“Yes, he was,” the goblin intoned. “Thank you for your understanding.” She paused as she got into her car, looking back at Ryu and me. “Have no doubt: Martin’s murderer will be punished,” Gretchen concluded, the finality in her voice sending a chill through my bones.
We watched in silence as she drove away. Ryu grumbled something incomprehensible, and then, balancing the crumpled ball of paper on the palm of his hand, I watched in awe as it went up in a little puff of bright-blue flame and smoke.
“Goblins,” he said sarcastically, finally turning around to acknowledge me. He drew me toward him, pouring his aggression into a feisty kiss before breaking away to tell me that I was a sight for sore eyes. He kissed me again, teasingly. “And I mean sore. That red lipstick just did nothing for her complexion,” he murmured against my lips, and I burst out laughing.
When we were settled in his car, he sighed deeply and relaxed back against his headrest. “Well, that threw a wrench into my plans,” he said, finally.
I had already thought about that. No murder investigation meant no reason for him to be in Rockabill. No reason for him to be in Rockabill meant Ryu would return to his normal life in Boston.
The thing that made me feel worst was how sad I was. I should never have gotten involved with Ryu in the first place, let alone this involved.
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just sat quietly, my hands in my lap.
“Well, what’s done is done.” He turned to me, putting a hand on my knee. “I thought I’d have more time here, with you. But just because I have to leave sooner than I thought doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves. There’s even a chance of thunderstorms tonight.” He arched a brow at me. “And I bet your selkie half loves itself some storm.”
I laughed, swallowing my hurt. He was right; we had no reason not to enjoy our last night together. Besides, I’d known from the beginning that this was just a fling, and it’s not like I could have fit anything more serious into my life. And maybe you’ll have more confidence from now on, I told myself. Maybe Ryu’s just the beginning of a new life.
We went to dinner at the Trough, again, and this time I hardly noticed the prying eyes of my nosy neighbors.
Amy was happy to see us, at least, and she asked if we’d be going to the Sty that night. When Ryu said yes, winking at me, she said she’d see us there.
I was happy knowing I would see Amy that night, and even happier when we pulled into the Sty and Stuart’s SUV was nowhere to be seen. He must be regaining his confidence by being an asshole in some other bar, I thought. Ryu must also have been thinking about Stu, because he walked into the bar first, keeping me behind him while his eyes scanned the other patrons.
It was a Friday night, but still pretty early, so the bar half of the Sty was mostly empty. Sarah was serving food, but she flashed me a warm smile, as did Marcus when we approached the bar. We ordered drinks—red wine for Ryu, which I could see was totally not up to his standards when he tasted it, and a Jack and Coke for me. We toasted each other, but this time I took the lead. “To your being in Rockabill. I’ve, um, really enjoyed your being here,” I stammered, embarrassed. But he looked so pleased I was glad I’d said it.
I excused myself to go to the bathroom, and when I came back Ryu was walking away from the jukebox. He met me halfway back to the bar and picked me up, twirling me around while the power of his glamour lifted the hairs on the back of my neck, just as Cheap Trick’s cover of “The Flame” came over the speakers.
“Cheeseball,” I murmured, leaning down to kiss him. He held me like that for what felt like forever, until I realized that our kiss had begun to wander into the realm of the X-rated, and I pulled back.
“You can put me down now,” I reminded him.
“I could,” he acknowledged, nipping at my breast so that lightning bolts zinged through my body.
“Ryu,” I scolded, looking around me. But our public display of affection went, of course, unnoticed. I was going to have to get used to this glamour thing.
“No one can see us,” he pointed out. “Not even when I do this,” he said as he buried his face in my cleavage.
“No one but Sarah and Marcus,” I hissed, watching as the pair exchanged sly smiles.Ryu set me down and leaned over to kiss me. “You’re so sexy when you’re being human,” he growled.
And you’re just sexy, I thought, as I took his hand and wrapped an arm around his waist, trying to distract him with dancing.
