“I never meant to hurt you, Cat.”

“And now you want to pick up where we left off, like nothing ever happened?”

“Somehow I doubt you’d ever let me forget,” he replied dryly. “I’d like you to forgive me, though, and give me a second chance.”

Lex stared down at me as he waited for my reply, and it felt as though he was looking right through me. Did I want to try again with Lex? The physical attraction was obviously still there, but was that enough? I could hear Mac’s words nagging at me in the back of my head: What happened to you wasn’t Lex’s fault. You don’t think it killed him to do it?

“I don’t know if this’ll work. I’m not ready to make any promises, but…I suppose we could try.”

Lex nodded, appearing to accept my reply. Reaching around me, he gently lobbed the box of light bulbs onto the kitchen table, where it landed with a soft bump. He turned his attention back to me, and I caressed his cheek, running my fingers along the stubble of his jaw and down the side of his neck. I slid the tie out of his hair and let it fall around his shoulders, and then I grinned.

“Then again, I’m not sure this is a good idea. I always hated that your hair is nicer than mine,” I teased.

Lex laughed, and the sound made my stomach flutter. I squeaked in surprise as he picked me up and carried me into my bedroom. The stomach flutter kicked into high gear again, but it was replaced by a rush of heat as Lex set me back on my feet and kissed me. I clung to him, this time deciding not to hesitate about pulling his T-shirt off. He tossed the garment to the side and reached for mine, which joined his on the floor, along with my bra. His hands skimmed up my sides and cupped my breasts, and my knees nearly buckled as he ran his thumbs over my nipples. I moaned and grabbed hold of his waist for balance, and he kissed me again.

My hands moved to the fly of his jeans, and then I paused. “Oh, shoot.”

“What? What’s wrong?” Lex asked, frowning.

“Condoms. I don’t have any. Well, I do, but they’re four years old, they can’t still be good. Damn it.”

“Four years, huh?”

“Yeah, I haven’t… I haven’t been with anyone, not since we broke up.” Sheepish, I blushed red enough to glow in the dark-I hadn’t meant to admit to that. It made me sound like an idiot girl who’d been pining for him all this time.

“No one else seemed right?” he asked quietly.

“How’d you kn-? Wait, you haven’t either?”

“I had a few dates here and there, but it never went anywhere. After awhile, I figured out that I kept comparin’ them to you, and no one measured up.”

“Really?” I could hardly believe it. Sure, I hadn’t been interested in anyone, but I’d only had a handful of relationships before Lex, so it wasn’t much of a change. Lex, on the other hand, had plenty of girlfriends before he met me, so I figured he’d moved on.

“Really. I do have some in my bag though.” I raised my eyebrows at that, and he grinned. “Wishful thinking, I guess. Was hopin’ there might come a time when I wouldn’t have to sleep on your couch. I also brought a first-aid kit, in case things went the other way and you decided to stab me or light me on fire.”

Shaking my head in amusement, I laughed. “Always good to be prepared.”

“I’ll be right back.”

While Lex was gone, I wriggled out of my jeans and panties, and then turned down the air conditioner so it was a little less chilly. I barely noticed the room’s temperature though, my entire body warm and tingly now. Nudging the covers aside, I sat on the edge of the mattress, waiting.

When Lex returned he set the box of condoms on the nightstand, and I again reached to undo his jeans. I stripped him, and I only had a moment to admire the sight of his gorgeous body before he joined me on the bed. We kissed each other hungrily as we slid beneath the thin blanket-eagerness was wearing away our patience. My hands roamed over him, reacquainting myself with the feel of his lean muscles. Lex’d acquired a few new scars since we’d last been together, and I wondered how he’d gotten them-I’d ask about them later.

He lowered his head to my breasts, and my back arched as he ran his tongue over one nipple and sucked it into his mouth. I moaned his name, running my fingers through his hair. Impatient, I guided his face back up to mine for a long, lingering kiss. “Lex, please,” I murmured. My hips ground against the hard length of him, leaving little doubt as to what I was asking for. Kneeling above me, he reached for the nightstand, and after a few moments we were ready.

Lex kissed me again as he entered me, and I gasped, holding him tight. His pace was fast and frantic as he thrust into me. Later we’d have time for tenderness, but now our rhythm was all raw heat and need. Moaning, I clung to him as I climaxed, but he didn’t slow, allowing me no time to recover. Instead, he continued to kiss me, my lips almost bruised from the force. Lex moved to my neck, trailing kisses up and down my throat and then murmuring my name against my ear. I shuddered, feeling another wave of pleasure building.

“Don’t stop,” I nearly shouted. I felt him come the same time as I did, both our bodies shaking from the force of it. I held him close, and the scrape of his stubble rubbed against the skin of my throat as we regained our breath.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too, sugar.”

Chapter Nine

There were more gadgets, bells and whistles in Lex’s SUV than there are on the space shuttle. After five minutes I began to understand Tybalt’s fascination with them as I resisted the temptation to push buttons just to see what would happen. As though sensing my torment, Lex reached over and captured my left hand, holding it in his. I smiled at the sight of our entwined fingers. It was very high school, but still sweet.

We were headed for LaGrange, a suburb that’s not too far from my apartment. LaGrange is the sort of place I’d want to live in if I had kids. The area is nice, plenty of shopping, old Victorian houses, decent schools. It’s got character, something some of the newer, trendier suburbs with their identical Borg-cube subdivisions are severely lacking.

“Who exactly are we going to meet? A librarian?”

“Of sorts.”

“Of sorts? Does that mean not a librarian? An alchemist with delusions of grandeur?” I frowned-you’re either something or you’re not in the magician world, you can’t mix and match your skill set. Sure, I could try summoning something, or stirring up a potion, but I wouldn’t be nearly as good at it as an actual summoner or alchemist. In fact, there was no guarantee I could get their spells to work at all. This is one of the reasons why the different factions don’t intermingle very often: not much in common, not much to talk about.

“Means he was a librarian, now he’s something else.”

“Like what? A Republican? Just spit it out, Lex. I’m not as clever as you think I am.” I sighed.

“Simon is a chronicler. It’s the librarian version of vampire.” My frown deepened even further, because that didn’t make any sense.

“Librarians don’t become vampires.”

“As a rule, they don’t. Simon’s Order is unique.” Lex glanced over at me. “Most people haven’t heard of them, and they like to keep it that way. I figure since you’re about to become Titania you need to know these things, but you also need to know this information shouldn’t be shared. Understood?”

“Right, totally classified.” I nodded. “But if the vamps have a hit out on me, isn’t going to one’s lair an inherently bad idea?”

“Not this vamp. The Order has a strict policy of noninvolvement. They observe, record and broker information.”

“Oh, good to know. Friend of yours?”

“Simon doesn’t have any friends that I’m aware of,” Lex replied, and I fidgeted in my seat. I so did not want to go have a chat with a vampire right now, or ever for that matter. And not just a vampire, but a “special” vampire. A friendless vampire. Lucky me.