Free Rusted Veins: A Sabina Kane Novella by Jaye Wells Page B

Adam was a man in a werewolf costume; a woman in faery wings stood on the other. I nudged Tinkerbell aside and put my arms around Adam. “You okay?” I whispered.
    His arms came around me, and instead of answering, he kissed me with a passion that robbed me of breath and left me dizzy. When he finally pulled away, he was smiling. I blew out a breath. “What was that for?”
    He put his forehead against mine. “I was just remembering the first time I saw you.”
    I laughed. “In that bar in Los Angeles.”
    He nodded. “I fell in love with you at that moment.”
    I shook my head at him. “While you watched me kill that guy?”
    He kissed me again, too quickly for my liking. “No. The second you strutted in looking for a fight. I thought, ‘There she is.’ And you know what?”
    “What?” I whispered.
    “I was right. The minute I saw you, there was never a chance I’d ever settle for another woman.” He glanced back toward Zen’s building. “If I had to guess, that’s exactly what Erron just felt in there.”
    I chose my words carefully. “So you’re not upset?”
    “About Erron and Cadence?” He chuckled. “Hell no. I’m relieved. I’ve felt guilty for a long time about breaking things off with her.” I must have betrayed some emotion on my face because he caught my hand and squeezed. “Guilt isn’t the same thing as regretting it being over. We didn’t belong together. I just hated to know she was hurting. But now?” He took a deep breath. “I think she has a lot of work to do to get her life on track, but it’s headed in the right direction.”
    I smiled at him. “You’re a good male, Mancy.”
    He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “I’m best when I’m with you.”
    Now my eyes really did sting with tears. Maybe it was the exhaustion or the emotional stress, or maybe it was simply relief of being reminded that what we had was as real as I’d hoped it was. To dispel the tears, I glanced around at the celebrations surrounding us on all sides. After a couple of seconds, I realized something. “You know, it was on another Halloween that we finally admitted our feelings for each other.”
    He smiled the same smile that had made me fall for him. “That year was the best trick-or-treat ever.”
    I raised a brow. “How are we going to top it this year?”
    With a wicked smile, he caught a handful of beads and candy from the air. “Depends on what you’re willing to do to earn these.” His expression took on a particularly roguish tilt.
    And with that, Adam and I flashed out from the middle of the parade, for once not caring who witnessed our magical exit.
    What started out as a crappy week had turned out to be one of the best Halloweens ever. A night when the lines between monsters and men were nonexistent. A night when the most hopeless beings could find a light in the darkest shadows. And it for damn sure was a night to believe that sometimes even monsters deserved happy endings.

Also by Jaye Wells
PROSPERO’S WAR
    Dirty Magic
    Cursed Moon
SABINA KANE
    Red-Headed Stepchild
    The Mage in Black
    Green-Eyed Demon
    Silver-Tongued Devil
    Blue-Blooded Vamp
SHORT FICTION BY JAYE WELLS
    “Rusted Veins”

If you enjoyed
RUSTED VEINS,
look out for

DIRTY MAGIC
P ROSPERO’S W AR: B OOK O NE
    by Jaye Wells
     
    MAGIC IS A DRUG. CAREFUL HOW YOU USE IT.
     
    The Magical Enforcement Agency keeps dirty magic off the streets, but there’s a new blend out there that’s as deadly as it is elusive. When patrol cop Kate Prospero shoots the lead snitch in this crucial case, she’s brought in to explain herself. But the more she learns about the investigation, the more she realizes she must secure a spot on the MEA task force.
     
    Especially when she discovers that their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years earlier—on the same day she swore she’d given up dirty magic for good. Kate Prospero’s about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get