Still, his touch affected me. I paused to admire the dip between his shoulder blades and the sexy swagger of his hips. An ache formed in my core again, memories of the previous night assaulting me.
“Is there something you’d like to share?” He glanced over his shoulder, a knowing smirk tilting his lips up.
Heat rose in my cheeks. “No, I … uh …” I rolled my eyes, embarrassment following. “I keep forgetting you can smell my arousal.”
He inhaled, the rings around his irises lighting up. “You smell like a rose bud ripening just for me.”
A lightbulb clicked on, making me pause midstride. “Roses in heat. So that’s what you meant.”
He stopped too. Ahead, the magical barrier grew brighter. “What was that?”
“That’s what you said the other week, right before you left in Miles City on the Greyhound. You said I smell like roses in heat.”
Understanding lit his eyes, his lips curving up more. “Oh, right. Yeah, that’s what I was referring to.”
I stepped closer to him. Two feet separated us, and my fingers ached to reach over and lace themselves through his. I opened my mouth to say as much, when Logan’s nostrils flared.
“Do you smell that?” he asked.
“What? My roses? Or the donuts from the bakery?”
“No, it smells like—”
Two men walked around the corner, both tall, lean, and pale.
Logan’s lip curled. “Vampires.”
Chapter 20
A sardonic smile lifted one of the vampires’ lips. His pale-blond hair looked almost white. “Well, hello, Major Smith. Is the SF monitoring the supernatural marketplace now? Afraid someone’s going to steal granny’s spiced apples or a fairy’s going to bite someone?”
The other vampire, a dark-haired one, snickered.
Logan bristled when they approached, his hands clenching into fists. “What are you two up to?”
“Oh, not much,” the blond replied. “Just checking out the new potions for sale, and we thought we’d maybe grab a cape or two. The modern look just doesn’t suit us like the Dark Ages did.”
The dark-haired one laughed again at his sidekick’s sarcastic reply.
The blond vampire paused at my side, leaning closer. He inhaled, his nostrils flaring. “My, don’t you smell sweet!” He inched closer.
The dark power rushed up, making me leap back.
Logan shoved the vampire away. A deep growl tore from his throat, and his voice lowered to that strange cadence as dominant power rushed out of him, filling the alleyway and making goose bumps erupt on my skin. “Keep your distance. I wouldn’t want to make a scene.”
The vampire’s eyes widened, but he quickly recovered, smoothing back his slick blond hair before eyeing my boyfriend icily. “Now, now. No need to go all alpha on us. I was simply inhaling that delicious scent of hers. I can’t say I’ve ever smelled anything like it.”
I nearly rolled my eyes. “Let me guess. Roses?”
The vampire cocked his head, eyeing me as the sun glistened off his hair. “Roses and something else—”
“Wait a minute,” I cut him off. “You’re in the sunlight. How are you not dead?”
“Dead?” the blond one asked.
The vampires glanced at one another, the dark-haired one beginning to grin. “From sunlight?” They both burst into laughter.
The dark-haired one turned a devilish grin on me. “You’re Daria Gresham, aren’t you? The healing witch who’s only just been introduced to the community? The one who knows nothing about our ways?”
I shuffled my feet uncomfortably as the dark power swirled inside me. “Um, yeah. How did you know?”
He stepped closer, getting a warning growl from Logan.
“Oh, relax.” He tsked in Logan’s direction, shaking his head. “I merely wanted to do this—” He lifted my hair and turned it in the sunshine.
The dark power rushed upward, and I flinched back, breaking contact.
The vampire didn’t seem to notice. “Long blond hair, small build, turquoise eyes, and…” His gaze drifted to my chest, where my breasts strained against my shirt. His eyes darkened, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. “And oh so delectable.”
Logan’s hand shot out, wrapping around the vampire’s neck. He pinned him against the alleyway building, his muscles bulging when he lifted the vampire a few inches off the ground.
The other vampire sighed in exasperation.
Logan ignored him, keeping his attention on the blond-haired one. “Like I said earlier, keep your distance, blood sucker, and don’t get any ideas. She’s taken.” He lowered him to the ground.
Logan relaxed his grip, and the vampire carefully pried Logan’s hand loose doing it finger by finger, a grimace on his face.
“Really, Major Smith. You wolves are so possessive and territorial. You should loosen up, spread around the fun.” He rubbed his throat, but already the bruises Logan had inflicted were fading. “Besides, I bet she’s as hot on the inside as she is on the outside.” His hand strayed to his crotch. “I’m getting hard just thinking about it.”
The dark-haired vampire grabbed his friend out of the way just as Logan lunged for him.
“He meant no disrespect,” he said, hauling his friend away.
“Sure I did.” The blond one laughed. He swiveled his gaze to me again. “See you around, beautiful.”
The two vampires sauntered out to the street, turning the corner into the bright sunshine, leaving me standing there, mouth agape. “What the hell just happened?”
Logan still seethed. “Nothing that’s uncommon around blood suckers. I fucking hate vampires.”
