Bad Luck, Baby

20 - Bad Neighborhood

In the shop, the day passed slowly, and Ro stayed in cat form.

He still hissed at the customers, breathed down my neck, and clearly wanted to claw the eyes out of anyone who looked at me, but this behavior wasn't so distracting (or so menacingly attractive) in a cat.

Finally, in the afternoon, the stream of customers slowed to a trickle and then dried up entirely. With the shop empty, Ro retook his more human shape.

He came behind me, slipped his arms around my waist, pulled me against him, and took a deep breath with his nose buried in my hair.

"Are you smelling me?" I asked, grimacing.

"Mm-hm," he affirmed, bending his head a little lower so his lips brushed my jaw below my ear. "You smell different when I'm in this form."

"I do?" Distractedly, I made an effort to tidy the countertop, but it was impossible with his arms holding me in place.

"Yes, very different."

I rolled my eyes despite the shiver that raced up my spine and attempted to loosen his hold, without effect. "Ro, we need to concentrate."

"I am concentrating," he said, and slid his hands down to my hips as he kissed the side of my neck.

A little gasp caught in my throat, and I nearly choked as I jolted away and turned to face him. Then I made the mistake of looking up, and a shock zapped me through the heart as our gaze connected. His eyes gleamed with recognition, and a knowing smile quirked his lips.

"You feel it, too," he stated, hands on my waist as he pulled me back towards him. I set my own hands on his chest and held him away.

"I feel something," I admitted. "But..."

I bit my lip. The truth was I didn't trust—couldn't trust—that Ro liked me for myself. It had to be an effect of the familiar bond, or—

To my surprise, Ro sighed and let me go.

"It doesn't work like that," he said.

I blinked, startled. "Can you read my mind?"

His smile softened a fraction. "No. But I can sense what you're feeling, and I can guess the rest well enough. Ellie—the bond draws us together, but every bond is unique; and the form it takes isn't determined by magic, but by the natures of the pair it binds. Your father held me with iron chains: master and slave. I hated him, and he saw me as a useful tool. Evangeline and Sophie are like mother and daughter, loving and devoted. For Kyrie and Janelle—for me and you—the bond only strengthens what was already there."

"Really?"

"Yes." He tilted his head a little and frowned. "Why do you find that so hard to believe?"

I shrugged and swallowed, breaking eye contact and turning away again. No one had ever wanted me the way Ro seemed to want me; even with Jamie, I hadn't deluded myself that much.

"It just seems too fast to be real."

"You don't believe in love at first sight?"

"No. Not really."

"Good. Neither do I." He moved closer, wrapping me in his arms again. A purr rumbled in his chest and his hot breath tickled my ear when he spoke. "But I believe in this, and so should you."

Thankfully, Kyrie came down to take over for the afternoon shift, then, and I was spared the pain of coming up with a reply.

"Allister Raine?" she said, in response to my inquiry. "I only know of him by name. However, if he is a vestiger, he will be in the Witch Pages."