Eira glanced sideways at her sister, glaring ever so slightly. Isolde had no idea how easy she had it. There weren’t any expectations on her to continue the family tradition of making sure the frosts came and went. Damn the thirty-two minutes between Eira’s birth and her twin’s.

“I just don’t know if it’s what I want to do,” Isolde said, letting out a deep sigh.

“How will you know if you don’t try, Izzy?”

“I just have a feeling.” Izzy shrugged, the look on her face infuriating Eira.

“A vision?” she asked carefully, knowing that Izzy’s visions weren’t something to mess with. Well, really, they should have been Eira’s visions. There should never have been two of them, and no one had quite known how the powers of their ancestor, Jack Frost, would manifest in the two girls. As it turned out, Eira had all the powers but one; precognition. Izzy had that, plus a sprinkling of snow magic.

“No, just a feeling.”

Eira was torn. On the one hand, she probably shouldn’t be dismissing Izzy’s feelings, but the older sister in her was desperate to. “What are your other options?” she asked, trying to stay level headed and wishing beyond anything that their Mother hadn’t died when they were born.

“I don’t know, work I guess.” Izzy shrugged again like they weren’t discussing something life changing like her time at university.

“Stick with it. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” Izzy opened her mouth to respond, and Eira held up her hand to stop her. “No, listen don’t speak. Stick with it, but if you want to work, then find yourself something in the meantime. Maybe it’ll help you decide.” Izzy nodded.

“You always know what to say.”

“It’s the big sister in me,” Eira said playfully.

“You’re thirty minutes older than I am,” Izzy protested.

“Thirty-two.”

Izzy rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way that Eira knew was just fun.

“I’ll see you later sis,” Izzy said, giving Eira a swift kiss on the cheek before leaving through the door behind her.

Sighing, Eira flopped down onto the faded brown sofa that she kept more for comfort than anything else. It was threadbare, but she didn’t want to part ways with it.

A sharp knock broke through Eira’s zoning out and she groaned, trying to push herself upright. Before she could, her front door swung inwards and a strong pair of man’s legs entered her vision. She closed her eyes, not wanting to suffer through the normal effects that came from seeing Josh.

He was her best friend, and therein lay the problem. She hadn’t seen him as just a best friend in three years. Basically, since the moment she turned eighteen and properly came into her powers. Every time he entered the room, Eira’s mouth went dry and her pulse began to pound; clearly not the response she wanted to have to someone who had been with her through everything. Especially when he seemed so completely unaffected by her.

“Eira,” he said, his deep voice travelling through her.

“Josh,” she replied, not opening her eyes.

“Was that Izzy I just saw leaving?”

“Mmhmm.”

“What did she want this time?”

“To leave university and do something,” she muttered bitterly. She hated how flighty her sister could be at times, especially as it ended up meaning that Eira had to be even more level headed than normal. Josh chuckled.

“Well thought out then.”

“That’s Izzy for you.” A nudge came against Eira’s legs and she opened her eyes to find a pair of piercing green eyes looking down at her. She almost shook her head, catching herself just in time. It wouldn’t do to give Josh any kind of idea how affected she was by him.

“Budge up,” he said. She scooted herself back so that she was just on one side of the sofa. Josh flopped down beside her, seeming to take up far more than half of the space due to his broad shoulders. She didn’t think he even worked out, he was just naturally muscly, making it even trickier to ignore him. “What’s the plan for tonight?” he asked.

“Do we have to do anything?” She groaned. It’d already been a long day what with her shift at the café, and then dealing with Izzy.

“Yes, you know you need to blow off steam.”

“More like you want a blow,” she muttered. Josh gave her a weak smile, almost like he didn’t want to admit it either way.

“Not as much as you do. Come on, let’s go get you laid.” Pain lanced through Eira’s heart at the words. It wasn’t the concept that she had any problem with, more that he was so happy for her too.

“I guess so,” she agreed reluctantly.

“Well that’s enthusiastic.” If she actually looked over at him then she was sure that she’d find a raised eyebrow and an incredulous look on his face. Which she kind of got. Somewhere in her family history there was some succubus blood, and every now and again it came the forefront. It hadn’t in a while, and knowing Josh, he’d probably been tracking the sex cycle. She wasn’t even sure when they’d started calling it that, but it sounded better than referring to herself as a slut, so it had stuck.

“I’m just not feeling it.”

“You’re three weeks too late not to be feeling it.”

Eira sat up and looked directly at him, surprised to find he looked so serious. Normally Josh was the jokey kind of boy next door. He took life as it came and didn’t think too deeply about anything. Except her sex life it seemed. Just not in the way she wanted him to be thinking about it. A flash of the two of them in bed together went through her mind, and she pushed it away. That was the kind of fantasy she should save until she was in bed alone and not when Josh was sitting next to her. Otherwise she’d end up doing something they’d both regret.

“It hasn’t been three weeks,” she said, pouting at him. Josh smiled knowingly.

“It has, and we both know it. Now get your sexy ass into your room and put on that slinky silver thing you love.”

“Thing? You mean dress?”

“It’s not a dress if it shows off your underwear. Now go.” He looked so stern that Eira let out an involuntary giggle. She’d never admit it to anyone, not even her sister, but she liked it when Josh got bossy.

She pushed herself off the sofa and walked towards her room, making a conscious effort to sashay her hips. Josh might not be into her like that, but he was still a man, and it really had been three weeks. Her body was primed for seduction and there was nothing that she could do to avoid that.

She walked over to her wardrobe and opened it, going straight towards the section where she kept her dresses, comfortable in the knowledge that her organisation system made things simple to find. She pulled it out and brushed it down, a smile curling at the side of her lips. Josh was right, this thing barely covered her. And she loved it. She lost the comfortable jeans and t-shirt she was wearing, before deciding to change her underwear as well. Her choice for the day had been pretty lace, but this dress needed something a little sexier. Hell, Eira needed something sexier. Plus, she couldn’t wear a bra with this one. Not that she needed to anyway. Her breasts were certainly erring on the small size, though at least they were pert.

After slipping on the dress, and a lacey black thong, she shook out her hair from its ponytail, running her fingers through the pale strands. Her hair was just a shade blonder than white, and it was almost impossible to tell the difference in some lights. After a moment’s contemplation she decided that even attempting to tame it wasn’t worth the effort, and left it in it’s natural ringlets. Slicking on some eyeliner and a smudge of lipstick, she shrugged to herself in the mirror. This was as good as it was going to get. Not that she needed anymore. With the pheromones she was giving off, there was next to no chance that she’d survive a night out without getting any attention.

She walked out into her living room at the same time that Josh came back in, clearly having got changed himself. His dark jeans and shirt suited him perfectly and he ran his hand through his dark hair as she took him in. She nodded once, giving her seal of approval to his outfit and he sighed in relief. It was a ritual they always went through when they were getting ready to go out, though she’d only actually sent him to change once in the entire time they’d known each other.

“Damn, E, there’s no chance you won’t get any tonight.” He wolf-whistled and she tried to scowl at him, but failed, giving him a half-smirk instead. She knew Josh too well to actually take.

“Damn is right,” she said, grabbing a clutch bag from her coffee table as she passed. While she was normally a neat person, she seemed to have forgotten to put it away. Luckily, it matched her dress and already had money and her ID in it. All she needed to do now was add her phone and she was all set to go.