Blood and Sin (The Infernari Book 1) by Laura Thalassa, Dan Rix Page A

again. Not surprising; I knew nothing of human flirtation and their casual sexual encounters.
    But Brad hadn’t left.
    I sighed like he was a great fool and returned to the cot, laying down and turning my back to him. “If you change your mind,” I said, “the offer will still be there.”
    My words and my actions seemed to deflate whatever fear he had. He had stopped backing away. I could hear him breathing, fighting with himself I’m sure.
    Finally, I heard him mutter, “Fuck it.”
    I smiled to the wall as I heard the jingle of keys and then the bars slide open.
    I sat up. “I’m glad you changed your mind.” I didn’t have to pretend to look eager as I pushed off the cot and approached him.
    “Lana,” Brad said, “Asher can’t know about this. Please don’t make me regret—”
    My hand snapped out, my palm shoving up against his nose with all the force I could manage. He cursed and stumbled back as something crunched. I almost sighed as his blood began to flow. I converted it while it was still on his face. Wispy, iridescent flames burned it up. I took my first deep breath in a long time when I felt the magic hit my bloodstream. I made use of it immediately.
    My body thickened and lengthened, my clothes stretching with it, until I was the largest, scariest Infernarus I’d ever come across.
    Brad took one look at me, and, “Aw, fu—”
    My fist slammed into his temple before he could finish. Brad’s eyes rolled up into his head and then his body collapsed on itself. Blood still poured from his nose, enough that I didn’t have to give him a fresh wound to cull the amount I needed.
    Quickly I shrugged out of my clothes. Great Mother above and sprites below, it was fucking cold.
    I turned to Brad.
    He wouldn’t like it when he woke.
    I stripped him of his boxers, studying his naked body. It was lovely, but that’s not why I was looking. I needed to make sure I got every detail right.
    I stepped into his boxers as my magic pulsed through me, shortening my hair and contorting my body until I was a mirror image of the man sprawled at my feet. It took only several more seconds to pull the magic from what was left of his blood.
    Then I was ready.
    I muttered a quick prayer to the Great Mother on Brad’s behalf, then spared him one last glance. His nose was horribly crooked. As a parting gift, I knelt near his face and reset it.
    Then I left the cell and headed to the other side of the building. Right where I knew Asher would be.
    Asher
    My eyelids sprang open. A hulking figure loomed over me, silhouetted against the near pitch black of the underground bedroom, lit only by the glowing LEDs on my laptop.
    Wide awake, I lunged for the cord dangling from my desk lamp and flicked it on, kicking up a flurry of blankets.
    My eyes adjusted to the glare, and I almost laughed out loud.
    Wearing only boxers, Brad shielded his eyes from the light, one leg raised like he’d been about to climb onto my bed . . . onto me . He froze like a deer caught in headlights.
    “Uh . . . what the hell, dude?” I raised an eyebrow.
    “I, mmh . . . hello, Asher.” His voice sounded strained.
    With both of us in only boxers, he had some explaining to do. “Leg off my bed, please.”
    He seemed to finally realize, and he lowered his leg to the floor, shuffling awkwardly. Yeah, you better feel awkward.
    My eyes narrowed. “You sleepwalking? What? What is this? What do you want?”
    He stared down at his empty palms. “I, well . . . I wanted to . . . check on you and see how you were doing?” His gaze lifted to my torso, and then—very conspicuously—traveled down my abs and paused on my tight boxer briefs. He bit his lower lip.
    Okay, I did not just see that.
    His eyes snapped back to mine, and I could have sworn I saw him blush. “You seem to be doing just fine,” he said, his voice oddly stilted. “I’ll just go . . . you go back to sleep . . . please.”
    “What do you want, Brad? You coming out of