Bound by Blood: Two Novellas of Paranormal Romance (2 page)

Her laughter haunted him, floating through
Distant Fury
and then
War Puppets
, drowning out Glenn's shriek. The final lights dimmed and Drake darted out on stage, fingers drumming on gear as he waited for the band to clear out. Glenn leapt off stage and the rest of the guys disappeared into the wings.

Drake rushed through loading the truck, slamming the door shut at 2:45.

He waved off shouts from the bus and headed back inside for a cleanup in the bathroom. The bouncers nodded as he headed for the sink. A splash of cold water on his face cleared up bleary eyes. A quick sniff of his pits assured him that he was still masculine fresh.

He grabbed cash from the ATM and walked out the front door.

Penny stood, leaning against an ancient, limegreen Impala. Furry black winter boots covered her from knee to toe, but above those, she wore skintight gray leggings.

Drake followed the line of her smooth thigh until his eye met the hem of her pea coat.

Penny cleared her throat and Drake looked up in a hurry. "Glad you came back. I was afraid I'd have to walk back to the hotel alone."

"You're still going back to the hotel alone."She winked. "But at least you get breakfast with me before you go to bed. Come on, let's go."She pulled open the passenger door and walked around, keys in hand. She slid behind the steering wheel while Drake stared after her. She honked and he finally got inside the car.

"Close your door and buckle up. Winter streets are a blast with this thing."She revved the engine and tore away from the curb before Drake's door had latched. She burned her way through the icy-slick streets of downtown St. Paul, catching the freeway at Tenth and Wacouta.

35E was dead at 3:15 in the morning and Penny took full advantage of the space to move. "My brother rebuilt the engine for me. It's got balls, right?"

Drake nodded, dry-mouthed. "Definitely. I should drive."

"Sorry," she shook her head, "no one drives Lisa but me."

"Lisa?"

"The most popular girl's name the year she was born."

Drake hesitated. "You know it-"

"She."

"Okay. You know she was probably built the year before her actual model year, right?"He twisted in his seat to see her face better.

"Yep, but Lisa was the most popular girl's name from 1962 to 1969. I'm covered."She ten and two'd the wheel and made a hard right, rear end sliding around the cloverleaf exit ramp for 36.

Drake gripped the armrest, wishing for airbags. He wasn't afraid so much as conscious of her mortality.

She hooked another right at the top of the first exit and two blocks later, pulled into the tiny, poorly lit lot of a diner that looked remarkably similar to the one where he'd met her. Penny climbed out the door and pushed the lock down.

"There's no clicker for her. Manual locks."

Drake looked down at the door panel, eyeing the lock. "I remember when cars starting coming with locks."

"You were there, were you?"

"I, well, I..." His own slipped admission trapped him.

"I know."She tapped his shoulder. "I can tell."

A parking lot was not the place to have the conversation she was alluding to. Drake looped his fingers through Penny's. "Maybe we should go someplace quiet."

"This is plenty quiet. No one here cares."She pulled him toward the door, tugging insistently on his hand. "Come on, you'll see."

Drake followed her lead, but stepped in front of her to open the door. "Such a gentleman."She smiled, "Your mama raised you right."

"That she did."

They walked in and sat in a dilapidated booth in the corner. There were terrible paintings of ducks on the walls and the furniture was clearly original from the '60s. "The usual, times two."Penny called her order over the counter, at the waitress coming out to greet them.

"I got it, Pen. You brought a friend."A snow-white brow arched in amusement.

"A friend, right. Coffee."Penny breezed over the old woman's inquisitions, waving a delicate hand in the air.

"And orange juice. Please." Drake couldn't help the mannerism – it was too deeply ingrained.

The woman grinned. "I'll bring you a large."She winked. "Healthy young man like you needs his vitamins, know what I mean."

Penny laughed openly at Drake's discomfort and the woman disappeared behind the counter. "She's awful, isn't she?I adore her."

"She's not that bad."He shook his head. "Why am I defending her?She's one of those blue-haired ladies who get off on making other people uncomfortable. The kind who can't wait to get old so they can say whatever they want and no one can be mad about it. Am I right?"

"You're completely right. And I would know – she's my grandmother."

Drake backpedaled. "I didn't mean anything–"

"You did too. But she deserves it. She's awful and she knows it. You're completely right, but more importantly, she's my grandmother on my father's side."

"Uh," Drake tipped his head, waiting for Penny to finish her thought. "On your father's side…"He motioned for her to continue.

"The side I get my Sidhe blood from. There's a reason I knew about you. I can sense it." She drummed her fingers on the tabletop. "Say something?"

"I didn't know how much you knew – about either of us – this makes things easier, you already knowing."He sighed heavily. "How far back is the Sidhe?"

