I shrugged, thinking she was right, but only if we were stupid about it. If she had been listening, then she also knew I was willing to wait. Besides, to think that I could satisfy all of her blood lust was insane. I didn’t even want to try. I only wanted to prove that I accepted her the way she was. I’d just have to wait until she was ready to believe that.

“You’d better get going,” I said, not wanting her to be here when Minias showed up.

Ivy hesitated in the threshold. “Lunch was a good idea.”

I shrugged without looking up, and after a moment’s hesitation she walked out. My eyes followed her wet prints, and I frowned when I heard Ivy say defensively, “I told you she did. You’re lucky she didn’t hit you with anything other than her foot.”

Tired, I slipped into my chair, the scent of cooked pasta, vinegar dressing, and grilled bread heavy in the air. I knew that Ivy wasn’t going to move out of the church. Which meant the only way Skimmer was going to get Ivy all to herself was if I was dead.

How nice was that?

SIX

I thunked the sauce off the spoon when I heard the front door open and Ceri’s voice, soft in conversation. Jenks had gone to get her, having come in when Ivy and Skimmer left. He didn’t like the thin blond vampire and had made himself scarce. It was after sunset and time to call Minias. I didn’t like the idea of kicking sleeping demons, but I needed to reduce the confusion in my life, and calling him was the easiest way to do that.

Damn it, what am I doing, calling a demon? And what kind of a life do I have when calling one is at the top of my to-do list?

Ceri’s steps were soft in the hallway, and I turned to her smile when her pleasant laughter at something Jenks said filled the kitchen. She was wearing a summery linen dress in three shades of purple, a matching ribbon holding her long, almost-transparent hair up off her neck against the moist heat. Jenks was on her shoulder to look like he belonged there, and Rex, Jenks’s cat, was in her arms. The orange kitten was purring, her eyes closed and her paws wet with rain.

“Hello, Rachel,” the young-seeming woman said, her voice carrying the slow relaxation of a damp summer night. “Jenks said you needed some company. Mmmm, is that herb bread?”

“Ivy and Skimmer were going to have lunch with me,” I said, turning to get two wineglasses. “Ah…” I hedged, suddenly embarrassed and wondering if she had heard Skimmer and me…discussing things. “It fell through, and now I’ve got a ton of food with only me to eat it.”

Ceri’s green eyes pinched in worry, telling me she had. “Nothing serious?”

I shook my head, thinking it could turn real serious real fast if Skimmer worked at it.