Page 9 of Touched By Moonlight

“The food here’s pretty decent. I know you don’t like to eat here, but you can try something else. They make a great steak.” I started to wave to aserver.

“No,” Stephan saidtightly.

Nicolas put a hand on his arm and stared atme.

“Forget the food here, Sienna. We had an excellent hunt tonight. Have you ever killed anything beneath the light of a full moon?” Nicolas’s mouth curved upward in a cold smile. “You can see your prey’s terror so muchclearer.”

His low, rough voice felt like velvet against my raw nerves, despite the menace in his words. If Grayson had shadows, Nicolas was darkness itself. A darkness that intrigued me, since I’d had more than a brush with itmyself.

I knew how to deal with guys like Nicolas. I stared right back. “It’s not a full moon,” I corrected. “And I bet you killed that fast food burger realefficiently.”

Stephan laughed and sipped his beer. “She got you,Nicolas.”

Leaning back, Nicolas flashed the briefest of smiles at Stephan. “Stir fry. Thai. Not fastfood.”

Asian food. Who would have figured? I sipped my water, fascinated by these two. Werewolves who watched movies and liked Thaifood.

“Guess what I saw the other night?” Stephan asked, excitement in his voice like a youngchild.

“The umpteenth re-run ofThe Punisher? I’mimpressed.”

“I took Matilda out for a spin. We watched the stars come out. I sawOrion.”

Jealousy pinched me. Once I had lived in a place where you could lie on your back and watch the stars and count each one. Now they were brightened by city lights. But I couldn’t let them know this. “Stars, the moon, so ordinary. Now Uranus? That’s something I’d like tosee.”

I winked at Stephan, who flushed again. Nicolas actually smiled. A real smile. Withteeth.

“You know what I like to watch?” Nicolasasked.

“AnimalPlanet?”

“Cooking shows.” Anothersmile.

Unable to tell if he was joking, I laughed anyway. Life was too damn serious for me lately. “You watchEmeril? You don’t look the type to slice and dice and sauté a kill before you eatit.”

“Oh?” Nicolas cocked his head. This was the most he’d talked to me directly since we’d met. “What do I look like I like towatch?”

“Porn?” Ioffered.

Silence for a minute. Stephan snickered glanced at Nicolas. I thought I’d pushed it too far, and then Nicolas laughed. It was such a deep, rusty sound, I knew he seldom did it. He even looked surprised at thesound.

“He likes cooking and porn shows. He channels surfs,” Stephan offered, and Nicolas mock-punched him in thearm.

The affection between them was real, as if they were brothers. I envied theircloseness.

We started a spirited discussion about food and television shows. It felt so damn normal I could forget the unease riding me tonight, as if some dark force headed thisway.

Must be my imagination, and thenight.

“Wow, you were really hungry,” Stephan blurtedout.

I stared at the plate. Twenty chicken tenders, gone. All gone. Shame crept up from my throat, turning my face red. Most women at this club never eat in front of men. They don’t like them to know they, you know,eat.

Me, I had no such pride. When you’ve been on the streets, fighting for scraps, digging into dumpsters, you eat when there’s free food. Even when you can afford to buy your own. Power such as mine means I constantly have to eat, and not typical Fae food of vegetables or fruit. Anyfood.

Just because I don’t use my magick doesn’t mean it isn’t demanding to be fed. My metabolism burns up calories like an old Lincoln burns upgasoline.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, refusing to meet their gazes. “I must look like apig.”