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Downtown Atlanta . . .
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“He’s never going to let me back in the house,” Shamira muttered as she paced the alleyway. “I can’t believe I decked him.
Tabitha was chuckling. Technically, she should have been dead ten minutes earlier, but Shamira had stopped to rant about knocking out a werespider and the look of disapproval she had gotten from Shane. Tabitha had never met her would-be assassin before in a one-on-one capacity, but found her to be refreshingly human. After getting pulled into the alley, Tabitha was still waiting to get a bullet through the heart.
“I think he’ll forgive you,” Tabitha replied. “We may not have talked before, but he told me plenty about you. He wouldn’t trust you with killing me if he was going to kick you out. Are you really that afraid of spiders?”
“Just thinking about them makes me jumpy,” the bigger woman said. “If he hadn’t surprised me, I probably just would’ve screamed like a little girl. But noooooooooo, I have to knock out the new enforcer in front of the boss.” Shamira stomped her foot. “He got a nose bleed . . . bled on my skirt and everything. Ugh!”
Tabitha hugged the woman. “Listen, I’ve known Shane a long time. Yeah, he can be a taskmaster,” she said with a knowing grin, “but he’s surrounded himself with people that he trusts. Despite movie villain theory, sometimes people are more loyal if their boss isn’t a complete psychopath. Now if you’d hit Shane, then it might be a different.” She leaned against a dumpster. “So is the adjustment really that hard?”
“I think you’ll be fine,” Shamira replied tiredly. “You knew what vampires were. You knew what you were . . . you know, sexually. You had some kinda plan. Look at me?” Shamira said, waving the untraceable gun she had brought with her. “I’m freaking out in front of the woman who’s patiently waiting for me to shoot her in the chest! I suck at this! I can’t even bring myself to drink blood!” Shamira started pacing again.
“You’ve never drank blood? I know you don’t need to, but –”
“Well, I drank it once.”
“Anyone I know?” Tabitha teased.
Shamira grinned shyly. “Clara.”
Tabitha smiled outright. “I thought you might have found a regular donor. You can live on food, but you need blood sometime, right?”
“That’s what they tell me.”
“So, was it nice?”
“What?”
Tabitha rolled her eyes. “Drinking from Clara? Did you go for the neck or . . . something else.”
“Neck, and . . . and it was pretty damn spectacular. She’d just drank, so I got a bit of fresh stuff. She’s trying to get me to scan the donor database and find someone, but I’m just not sure I’m ready for that kind of relationship.”
“You live with a bunch of people that chain or tie you up and then fuck you senseless. How can ANY kind of relationship still freak you out?”
“You’ve missed the whole part about me being an unstable basketcase, haven’t you?”
Tabitha placed an arm across those broad muscular shoulders. “I think you’re just shy. Shane said that you still get weirded out when you’re told how absolutely gorgeous you are or how many people really want to play with you. And if it weren’t for the fact it would cast suspicion on my murder, I’d let you feed from me right here and now.”
“Really?”
“Really. When I saw you at dinner that one night, I was SO hoping you’d be a dominant.” Tabitha actually blushed. “I’ve never been . . . you know, with a girl.”
“Really? You seem so . . . wow,” Shamira sat down. “Strangely, that was one of the only things that didn’t bother me.”
“Your time with Clara?”
“Yeah and I kind of . . . well, Renata did some stuff when she was a jaguar –”
Tabitha’s eyes shot open. “You’re shitting me?!”
“Nope. Cats have rough tongues.”
Tabitha was so looking forward to being a vampire. “I am very much looking forward to joining the team,” she said dreamily.
“Everyone is looking forward to having you,” Shamira said. “I mean that they’re looking forward to you joining . . . well, I guess the ARE looking forward to having you in the lustful sense too.” Shamira stood up. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling. Thanks for listening.”
Tabitha smiled. “No sweat. It’s been great talking to you.”
“Thanks.” Shamira aimed her gun and squeezed the trigger.