24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Pike

Pike paused at the sign outside the exclusive bar.

Sanguine

We have the perfect drink

for every client

He’d never been here, but he’d heard about it from several other shifters. It had an enchantment on it so only creatures with magic could see it, which was why Cora was staring at the windows of the place with a frown.

“Cool name, but it looks abandoned.”

Kimble chuckled and took her hand in his to lead the way inside, Pike following behind. Once she was inside, the enchantment no longer affected her. She came to a dead stop, her eyes wide as she took everything in.

The place had an old-world elegant feel to it with dark wood tables and plush overstuffed chairs everywhere. Pike made out everything despite the dim lighting, but Cora was probably unable to see much beyond the pools of light at each table and the bar itself. Almost all the tables were occupied and about half the seats at the bar. Pike could smell all kinds of creatures including at least one silkie. This was a popular place .

“Fancy,” she murmured.

“We are,” a masculine voice agreed cheerfully. They all looked at the man behind the bar. He was wearing a blood red button up shirt with black slacks. His loose, shoulder length hair was curled around his head in artful disarray.

It was the type of styling Pike had tried once in his teens and gave up within a few weeks. He didn’t have the patience to put that much effort into his hair. He pulled in a deep breath and smelled cat shifter, probably a mountain lion. That made sense, cats were all about grooming.

“You must be the throuple Ellie sent over,” he said, waving them over to a small table at their right. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring you some drinks.”

“Wow, Monroe buys you a dress, and Ellie buys you drinks,” Pike said. “I’d be jealous if I didn’t know better.”

Kimble moved over to hold a seat out for Cora. She blushed and demurely sat down. He could tell she felt a little self-conscious in the dress. By the end of the night, he was determined that she would understand how beautiful she was, in this dress or out of it!

Cora looked out the nearby window. “Why can I see everything now but when I was outside this place looked empty?”

“That’s because I paid a lot of money to an entire coven to help keep this place hidden from the average human,” the man said as he carried over a tray with drinks. “Welcome to the Sanguine. My name is Zan, owner and master mixologist. I’ve taken the liberty to bring our vampire friend a nice fresh vintage of 0+. For the bear, I got a hefeweizen with a hint of orange.”

As he spoke, he set the drinks down. Kimble’s blood was in an ornate crystal wine glass while Pike’s beer was in the largest glass mug he’d ever seen.

So far, Zan had gotten their orders spot on, but a bear shifter and vampire weren’t hard to guess. What would he choose for Cora?

“For the lovely human, I’ve brought a magic concoction of my own creation,” he announced as he set her drink down. Cora’s drink was some kind of colorful cocktail topped with several vivid ornaments.

Cora stared at it warily. “Magic? ”

Zan laughed. “Magic because I make great cocktails, love. There’s nothing but regular ingredients in that. Not a single speck of the supernatural, I promise.”

Cora looked at him expectantly, so Pike leaned in and took a sniff. He smelled a lot of things, but none of it was magic.

“It’s safe, but there is alcohol in there,” he warned her.

“I can do one drink without falling asleep,” she murmured, picking up the glass and holding it high over the table. “Cheers!”

He and Kimble quickly clinked their glasses with hers and took sips of their drinks. His beer was cold, crisp and refreshing and by the expression on Kimble’s face, the blood was palatable.

After a small experimental sip, Cora made an appreciative sound and took a longer swallow. “Oh damn, this is good!”

Pike watched the drink disappear way too fast for the amount of alcohol he’d smelled. Oh well, he could carry her back to the car if necessary.

Zan brought over a bowl of mixed nuts, giving Pike a sly grin as he set it down. “Sorry, I don’t stock roots or berries. I hope this will work.”

He was gone before Pike could take a swipe at him. Damn cheeky cats!

Cora laughed and picked a Spanish almond out of the bowl, making Pike look closer and realize this wasn't average bar fair. In that bowl was a mix of expensive nuts including macadamia and pine!

It took some effort, but he kept himself from picking up the bowl and tipping the whole thing into his mouth. Instead, he was a well-behaved bear and pulled out a single Brazil nut and popped it in his mouth.

“Are we ever going to talk about Maksim Laske?” she asked. “Or are we going to pretend Tobias didn’t know who you are?”

Cora’s questions were so unexpected that Pike choked on his Brazil nut, and Kimble snorted into the blood he’d been about to sip.

“You remember that?” Pike asked after he’d cleared his throat.

“It took a while,” she admitted. “Lots about that night are still fuzzy, but I clearly remember Tobias calling Kimble by that name. I didn’t say anything before because we were so busy after missing work and then the fallout from the BBQ.”

“We’ve had a couple of rough weeks,” Pike agreed.

Cora didn’t take her eyes off Kimble. “Things have calmed down, so I think we should talk about it.”

“Not my name,” he declared, staring at his glass.

“It’s not your name?” Cora clarified. “Because Tobias is wrong or because you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Not my name anymore,” he amended. “Long life, lots of names. Maksim Laske was before. Kimble is name now.”

“Vampires live long lives,” Pike explained. “They often go through several name changes.”

