden behind oversized 1980s glasses, perfectly. She folded further into herself, as though she couldn’t believe she’d dared speak.

  Penny opened her mouth, and a squeak emerged. Luna jumped in response, and Penny gulped her water, then coughed vigorously to bring most of it back from her lungs. Eyes watering and chest crackling, she tried again.

  “You’re my first…” She read her notes over again, her eyes darting with a wild lack of control from word to word. “Client. I don’t know if anyone has mentioned the new matchmaking agency on board? That’s me. It’s what I’m doing. The Sea Horse Dating Agency. I know Geraldine was pretty excited when I mentioned it to her, and she works at the bar so she might have said…” Penny raised her gaze to find Luna watching her. Just watching.

  Luna shuddered. “No, but are you also responsible for all the new restrictions at the bar about who can sit where and who they can sit with? Geraldine said she found a memo saying it had something to do with dating and pairs.”

  “Hmm?” Penny wished she had glasses to push back up her nose, instead of twisting the ends of her hair into a nest of knots as she tried to ignore the crawling feeling of Gerald’s meddling hand. “I’ve been busy settling things, here.” She indicated her office. “I haven’t been to Absolution in….” She counted the days in her head. Not since she’d almost tried to remedy her meeting with Hazel, but she didn’t follow that thought any further. “Anyway, this is more about what I can do for you, you know…anyway.”

  “Really.” Boredom shone from Luna’s face, and she tapped her foot. “Then I can leave now, to be honest. You can’t do anything for me.”

  “Have you got a boyfriend?” Penny’s attempt to bring Luna back to the point of their meeting crashed into the room like a meteor strike, and Luna’s eyes flashed. Penny looked more closely at her expression. Yep, those eyes were literally flashing, and her hands gripped the armrests of her chair, too. In fact, it almost looked as though her bones were about to erupt through her skin.

  “I wasn’t aware that was a requirement of being on the ship.” Luna’s lips barely moved. Her voice came out tight as though someone had a hand clamped over her vocal chords. “My letter of invitation mentioned nothing about that.”

  “Oh, no! Not a requirement as such.” Although, more than a preference if Gerald and Geraldine anticipated their happily ever afters. Penny flapped her hands. Aiming for breezy, ending with klutzy as she sent her desk organiser and about one-hundred newly sharpened pencils cascading to the floor. “Not at all. It’s just…you know…matchmaking. Dating. I’m in the business of making people happy! Wouldn’t it make you happy? How about this man? Would he make you happy?” Dear God, she sounded like a demented clown—happy, happy, happy. Her forced laugh and grin so wide it hurt her face brought tears to her eyes, and she fumbled through the file she’d prepared for Luna again, triumphantly extracting a photograph of the male werewolf Geraldine had listed. She slid it across the glossy steel surface of the desktop and waited.

  “Holy Joe Manganiello.” Luna breathed the words, then lifted her gaze to Penny’s.

  Penny nodded, pleasure bubbling in her stomach. She could do this…it would only take one satisfied couple, and the others would be hammering at her door to be matched. She glanced at the picture. Indeed, she could about see his abs through his clothes. And she could almost read Luna’s thoughts. If she wasn’t mistaken, the werewolf in front of her was even panting a little.

  Unable to contain her excitement at Luna’s apparent approval of the man in the photograph, Penny blurted her next words. “Fabulous! He’ll be here in five minutes.”

  “What?” Luna’s chair shot backwards as sh
e stood. “You can’t be serious?”

  “Well.” For the first time, doubt crept into her mind about her plan. “I’ve got a hairbrush you could use.”

  “Are you saying my hair’s a mess?” Luna’s patted her hair while she checked the neat little watch on her other wrist. “I’ve got other plans. I’m five minutes late already.”

  “Plans? What could be more important than meeting your future?”

  “My future what?”

  “Just your future.” Penny tasted blood as she chewed her lip. What was she thinking? She couldn’t just announce a man as someone’s future.

  Luna grabbed her bag and slung it onto her shoulder.

