Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(13)

The only nice person Della had grown fond of was Kylie. And she was so nice, even Della couldn’t hate her. Well, right now, Della did hate her. Hated her for leaving. And if she didn’t get her butt back to Shadow Falls soon, Della was going to drag her friend back kicking and screaming. Sure, Kylie had gone to meet her newly discovered grandfather and learn more about her species, but plain and simple, she belonged at Shadow Falls. Someone had to keep Della and Miranda from killing each other. And no one was better at that than Kylie.

“We could both sleep on the sofa,” Steve said, and damn if he didn’t sound serious.

“Not even in your dreams, bird boy!” she snapped.

“Ouch,” he said and chuckled. “I only meant your head at one end and mine at the other. Only our feet would be touching.”

“So you’ve got a foot fetish, do you?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Humor brightened his eyes. With him positioned right in front of the bare window, and the last rays of the setting sun beaming in, she got a good look at those eyes. Were those flecks of amber and green in his brown pools?

His gaze lowered to her Nike-covered size sixes. “I don’t know, I haven’t seen your naked feet.”

Hearing him say the word naked with what sounded like a deep Southern accent, deeper than Texas, made her stomach flutter like she was twelve again and had never been kissed. Good Lord, what was wrong with her? Since when did she find a Southern accent seductive?

She stuck one foot behind the other. “And you won’t see them naked,” she snapped, not liking that they’d been here less than five minutes and they were already … flirting. At least it felt like flirting.

And Della Tsang didn’t flirt.

Not anymore.

His gaze rose from her feet. “We’ll see about that,” he said.

They stood there staring at each other for a second. Then he spoke up. “You want to go grab a bite to eat?”

She frowned. “I brought a couple pints of AB positive with me in my bag.” Which she needed to put in the fridge. While most vamps preferred their blood warm, Della liked it better cold. When your core temperature was 92 degrees, you appreciated things colder than yourself.

“Yeah, but I need food. Something hot and greasy. Nutrients for whatever the hell is gonna go down tomorrow morning.”

Steve had been set up to play as her shape-shifter boyfriend, a guy she’d met after running away from home. They didn’t allow anyone but vampires into the gang, but if she got accepted, and he could prove his worth to them, he would be brought in as an “extra.” Basically someone they sent out to do their dirty work. Which was part of the reason it pissed her off that Burnett insisted he come. Extras were considered expendable.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” she said.

“That just warms my heart.” He put a hand over his wide chest. “Come on, go with me to grab a burger.”

He made it sound like a date or something. Frowning, she was about to call him on it when she remembered seeing a Walmart not far from there and close to some fast-food joints. She could pick up a set of sheets, a blanket, and some extra-strength Lysol spray and maybe be able to sleep on the bed. That meant she could skip out on the foot-loving, Southern-speaking Steve. She wouldn’t be gone long. She only needed a peek. A peek at the life she’d been cheated out of.

“Fine.” She lit out of the room.

He lit out with her, and within seconds had transformed into a hauling-ass peregrine falcon. She wasn’t certain, but she thought she’d heard this was one of the fastest birds that existed. It wasn’t a half-bad-looking animal, either. Its feathers were a blend of browns, tans, and black. Its eyes were striking, round, with large black pupils that seemed to take everything in. And when it stretched out its wings, it almost looked like it had leopard spots.

Della didn’t know a whole lot about shape-shifters, but she’d heard once that one sign of their power was they could shift quickly. He’d shifted into a bird pretty damn quickly. Not that she was impressed or anything.

Sort of like flirting, Della Tsang didn’t get impressed. Not about guys.

Not anymore.

Not since she’d turned vampire, turned cold, and had her heart shattered into tiny little bitty pieces by the guy who was supposed to love her forever.

*

Della landed with a thud on the pavement in the back of Walmart. Steve, still a bird, landed elegantly beside her. His wings stretched out wide.

Immediately, he started turning back into human form, and as always when a shifter turned, sparkly bubbles began floating around. One of his transformation bubbles lingering in the evening air popped on her arm and sent a tiny electric current up her elbow, zinging like she’d walked on carpet and then touched something metal.

“What are we doing here?” Steve asked, looking confused.

“Bedding and disinfectant.” She brushed off her elbow, then looked up. The sky was darkening, and the stars hadn’t yet come out to play. Lifting her nose in the air, her vampire sense of smell caught the hint of werewolf under the strong scent of motor oil.

“Something wrong?” Steve asked.

“A few werewolves, but not too close.”

He frowned. “Damn, let’s grab what you need, snag me a burger, and get the hell back.”

She smirked. “You scared of a couple of werewolves?”