"My great-grandfather was Sidhe."

"Was?"

Penny nodded. "Died in a car accident when I was six."

"Unfortunate."

"It was."The waitress had returned with a tray of drinks and ketchup. "He was a great man. Lost count of how old he was sometime around the turn of the twentieth century. The last he could remember was turning 285."

"Penny is one-eighth Sidhe?"

The old woman nodded. "And seven-eighths human."

"Thanks, I actually did that math myself."

"Feisty," the old woman laughed to Penny. "I like 'em like that. I'm Marlene."She held out her hand for Drake. "Okay, food's up and then I'll leave you two alone. Seems you have a bit to talk about."She returned a second later with plates heaped full of bacon, eggs and hash browns.

Penny smeared ketchup over her food and dug in.

"So, twenty questions, or what?"He raised a forkful of hash browns to his mouth, chewing while he waited for her response.

"Not so much. I've known about Sidhe my whole life. I mean, the basics, how old are you, that kind of thing. But in general, no. No questions."She stabbed her bacon into the yolk of her egg and stuffed the dripping mess into her mouth. "I like food." she chewed her mouthful of food.

"Then we have more in common than our heritage. How did I not sense the Sidhe in you?"

"Gram thinks it's mostly dormant, since it's a few generations back."Penny shrugged, "I don't really know."

They made small talk and ate. Drake complimented Marlene on the food and insisted on paying the bill. As they walked out the door, Penny snaked her hand inside his, interlacing their fingers.

"Can I see you in the morning?"

"I'll pick you up at eleven."She smiled and unlocked the passenger door of the car. "Uh, which hotel are you at?"

"The EZ Stop Inn – right across from your work."

Penny hopped back on the freeway and minutes later, pulled into the parking lot. "I'll see you at eleven?"

"I'll be here,
mo chiall
."He watched, bereft, as she drove away.

CHAPTER 3

He awoke abruptly the next morning, bolting from his slumber into alertness. His Other was near – he could feel her. Drake jumped out of bed and tugged on his jeans from the previous night. Shirtless, he swung open the door, intent on the lobby.

In his haste, he plowed into Penny, standing in the doorway with her fist raised, poised to knock.

He stumbled forward and knocked Penny off her feet. He caught her on her way down, one arm across the small of her back, the other cradling her head. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what're you doing here?It's only nine."

"I wanted to surprise you."She gestured blindly to the floor and Drake final noticed a paper bag on the ground beneath her. "I brought bagels. I know we just ate breakfast, but like I said, I like food. I'm glad I skipped the coffee, though."

"Me too."All at once, Drake recognized the nearness of her, the press of her breasts against him, the way her hips lined up flush with his. Her cheeks burned red, as though she had noticed their proximity too. He stood, bringing her with him, waiting until she had her feet beneath her before picking up the paper bag.

He pushed the room door open and ushered Penny inside. "It's not much, but it's not home either, so I don't really care. It works for now."Drake pulled out one of the chairs at the small roomservice table on the far side of the room. Penny sat, folded down the bag and pulled out breakfast, one item at a time. "I got an even dozen, all different kinds. What do you like?"

Drake picked out a bagel, split it and spread it thick with cream cheese. They were still warm from the bakery, melting the cream cheese. It oozed out between his fingers as he sank his teeth into the messy treat. While he was digging in, Penny pulled two small bottles of orange juice from the pockets of her coat.

"OJ?"She held a bottle out to him. "It's my fave."

Drake nodded, gratefully accepting the proffered bottle and downing half of it in one gulp. "S'mine too."He finished the bagel in three quick bites, waiting patiently while Penny ate hers. "So today," he handed her a napkin, "I thought we'd do something touristy. I'm a tourist," he pointed at his chest, "and I read something once about how people always miss out on seeing the tourist spots they live the closest to – something like that."

Penny laughed. "When you're an artist, and you live in a place like this, full of culture, the performing arts, sculpture gardens, art museums, you take advantage. How about I show you my favorite places in town?"

Her laughter sparked a flame in the pit of his stomach, a curling heat, coiling inside him, licking up his ribcage, waiting to be sprung. "Deal."He shoved their refuse into the trashcan, tied the bag shut and left it outside the door on their way out.

She laced their fingers together and led him to her car, just down the block. The jolt of cold air on his bare fingers and face did nothing to squelch the flame burning him from the inside out.

Penny started the car and pumped the gas a few times. "She doesn't much like starting in the winter. I like to give her a minute to warm up."

"Mmmhmm."Drake twisted in his seat. "Is this ride going to be like the last one?"

"Not quite as fast. There's too much traffic and we're staying in the city."She put Lisa in gear and eased into Sunday morning traffic. Drake watched closely as she maneuvered the manual clutch, in traffic – and on ice – it was a feat and her complete mastery of the machine was a turn on.

