Darkness Rises(131)

“Cam’s already pulling double duty as your Second. And, honestly, it’s time I had a place of my own.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I guess I can understand that. How do you feel about having a stranger move in with you?”
Living with Cam had taken some getting used to when she and Sean had moved in. Étienne, on the other hand, had been a comfortable fit from day one.
Sean shrugged. “If we’re going to live together, I assume we won’t be strangers for long.” He gave her a boyish smile. “Did I mention that one of my potential Seconds is a woman?”
Her interest spiked. “Really? Is she cute?”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her. Chris said she’s been ready to serve as a Second for a while now, but he’s had a hard time placing her.”
She frowned. “Is she difficult? Because the last thing you need after living with me all this time is to be stuck with a bitchy woman.”
He laughed. “You aren’t bitchy. You’re stubborn.”
“I’ll second that,” Étienne said from their bedroom down the hall. Apparently he had been following their conversation.
Krysta blew him a raspberry, then grinned when he chuckled.
“She isn’t difficult,” Sean said. “Male immortals just don’t like having female Seconds because they’re old-fashioned and can’t bear the idea of a woman dying while protecting them.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I’m good with it,” he said, straight-faced, then laughed when she hit him. “Just kidding. I don’t like the idea either, but Chris thought that—after living with you for the past six years—I might be more amenable to fighting alongside a woman. And, since I’m a healer . . .”
“You can heal any wounds she incurs on your behalf. Cool. I say go for it. Especially if she’s hot.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
Not really. She just wanted him to find the same happiness she had.
Étienne appeared in the doorway. “How do I look?”
Krysta froze. Holy crap.
She had only ever seen him naked, in sweatpants, or in his hunting clothes. This . . .
She gave him a long, leisurely look from his neatly combed hair to his feet, encased in shiny shoes that probably cost more than a semester of Sean’s college tuition had.
His tall, broad-shouldered form was beautifully garbed in a black three-piece suit with silver pin stripes. A bright white shirt stood out starkly against his naturally tan, clean-shaven jaw. As she stared, he lifted his chin a bit and reached up to adjust a black and silver tie.
Daaaaaamn, he looked good.
“You’re drooling,” Sean drawled.
She nodded, never taking her gaze from Étienne. “Daaaaaamn, you look good.”
He grinned. “I do?”
“Really good. Like . . . edible good. In fact, Sean, if you wouldn’t mind giving us a few minutes alone . . .”
Étienne’s brown eyes flashed amber.
Sean sighed. “No offense, but this is one of the reasons I want my own place.”
She smiled, still drinking in her fiancé. “You look hot.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“It is for me,” she professed, looking him up and down again.
“I’m not overdressed, am I?”
Probably, but she wasn’t going to say anything. She wanted to spend the rest of the night, as Sean said, drooling over him. She’d just go put on something dressy herself to even things out.
“No. I haven’t changed yet. I’ll be ready in a couple of minutes.” As she moved to squeeze past him in the doorway, she rose onto her toes, looped her arms around his neck, and took his lips in a long, passionate, I-wish-I-could-strip-you-naked-and-have-my-way-with-you-right-here-right-now kiss.
He groaned when she pulled away.
“I mussed your hair,” she murmured and left him gazing after her with glowing eyes full of desire.
And adorably mussed hair.
Forty minutes later, his hair was once more tamed, she was squeezed into a little black dress and heels, and Sean wore slacks and a dress shirt. Together, the three strode up the sidewalk in front of a modest middle-class home parked on a nice-sized plot of land in the country outside of Carrboro.
When they reached the front porch, she turned to smile up at Étienne and did a double take. “Everything okay?”
“Yes,” he said, fidgeting inside his suit jacket and smoothing a lapel. “Why?”
“Your eyes are glowing.”
“They are?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Okay.” He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. His lids lifted. “What about now?”