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Back Charm Save as PDF
Chapters (155)
  1. Copyright
  2. Dedication
  3. 1 Nearly Gutless Grace—Grace—
  4. 2 Head Space, Talk Space, Give Me Some Space—Grace—
  5. 3 I Do Like a Good Cup of Hurl Grey—Grace—
  6. 4 Every Little Thing He Does Is Not Magic—Grace—
  7. 5 Hot and Not So Heavy—Hudson—
  8. 6 In One Head and Out the Other—Grace—
  9. 7 Burning Down the Louse—Hudson—
  10. 8 Eat, Drink, and Be Wary—Grace—
  11. 9 From One Blink to the Necks—Grace—
  12. 10 Burning Your Britches—Hudson—
  13. 11 Sleep Like the Undead—Grace—
  14. 12 Grace on a Platter—Grace—
  15. 13 My Life Is an Open Phone—Grace—
  16. 14 Diary of a Vampire Kid—Grace—
  17. 15 The Best Defense Is More Defense—Hudson—
  18. 16 No Vamp Is an Island—Grace—
  19. 17 This Is How My Cookie Crumbles—Grace—
  20. 18 Trying to Lair Low—Hudson—
  21. 19 Put a String on It—Hudson—
  22. 20 All the Sizzle, None of the Heart—Hudson—
  23. 21 I’m Not RSVPing for This Pity Party—Grace—
  24. 22 All Cry, No Punishment—Grace—
  25. 23 Welcome to My Jungle—Hudson—
  26. 24 Dividing the Room in Styles—Grace—
  27. 25 I Mo, You Mo, We All Emo—Grace—
  28. 26 Re-Tweeting—Grace—
  29. 27 De-Briefing—Hudson—
  30. 28 It Dunks to Be Me—Grace—
  31. 29 How Do You Say Good-Pie?—Hudson—
  32. 30 Uneasy as Pie—Hudson—
  33. 31 Stalks and Bonds—Grace—
  34. 32 Some Bonds Can’t Be Unbroken—Grace—
  35. 33 Fake It or You Don’t Make It—Grace—
  36. 34 I Read You All Wrong—Grace—
  37. 35 Running Down a Nightmare—Grace—
  38. 36 Please Don’t Start the Fire—Grace—
  39. 37 You’re Dragon Me Down—Grace—
  40. 38 Waking Dawn—Hudson—
  41. 39 Keep Calm and Don’t Carry On—Hudson—
  42. 40 Don’t Farm It In—Grace—
  43. 41 Crop Till You Drop—Grace—
  44. 42 She’s Giving Me the Smokey Eye—Grace—
  45. 43 One Direction Is Not Just a Band—Hudson—
  46. 44 I Can Dish It Out If You Can Make It—Hudson—
  47. 45 Don’t Let the Bedvamps Bite—Hudson—
  48. 46 I Like to Sleep Tight, But Not This Tight—Grace—
  49. 47 You Really Stuck My Landing—Grace—
  50. 48 No Farm, No Foul—Grace—
  51. 49 Re-Veg Is Sweet—Hudson—
  52. 50 I’m Oh So Swan-Yay—Grace—
  53. 51 A Not So Savage Garden—Grace—
  54. 52 There Has to Be an Udder Way—Grace—
  55. 53 Suck It Up, Buttercup—Grace—
  56. 54 He’s Got Hangry Eyes—Hudson—
  57. 55 Afraid of My Own Shadow Queen—Hudson—
  58. 56 Baby Got Piggyback—Grace—
  59. 57 Cliffs Notes Got Nothing on Me—Hudson—
  60. 58 I Cave It My All—Grace—
  61. 59 I Know a Prick When I Smell One—Grace—
  62. 60 Tastes Like Teen Spirit—Hudson—
  63. 61 Carpe Drink-Em—Grace—
  64. 62 Dimples and Curls—Grace—
  65. 63 Tic-Tac-Toe and No Chill—Grace—
  66. 64 If I Could F(lie)—Hudson—
  67. 65 Live and Let’s Run—Grace—
  68. 66 Good Will Hugging—Grace—
  69. 67 The First Rule of Fright Club—Hudson—
  70. 68 I Have Friends in High Places—Grace—
  71. 69 Color Me Purple—Hudson—
  72. 70 Way Too Hidden Talents—Hudson—
  73. 71 Inn-stant Gratification—Grace—
  74. 72 Gone Wishin’—Grace—
  75. 73 My Lady in Red—Hudson—
  76. 74 1D-reams Come True—Grace—
  77. 75 Café Lotta Say—Hudson—
  78. 76 The Choux on the Wrong Foot—Grace—
  79. 77 Ah-Choux—Hudson—
  80. 78 All LinkedOut—Grace—
  81. 79 Getting the Red Ribbon Treatment—Hudson—
  82. 80 Starfalling for You—Hudson—
  83. 81 All’s Fair in Love and Ring Tosses—Grace—
  84. 82 Star Light, Star Bright—Grace—
  85. 83 On Top of the (Other)World—Grace—
  86. 84 It’s a Knock-Down, Dragon Fight—Hudson—
  87. 85 Dragon Me Over the Coals—Grace—
  88. 86 Go Stone or Go Home—Hudson—
  89. 87 Let Me Change into Something a Little More Stony—Grace—
  90. 88 Feather or Not, Here I Come!—Grace—
  91. 89 No One Wants to Catch These Cookies—Grace—
  92. 90 Sucker Brunch Me—Hudson—
  93. 91 I Know How to Hold My Drink—Hudson—
  94. 92 Drinks Are On Me—Grace—
  95. 93 I’m Spooning Over You—Grace—
  96. 94 Talk Dirty to Me—Hudson—
  97. 95 We Roll with the Brunches—Grace—
  98. 96 No Such Thing as a Free Brunch—Grace—
  99. 97 Time After Time Dragon—Grace—
  100. 98 Let’s Talk About the Time Dragon in the Room—Hudson—
  101. 99 Distrust but Verify—Hudson—
  102. 100 Whine and Dine—Grace—
  103. 101 Covering None of the Bases—Grace—
  104. 102 Between a Rock and a Hard Grace—Grace—
  105. 103 Passing the Pouspous—Grace—
  106. 104 How to Rock and Not Roll—Grace—
  107. 105 A Whole New Meaning to Stone-Faced—Grace—
  108. 106 Always Look a Gift Mayor in the Mouth—Grace—
  109. 107 Good Girl Gone Mad as Hell—Hudson—
  110. 108 I Want You to Want Me—Grace—
  111. 109 50 Shades of Fangs—Grace—
  112. 110 Need You Tonight—Grace—
  113. 111 Amateur Astronomer—Hudson—
  114. 112 Waiting for the Other Dragon to Drop—Grace—
  115. 113 One Surprise Deserves Another—Hudson—
  116. 114 Sending Out Smokey Signals—Grace—
  117. 115 The Tail End of the Deal—Grace—
  118. 116 Ripping the Scales—Hudson—
  119. 117 From Smokey with Love—Hudson—
  120. 118 It’s a Hack Job but Someone’s Got to Do It—Grace—
  121. 119 Big Disco Ball Energy—Grace—
  122. 120 Death on the Dance Floor—Grace—
  123. 121 This Is How You Skew It—Hudson—
  124. 122 Love Is a Red-Ribboned Thing—Grace—
  125. 123 Grin and Grace It—Hudson—
  126. 124 Now You’re Inn for It—Hudson—
  127. 125 Kiss My Asset—Grace—
  128. 126 A Not-So-Tastee Freeze—Grace—
  129. 127 Statue of Limitations—Grace—
  130. 128 Here’s Your Horns, What’s Your Hurry?—Grace—
  131. 129 Gargoyle Girl Gang—Grace—
  132. 130 A Shot in the Dark—Hudson—
  133. 131 The Story of Tonight—Grace—
  134. 132 You Bite It, You Buy It—Hudson—
  135. 133 Cross My Heart and Promise Not to Fry—Grace—
  136. 134 The Wheel of Misfortune—Grace—
  137. 135 BDSM: Bondage, Dragons, Stone, and Magic—Grace—
  138. 136 It’s Darkest Before the Dawn—Hudson—
  139. 137 Where the Wild Things Really Are—Grace—
  140. 138 Buggin’ the F*ck Out—Grace—
  141. 139 Don’t Trust Her as Far as I Can Throw Her—Hudson—
  142. 140 It’s Not Even My Third Rodeo—Hudson—
  143. 141 Is This a Bad Time?—Grace—
  144. 142 Full of Light,Full of Grace—Hudson—
  145. 143 What Grace Around Comes Around—Grace—
  146. 144 Out of the Shadows, Into the Light—Grace—
  147. 145 It’s All Coming Back to Me Now—Grace—
  148. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  149. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  150. Sneak Peek: Last of the Talons, by Sophie Kim
  151. Stealing Infinity, by Alyson Noël
  152. The Valkyrie’s Daughter, by Tiana Warner
  153. The Liar’s Crown, by Abigail Owen
  154. The Gravity of Missing Things, by Marisa Urgo
  155. Ember of Night, by Molly E. Lee

