Page 81 of Love Bleeds

Chapter Twenty-Eight

That night, Puck arrived at our house before the other members of WAFFER did. I waited to hear the tell-tale sound of his appearance. The littlepopthat came when he materialized out of thin air, completely trashing the laws of physics in the process.

Once I heard it, I found the witch in the living room and grabbed his arm before my siblings could claim his attention. "Come with me," I demanded.

"Pray tell, where are we going?"

Instead of responding, I dragged Puck to my bedroom. He shot me a curious look, but didn't complain.

"I thought you already had someone to warm your bed," he said with a hint of amusement.

I flushed. "That's not why I brought you here! We need to talk."

"So talk." Puck sat in my desk chair, leaned back and waited with his hands crossed behind his head. He looked at me as if I was pre-dinner entertainment. But then, what had I expected? He'd never taken me seriously before.

But I knew what I had to say to change that.

"I'll sell you my blood."

Puck uncrossed his hands and leaned forward in his seat. "You want to make a deal?" he asked, but he asked it in a way that made me wonder if he'd make sure I had my guardian's permission next.

"It's my blood, I can do with it what I want," I said to cut that sentiment off at the root.

"You certainly can." He rubbed his chin in thought. "But I might lose other potential business partners if I take you up on this, if you know what I mean."

"They don't have to know."

"Ah, now the question becomes, do I trust you to keep a secret?"

"Do you want my blood or not?" I asked. "Think of all the ways you could experiment with it." What was it he used to say to me? "Think of it as your duty as scientist. You can't pass up this opportunity to explore."

Puck thought for a long moment, spreading his fingers and studying the rings on them. "What sort of deal would you like to make?"

"There's some information I need."

The corner of Puck's lips tucked up. "I knew you would be curious in the end. What is it that you want to know?"

"You have that vampire’s phone number, don’t you? Vlad’s?”

"What do you want with that number?"

"What does it matter to you?"

Puck studied me for a moment, then grinned. "You're learning how to bite, puppy. Congratulations."

I stared at him. "Do you have to be so condescending?"

"My apologies. I will treat you like an equal business partner if that is truly what you want."

"It is." The sooner people stopped babying me, the better. "I need you to tell me that number for my own reasons. Just tell me what you want for it."

Puck tilted his head to the side, regarding me thoughtfully. "One vial of your blood for that information. Also..." He licked his lips. "If you ever have a baby, I want one vial oftheirblood."

"Are you literally asking me for my first born?" I shuddered, both because Puck wanted my future baby's blood, and because I was now picturing myself pregnant.

"Not at all," Puck said. "You can keep the baby. I'm interested in dhampir blood, and I doubt I'm getting a sample of Nix's blood any time soon."

"Talon would have your head."