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She waved a delicate hand, and I was rewarded with another of her musical laughs as she sifted through a handful of options that were little more than whispers of leather and lace. “I’d hardly say getting to play Barbie with you is trouble. You don’t seem like a big nightlife kind of girl. Babydoll said you used to work in corporate or something—HR, right?”

I had to force myself not to cringe. “Marketing. I wanted a change of pace for a bit, I guess.”

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m very happy to have you here.” She straightened, pulling a hanger from the rack and giving me a once-over that left my skin feeling hot. “Your boobs are a little bigger than mine, but this should fit okay.” She held out her selection—a black, corseted dress fashioned out of a silky material with a gentle sheen. Along the sides were mesh panels that would show a little additional skin while also giving the illusion of coverage. “I’ll help you tie it if you want.”

“Sure,” I agreed easily, setting the energy drink down on the seat of a low wooden stool and shrugging out of my soaked clothes. I turned for some semblance of privacy and pulled my dress off over my head, only to find my nipples staring at me in the mirror.

Elsie averted her gaze politely, though a soft blush pinked her cheeks.

“Not much privacy back here, sorry.”

“Comes with the territory, I guess,” I said, chewing on my lower lip as she helped me into the dress, looping my arms into the decorative straps, her deft fingers making quick work of the hooks in the front. She glanced up, her ruby gaze meeting mine for a moment before she quickly looked back at her hands, finishing off the last of the clasps.

She’s your coworker,I reminded myself.And you met her like five minutes ago.

I was going to need to repeat that to myself over and over if Elsie’s fingers kept lingering as she helped do me up. She wasn’t subtle, and her eager, giddy energy was refreshing, reminding me a bit of a puppy—in a really charming way, that is.

“You haven’t been a vampire very long,” I observed, mostly so I didn’t do something totally stupid like inviting her for breakfast after work.

“Just about a decade. My sire only recently passed. It was… quite the shock.”

I blinked at that. There weren’t many things that could kill a vampire.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s alright.” She shrugged, rounding to my back and taking hold of the thick ribbons crisscrossing my spine. “Just a bit of a surprise, I guess.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what to say to that. The closest I’d gotten to losing someone was when Dad walked out on Mom when she got sick. But something in me knew it wasn’t the same.

And mom… her story was still being written. Cancer was such a cunt.

“Anyway, enough sad talk. It’s sure to be a busy night.”

“Can I ask something a little rude?” I said, eager to pull on to the life raft of a new topic.

“Shoot.”

“Is it normal for covens to be all… entangled?” I regretted sounding like a prissy midwestern mom almost instantly, but Elsie, ever the ray of sunshine, just laughed.

“Fucking, you mean? I guess eternity gets a little long. So, yeah, at least in my experience. Besides, group sex is fun.”

She cringed at my squeak, mistaking my surprise at her confession for discomfort from her tightening the corset. “Oh no, did I hurt you?”

“No, not at all,” I said quickly, catching her eye in the mirror. “So, you’re all, like…?” I trailed off, waving my hand airily.

My lurid, wine-fuelled bathtub fantasy from the night before was gaining way too much traction in such a short conversation.

“Oh yeah, the coven is all together, babe.” She dragged thelfor a few beats to drive her point home, and though the suggestive eyebrow waggle was a little overkill, it was also cute as hell, so I didn’t mind too much. She pulled on the ribbons a few more times until my boobs were all but spilling out of the top of the corset. “Why? Wanna join?”

I laughed, the noise way too high in my ears with absolute panic. I knew vampires could do a lot of things… but was mind reading one of them? Or was I just super obvious? Hoping for the latter, I moved the energy drink can onto Elsie’s vanity mostly to give my hands something to do.

“Do you really think you can fix this hack job?” I asked, entirely to change the subject, mussing my uneven bangs as I looked in her overly well-lit mirror.

Kaylee was right, I did look like I belonged in a rock group. My makeup so smudgy and streaky that it would likely need to be entirely redone.

Worth it.

Satisfied with the corset’s fit, she tied off the bottom, gently guiding me to sit on the stool with a smirk that told me she hadn’t missed my non-answer. Elsie moved things around on the workspace until she found a pair of thin scissors and a comb, brushing my bangs out with a little huff.