having the hardest time getting together to do the simplest thing. "Are you the reason Marshal and I weren't able to get together this afternoon?" I accused. "Are you going to drive him away so Ivy and I will fall into bed together?"
He was in my living room, and from over his shoulder he said, "Yes."
My lips pressed together, and my slippers scuffed the wood floor we had found under the carpet. "Leave Marshal alone," I said, hands on my hips. Kisten's bracelet fell to my wrist, and I shoved it back into hiding. "He's just a guy. And if I want to sleep with someone, I'm going to. You running off men isn't going to send me rushing into Ivy's arms, it's going to piss me off and make me miserable to live with. Got it?"
I suddenly realized I was swearing at a past leader of the United States, and I flushed. "Sorry for barking at you," I muttered as I fingered Kisten's bracelet and felt guilty. "It's been a hard day."
"My apologies," he said, so sincerely that I almost believed it. "I'll stop interfering."
I took a breath and unclenched my teeth before I gave myself a headache. "Thank you."
The sound of the front door crashing open made me jump. Rynn Cormel took his hand from the door and turned to face the hall.
"Rachel?" came Ivy's worried voice. "Rachel! You okay? There's a couple of guys out front in a car."
I glanced at Rynn Cormel. His eyes had gone black. Hunger black. "Uh, I'm fine!" I sang out. "I'm back here. Uh, Ivy?"
"Damn it all to hell," she swore, her boots clunking in the hall. "I told you to stay on holy ground!"
She barreled into the living room, almost pinwheeling to a stop. She flashed red, her short, dark hair swinging as she stopped. Her hand went first to her bare neck, then she forced it down to her leather-clad hip. "Excuse me," she said, her face going pale. "I've interrupted."
Rynn Cormel shifted his weight, and she cringed. "No, you're fine, Ivy," he said, his voice now deeper and measured. He had lightened his usual demeanor to lull me, and it had worked. "I'm glad you're here."
Ivy looked up, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry about your men at the car. I didn't recognize them. They tried to stop me from coming in."
My eyebrows rose, and Rynn Cormel's laughter shocked both Ivy and me. "If you bested them, they deserved it and needed the reminder. Thank you for correcting their poor interpretation of your skills."
Ivy licked her lips. It was a nervous habit I didn't see often, and my tension rose. "Um," she hedged, trying to tuck her short hair behind an ear. "I think I ought to call an ambulance. I broke a few things."
Looking like he didn't care, the master vampire eased forward and, very slowly, took her perfect hand in his scarred one. "You're too kind."
Ivy looked at her fingers among his, blinking fast.
"Rachel is a powerful young woman," he said, and I suddenly felt like I'd passed some sort of test. "I can see why you are attracted to her. You have my blessing to cultivate a scion relationship with her, if that is what you want."
My anger rose, but Ivy shot me a look to shut me up. "Thank you," she said, and I got even more mad when Rynn Cormel smiled smugly, knowing I'd held my tongue because Ivy had asked me to. Then I thought, So what? Why should I care what he thinks if he'll leave us alone?
Rynn Cormel took another step closer to Ivy, curving an arm about her waist in a familiar fashion that I didn't like. "Would you accompany me this evening, Ivy? Now that I have seen your friend, I understand better. I'd like to...try another angle, if you are willing."
Try another angle? I thought, seeing the hinted hunger in him, luring her. Working on a sequel, are we? I didn't agree with how vampire society worked, but Ivy took a relieved breath, her eyes positively lighting. "Yes," she said quickly, but then her gaze slid to me.
"Go," I said sourly, glad she hadn't seen the demolished kitchen. "I'll be fine."
She eased closer to Rynn Cormel, her lean, leather-clad body looking fabulous next to his polished refinement. "You're not on hallowed ground," she said.
"Al won't be back." I glanced at Rynn Cormel's light grip on her shoulder. "I'm fine."
Ivy pulled away from him, reaching for me. "He was here?"