Cora nodded her head, but her brow was still furrowed. “Does that mean you don’t want to remember who you were?”

Kimble set his glass down and sat back. He rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “Yes and no. Want to remember but worried. What if no resources? What if no wealth?”

He mumbled more words, but they were an unintelligible mix of other languages and English.

“Hey,” Pike said, reaching across the small table to put his hand on Kimble’s arm. “I’m not with you for money. I love you. That doesn’t come with a price tag.”

Pike was shocked to see tears forming in Kimble’s eyes. “Love you, sloneczko .”

Cora leaned in close and wrapped an arm around Kimble’s waist. “We can figure everything out, I promise. If the situation were reversed, would you abandon us because we weren’t rich?”

“You won’t share souls,” Kimble pointed out. One tear fell from his left eye, leaving a sparkling, iridescent black trail down his face.

“That’s because of my issues, not you,” Cora said as she reached up with her free hand to touch his face. “Your tears are beautiful, but don’t cry. I think I might almost be ready.”

Pike felt excitement rolling off Kimble in waves at Cora’s words. Pike was excited too, but cautious. “What changed your mind? Or started to?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted, resting her head against Kimble. The vampire shifted a little so Cora could nestle against his side. Pike resisted the urge to move his chair so he could be part of the cuddling. He didn’t want to disrupt Cora’s thought process.

If anyone deserved the time and space to talk out their thoughts and feelings, it was Cora.

“Talk to us,” Pike urged. “You don’t have to make sense, just put the thoughts out there.”

“I never expected to get married,” she admitted, her voice turning hard as she spoke. “I didn’t want to be tied to another male. I already had so many wanting my attention. I never even let a guy move in with me. I think that was one of the reasons Seb fixated on me, I was a challenge. The truth is my family makes so many demands that I couldn't handle the idea of adding anyone else to my life.”

“We are your mates,” Pike said. “That means we’ll feel when you’re upset or unhappy. We won’t add to your burden. We had a rough start, but there was a lot going on. Everything’s getting better now.”

“I know.” Her simple statement was spoken in a flat tone, devoid of any reassurance. Pike wanted to press her to say more but wasn’t sure that was the best idea.

Without moving her body away from Kimble, she picked up her drink and took another sip. It was almost empty, and Pike looked up thinking to order her some water, but Zan appeared at his side with another round of drinks. Before Pike could protest, he plopped them down on the table and left.

Cora looked at the fresh drink with appreciation and was quick to finish off the first one. “Tasty,” she murmured after the first sip of the second drink. “Maybe even better than before.”

“Alcohol makes everything taste better,” Pike pointed out dryly. “It enhances all things except common sense.”

Cora laughed. “Isn’t that the truth. I remember when Dad got super drunk once and insisted on telling me all these stories about his wild days before meeting Mom. I think he scarred me for life!”

Pike chuckled, letting her change the subject. “I know the feeling. I walked in on my mom and dad once. They were fully naked and having sex in the garden shed.”

Cora gasped. “No! How old were you?”

“It was last year!” Pike said, dramatically covering his eyes. Cora gasped, then laughed uproariously .

“Do you have any funny stories?” Cora asked Kimble, her eyes half open, and her body relaxed against the vampire.

“Many,” Kimble answered with a mischievous smile. “But can’t remember.”

“Bad vampire!” Cora pulled away long enough to smack his shoulder before snuggling back up against him. “Such a tease.”

They chatted, sharing funny stories and commenting on the unsuspecting humans passing by the bar’s windows. Cora consumed her second drink slower than the first, but it was still too fast for Pike. He did get Zan to bring over some water but only got half a glass into Cora before she was closing her eyes and using Kimble to prop her up.

“I think it’s time to head home,” Pike murmured. The vampire nodded and easily pulled Cora into his lap. She mumbled something, giggled, then rubbed her cheek against Kimble’s chest without opening her eyes.

“Are you all leaving my fine establishment?” Zan asked, stepping up and holding something out to Pike. He assumed it would be a bill but instead it was a small envelope. “That’s for the little human. Druid magic cure for hangovers. I keep a few on hand for the rare occasion a human overindulges here.”

Pike accepted the envelope and tucked it into his pocket. He had a little bit of cash from his last paycheck so he pulled that out and offered it to Zan. The shifter tucked his hands into his pockets and stepped out of reach.

“Nope! Ellie said to bill her for the drinks, and I would never go against her orders. Upsetting Ellie means making Mama Monroe angry. People who piss off Monroe don’t get to live long lives.”

There was no arguing with that.

“Thanks,” Pike said, putting his money away. “Next time we pay though.”

“Of course,” Zan agreed. “Unless some other immortal with deity-like powers tells me not to take your money.”

Chuckling at his own joke, Zan returned to his spot behind the bar. Kimble stood with Cora cradled against his chest. Pike moved to open the door for him, but Cora spoke up, freezing them both in place.

“I promise, I’m really thinking about it, every day,” she said, without opening her eyes. “I only need my fear to listen to my heart because I want to be joined to you guys more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

It was the sweetest words he’d ever heard.