“Are they all like that?” I asked, stepping closer to Logan. The dark power swirled inside me, once again letting me know it was available. Not now! I pushed it down, as if it were a poorly behaved dog, and thankfully, it stayed there.
“No, not all of them. Just most of them.” He rolled his shoulders, the tension still evident in them.
I smiled, unable to help it as I took in Logan’s demeanor. “It’s almost like you’re my bodyguard again, jumping in to stop anyone from getting too close.”
Logan ran an agitated hand through his hair. “If you’d been able to smell his arousal, you’d have been angry too.” He swung my way, his dark gaze traveling over my face and body. “If I hadn’t been around, he probably would have influenced you to go back to his place, even though that’s illegal. I don’t even want to think about what you would have done with him.”
“Influenced? Does that, like, manipulate your mind or something?”
“Exactly. It’s what vampires can do, even to supernaturals.”
“So why didn’t he influence you?”
“Other than it being illegal and meaning he’d end up in an SF holding cell? He can’t. Everyone in the SF takes a daily potion to prevent influencing from happening. Speaking of which, I should start giving you a dose every morning too.”
“So without that potion, and without you here to stop what he wanted to do with me, I could be … right now—” I pictured the vampires both on me at once, biting me, kissing me, fucking me, doing things to me that I’d never done with any man, but then I laughed. “I wonder what the dark power would have done to them.”
Some of the frown lines on Logan’s face smoothed, an amused grin lifting his lips. “Maybe next time we should find out.”
We both laughed before carrying on down the alleyway.
“Why did the vampires think it was funny when I asked why they weren’t dead?” I asked.
“It’s an old wives’ tale that vampires burn in the sun. They tolerate sunshine just fine. Unfortunately.”
“So they don’t sleep in coffins or crypts during the day?”
His lips quirked up as we approached a glimmering portal door. “No. Most likely, they sleep on Egyptian cotton sheets in luxury apartment buildings at night. Vampires are known for their extravagance. They usually prefer flashy cars and desig
ner clothes, and monogamy is not a word they’re familiar with.”
“So they sleep around a lot? Don’t they catch diseases or get a lot of STDs then?”
“Our kind isn’t prone to human diseases. You’re not, either.”
“I’m not?” I stepped closer to the glowing red portal, the hint of mint and anise much stronger since the door loomed so close. My interest in learning more about vampires waned given what stood in front of me. “Good to know. So is this going to be as bad as the portal into the headquarters?”
“Not quite as bad. There aren’t security checks here like there are there. The journey is much quicker, and we can go together.” He made a move to grab my hand but stopped at the last moment, regret filling his face. “Or not.”
I eyed his hand longingly. “I’ll see you on the other side.” Before I could lose my nerve, I stepped forward.
As soon as I jumped through the glowing door, I plummeted through space, squeezing, twisting, and popping all at once. But just as quickly as those sensations started, they stopped.
Still, the brief journey was jarring. Panting, I straightened when I finally felt secure enough to stand on steady ground and not tip over. I surveyed what lay in front of me. Before I could blink, Logan stood at my side.
“And here it is. The supernatural marketplace.” He gestured ahead.
I grinned as I took in the busy streets churning with activity. We stood at the end of a cobblestone lane, the glowing portal door right behind us. Someone bumped into Logan as he made his way to the portal.
“Excuse me, mate.” An Australian accent lilted his words.
Logan and I moved aside as the man jumped through a portal to the right from which we’d come. He disappeared instantly.
“There’s more than one portal?” I asked, eyeing the multiple glowing red doors.
“Yeah, those portals all lead to different areas of the world. Do you want to look around?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?”
He chuckled and began to wander down the narrow cobblestone street, and I followed like an eager puppy, lapping it all up.
Lining both sides of the street were old-fashioned-looking vendor tents with canvas awnings covering their wares. Large tables with a mixture of food, glass bottles filled with colorful liquids, weapons of various sizes and shapes, games, strange things hanging from racks, and other knickknacks and paraphernalia covered each table’s display. It was an endless supernatural wonder.
At each vendor tent, supernaturals stood behind their tables, peddling goods and eagerly making sales.
A fairy off to the left had rows of earrings studded through her pointy ears. Curly purple hair trailed down her back as she enticed a customer with powdery goods she held out in her hand.
The customer dipped his finger into the powder before tasting it. He nodded and pulled money from his pocket.
“How are things paid for here?” I asked, darting to the side as a group of kids raced around us.
They laughed and carried what looked like large lollipops. However, the lollipops sparkled and cracked, as if alive in their own way. Maybe not lollipops but instead magical fireworks?
“We use the same currency as the outside.” Logan gestured to an old woman. She looked like a human, so I guessed that she was a witch. She appeared to be selling, funnily enough, spiced apples.
Another supernatural, a woman with long black hair, piercing blue eyes, and translucent skin, took the bag.
“Siren,” Logan said under his breath, gesturing toward the woman with the black hair.
“She’s a mermaid?” I asked in awe, looking for her tail. Obviously, she didn’t have one on land, but my gaze still trailed down her slim legs, which were clad in shorts. An abundance of her pearly, shiny skin was on clear display.
“Mermaid is another word for them,” Logan replied.
