Lifting her head, she encountered Carl. A zombie. Or a half zombie. Or a zombie that looked nothing like the terrifying zombies on The Walking Dead.
Carl’s sweet smile beamed down at her, childlike and open, if not a little green around the edges. He held up a plate of broccoli with a hand wrapped in duct tape.
Sucking in some air, she swallowed hard to keep from bursting into tears. “Oh, thank you, Carl. That’s very sweet.” Teddy took a stalk of broccoli and bit into it with a forced grin.
He bobbed his head. “Goo…d.” He forced the word out.
Teddy smiled up at him, because you couldn’t do anything but smile at Carl. “It’s delicious. Did you cut this up yourself?”
Holding up his hand, she noted his finger was duct taped on and made a comical frowny face. “Assid…ent. Owwww,” he moaned out, making her giggle.
Gripping his hand, Teddy pressed a kiss to his finger then held it to her cheek. “Aw, you cut yourself? I’m sorry, Carl. How about if tomorrow I show you how to chop vegetables so you never cut yourself again? I’m a really good cook.”
His smile, if it was at all possible, grew wider. “Arrrrch, too?”
“Archibald? Aw, you bet, buddy. I could probably learn a thing or two from a master like him.”
“Date.” He pushed the word out from his lightly green-tinted lips before they turned upward in that ever-present smile.
“Best date ever,” she returned.
Holding her hand, the zombie led her back through the kitchen and down the long hallway. Her eyes glanced at the majestic paintings of rocky cliffs and knights on horses mingled with neon bar signs on the wall as Carl dropped her right into the fray once again—to find everyone staring at her expectantly.
Teddy cleared her throat and made an attempt at keep her eyes direct. “Sorry…I got lost trying to find the bathroom. So where were we in Operation Keep Teddy in The Dark?”
Nina came around the corner, Lenny tucked under one arm, and threw a pillow at her, her almond-shaped eyes weary. “The part where you’re grateful you have a place that’s fucking safe to sleep. It’s bedtime. I can’t stay up like you crazy paranormals anymore. I need eight or you won’t like the bitch you find in the morning over waffles and eggs over easy. So choose a room.” She lifted Lenny’s paw and pointed it at Teddy. “Tell the big bad bear it’s night-night time for all Nosy Nellies.”
Teddy looked upward at the huge spiral staircase of wrought iron and gleaming mahogany leading from the first floor, and frowned. “How many are there?”
“Twenty-two. How about I put you and your lumberjack right next to each other so you can sneak into each other’s rooms? Make a right at the top of the stairs, third door on the left. Clean pajamas are on the dresser.”
Cormac held out his arms to take Lenny from Nina, but she shook her head, rubbing her cheek on the cat’s fluffy snow-white fur.
“Lenny can stay with me, where common sense and reason have sweet, unicorn-filled dreams. Isn’t that right, Smooshie Face?” she asked the cat as he purred adoringly up at her.
Clearly, she wasn’t going to find anything else out tonight, so she might as well get a good night under her before she found a way to break away from this group of women and figure this out.
She and Cormac bumped into each other as they each gripped the same knobby baluster with a bat carved into it on the staircase.
“Sorry,” she murmured, her breathing erratic.
He backed away instantly and motioned for her to go ahead of him with a face carved of stone. As they made their way up the stairs, avoiding touching each other, her heart clenched in her chest. How could the two of them ever be life mates?
It was ridiculous to consider—especially under the tense circumstances.
And why had she blurted it out the way she had?
Because she’d been caught like a hooker in a jail cell and she’d panicked.
Not a good trait to possess in her line of side jobs.
What was done was done. And there was no hard and fast rule that said she had to mate with him. None that was enforced anyway. Maybe her feelings, this pull, this crazy attraction that had cropped up from the moment she’d looked into his eyes, was really something else.
Maybe it was adrenaline from the chase, or infatuation, and her heart, this thing pounding in her chest every time she looked at him, was just on overdrive. Because wouldn’t a life mate reciprocate her chemistry? If Cormac was feeling anything, he gave good poker face.
Still, tomorrow was another day. Another day to find a way to explain to him why she’d shown up in the forest. Another day to attempt to figure out why someone wanted both she and Cormac dead.
“Night,” she whispered before she pushed the door to her room open and left Cormac in the hall without looking back.