“I’ll bring Smokey with me,” she says, bending down to pick up the little shadow. “She can make friends with all the shoppers today, and I can take her out to lunch—if she behaves.”

To drive her point home, she gives the shadow a warning look. Which Smokey’s body language says she’s giving back with interest. I just laugh and shake my head. Someday the two women in my life will become best friends. But someday definitely isn’t today.

“She’ll be fine,” I say, rubbing a hand over Smokey’s head, “won’t you, girl?”

Smokey wraps herself around me in delight, even as she whines a little.

“We’ll be fine,” Grace tells me. “Right, Smokey?”

This time, the sound she makes is more like a harrumph. But she wraps around my neck in her version of a hug, then races to the door.

Grace grins, rolls her eyes. “Progress, right? Little steps are still progress.”

And then she’s out the door. Gone. Taking pretty much my whole world with her.

With a groan, I settle back into bed. And begin the tedious process of counting how many hours it is before I can go back outside without killing myself.

The answer is too many. And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.

112 Waiting for the Other Dragon to Drop—Grace—

112

Waiting for the
Other Dragon to Drop
—Grace—

The last three weeks leading up to Starfall pass in a kind of blur of training, working, planning, and still trying to build a life with Hudson. We go to dinner, to the library, to the small community theater on the other side of town sometimes.

And some days we stay in, exploring each other more.

On the plus side, Hudson is feeling much better since he’s been feeding from me regularly on Fridays (so he doesn’t miss school) now.

When it comes to the dragon—and the festival—it seems the mayor has finally come through and let the citizens know this one is postponed until we deal with the beast.

Funnily enough, absolutely no one assumes we’re going to lose or seems upset to miss a festival. People pat us on the back when we walk through town, shout encouragements, or give us tips. Even the troubadours come to regular planning sessions and help us train. It turns out Lumi has a lot of practice with stage fighting, and while that’s not quite the same thing as real fighting, it’s not nothing, either.

If nothing else, he gives Hudson—who is a hell of a fighter even without his powers—someone to demonstrate technique with and also helps keep him sharp. Tinyati regularly stops by with new planning ideas, and Nyaz keeps us all fed. Even Souil pops by at the inn a few times to check on Hudson and me.