  “I meant your future blind date. Can I get you a drink while you wait for him?” Penny’s mind had left the room, and her mouth was in charge. “Take a seat, and I’ll see what I’ve got.” Dear God, what did werewolves even drink? The fridge was empty. Short of slashing open a vein, she couldn’t offer her anything even vaguely warm, either. “I…um…I…. A drop of red?” To top it all off, she even held out her hand and made a carving motion over her wrist. Her blood pounded in her ears, although whether it was a rush to vacate her arm or embarrassment, she couldn’t tell.

  Luna turned a slight green colour and clapped her hand over her mouth. She wobbled back to the chair and filled the room with the sound of taking large gulps of air.

  Just as Penny was about to enquire after her health, someone knocked at the door, and they both froze, Luna’s mask of silent horror matching how Penny’s face felt.

  “I think we’re closed for the day.” Penny’s mouth worked on its own again as she called out.

  Luna looked at her.

  “Just let me check,” Penny called again and gestured frantically towards Luna. “Am I open?” Her words forced themselves through her gritted teeth.

  Luna shook her head, then nodded it, then gave a firm shake.

  “Well?” a smooth, masculine voice enquired through the still-shut office door. “Are you open or closed.”

  Luna’s eyes drifted shut, and she released a small moan.

  “I’m…we’re…closed?” Penny explored the words.

  Luna’s eyes shot open, and the ferocity of her glare nearly reduced Penny to a small pile of wasted human in the middle of the brand-new carpet tiles.

  “Open. We are OPEN.” The last word was loud enough to be heard three planets over, and Penny cringed as it boomed around the office.

  The door slid open without a sound, and Penny released a trapped breath.

  “Hello?” The gorgeous man from the picture grinned, seemingly sharing his devastating charm between both of them.

  “André! Come in! Have a seat.” In the harsh glare of lack of foresight, Penny gestured helplessly at her own chair, across the desk from Luna.

  He paused. “Am I at an interview?”

  “Not at all.” Penny swung a closed fist at his shoulder in a light punch that left her knuckles bruised on his muscle. “The office is new. I’m still moving furniture in, but I wanted you to meet Luna right away.”

  At the sound of Luna’s name, André’s nose twitched, and he puffed out his chest as each of his muscles tightened and drew him an inch or two taller. He held out his hand and clasped Luna’s before he pulled her into a sudden hug, taking a deep sniff of her hair as he did so. “Lovely to meet you.”

  Luna said nothing.

  Anxiety flooded through Penny. She’d got it wrong. Hovering like the world’s most neurotic mother, she wrung her hands and circled the couple. Luna still had yet to speak. But that seemed to be because she had her face crushed against André’s chest, and he was squeezing her to him as though she might be the only thing saving him from accidentally taking flight.

  “You good?” Penny asked the question despite all answers pointing to yes.

  “Mmmm.” André’s moan, akin to a sex noise, weakened Penny’s legs, and she wobbled to her office chair.

  “I’ve got your first date sorted for you both at the bar. If you’d like to come with me, I’ll check they’ve got everything set up to my specifications.”

  Luna finally raised her head. “Specifications?”

  “Absolutely! Only the best for my clients.”

  “Wait…what? Clients?” André shifted to hold Luna at arm’s length but didn’t release her from his grasp.

  Goddammit all. Penny nearly stamped her foot in front of them. In all the rush she’d forgotten the money aspect of having clients and running a business. She couldn’t throw people into unexpected matches and then charge them for it. “No charge. You’re my dummy run,” she assured the room in general as she tried to manoeuvre them both to the door. Better and better. She’d just insulted their intelligence. Head held high, she tapped the lock code on the keypad on the wall before leading the way from her office down the corridor.

  “Geraldine!” Relief calmed Penny’s heart as she saw the usual landlady behind the bar. “Is everything ready?”

  Geraldine looked up from the till with a smile. “As you requested.”

  Penny paused, then glanced back down the corridor towards her two canoodling charges. “I’ll just grab them a couple of menus and wait by their table. I’m sure they won’t be long.” She gritted her teeth at that last line. Their few minute walk had already taken half an hour. It would almost be sensible to skip dinner and just book them a room.

