Twice Bitten (Love, Lust & Magic #1)

Uriah

Back at the bar, ordered drinks as Pruitt huffed. “Oh, come on, Pru,” he sighed. “Just admit it. The human is your date. You know, the one you kinda, sorta stole from me. On top of that, he’s the cure to our inability to jerk each other off without a splitting migraine, so that’s what I call a win-win.”

Pruitt remained quiet as an unfamiliar bartender served them.

“Geez,” continued his rant. “I just wonder what homecoming queen hopeful Ada Ambrose might have to say about that.”

“Funny you should ask,” Pruitt sighed as he handed over his buzzing phone.

could only see a screen flooded with text messages. “Wait, she dumped you both seven minutes ago, and again five minutes ago, because you ignored her—and I quote— for more than the allotted time we agreed to the last time I had to do this. Yikes, mate.”

“Yeah, yeah. She dumped me last week because I didn’t apologize for getting her iced coffee order wrong fast enough,” Pruitt said with a shrug as handed him a drink.

“Atta boy.” draped his arm around Pruitt’s shoulder and offered him a toast. The two were hesitant at first, but again there were no supernatural spasms ripping through their cortex. “To you being single, which gives us plenty of time to poke, prod, or otherwise investigate our supernatural-proof pal Griff. And maybe even one another.”

“Let me guess, emphasis on the poke and prod?” Pruitt asked as he held up his glass.

“ You said it,” replied as their cups clinked together. “Not me.”

“Whatever you say,” said Pruitt before taking a swig. “You know, they sure cleaned this place up since you last made me demolish it.”

“Noticed it, too, huh?” acknowledged. “Smells magical.”

Pruitt nodded in agreement. “Oh. And speaking of the supernatural, what of your bloodthirsty beau?”

“Well,” said as he downed his entire drink and motioned for another. “Looks like she’s quite busy with a human herself. Getting a bit old, actually.”

Pruitt followed ’s line of sight across the bar, where a man and woman were engrossed in an over-the-top make-out session. “Let me guess. That’s the famed Mystic Hollow Maiden of Darkness, huh?”

“Always out snacking on the student population,” sighed with a longing look. “But never, ever willing to share. My therapist says I should break it off, too.”

A pair of approaching men interrupted the two. Each dressed in varying shades of black and donning their own leather jackets, they appeared to be with . “Let me guess, your band lackeys?” asked Pruitt. Sniffing the air, he continued telepathically before waiting for a response. ?Great, even more vampires. Do you literally all dress the same??

“Maybe,” replied out loud with a smile before turning to his acquaintances. “Boys, we ready to destroy it?”

“Sound check is good,” said Kale Constantine, the tallest of the duo and the band’s drummer. With bright green eyes and shaggy dark hair, snakebite piercings, and a body as muscular as ’s, he stood out most of the new undead duo. “We’re on in a few.”

“Looks like we’ll have to save dinner for later,” added Julian Jimenez, a handsome Latin vampire with short black hair. He had a bass guitar strapped around his shoulders. “That is, of course, if your girlfriend saves us anything.”

“I’ll be ready,” replied , nodding as Kale and Julian moved to the stage and were joined by two other band members. “Just give me a sec.”

“You shouldn’t be letting her— or your vampire bandmates —snack on anyone,” said Pruitt. “You know, there are vampires who live on blood bags and animals, right?”

“I know. Poor, sad bastards,” responded dryly before finishing his second drink in one swallow. “Perhaps if I had a good girl—or, um, good boy—at home to make sure my fridge was properly stocked, I’d reconsider the stance. Could even settle for a nice werewolf, maybe, too. Maybe even all three, or a combination thereof.”

“Are they the only vamps here tonight?” Pruitt’s eyes scanned the bar as he appeared to ignore ’s comments. “Or am I going to have to break another barstool and start staking what remains of your fan base?”

Almost as though Pruitt’s words caught their attention, several passersby and bar patrons at a nearby table turned their heads and flashed their fangs.

“Look, everyone who comes to my shows is on the straight and narrow—well, now , anyway. They’re not going to cause any trouble at a witch’s bar,” said with no certainty as his eyes scanned the establishment. “I mean, all of them except for my love, Regina, of course.”

“Really?”

“Come on, Pru, trust me,” continued as he placed his hands on Pruitt’s shoulders. “I’m going to blame what I’m about to say on the liquor, but I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you. Or this—this Griff kid. ”

“Oh, how sweet,” Pruitt groaned as he shrugged out of the vampire’s grip.

’s hands grazed Pruitt’s before he felt comfortable enough to take them and place them in his own. No blinding lights, no electrical sparks.

Pruitt sighed, attempting to look every which way except back to . The vampire insisted on his attention, pulling his left hand up and pressing a kiss on it. “Trust me?”