Don't Hex and Drive (Stay a Spell #2) - Juliette Cross Page 0,78

her displeasure and staring at Violet like she was the main course.

This wasn’t the first or even the second time these two had been caught bickering and snapping at each other. And even though Violet was frowning, she seemed to get some kind of strange satisfaction engaging with him this way. Something was definitely going on with these two, even if my most stubborn sister pretended otherwise.

Violet turned in a little huff toward the front of the serving line where Jules was setting a giant ladle. At least it took all the attention off me, and that’s all I cared about.

What I also couldn’t help caring about was the way Devraj had gone uncharacteristically quiet. He didn’t try to talk to me the rest of the night, and I tried not to stare at him and worry about that pensive look of pain marking his beautiful face. And the fact that I was fairly positive I’d put it there.

Needless to say, though conversation and laughter flowed around the table, it was the worst Sunday dinner ever. But it was for the best. I was sure of it. Kind of.

Chapter 20

~DEVRAJ~

I sat in my car in the hospital parking lot obsessing over the picture of Isadora on her profile on the fucking dating app, Zapp. Her sister, who’d taken her picture, had captured her so perfectly I felt a pinch in my chest when I looked at it. I was rubbing my sternum, hoping the pain would go away as I analyzed every line and curve of her face and figure.

She wore a white, sleeveless dress brushing just above her knees, her long tan legs accentuating her lean beauty. There were gold bangle bracelets adorning both wrists, her sun-kissed skin smooth and beautiful. She was caught mid-laugh, her green eyes bright, the sun right behind her head, which lit her flowing blond hair on fire, wisps picked up by the wind. One strand crossed one eye and cheek. The sunlight behind her silhouetted her long legs that could be seen through the sheer cotton. Dangling from the fingers of one hand was a yellow wildflower, one of the many surrounding her in the field at her feet.

She was breathtaking. Literally. I rubbed at my chest again, finding it hard to get enough air.

The piercing sting of this profile pic proved she wanted to date. Just not me.

Was I wrong in the attraction I sensed from her? Was it one-sided? I knew it wasn’t. Even at The Green Light, her pulse raced when I pulled her into my arms on the dancefloor. She couldn’t fake her body’s reaction, the subtle nuances I was so sensitive to as an experienced vampire. The tripping of her pulse, the labored breathing, the dilation of her pretty green eyes.

And yet, here was proof she wasn’t interested in my company.

Her words at The Green Light had stung. And maybe she was right to a certain degree. We did move in different circles, lived in different worlds. But I wanted her in mine. Or maybe I’d give up mine to be in hers. I don’t know. All I knew was that after three hundred years, I’d never felt this sort of obsessive attraction toward a woman. And what she didn’t know was that I could be patient. And tenacious.

I growled, staring down at her profile. She’d checked off every box for the supernaturals she was interested in dating. No, Isadora wouldn’t discriminate. That should make me proud that she was so open-minded, but all I could think of was the giant goddamn dating pool she’d just opened up. They’d be coming in droves for her.

Her profile was brief, but very telling.

Interests: good food, gardening, cute dogs

Turn-ons: intelligence, humor, maturity

Turn-offs: selfishness

Absolute musts: To be local and rooted in New Orleans.

Ah. There it was. That last line explained so much. New Orleans wasn’t my home. She knew that Stygorn moved often. Knew that I rarely stayed in one place, too.

And cute dogs? She didn’t even own a dog. Why not?

A rap on my window snapped me out of my heartsick daze. Ruben stood there, a confused expression and smirk on his face. He’d glanced at my phone in my lap. I opened the door and slipped the phone in my pants pocket.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his gaze flicking to my phone. “I figured you’d already be up there.”

“Just checking something.”

“Mmm,” was Ruben’s all-knowing response. “If you’d gone up, you’d be able to ogle the real thing rather than