“I made muffins,” I said. “They were your groceries. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Uh,” she said, shuffling across the shiny floor to the coffeepot in her black slippers. She poured herself a cup of lukewarm brew, leaning back against the counter to sip it. Her wish was gone from around her neck. I wondered what she had wished for. I wondered if it had anything to do with last night. “You’re dressed,” she whispered as she slumped into the chair I had kicked out for her in front of her computer. “How long have you been up?”

“Noon.” Liar, I thought. I’d been up all night pretending to sleep on Ivy’s couch. I decided to officially start my day when I put my clothes back on. Ignoring her, I turned a yellowing page. “Spent your wish, I see,” I murmured cautiously. “What was it?”

“None of your business,” she said, the warning obvious.

My breath left me in a slow exhalation, and I kept my eyes lowered. An uncomfortable silence descended and I let it grow, refusing to break it. I had almost left last night. But the certain death waiting for me outside Ivy’s protection outweighed the possible death at Ivy’s hands. Maybe. Maybe I wanted to know what it felt like for her teeth to sink into me.

This was not where I wanted my thoughts to go. Ivy had scared the crap out of me, but seeing her in the bright light of post noon, she looked human. Harmless. Dare I say, a grump?

“I have something I want you to read,” she said, and I looked up as the thin book she had been holding hit the table between us. There was nothing written on the cover, the embossing almost completely worn away.

“What is it?” I said flatly, not reaching for it.

Eyes dropping, she licked her lips. “I’m sorry about last night,” she said, and my gut tightened. “You probably won’t believe me, but it scared me, too.”

“Not as much as you scared me.” Working with her for a year hadn’t prepared me for last night. I’d only seen her professional side. I hadn’t considered she was different away from the office. I flicked my eyes up at her and away. She looked entirely human. Neat trick, that.

“I haven’t been a practicing vamp for three years,” she said softly. “I wasn’t prepared for … I didn’t realize—” She looked up, her brown eyes pleading. “You have to believe me, Rachel. I didn’t want that to happen. It’s just that you were sending me all wrong signals. And then you got frightened, and then you panicked, and then it got worse.”

“Worse?” I said, deciding anger was better than fear. “You nearly ripped out my throat!”

“I know,” she implored. “I’m sorry. But I didn’t.”

I fought to keep from shuddering as I remembered the warmth of her saliva on my neck.

She nudged the book closer. “I know we can avoid a repeat of last night. I want this to work. There’s no reason it can’t. I owe you something for taking one of your wishes. If you leave, I can’t protect you against the vamp assassins. You don’t want to die at their hands.”