“Here,” Undrea said. “I’ll take Bowie.”
“Thanks.” Ethan handed her the carrier.
He and his mom went into the living room to see Sarah Jane. Undrea took Bowie into the kitchen. The coffeepot sat full and hot on its burner, reminding Undrea that she’d yet to serve it. They’d been too engrossed in discussing Nina.
She unzipped the carrier and let Bowie out. He went straight to his food dish, which was empty. “Hi, little man. How’ve you been? You hungry? Your food is still here. Hang on. I’ll get you a new dish. That’s a little old.”
As she was fixing him a bowl, Ethan came in. “Undrea, I want you to tell me something truthfully.”
She turned, the open can of Turkey-n-Gravy still in her hand. “Sure.” She dumped it into Bowie’s bowl as Ethan went on.
“What happened last night? I know Nina showed up here, I know I passed out, but then what happened after that?”
She put the bowl of food down. Bowie started eating immediately. “Maybe we should sit down. It’s kind of a long story.”
He shook his head. “I don’t mean with me. I mean with Bowie.”
She stiffened. Had his mom said something about Bowie having a spell attached to him? Was Ethan mad that she’d gotten Bowie involved in something like that? “Look, he was never in any danger. Those women don’t do any bad magic. I promise. I would never let any harm come to him. I adore that little naked beast.”
Ethan blinked, looking very confused. “What women? What magic are you talking about?”
“Um…” So maybe his mom hadn’t said anything. But Undrea wasn’t about to backtrack. It was time to bring Ethan up to speed on the woman he was living with.
“When Nina was here—” He crossed his arms. “Did you physically kick Bowie out of the house?”
“What?” Undrea put her hands on her hips. “Why would you—you think I would—I would never give him to Nina. And I would never kick an animal. I mean, maybe if like a mountain lion was attacking me but—”
“Nina told me you kicked Bowie out of the house. Her words. Kicked.”
“She’s a lying liar. I would never hurt that sweet baby. I’d never willingly turn him over to Nina either.”
Ethan exhaled and dropped his arms to his sides. “I knew you wouldn’t. But I had to hear it for myself. By the way, I am done with Nina. Done. She currently thinks we’ve made up, but that was just so I could get out of the house without her pitching a fit.”
“Her pitching a fit is the least of your worries. But good plan. Because you might not have made it out of the house otherwise.”
“What do you mean?”
Undrea pointed at the living room. “Go sit down. I’m going to get a cup of coffee for whoever wants one, and then you’re going to find out more about Nina than you ever could have imagined.”
Ethan helped Undrea find out what his mom and Sarah Jane wanted in their coffee, then he went back into the kitchen with her. Before she could get mugs out of the cabinet, however, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.
It wasn’t long enough, but there wasn’t time for the kind of kiss he really wanted to give her. Not with his mom in the next room. But it certainly scratched the itch he’d been feeling. He broke it off and reluctantly let her go.
Just like that the sick feeling in his stomach and all the residual tiredness from his last episode were gone. She was obviously the best medicine for him.
She smiled at him, a hint of color playing in her cheeks. “What was that for?”
“Because you’re amazing and I wanted to. No. That’s not true. I needed to. I need you, Undrea. I can’t exactly put it into words, but I feel so much better when I’m around you.”
She looked away for a moment, like she was suddenly shy or embarrassed. “I feel that way about you too.” She made eye contact again. “But we barely know each other.”
“Does that matter? Can’t we let our hearts do the thinking?”
She laughed. “Aren’t you an engineer? Aren’t you all about practical and logical and making decisions based on facts?”
“Yes, I’m an engineer. But I’m not a Vulcan. I have emotions.” He took both of her hands in his. “What do you say? Let’s give us a try. A real try.”
“I’m in. But first, we need to have that talk.”
“I thought we just did.”
She shook her head, and a little of her happiness seemed to fade. “There is so much more you need to know. Not just about Nina either. Come on. Help me with the coffee, and then we’ll get into it.”
His mom gave him a curious look when they returned. “Trouble with the coffee maker?”
He knew that tone. She was letting him know she was aware of how long they’d been in there and wanted to know why. She’d just have to wonder. “Nope. Just fine.” He handed her the mug he’d fixed for her, then took a seat on the ottoman, leaving the chair for Undrea.
She had Sarah Jane’s coffee, and once she’d handed that off, she sat beside him in the chair. “Okay. Where to start.”
His mom gave Undrea a little nod. “He’s a smart man. He’ll find his way from wherever you begin. But I’d say start with Nina.”
“Right.” Undrea took a breath. “Ethan, Nina is using you. As you might have guessed. But it’s a little more…intense than you probably could have imagined. She’s a type of energy succubus. I don’t mean that as a metaphor, either. She feeds off your fame and power.”
He stared at her for a moment, trying to process what Undrea had just said. “I realize she can be a little draining but…a succubus? You mean that’s a real thing?”
“It is. I know, it sounds crazy, but I promise you, this is all straight up. Those episodes you’ve been having? We think they’re the result of her siphoning off some of your power.”
He thought about that. About how he could never remember them happening. About how awful he felt waking up from one. Anger spun up in him. “She’s been using me.”
“Yes,” Undrea said. “Which is why they started not long after you met her.”
He was too mad to speak. Almost trembling with rage at what Nina had been doing to him. Then he found his voice. “Do you know how many doctors I’ve been to? How many tests I’ve been through? And all the while, she knew exactly what was going on, and yet she pushed me to try new doctors and pursue new therapies and…”
Frustration choked him, and he shook his head, looking away.
His mom caught his eye. “I know, sweetheart.”
Undrea reached out and put her hand on his arm. “The thing is, all those doctor visits probably made news, right?”
He nodded. “No matter how low-key I tried to keep things, the press got wind that something was wrong. Not what, just that I was visiting a lot of specialists.”
“So that only served to heighten your fame in a way. The very thing she thrives on. It’s no wonder she pushed you to keep going.” Undrea sighed. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to let her feed off of you again.”