Page 62 of Twice Bitten (Love, Lust & Magic #1)

“Bloody hell,” Uriah cursed as he pushed pieces of broken bench off of . “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” a jarred replied as he realized he was still squeezing the vampire’s chest tightly. He rolled off of him and got to his feet. “S-sorry.”

“Look, I didn’t mean what I said last night,” began Uriah as he stood up and dusted himself off. “Sure, it’s because of this old hag, Odessa, that the three of us are here now. It’s why Pruitt has been on my ass about being a jerk for literally decades. It’s why I got scared when I smelled blood on you—why I thought I was going to lose control and hurt you. But it’s also why—I don’t know—I’ve felt something in me I never quite thought I had. Something that gives me—I guess you could call it meaning. Something that gives me a purpose.”

As the shell-shock of the situation wore off, was surprised when Uriah’s cool hands wrapped around his. His blood rushed as he looked into the vampire’s eyes.

“Ri,” began with a smile. “I?—”

“Look, if what you’re going to tell me is something bad, let’s save it for the…”

Leaning forward on the tips of his toes, interrupted the vampire by kissing him. He felt Uriah wrap his arms around him to catch him as he rocked forward and fell into his embrace.

“Not to kill the mood, but do you know what’s going on?” Uriah asked.

“I am not sure, but— Ri , my necklace.” ’s eyes widened as he realized it was missing.

Uriah understood the gravity of the moment. “Stay here.”

As Uriah supernaturally sprinted through the crowd of screaming fans, looked on anxiously.

“Flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood,” came a voice from behind him. As turned around, he felt Ada’s hand wrap around his neck and lift him off the bleachers. She looked him up and down, pulled him close to her face and fiddled with his glasses, and combed through his hair with her free hand. “It appears as though my gene pool is still near perfect even after three centuries. Who would have thought?”

“Odessa,” managed. “The first of my witch line.”

“Look at that. The college student has done his homework,” she said with a wicked laugh, her grip around him tightening. “Well, , so have I. And from what I can tell, you’re a big fan of having a good hand around your throat. I have to admit, it’s strange that even the kinks run in the family, but who am I to judge?”

In that moment, was equal parts scared for his life and embarrassed.