Page 90 of Of Flame and Fate
I’m not sure what Gemini took more offense to, Johnny’s arm around me, or me running to the vamps. Either way, Bren had to rip him off Johnny.
I glance in the back seat where he continues to tremble. “You scared him,” I accuse.
“Is he still alive?” Gemini asks. He doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Then you should be thanking me instead of criticizing.”
He stomps on the gas as we take the mile-long road leading to Misha’s front gate. The colossal stone wall to my right with gargoyle heads protruding every few feet is all part of his property. Celia lived here for a time, and I haven’t returned since the four-penis demon incident, but considering what’s happening, this is the best place for Johnny to be.
“Are they nice?” Johnny asks.
“No,” we answer at once.
“Wait? They’re not nice?”
“No,” we reply, like he didn’t hear us the first time.
Bren chuckles. “But they are entertaining.” He clasps Johnny’s shoulder. “So long as they don’t see you as prey and recognize you as their equal.” He gives Johnny the onceover. “Yeah, good luck with that, kid.”
I turn and face the front, returning my hand to Gemini’s thigh. As annoyed as I am, it helps settle him, which is why I’m riding shotgun and putting as much space as I can between me and Johnny. I shouldn’t have been so affectionate with Johnny—not because he didn’t deserve kindness, but because in returning it, he crossed the line and insulted my matehood with Gemini.
“He didn’t know,” I remind Gemini quietly.
“He knows now,” he responds, not bothering to muffle his speech.
“You’re making a big deal over nothing. He probably considers me the older sister he never had.” I whisper my words so low, I don’t quite catch them over the roar of the engine as he careens down the road.
“You keep saying that,” he replies, again not whispering. “But I’m not blind to how he looks at you or how he seeks your touch.”
“It’s a comfort thing,” I argue, keeping my voice down. “He’s lonely.”
“The only thing he’s lonely for is you in his bed,” he snarls. “Next time he touches you, he’ll have to draw his arms back on with his toes.”
I turn around and offer an apologetic smile. “He doesn’t mean that,” I say.
Johnny pales, and tucks in his legs into him. “I think he does.”
Okay. He does. I give Gemini’s thigh another squeeze, hoping to remind him of better times and my promise to never leave him.
As I speak to Johnny, I keep my stare ahead. “About the vamps,” I begin. “They’re not going to attack or mess with you.”
“Unless they see you as prey,” Bren repeats.
My shoulders slump. “Bren, as Misha’s guest, he’ll be fine.” I face Johnny. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay on guard. They’ll test you, and with Misha out of the country, they’ll want to make sure you’re worthy of his presence and not a threat to their master.”
“Misha’s not there?” Bren asks.
“No,” I say. “He’s flying back from Transylvania with his bride. He’ll be here later tonight.”
“His bride,” Gemini repeats slowly.
I throw out a hand. “Believe me, I know. I could barely believe it when Edith Anne told me. Celia mentioned a while back that he’d travelled to Transylvania looking for the future Mrs. Aleksandr. Initially she laughed thinking the vamps were making a joke. Well the joke is on us because turns out, he found the lucky gal.”
“Why is this the first we’re hearing of this?” Gemini asks.
I tilt my head. “I think Aric knew.”
“That’s not what I mean,” he says, removing his foot off the accelerator and allowing the SUV to coast. “He overheard the conversation between Celia and the she-vamp. But as much as that’s what Misha claimed, none of us believed him.” He tosses a look my way. “If you recall the period when he left, it was the same time Celia was returning home to be with Aric.”
And right around the time they became engaged.