Eira slammed the shot glass down on the bar, reaching instantly for the next one until Josh’s hand closed around hers.

“Enough.”

“Nuh-uh.” Eira shook her head. No way was Josh going to interrupt her drinking.

“Eira...”

“You wanted me to come out and get laid, so that’s what I’m doing.”

“This isn’t getting laid E, this is getting so drunk you can’t stand.” He looked so concerned that she almost caved. She also almost told him all the things she’d kept bottled up inside for the years they’d known each other. But that was probably better saved for another time. Instead, she chose to ignore him, and pushed her way past onto the dance floor, swaying her hips and enjoying the music as she did. It must be something to do with her succubus side, but music really tended to get her going.

Josh scowled at her from his place by the bar, his eyes not leaving her body. She secretly enjoyed it, but mostly because it meant that he wasn’t looking at other women.

Strong hands rested on her hips, and she leaned back into the hard chest behind her. Swaying with the music, she felt the tell-tale hint of arousal pressing into her back. She closed her eyes, enjoying the attention. Opening them again, she looked back over at Josh to see him glaring daggers at the man behind her. Good. If he didn’t want her, then he couldn’t stop her wanting anyone else.

Kisses trailed along her neck before the man nipped her skin. Lost in the sensations, and the booze she’d drunk, she went along with it, leaning her neck to the side to allow him better access.

“No,” a male voice shouted, and a swift brush of air passed Eira’s cheek had her eyes flying open to see a blond-haired man’s fist fly into the face of the man behind her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Josh pushing away from the bar and making his way towards them as quickly as possible.

“What the hell Rueben?” the man from behind Eira asked. They looked similar, almost as if they were brothers. But she couldn’t really be sure in the dim light.

“Outside,” Rueben hissed through clenched teeth. His eyes swung to meet Eira’s and, even though there was a dangerous edge to them, she felt something between the two of them click. “You too,” he said softer. She glanced at Josh who’d placed his hand on her arm in reassurance, and he nodded. She was glad, it meant that Rueben could be trusted. One of Josh’s powers seemed to be knowing if people were trustworthy. Not that he’d ever actually told Eira about his powers. She pouted just thinking about it.

She followed Rueben and the other man outside, with Josh following behind. She wasn’t too sure what to expect once they were there, but she was eager to find out. She didn’t even feel that drunk anymore, not that it was actually possible. Once a paranormal decided they were going to get drunk, they were as stuck as any human was and had to wait for the alcohol to wear off naturally. Unless they had healing powers. Eira’s eyes widened. Or unless they were a succubus and had sex, that’d clear up the haze pretty quick. She looked around the three men, options seemed to be good tonight at least. Not that Josh would ever go for her. Otherwise he would have already.

Rueben and the other man faced off against each other, leaving Eira and Josh to watch from the side. Rueben lunged for the other man, and the two grappled, each trying to get the upper hand. His eyes flared and his face took on a slightly feral look. The other man moved around and she could see that his face had taken on the same sinister look. Which is when it hit her. They were vampires. She’d never actually met one, but she’d always kind of wanted to. She longed to know what was true about them and what wasn’t, though from the blood now pouring out of Rueben’s nose, they did indeed bleed. He took another swipe at his opponent, a slash of red showing across the other man’s face.

“Enough,” Eira half-shouted and Rueben instantly stilled. The other man did not, and when he lunged at Rueben, the blond man simply stepped to the side, allowing him to fall to the floor. “Tell me what’s happening?” she asked, keeping her voice as soft as possible. She scrunched her hands into fists, it was taking everything she had not to run to Rueben and kiss him better. Which was weird, even for a part succubus in need.

“He was about to drink from you,” Rueben said, his voice deep and kind of reassuring despite the blood running down his nose. To Eira’s surprise, Josh handed the other man some kind of wadded up tissue and Rueben nodded his thanks before mopping up the blood. The two of them turned to stare at the other vampire on the floor.

“You clearly want to do the same,” the other vampire said. He pushed himself up on one arm.

