She’d tell him after the phone calls. First, she called Aaron.
He answered right away. “Hey, Undrea.”
“Hey. So. Lots going on.” She gave him the ten-cent version but, except for her secret, didn’t gloss over any of the supernatural stuff. After all, he was one himself.
“Wow. You want me to tell Whitney you’re taking a day or two off?”
“That would be great. She can still email me or text or whatever if there are any issues, but I’m sure you can handle most of them anyway.”
“So I’m in charge?”
She laughed. “Temporarily. Make sure my maintenance visits get covered.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, if you need me for anything, just call.”
“I appreciate that. And I might.” Hard to say what she’d need, but having a water dragon shifter on your side could be pretty handy.
“And if Nina comes around looking for you?”
“Tell her…tell her I’m out running errands or something. Just don’t tell her I’m home.” Nina didn’t need to know anything about Undrea’s location.
“You got it. Stay safe.”
“Thanks. Talk to you later.” She hung up and dialed Mattie.
“Hey,” Mattie answered. “I heard your future mother-in-law showed up.”
Undrea rolled her eyes. “Settle down. But yes, she and her friend did. They’re lovely. And they’re not without their own skills. Sarah Jane reads tea leaves, and Ethan’s mom, Connie, can disappear at will. Technically, she blends into her surroundings, so it’s not really becoming invisible, but it’s pretty similar.”
“Now that would be a cool gift to have.”
“Agreed. How are things going there?”
“Good and bad. Alice confirmed Corette was right. Nina is a rare breed of succubus called an edax. Corette was right about Nina having strong magical, emotional and physical connections to Ethan too. Your magic might have broken the emotional and physical ones, but the magical one is like Gorilla Glue. He’s stuck. And stuck good. If she can reattach the emotional and physical ones again, she’s got him.”
“There has to be a way to free him.”
“We’re working on it, but so far the only cases we’ve been able to find where the edax released her victim was because of death.”
“Hers?”
“Yes.” Then Mattie sighed. “But also not necessarily. If her victim dies, then naturally being drained by the succubus is no longer a problem.”
Undrea’s heart sank. “Is that supposed to be the good or the bad?”
“The bad, I guess. Or… I’m not sure. We have more research to do. Obviously. Don’t give up hope. We’ll figure something out.”
“You’d better figure it out before Nina can get her hands on Ethan again. Don’t forget, she took him out of my house without entering it.”
“That’s part of how the edax’s magic works. But she won’t be able to do that to him again unless she drains him. It’s some kind of drawing spell that only works for a short while after the succubus drains her victim. And she can’t drain him without being close or being able to see him.”
“So keep him inside.”
“And probably away from windows. Seriously.”
“No point in taking chances.”
“Nope. Thanks. Talk soon.”
They hung up, and Undrea started for the steps to get Ethan’s keys. She wasn’t about to let him move that car if it meant putting him in danger. Then a new question came to mind. She stopped and called Mattie back. “Hey, quick question. Am I in danger from Nina? It’s just men, right? What kind of power does an edax have exactly?”
“Hang on.”
She could hear Mattie moving. Then a door closing.
“Okay, I just had to get somewhere private. She’s a lot like you in that her power only works on men. Doesn’t mean she couldn’t still try to kidnap you and use you to draw Ethan out, but I think she’s afraid of you because she knows you’re a supernatural but not what kind. Remember you said she bolted when you came out to save Ethan?”
“Right. She did.”
“Which is why she’s a lot more likely to go after his mom. She has to know Ethan would do anything to save his mother. So even if his mom can disappear whenever she wants, she’s still in danger. And I’m guessing she doesn’t have the kind of supernatural strength and speed you do.”
“I didn’t get that impression about Connie, no. But I’m not that fast unless I’m in the water.”
“You’re still faster than a human.”
“Point taken. Okay, go back to work.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
Undrea started climbing the steps again. If Nina showed up and tried to take any of Undrea’s house guests, that succubus was in for a fight. And Undrea had no plans on losing.
After Ethan made his mom realize there wouldn’t be a trip to the Shop-n-Save, he helped her place an online order for all the groceries she wanted. It was sweet of her to fix supper and honestly, a nice way to repay a small portion of Undrea’s hospitality.
Once that was done, he got his mom and Sarah Jane settled in the living room with a movie, then took a seat himself to wait on the groceries.
Undrea took the spot next to him, handing him his Maserati keys. “It already had that little scratch on the passenger’s side, right?”
He stared at her, doing his best not to panic. “Um…”
She grinned. “Just kidding. I didn’t get it over five miles an hour. Wow, is that a nice car. Maybe when all this is over, you could take me for a drive in it.”
“When this is all over, I will do anything you want.”
“Anything?”
He couldn’t think of anything he wouldn’t do with her. “Yep. You name it, we’ll do it.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she nodded. “All right then.”
He snorted. “You’re taking this as a personal challenge, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.” Smiling mysteriously, she stared at the TV without looking at him.
Her sass only made him fall harder and deeper, and it didn’t bother him one bit. If he was going to fall for a woman so quickly, it might as well be a woman like her. One worth being in love with. One that wasn’t going to take advantage of him.
And one that didn’t seem to care if he had money, fame, or power.
An hour later, the grocery delivery showed up. Undrea met the driver at the door and took everything in, putting it on the floor in the foyer and handing him the tip Ethan had given her for the delivery.
Only when the door was shut did Undrea let Ethan come down and help carry things into the kitchen. He’d never had a woman be so protective of him, outside of his mom. Nina had been jealous, but that was something else altogether.
Something that had left him with an uncomfortable feeling. Undrea’s actions made him feel loved.
His mom and Sarah Jane went to work putting the groceries away, shooing him and Undrea out of the room after they’d tried to help.
Undrea gave him a look as they went back to the living room. “It is my kitchen, you know.”