Free Inhuman Heritage by Sonnet O'Dell Page A

now.”
    “Where do you want to go then?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. I didn’t really have any place to go on this side. The light started to change and Magnus reached to turn his indicator back on. So I blurted, “You got any beer?”
    Magnus drove me to his place. I liked his little bungalow style home, it looked like it had come in one of those flat pack furniture boxes, it was all straight sides and clean lines. There was no sign of his old car, he must have sold it to afford the new one that I was happily nicknaming the “panther”. Magnus walked me inside and I ignored the couch in favor of strolling right into his bedroom to take a seat on the edge of his bed. He stood in the doorway, a beer in either hand and looked me over as I leaned down to pull my boots off.
    “My bedroom?” he asked taking a step inside to offer me the open beer. I took it and let a cool sip of it slither down my throat.
    “Where did you expect me to sleep?”
    “So, you’re going to kick me out of my own bed?” he asked indignantly taking the edge off what I was guessing were his nerves by downing half his beer. Watching him gave me an evil idea and I was just far gone enough that the thought of initiating intimate contact with Magnus, after everything, was sexy rather than scary.
    “Now did I say that?” I said pushing my hair back over my shoulder; he looked over me taking note that I was wearing my locket. I’d made the detour home to put it on when I’d thought I might need to stay a while in this reality. Last thing I’d wanted was to have a passionate night with Jareth or Aram in Dante’s and wake up butt naked in Tramps somewhere. No clothes, no way to explain. I patted the bed next to me, he waited a beat until I patted it again and he came over to sit by me. Magnus was so warm compared to Aram, his living beating heart and the blood that ran through every vein in his body pulsed with heat. Dating a vampire you had to get used to room temperature flesh, sometimes when we were at his that meant cold but at mine I would turn to thermostat up so that I was sweltering and nearly out of the mood. I stroked my fingers over the back of his knuckles that lay on the bed between us, he shivered a little at my touch but he didn’t pull away from me. I rested my head on his shoulder drinking my beer in companionable silence that Magnus had to ruin.
    “What is he going to think about you spending the night here with me?” I knew who he meant by he. I rolled my eyes up to look at Magnus; he was torn between cautious and lusty. I liked lusty Magnus, he was more likely to give in and do something stupid with me.
    “He,” I said placing my beer down on the floor, “doesn’t get a say anymore. He broke up with me and kicked me out of Dante’s earlier, so fuck him.”
    “I believe you’ve already done that and he’s not my type,” said Magnus haughtily. I rolled my eyes to look up at him and he looked down to meet my gaze.
    “Should I rephrase?” I said letting my mouth slowly rise up to meet his. I kissed him and he had the tight mouth he only got when he was either shocked or angry. I was hoping it was just because I’d surprised him. I pulled back to whisper against his lips exactly what it was I wanted him to do to me.
    I didn’t know whether it was the idea of having me that drove Magnus over the edge or the coarseness of the language I used but he was suddenly kissing me back with a fierceness I’d not felt before. He was demanding, pressing me with lips, teeth and tongue till I didn’t know where his mouth began and mine ended. In between kisses there were flurries of movement, bam , he was shirtless, then wham , I was. He had me pinned under his body in the middle of his bed, holding my wrist above my head and kissing down my neck. Then he stopped to look at me. He was breathy and I could feel how aroused he was pressing against my leg.
    “You are you, right? And you do want this? Me?”
    I smiled at him