"So, at what point is it okay for me to tell you that I know
exactly
what you are?"

Drake's fingers, which had been drumming on his thigh, stilled. "What exactly do you mean by that?"His fingers made air quotes around the word exactly.

"I'm a painter, Drake. I finished three paintings after I dropped you off. I haven't slept yet. I feel like an addict– I needed another hit."She slowed almost to a stop and swung a right into an enclosed parking garage, but not before Drake caught a glimpse of the building in front of them.

A looming tower of silver panels, hulking in both size and architecture; Drake couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. They parked on the first level and Penny led Drake out of the garage, to the front of the building. "You have to see the whole exterior to really appreciate it. I never go in through the garage entrance."

Drake paused, staring at the building before him. "This place – it looks like a recycling center. It's unreal."

Penny laughed. "I can see that. Ready?"She pointed toward the door. "After you."

He started up the steps and pulled open the heavy wooden door. Penny walked through with a curtsey. "So gentlemanly."

"Show me your favorite exhibit."

Instead of replying, Penny laced her fingers through his and dragged him to the stairs. "Up here."

His head swiveled back and forth, trying to take in all the exhibits as they walked passed. Huge sculptures, vivid paintings. The space itself was a masterpiece with marble floors and looming gothic archways separating the rooms. The silence deepened as they left the majority of the crowds behind, eeking down a seemingly forgotten hallway.

"Here." Penny tugged his hand until he stood beside her. "This is it – my favorite place in the museum."

Drake craned his neck to read the American Modernism sign hanging from the ceiling above his head.

"I love the feel of it all, the scope of the work. You know, this period in art developed during the Suffrage movement. I see a lot of that in the works. Georgia O'Keefe and Henrietta Shore were key in ushering the style in to the New York School."

"And what kind of painting do you do?Like this?"He heard her heatbeat speed up as she thought about her craft.

A quick headshake. "No, mixed medium abstract. In addition, I like huge canvasses, the bigger the better. I hate having constraints on my creativity."Her eyes flashed as she talked about her art, arms gestured wildly.

"What kind of medium do you mix with your paint?Anything specific?"They wandered to a metal bench facing a wooden totem in the center of the room.

"Whatever catches my eye?I pick up random things I find. I do like to use natural items – feathers, beehives, bark. However, I tuck a page from a book into each piece I make. It's my signature. Rather than sign my name, I make a paper flower from a book page."The cold metal bench only highlighted the inches separating them, echoing the empty ache in his stomach.

"And you finished three paintings last night."Drake cocked an eyebrow. Need lingered in her, radiated out from her soul. Three paintings was a feat, but not enough to satiate her.

"Three smaller pieces, but yeah, I finished three paintings last night. It was crazy. How many people know what you are?"

He paused. "You."The gravity of her question weighed on him and he wondered exactly how much she knew.

"Only me?"

"Only you. People don't believe in anything anymore. The paranormal is something they read in books. They would rather think their success lies on their shoulders alone."He shrugged, tipping his head to the side.

"But you're leaving Iron Vengeance?"

"I think Iron Vengeance is leaving me. Let's just say Minneapolis has a certain appeal for me."Drake found himself leaning in as he spoke, completely invading Penny's personal space. "There's something I think we've forgotten."

"Yeah?"Her words fluttered against his lips. He breathed her in and closed the gap, sealing her lips with his own. The effect was immediate. His dick went rock hard and his brain short-circuited. His only thought of how he had to have her right that minute, cold metal bench be damned.

His hands threaded into her hair, like silk through his fingers. He clutched her to him, soaking up everything that was uniquely her. His hips rocked against her, a strangled moan escaped his lips. One hand trailed down her back, gripped her hip and crushed her against him.

Penny gasped into his mouth, tongue sliding against his. Her fingers scrabbled at his shoulders, pulling him closer and pushing him away all at once.

"Oh my God," she panted, tearing her mouth away. "That was– we can't ever do that again in public."She rested her forehead against his, eyes closed, chest heaving. "I lied. Kiss me again." She pulled him by the collar of his shirt, clutching him to her.

He cupped her chin in his hand, lifting her face to meet his. Where the first kiss had been fire, this one was soft and gentle, an exploration. Their tongues tangled, caressing one another.

A throat cleared in their vicinity and Drake pulled away sheepishly. Penny buried her face in his shoulder.

"Sorry about that. Got a bit carried away."

A boorish looking man in a rumpled brown suit and a bad mustache turned on his heel when Drake spoke. Penny shook and pushed further into him.

He stroked her hair. "You don't have to cry about it; it wasn't that bad."