The old witch held out her hand before the young siren deposited a twenty-dollar bill into it.
“Initially, we had our own currency,” Logan continued, clasping his hands behind his back as we strolled down the street. “But it proved to be too much trouble since we’ve integrated so closely into the human world. Now”—he shrugged—“we just use the same money.”
“Is it US currency?”
“All currency is accepted. It’s easy enough to trade the money at a bank in whatever country you normally reside in. And because the supernaturals in the world are the minority, we tend to ignore country borders. You’ll find a lot of people from around the world here. Portals make travel easy for us.”
The grin didn’t leave my face as we wandered from street to street. The supernatural marketplace was much larger than I’d anticipated. Row after row of cobblestone streets intersected every which way. Just when I thought the end was near, Logan would steer me in another direction, and we would suddenly be standing at the beginning of another long row of shops and vendors.
“Do you want to buy anything?” he asked as rich, fragrant scents of something stewing in a pot tickled my nose. If not for the tacos, I would have asked for a cup.
I grinned eagerly but then remembered my financial state. “I didn’t bring much money, so I’ll just look.”
Logan gave me one of those looks that I was coming to learn meant he didn’t approve of my answer. “What would you like? I’d be happy to buy it for you.”
“Logan,” I replied in a firm voice, “you’re not responsible for me. You don’t have to buy me things. I’m fine with just looking.”
“Really?” His dark eyebrows rose, his square jaw tilting my way. “I saw the way your eyes lit up at the necklace back there. The one with the onyx pendant hanging from the silver chain?”
I shrugged. “The color reminded me of your eyes at night.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver chain, dangling it in front of me. I gasped when the beautiful smooth onyx pendant caught the light. But then I stuttered, “But h-how did you get that?”
“I might have bought it when you turned your back to look at those bracelets.”
A warm feeling slid through me as he reached behind my neck to clasp it in place. He was careful to avoid touching me, but I still felt his heat. It sent delicious shivers down my spine.
He leaned closer, still careful, but an air of intimacy flared between us. “Every time you look at that, I want you to think of me.”
I brought my hand to my throat and felt the smooth stone beneath my palm. “Thanks, and I will. I love it.”
He kissed me on the neck before I could pull back, but once again, he moved so fast that the dark power didn’t have time to respond.
“You’re getting quite good at those quick touches.”
“Not good enough.” His expression turned regretful. “It’s hard for me to pull back. I’d rather stay.”
“I’d rather you stay too.” The words came out breathy as my stomach flipped. Hastily taking a step away, I returned my attention to the marketplace. “Is there anything we haven’t seen?”
He gestured to the end of the lane. “There are a few more vendors back that way. Do you want to see them?”
We began walking that way, careful to avoid the crowds that mingled near some of the shops. So far, I hadn’t brushed against anybody or made contact with anyone. Since it was midday, I guessed that most people were at work or school, similar to the human world.
We were just about to round the corner to the last row of shops when the sound of jingling bells reached my ears. I paused, that faint sound making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I turned around, searching for the source. Off to the right, behind a shop lined with Oriental-looking carpets, a woman disappeared. Bells jingled around her ankles, and long black hair swayed against her butt before she disappeared from view.
My heart pounded, and my body drifted toward her as if on its own accord.
Logan cocked his head, but stayed put, buzzing from his pocket drawing his attention. He pulled out h
is phone to check a text.
I ducked behind the hanging carpet, the rough texture brushing against my fingers. In the dim room behind it waited a table and chairs. The woman stood near the corner, her back to me.
I stepped closer, my breathing coming so fast that I felt lightheaded. It’s her! I know it’s her!
“The young Gresham woman has found us at last.” She stayed turned away, but her words were crystal clear when they drifted toward me.
“It is you! You’re the psychic from the park!”
She swung around to face me. Her smile revealed a crooked front tooth, but it didn’t distract from her beauty. Porcelain skin sheathed her face, jet black hair tumbled down her back, and eyes so blue they sparkled like the ocean regarded me steadily. “And here you stand, having felt both the dark and the light, just as I predicted.”
I grinned as I stared at the psychic I’d encountered in my teen years. “But you knew. How did you know?”
The woman laughed, the sound as musical as the bells that jingled around her ankles. “Because I’m a psychic, sweet child. That’s what I do.”
“Did you know I was coming today?”
“Of course.”
I rushed forward. “What else do you know? Do you know where my dark power comes from? Do you know how I can get rid of it?”
The woman placed her palm against my cheek. I flinched back, but her hand stayed put. As if sensing the dark power rise inside me, she pulled away in time.
“To find the answers to your future, you must look into your past.”
I groaned in frustration. “I already know that. I already know that my family once possessed both of these powers, but how do I get rid of the dark one?”
The psychic reached behind her to a pad of paper sitting on a table then picked up an elegant-looking pen with a feather attached to the top. She wrote something down before ripping the paper off and handing it to me.
“I won’t charge you this time, but next time, it will be a different story. This is someone who may be able to help you, but he’s not…” She tapped the feather against her cheek. “As worldly as the one standing outside waiting for you.”
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