Free Fire in the Blood by Robyn Bachar Page A

asked.
    “Yes, I am, and it isn’t normal,” he admitted. “The Titania has been calling me quite frequently, but I am ignoring her.”
    “Won’t that get you into trouble?”
    “I am very fond of Catherine, but as a shadowspawn, I am not obligated to obey her. If the matter is serious enough, she will send someone to fetch me.”
    I glanced at the clock. It was nearly 9 p.m., so there was plenty of time left to get stuff done. “Well, we can deal with the vamps when they show up, but in the meantime we need to figure out what to do with Kris. I’m going to need my books from my place.”
    He frowned. “You said you didn’t have a spell that could do it.”
    “I don’t. I’m going to have to make something up and hope it works.”
    “Perhaps you should speak to Simon without me present.”
    “No. It was worth a shot to ask, but we probably don’t have that kind of time anyway. Chroniclers don’t exactly research at the speed of Google. Can you port us in and out of my place? I’d rather not drive and risk someone seeing us coming.”
    “Of course. We should wait until morning, to minimize the chance of encountering master necromancers.”
    I smirked. “Uh-huh. You just want to keep me in bed longer,” I accused.
    “The thought had crossed my mind…”
    “Well if you’re going to ravish me again, I’m going to need dinner first, because I’m running on empty.” I slid out of bed, and I grabbed my panties and his shirt and slipped them on. I paused and waited for him to follow, and was distracted by the glorious sight of him stretched out, the bed sheet leaving little to the imagination.
    “What do you really look like?” I asked, curious.
    Faust blinked. “Are you tired of this form?”
    “No, no. Trust me, I love your form. I’m just wondering what your natural form is,” I explained. “I’ve spent some time with my Fiera family, so I know what they look like. The wings are nice. I liked the wings you had at the shapeshifter jamboree.”
    “Those wings aren’t natural to my clan, but I do like them. They make a statement.”
    Did they ever—a sexy, avenging angel statement. “Are you really a redhead?”
    “In a manner of speaking. Why do you ask?”
    “Simon’s a redhead, and you said his mother was blonde.”
    He winced and sighed, and I had a moment of guilt for bringing it up, but I was honestly curious. If by some miracle we did attempt a permanent relationship, I wanted to know more about him. I shamelessly ogled him as he rose from the bed, and he chuckled.
    “I’ll show you, if you insist, but I doubt you’ll find it as attractive,” he said.
    “I’m a summoner. You’d be surprised what we find attractive.”
    Faust snorted with amusement, and then his body shimmered and shifted. His pale skin darkened to a dusty gray, and I placed my palm against his chest. Heat radiated from him, but his skin was dry and almost coarse, reminding me a bit of a pumice stone.
    “Careful,” he warned. “Don’t burn yourself.”
    I glanced up to retort that it would take a whole lot more heat to burn me, and I started at the sight of his glowing red eyes. They reminded me of my yellow eyes, but with an added intimidation factor. “Neat,” I said, impressed.
    “Only you would say that, my love,” he replied with a smirk.
    “The hair is cool too.”
    Faust had flaming hair. Not red, not bright, but actual fire on the top of his head. I was so glad my hair didn’t catch fire when I lit myself up, though it would solve my need for a haircut.
    “I don’t know what you were worried about. You look fine. I probably wouldn’t jump you in this form, because it seems like there would be a chafing problem, but you’re not hideous. You look a bit like an incubus I used to know.”
    “You dallied with an incubus?” he asked, his red eyes wide with shock.
    The idea of dallying with anyone gave me a moment of pause, but then I shrugged. “Hey, there’s a time and a place for