Immortals After Dark 05 - Dark Needs at Nights Edge

damp arousal, the need faded. They were together—that was all that mattered for now.
    The rest was just details.

33

    Within seconds of Néomi’s tentative rap on the studio mirror, Mari appeared, diligently avoiding her own reflection on the other side. “Hold on, I’ve got to put you on screen. Okay, there you are!”
    Néomi had known she couldn’t go through the portal of the glass without Mari, but she’d figured she could knock at the door.
    “It’s about time you contacted me!” Mari held out her hand, breaching the surface of the mirror. “You want to come over?”
    “Conrad will be back soon, and I wouldn’t be able to hear him. Maybe you can come here?”
    “Can’t.” Mari snapped her fingers to someone out of sight, and a teenage girl brought Mari an enormous cup that said Slurpee on the side. “We’re hazing new witches at the coven house today. The innocent lambs are vying for my old room.” She plopped into a cushy chair. “We’ll have to teleconference via mirror.”
    Néomi dragged the cot closer to the glass and settled in. She was delighted to be able to talk to Mari, and not just for enjoyment. It would help take her mind off her worry over Conrad. Every time he left to hunt, she grew anxious.
    “I see how you’re going to be—use me for my spells, then I don’t even get another nod for five whole days?”
    “It’s been so busy!” And the only times Conrad wasn’t with her were when she slept. She’d happened to wake early this afternoon. “Are you all right from the gathering? I saw you get hit.”
    “Oh, yeah, just ducky. But you should see the other guy. He will never accidentally elbow another witch again. Even after his elbows grow back.”
    “That’s good to know, I think. Was Nïx terribly disappointed that her gathering devolved into chaos?”
    “I asked her the same thing, but she just laughed. I eventually got her to admit that she’d started it. Apparently you and the vampire weren’t the only couple thrown together in the melee.” She curled her legs under her. “So I take it you blooded the vamp?” When Néomi nodded happily, Mari tilted her head. “Wow, check you out—you look fantastic! A new haircut? And new duds.”
    She flushed from the praise. “Conrad’s been taking me shopping. A lot.” In the first few nights, she’d hit Paris with a frenzy, frothing at all the new styles to be had. And she’d had her hair trimmed in a boutique there, but only by a couple of inches, as each snip seemed to physically pain Conrad. “I offered to pay my own way, but he bristled. I tried to point out that I have scads of money, but he wouldn’t listen.”
    “You have... scads of money?” Mari asked innocently.
    Néomi stifled a grin, making her demeanor stern. “Yes. I looked up my certificates. Evidently thirty thousand dollars’ worth of IBM and GE stock in the twenties equals approximately a hundred and fifty million today. Though a witch nabbed about twenty-five of it.”
    Eyes wide, Mari cried, “Who? What! Damn, those witches!”
    Néomi couldn’t stop a chuckle. She would’ve given Mari all of it.
    “Speaking of witches—you missed girls’ night out.” Mari set down her Slurpee to cross her arms over her chest. “I don’t know if Nïx explained this to you, but GNO is not optional. You will receive demerits for missed attendance. And by demerits, I mean you have to buy drinks for thirsty Wiccae.”
    “I’m still in the honeymoon phase. Don’t I get a pass? Besides, I’m not supposed to go out in the city, not with Cade and Rydstrom in New Orleans.”
    Mari’s expression turned serious. “They’d never hurt you, Néomi. They actually saved my life, back before I’d grown into my immortality.”
    “Would they hurt Conrad?”
    “In a heartbeat,” she admitted. “Most of Lorekind hate red-eyed vampires.”
    Néomi sighed. “Do you?”
    “Ah, snap, put Mari in the hot seat! Well, I used to be very certain that I did. But everybody at the gathering was talking about how Conrad Wroth stopped himself from drinking Cade. Even Bowen is in a wait-and-see mode.”
    “Oh, that’s a relief!”
    “Still, I’d thought about checking on you anyway, dropping by with a type-A-positive pie or something.”
    “I’m glad you didn’t—I don’t want Conrad to learn that we know each other. He’d do nothing but hound you for my secret.” Even now, she listened attentively for his return.
    He always went straight to the kitchen