“Maybe. But there’s the difference between us, Edward. I wouldn’t do it without asking,” Rueben replied calmly. Eira’s mind wondered on to what it would feel like to be bitten, but she dismissed the thought. Now really wasn’t the time. Maybe later though.

“Oh please, I’ve seen how you are in the Chambers, that blonde you’ve been bringing for months.” Edward snarled, baring his teeth. It was kind of odd for Eira. When she’d seen Rueben’s teeth, her first thought had been about him biting her, seeing Edward’s made her want to run in the other direction. She glanced sideways at Josh, but he had an indecipherable expression on his face, as if he didn’t know what to make of the situation at all.

“That’s not what you think,” Rueben muttered. Eira cocked her head to the side, curious even if she didn’t know what the hell the man was on about. On the ground, Edward raised a questioning eyebrow, but Rueben stayed silent.

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Edward said, climbing to his feet and eyeing the other vampire warily. For some reason, he was now completely ignoring Eira and Josh. Something protective reared up inside Eira at the sight of the malice in Edward’s eyes.

“Need I remind you what happened to the last vampire that tried to bite another paranormal without permission?” Rueben’s words were surprisingly dark. Edward started to laugh.

“Are you seriously threatening me with Eden? She couldn’t take me if she tried.”

“You mean the Eden that’s more than two centuries older than you and got more kills to her name than either of us do combined.”

“Eden doesn’t kill humans, everyone knows that.”

“I wasn’t talking about humans.” A shiver went down Eira’s spine at Rueben’s words. This Eden sounded dangerous, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know anymore. Except that Rueben had used her as a threat against misbehaving, which didn’t make her sound too bad really.

“Whatever,” Edward dismissed, spitting on the floor. “Have her if you want.” He spun on his heels and stalked off, with Rueben staring off after him.

A few moments passed and Rueben turned to face Eira and Josh. Closing the gap between them, he reached out to touch Eira’s face, his fingertips brushing gently against her cheek.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, and in complete contrast to the tone he’d been using with Edward. Eira nodded once. It was a little bit of a shock to discover that a vampire had tried to bite her, and it had certainly cleared her head.

He leaned forward, almost as if he was about to kiss her, and Eira closed her eyes, enjoying the delicious sensation of the wait. She couldn’t explain quite why she wanted his kiss so much. It wasn’t the same kind of want that she felt when she needed sex either. It was almost the kind of want that she felt when she thought about Josh.

Rueben’s face moved closer to hers, and she could feel his breath on her skin, excitement building inside her. Until a loud cough interrupted them. Rueben backed away, and Eira opened her eyes, disappointment running through her; this wasn’t how she wanted it to go.

She turned to look at Josh, and was surprised to see that he had a curious look on his face, nothing like the hint of jealousy that had tinted it while she’d been dancing with Edward.

“I don’t think here is really the place E,” he said, nodding towards all the other people on the street and then down at her hands, which were glowing a very faint white.

“Shit,” she muttered, and concentrated on retracting the frost. She hadn’t even noticed it getting colder around them, a sure way of knowing that her powers had started to manifest.

“You’re a witch?” Rueben asked.

“No,” she replied. “Kind of,” she changed her answer. She didn’t really know what she counted as, it wasn’t like there were many of Jack Frost’s descendants about. Or there might be, but there weren’t any others with powers. She and Izzy got all of those.

“Interesting,” Rueben mused.

“We need to go E,” Josh interrupted. “You have that thing you need to deal with.”

“And I was trying to,” she threw back at Josh.

“I could see that. In the middle of the street. Hardly wise.” She scowled at him, then scowled at Rueben too when she saw him smirking.

“So, E, if your boyfriend is insisting on whisking you away, do I at least get your number?” he asked, changing the smirk into a charming smile.

“It’s Eira, and he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Okay, Eira then.” She enjoyed the way that his name sounded on his lips way too much, which only made her think of how close they’d come to kissing just moments later.

“Yes.” She held her hand out for his phone, which he relinquished instantly. Even as she typed her number in, she reflected on how unusual it was for her to do so. She never gave out her number. Though that was because, normally, she never wanted to see the guy again.