Never More by Dana Marie Bell

sharply. “Good. Take it and go upstairs. Leo would like a word with you.”
    Ruby’s eyes went wide. “Aw, crap.”
    Aileen smiled, the expression utterly evil. “Indeed.”
    Ruby darted a quick glance at Amanda before abandoning her to Aileen’s tender mercies.
    Amanda sighed and sat at the kitchen table. “You’re hiding something from me.”
    Aileen looked startled for a moment before dropping the spoon on the table. “What makes you say that?” She turned her back on Amanda and began making tea.
    “The way you all look away from me when discussing things, like the fact that Michaela can’t fight.”
    “Michaela has no business fighting anyone.” Aileen slammed a cabinet shut, obviously upset.
    “All right.” Apparently Aileen Dunne bought into the stereotype that blondes couldn’t find the eleven when dialing 9-1-1. “How about the fact that Michaela’s eyes change color whenever she’s upset?” They’d gone from a lovely brown to gold more than once during the night. And not gold as in light brown, either. They’d been shinier than the 24-karat chain Amanda wore around her wrist.
    “Did they?” Aileen seemed to shimmer for a second before handing Amanda her tea. “Are you sure about that?”
    Amanda frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “Well.” Aileen settled down with her own cup of tea and handed Amanda a homemade sugar cookie. “It was more than likely the light shining in her eyes. You were in a nightclub, yes?”
    “I…suppose.” The more Amanda thought about it the more she realized she must have been seeing things. No one had metallic eye colors. That was impossible. “That must have been it.”
    “What else have you been worried about, dear?” Aileen patted her hand.
    “How Jaden has fangs.” Amanda remembered the flash of white fang just before Jaden kissed the side of Duncan’s neck. She’d ducked back out of the room before they saw her, both startled and not wanting to intrude on an intimate moment between the two.
    “Fangs?” Aileen’s tinkling laughter warmed her, invited her to share in the joke.
    She blinked and laughed. “Was he playing some kind of game with Duncan?”
    “Yes, I believe so. It’s something of an inside joke between them.”
    “Is Moira in on it?” Amanda smiled, thinking of the three of them. They seemed right somehow, like a triangle. It couldn’t exist without three.
    “Oh, yes. She finds it highly amusing.” Aileen shook her head. “Can I ease your mind on anything else?”
    Amanda shook her head. “Nope, I think that’s it.”
    The back door flew open and Raven sauntered into Aileen Dunne’s cheerful kitchen. His thick-soled motorcycle boots squeaked on the tile as he skidded to a halt. “Um. Hi.”
    Amanda blinked innocently. Something about the man made her want to tease him unmercifully. “Who are you again?”
    Goth-boy looked annoyed before shooting her a wicked grin. “Raven Goodfellow.” He held out his hand. “And you’re Amanda Pierson, Ruby’s friend.”
    “Yup.” Mesmerized by his sapphire eyes, she gave him what he wanted, shuddering as he kissed her palm. She never realized how badly she needed simple touch until he let her go. Her palm tingled as she cradled it to her chest.
    “You have beautiful eyes.” He reached out again and cupped her cheek, his smile so soft for a moment the tough image he exuded faded away. “I’d like to paint you someday.”
    “You’re an artist?” That explained a lot.
    He nodded. “Not in glass, like Shane. I work in pencil, watercolor and oil.”
    “That’s awesome.” Amanda had a lot of respect for artists. She couldn’t draw a stick figure, but she could design the theme for a party from three words written on a damp napkin by a drunken hippo.
    And she had.
    “Raven tilted his head, the thick band of red in his nearly black hair hiding his left eye. He studied her face as if he was memorizing every inch of it. “You would be my greatest work.”
    “That’s not