again.”
“You don’t have any siblings?”
“No. Just a lot of cousins.”
He sighed. “Oh good. Two only children collided in the Crossroads. This is going to be fun.”
She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let’s go and have a nice refreshing nap, get you unpacked and settled in and then tackle my parents. No one knows we are back, so no one will be looking for us. I haven’t even turned my cell phone back on yet.”
“Don’t you need the contact to keep your business running?”
“If my assistant has to close the shop, she has to close the shop. Simple as that.”
He blinked. “That is an odd attitude for a shopkeeper.”
“If I am not willing to be there or be on call, I can’t expect my replacement to put my company first. The stress before Halloween is intense, and if I dodge it, there is no reason that she has to take the entire brunt the whole time. There aren’t any big contracts outstanding, so I am not worried.”
He grinned. “Do you want to come with me to a trade show next month?”
She blinked. “It depends on if you can give me a hand getting a leg up on my New Year’s Eve workload. If you man the shop for a week and Nina can help me up here, then, yes.”
“Deal.”
They returned to the main floor, and she moved armloads of costumes out of her closet, putting them in the guestroom down the hall. Her dresser was already half empty, so he just took up the available space.
She stripped and crawled between the sheets, settling in to relax after the six hours in the car.
Artur joined her, cuddling her close. “You have a very nice house.”
She chuckled. “We have a very nice house. It will take me a while to share my toys, but this is as much your home as it is mine unless we move and start over.”
“I will give it some thought. It seems like you designed this house with sharing it in mind.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
“I did. I just never thought that my planning and hoping would ever bear fruit.”
“Are you calling me fruity?”
She chuckled. “Just hold me and get some rest. We have been running on a harsh schedule and a little recovery time is in order.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He settled his hips against hers and his breathing evened out before she nodded off.
Chapter Nine
Cori had the strange feeling that everyone staring at her was hungry. They all eyed her unmarked skin with a semi-vampiric lust that made her uneasy.
“Do they always stare like this? I am wearing more clothing than most of the women here. I don’t understand why they are gawking at me.” She walked the rows of the booths with Artur, and he seemed puffed with pride to have her next to him.
“They are admiring the untouched canvas that you represent. Most of the women here are sporting some serious ink. You have not yet succumbed to temptation. You are an innocent soul in hell, and they want to be the ones to corrupt you.”
“That is graphic.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “I know, right? I have been working on the analogy for weeks.”
She laughed and slapped him, the engagement ring on her finger still a little weird to see on her hand. She blinked out of staring at the gleam, and they continued to find Arkenon’s booth.
“So, how many folk here are like us?”
He chuckled. “Like you? None. But our kind, yes. There they are.”
The crowd around the booth was a little daunting, but Artur hauled her through it, and she was soon face to face with a woman who sported actual golden hair.
“Cori, this is Tyla. Tyla, this is my fiancé, Cori.”
Tyla grinned. “Your face is familiar, Cori.”
Arkenon unravelled himself from the crowd and shook Artur’s hand. “Good to see you again; do you have the designs?”
Artur held up the portfolio. “All in here.”
“Come through to the back.”
An assistant moved to head off the crowd as their little gathering moved through the displays, down a dark hallway and into a
“You don’t have any siblings?”
“No. Just a lot of cousins.”
He sighed. “Oh good. Two only children collided in the Crossroads. This is going to be fun.”
She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let’s go and have a nice refreshing nap, get you unpacked and settled in and then tackle my parents. No one knows we are back, so no one will be looking for us. I haven’t even turned my cell phone back on yet.”
“Don’t you need the contact to keep your business running?”
“If my assistant has to close the shop, she has to close the shop. Simple as that.”
He blinked. “That is an odd attitude for a shopkeeper.”
“If I am not willing to be there or be on call, I can’t expect my replacement to put my company first. The stress before Halloween is intense, and if I dodge it, there is no reason that she has to take the entire brunt the whole time. There aren’t any big contracts outstanding, so I am not worried.”
He grinned. “Do you want to come with me to a trade show next month?”
She blinked. “It depends on if you can give me a hand getting a leg up on my New Year’s Eve workload. If you man the shop for a week and Nina can help me up here, then, yes.”
“Deal.”
They returned to the main floor, and she moved armloads of costumes out of her closet, putting them in the guestroom down the hall. Her dresser was already half empty, so he just took up the available space.
She stripped and crawled between the sheets, settling in to relax after the six hours in the car.
Artur joined her, cuddling her close. “You have a very nice house.”
She chuckled. “We have a very nice house. It will take me a while to share my toys, but this is as much your home as it is mine unless we move and start over.”
“I will give it some thought. It seems like you designed this house with sharing it in mind.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulder.
“I did. I just never thought that my planning and hoping would ever bear fruit.”
“Are you calling me fruity?”
She chuckled. “Just hold me and get some rest. We have been running on a harsh schedule and a little recovery time is in order.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He settled his hips against hers and his breathing evened out before she nodded off.
Chapter Nine
Cori had the strange feeling that everyone staring at her was hungry. They all eyed her unmarked skin with a semi-vampiric lust that made her uneasy.
“Do they always stare like this? I am wearing more clothing than most of the women here. I don’t understand why they are gawking at me.” She walked the rows of the booths with Artur, and he seemed puffed with pride to have her next to him.
“They are admiring the untouched canvas that you represent. Most of the women here are sporting some serious ink. You have not yet succumbed to temptation. You are an innocent soul in hell, and they want to be the ones to corrupt you.”
“That is graphic.”
He waggled his eyebrows. “I know, right? I have been working on the analogy for weeks.”
She laughed and slapped him, the engagement ring on her finger still a little weird to see on her hand. She blinked out of staring at the gleam, and they continued to find Arkenon’s booth.
“So, how many folk here are like us?”
He chuckled. “Like you? None. But our kind, yes. There they are.”
The crowd around the booth was a little daunting, but Artur hauled her through it, and she was soon face to face with a woman who sported actual golden hair.
“Cori, this is Tyla. Tyla, this is my fiancé, Cori.”
Tyla grinned. “Your face is familiar, Cori.”
Arkenon unravelled himself from the crowd and shook Artur’s hand. “Good to see you again; do you have the designs?”
Artur held up the portfolio. “All in here.”
“Come through to the back.”
An assistant moved to head off the crowd as their little gathering moved through the displays, down a dark hallway and into a
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