"Not crying," she said tremulously. "Laughing."She pulled away, gripping her sides. "Oh God. That's why I said never do that again. Oh!"Her laughter carried across the cavernous space, drawing more attention to her embarrassment.

"All right, I think it's time to get out of here."Drake lifted Penny to her feet and guided her back toward the entrance, out the front door.

She sat on the cold stone steps, still shaking with laughter. "I can safely say that has never happened to me before."She wiped her damp eyes.

"Never been kissed, eh?" Drake smiled lasciviously.

"Never made out in an art museum before. But I have never been kissed quite like that."Her eyes met his. "I think I'm done. Ready?"

"I don't know. Is it safe for us to be in a confined space?Just the two of us, locked in your car?"He offered his hand.

She took it and pulled herself up.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here. It's early for lunch. Wanna see the sculpture garden at the Walker?"

"I think it's a bit cold out for a garden of any kind."

"Bull. It's almost 45 degrees. This is balmy. The sun is shining. Where the heck did you grow up?"

"Middle Earth."

"Funny. Get in the car."

Penny pulled the lock on Drake's door and pushed it open. He slid into the seat and buckled while she started the car. "Faery."

"What?"

"That's where I was raised. And it doesn't get cold there. The Summer court has been in power for millennia. Cold is – for now, at least, unique to this realm."He rubbed his hands together briskly. "I'm not a fan of cold."

"I love winter. The snow, skating, sledding – have you even been tubing?But summer is my favorite. Beaches, swimming, sun."She pulled into traffic and back onto Washington Ave. She cut through the U of M campus and over to 94. "We'll do the sculpture garden and then lunch, deal?"

He nodded. "Deal. So where did you grow up?"

"Here. On the East side of St. Paul. In a not nice neighborhood." Her fingers drummed on the steering wheel when they stopped at a red light at the top of the ramp.

"But you don't live there now?" He watched her face as she watched the road. The light turned green and Penny got on the freeway, mouth set in the half-smirk she always wore behind the wheel.

"No. Now I live in a loft above my studio in the warehouse district. It may or may not be legal. S'all I'm saying."She winked and Drake laughed. "So this sculpture garden – can it be viewed from the car?"

"Absolutely not. You have to get out, walk through the paths. It's a requirement. I won't take you for lunch otherwise."

Drake snorted. "Oh no, don't starve me. I can't just walk to lunch."

"You'd freeze first, you baby."

"First she threatens me, now she's calling names."Drake huffed and turned in his seat, staring at the traffic whizzing by outside his window. "I'm hurt."

"You are not."

"You're right, I'm not. But I could be."He waggled his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure you have feelings."Penny pulled into a frozen parking lot, nearly empty of cars. Drake hopped out before the car was off and rushed around to open Penny's door.

"Milady," he bowed deeply.

Penny grinned and swatted at his shoulder. "Get up, people are staring. Besides, you can't see the garden when you're bent over like that."

"But I like what I can see."He ogled her legs and their thin gray leggings. Her coat cut off his ogling. "This should come off."He tugged at the hem of the wool. "Maybe if I just untie it."His fingers crept higher, pulling on the tie of her coat. "We should skip the park, skip lunch."He grinned.

Penny shook her head, unable to hide her smile, and pulled him to his feet. "This way."They walked through the abandoned sculpture garden, passed
Nautilus
. Penny stopped to spin in a circle, arms spread wide, beneath the mesh canopy of
Prophecy of the Ancients
. "We're close now. Everyone who visits Minneapolis needs to see this. It's iconic."

They rounded a corner and Drake stopped short. "A giant spoon with a cherry on it?"

"
Spoonbridge and Cherry
."

"Well, now I've seen it."He shrugged, unimpressed. "The view outside the car was infinitely better."

"You're unhelpable. I can do nothing to improve your taste in art." She tugged his hand again.

"Where to?"

"My place. I'm making lunch."

"In your possibly illegal loft above your studio?"

"Exactly."Penny cut into an alley behind a three-story brick building. "I share the studio space with four other artists, but the loft is all mine."

She pulled a key ring from her pocket and shoved a key into the brass lock. The heavy door eased open when she pulled up on the lever. Bright daylight lit up the space. A glance upward confirmed his questions – the entire ceiling was glass. The walls were bare brick and an industrial staircase led to a catwalk with a single door.

"Let's go straight up and I'll start lunch. You can see my studio after we've eaten.

Drake followed Penny up the staircase, peering over the railing of the catwalk to the ground below.

"Haven't had a jumper yet."The smirk on Penny's face made Drake smile in return. She pulled her key ring out yet again and slid another key into the lock on her door. It twisted easily and she turned the knob, pushing the door open. "Welcome to Penny's."Drake walked in ahead of her for once and turned to survey the room.