Hope held her palms up helplessly. “They’d have had more luck with simply asking us to make them a charm. We fae turn into dust if we die in this realm, and our remains contains no magic, though no one asked either of us at the time.”
Darcy drained his cup and stood. “Mama, I don’t think the regularly scheduled meeting is necessary this month. Aside from pointing out my past mistakes, I don’t think anything else can be accomplished here. And for the last time, just because I don’t want you to set me up with every single person you meet doesn’t mean I’m repressed. Dammit, woman. Sometimes a man wants his privacy.”
3
Darcy
God, I wished someone would kill me now. First, the vampire I’d told to hit the bricks turned out to be my favorite author. I couldn’t take back my first impression where I’d threatened to kill him—or the second, where I’d menaced him again. Now my mother wanted to discuss my supposed sexual hang-ups? Jeebus.
I sat back down when I realized I was making a scene. Apparently, a man not only couldn’t have discretion in his own home, but he couldn’t storm off in a huff either. At least, not without validating his mother’s ramblings.
Mama gave me a break—or so I could hope—and looked at Storm with fresh interest. “Storm, you can’t have been a vampire for long if your twin sister still seems the same age as you. And we all know you won’t age now that you’re immortal. Pardon me if I’m touching on a sensitive topic, but do you mind if I ask how you came to be turned? I thought vampires stayed in a central nest, and yet here you are being such a good brother to your sister.”
Before I could stop myself, my hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. “Storm, you absolutely do not have to answer any questions coming out of my mom’s mouth. She’s nosier than a hound dog on the hunt.” I jerked my hand back, glaring at the intrigued expression on my mother’s face.
Shaking my head in her direction, I blew out an exasperated breath and turned back to Storm. “Honestly, if you’re going to live here, then you might as well learn from the get-go. It’s perfectly okay for my mother’s curiosity to remain unfulfilled. Heck, some might even say leaving her hanging is good for her.”
Storm’s eyes lit with silent laughter. “I don’t know, Darcy. It seems to me interest left unfulfilled often leads to wild conjecture. I’d be better off satisfying her in the first place.” Winking, he turned back to my mom. “As it happens, the jerk I was dating at the beginning of the war was a vampire. I had no idea because, like everyone else, I didn’t know the supernatural lore was based on truth until the stupid press conference.”
I snorted. “God. I’ll never forget the day supes revealed themselves and declared they were taking over because they were dominant and better left in charge of the earth. I mean, they had a point about us humans ruining it for everyone, but still. I can’t believe they didn’t expect war.”
Muriel nodded her agreement. “They would’ve won, too, if the supes hadn’t started fighting over which species was higher on the food chain. If they’d maintained solidarity, we’d never have gotten the armistice.”
Storm held up a hand. “I do hate to interrupt this lovely trip down a tiresome lane, but back to me and my ex. I had no idea Terry wasn’t human, since we vampires only have red-rimmed eyes when we’re hungry. And after we feed and lick the bite clean, the mark disappears, so there’s no proof. I’m sure I was an easy food source the entire time we were together without my knowledge.”
My mother gasped, lifting her cup with one hand for a drink while motioning for him to continue with the other. Shaking his head at the crazy woman, Storm chuckled. “When my ex got scared for the frail human boyfriend, apparently the proper reaction was to change me while I rested. Even as a human, I slept like the dead after, er, carnal activities, shall we say? So you can see how easy it would have been. But anyway… my life changed one morning when I woke up with a massive headache and an even larger thirst for blood.”
“Was the headache from the hunger or the change itself?” Mom was so invested, she didn’t even seem to realize she was breaking her own rules, both elbows on the table as she leaned forward to catch every word.
Storm laughed softly. “Neither. Those rumors about us burning in the sun are completely false. At least, they are in my case. I haven’t gone out of my way to spend time around others of my kind. The sun gives me a massive headache, but not much more. And my ex worked nights, so I don’t know how he fared.”
“Given you’re alone with your sister, I suppose it’s safe to assume this ex of yours lost you anyway?” Mama tutted. “It’s hard to feel sorry for anyone who forced vampirism on their lover, but someone should have warned the poor soul. The best way to ruin a relationship is trying to change the other person. Especially in such a life-altering way.”
“Life-altering is one thing to call turning my brother into a vampire.” Muriel sputtered with laughter. “That douchecanoe is just lucky my brother held me back.” Cystic fibrosis and wheelchair aside, I had no doubt Muriel would have cheerfully gone Buffy on Storm’s ex.
Mama rested her chin on both hands. “So what about now? What’s a good-looking guy—not to mention a successful author—still doing single? I imagine any number of people would happily date a handsome young man like you, vampire or not.”
As if considering the options available, Mama peered around the table before turning back to Storm. “You know, if the two of you have plans to settle in here, then I might offer the same suggestion I made to your sister. While some of our family here at Sanctuary have coupled up, many of us are still single.”
Muriel snickered, elbowing her brother in the side again. “Yeah, Stormy. You could try your luck with the men I wasn’t interested in. Just like in high school, I’ll give you dibs on the men, while any interested ladies have a shot at winning my heart.”
“There’s the ticket! Love isn’t going to fall into your lap. When it comes to matters of the heart, you have to be assertive, put yourself out there, and be confident enough to say what you want.” Mama smiled her approval at Muriel, who turned three interesting shades of red.
Looks like someone was searching for a Mommy to love her. I almost slapped myself for the unwelcome conjecture. Before any imagery forced its way into my brain, I made myself think of kicked puppies and dead fish.
Mama studied Storm with fresh interest. She must’ve missed the part where Muriel mentioned “our closet” in reference to her and Storm, or she’d have known better than to ask the next question. “Am I to assume you and your sister are both gay? Or perhaps bi?”
Storm seemed like he wanted to choke when Muriel cheerfully answered for him. “Nope, my brother is gay as a May Day pole, complete with flowers and rainbow-colored streamers to dance around. Why? Complicates things for your matchmaking, Prudence?”
Humming, my mother resembled a cat with a belly full of cream. “Oh, I don’t know. I was going to give your brother a prescription to try dating again. But if he’s gay, then I’m afraid only my Darcy is left. And we heard how he feels about his pushy mama.” She giggled—actually fucking giggled—and motioned around the table with a wave of her hand. “Unfortunately, our other male residents are either taken or straight.”