  Eventually, she had the two werewolves sat at the quiet corner table, a small lit candle between them to prevent too much leaning towards each other in such a public space, and she opened one of the menus with a flourish. “Right, for your starter, I’ve taken the liberty of requesting the pâté, your main course steak, rare…of course.” She tittered a little at her terrible joke, finally on stable ground with the end of the evening insight. “Then dessert…well, I might let you decide what suits you best.” She raised her gaze from the menu to glance meaningfully at the two of them, but surprise froze her movements. Luna was shaking her head and muttering words that weren’t audible to anyone but André, although he looked more at ease with every syllable she spoke.

  Finally, as if by telepathic agreement, they both stood.

  “Darling, we have had a lovely evening, but we won’t stay.” André pressed a kiss first to one of Penny’s cheeks, then to the other.

  “Luna?” Everything was slipping away, and Geraldine’s laser-sharp gaze hadn’t strayed from all of them since they’d entered. “I thought you liked each other?” Tongues down throats must mean something else in werewolf.

  “Oh. We just can’t stay. André said he’ll prepare us something a little more to our taste…back at his place.” Luna inhaled in a great big breath of elation she could have defied gravity on.

  “More suitable than a steak here, at this romantic table?”

  André shrugged, his apology written on his face. “Next time, I’d recommend a touch more research. Your first two clients are vegetarian…although, she might still be my idea of dessert.” He growled a little and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of Luna’s hand. “We’re perfect for each other.” He drew Luna to his side.

  She turned a fiery shade of red and almost merged her body with his as they left the bar.

  “Oh my God. Well, that just happened, I suppose.” Penny wandered over to Geraldine and hoisted herself onto a bar stool.

  “Don’t relax yet. You’ve got a problem.” Geraldine lowered her voice to a whisper and gave a meaningful nod of her head to the corner of the room.

  EIGHT

  TAKING A DEEP FORTIFYING BREATH, Penny pressed her hands against the bar and twisted her bar stool until she could see what Geraldine had pointed out. Shit. She turned straight back and tried to compose her facial expression.

  “How long has he been here?” She forced the words out ventriloquist style, keeping her mouth as still as possible.

  Geraldine leant closer, exhaling the same sour breath Gerald smothered her with the night he accosted her.

 
Penny fought the urge to recoil. “How long has he been here…and—” she took a casual glance over her shoulder and abandoned the spy talking “—what the hell is he drinking?”

  “He’s on his third O-neg.” Geraldine picked up a pint glass from the bar and exhaled onto it before wiping it over with a stale smelling towel.

  “He what? Dammit. Friends don’t let friends… Vincent doesn’t drink blood, Geraldine.” Penny’s voice rose to a shriek. Without waiting for a response, she drew herself to her feet, inhaled so deeply that her nostrils flared in pain, and executed a perfect military turn to face Vincent. Magic pulsed deep within her, signalling her need to protect that which was hers, but she pushed the territorial response aside. What Vincent did in his own time…she looked away. No, she couldn’t ignore it. As a friend, it was absolutely her business to get up in his business and straighten him out.

  “YOU!” She bellowed the word, shaking the light fittings. As she reached Vincent’s side, she took hold of his ear just to be sure he knew she meant him. She spared a scathing glance for his companion at the table but made a point to ignore the wide-eyed look of disbelief the random man leading Vincent astray directed her way as she hauled Vincent to his feet.

  He winced as she tightened her pincer grip.

  “What in God’s name are you doing?”

  Vincent recoiled.

  “What? Oh, for God’s sake.”

  He recoiled again, and his face tightened.

  “Don’t you dare pretend the name of the Lord pains you. Not when I’ve just seen you drinking blood.” The last word dripped like poison from her lips. “It’s a fine time for you to start betraying your precious principles. I need to talk to you about my first appointment and look at you. Drunk as a wolf hopped up on bane. Do you even know who I am?” She took one look into his eyes, startled but devoid of recognition, and shook her head. “I’m taking you home to sleep it off right now.”