“Tell me about the goblin,” I said, to reinforce the distraction.
He took the bait, wrapping his arm around me and gently swaying to the beat before saying, “Gretchen Kirschner is a senior partner in the firm Manx worked for, and even for a goblin she’s a pain in the ass. But she’s good. If she’s involved, then that means something big is happening.” His expression clouded, just for a moment, and I could sense the wheels spinning.
“Our world is… complex,” he explained. “Among us are beings who have lived for centuries, so you can’t imagine how deep the intrigues delve. Gretchen’s firm represents the big guns. They’re only deployed by our most powerful beings under the most important circumstances. Why a member of that firm would be in Rockabill, of all places, investigating the death of a halfling is beyond me.” He frowned. “And how Manx ended up in a halfling’s trunk is even more worrisome. Jakes could never have killed a mature goblin, not without an army to back him up. But why either of them was here in the first place is the greater mystery. I already thought it was strange that the Alfar asked me to investigate Jakes’s murder, and this is one plot twist I really don’t like.”
The expression on Ryu’s face, however, was not just troubled; there was also the faintest hint of enjoyment playing over his features as he contemplated the situation. He loves this, I realized. Not the murders, obviously, but the intrigue, the complexity.
“How old are you, Ryu?” I interrupted, curiously.
“Sorry?” he asked, as if waking from a dream. I repeated the question.
“Oh, in human years I’m very old, but for my kind I’m still an upstart,” he answered, smiling.
I waited until he answered my question. “I’ve lived about 270 human years,” he said, watching for my reaction. “Does that bother you?”
“It’s strange,” I answered him truthfully, after a moment of thought. “You’ve seen so much… done so much. It’s intimidating,” I admitted. “But sexy, too,” I clarified, trying to appear bold as I met his golden eyes.
It must have worked, because the next thing I knew he was bundling me into my jacket and into the Porsche. I barely had a chance to say good-bye to Sarah and Marcus and to ask them to tell Amy I was sorry we missed her. We abandoned our untouched drinks.
“Will you spend the night with me?” Ryu asked, as he peeled out of the Sty’s parking lot like he was going to put out a nursery fire. His fangs were already peeking out at me and I found the sight of them incredibly… stimulating. While I rummaged around my purse for my cell phone, I marveled at how quickly I’d gotten used to my vampire lover.
I had told my dad I wouldn’t be there for dinner again that night, and I’d been almost offended by how pleased he seemed at that information. But I still felt incredibly awkward telling him I wouldn’t be home at all that night. I don’t know how much he had known about Jason and me, as the sex talk had been handled by Nick and Nan, and he’d made it clear when I turned eighteen that I was an adult and responsible for myself. But I was still his daughter and I didn’t know how he’d react to my spending the night with Ryu.
He did take a deep breath when I told him I wouldn’t be home until tomorrow. “That’s fine, Jane. Thanks for letting me know. Just… be careful,” he said, uncomfortably, “and I’ll see you in the morning. Do you have the weekend off?”
“Yes,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye honey, I love you.”
“I love you too, Dad,” I said, and hung up my phone.
I gave Ryu the thumbs up, and if I’d thought he was driving fast before, now it felt like he was attempting to break the sound barrier. We must both have been determined to get as much from our little affair as we could.
His rental cottage was clean and simple, decorated in a vaguely Hamptons-esque style with lots of white paint and navy-blue accents. Not that I saw much of it before I was in the bedroom, Ryu hurtling us through the air to land on the mattress with a thump that rattled the bed.
He stripped off at the speed of light and had me nearly naked in equally record time. I was really turned on by his very evident need, but it was also pretty funny. Suddenly, as if just remembering something, he got up to fish around in his wallet. When he held up a condom, I nodded. He sighed, tossing it down next to my knee. I ignored his disappointment; until I had confirmation I couldn’t end up with babies that had my eyes and Ryu’s fangs, we were keeping things wrapped up.