Sorley sat in an easy chair in the living room and rubbed his stocking-clad foot. "Feckin'

hell!" He gestured to a chest near the fireplace. "What's this chest made out of anyway, feckin' stone?"

Lachlan chuckled. "Try pine."

Sorley's thin face creased into an unexpected smile filled with mischief. "Sure, then I guess it doesn't hurt that badly."

Erin laughed as she started toward the kitchen. "Have you seen Ronan around, Sorley?"

Sorley trailed behind and almost bumped into her when she stopped at the kitchen counter. "Didn't see him all day yesterday."

"Well, we saw him at the community center meeting, then he just disappeared," Erin said.

"Vampires have a way of doin' that, you know." Sorley grinned.

"No shit," Lachlan said.

As the coffee perked, Lachlan made breakfast with Erin's help.

"Maybe he's found the woman he's lookin' for. The one he doesn't mind havin' sex with to help save the world," Sorley said.

The irreverent tone in his voice made Erin smile. A few days ago, she couldn't imagine finding anything about this situation entertaining. Now the black humor eased her tension.

"What makes you think that?" Lachlan asked.

Sorley put his hands on his skinny hips. "Wishful thinkin' actually." Sorley bumped into Erin and Lachlan as he searched for a glass in the cupboard. He snorted a laugh. "Though I have a hard time imaginin' Ronan giddy over a woman."

"Giddy?" a deep, almost scornful voice said behind the thin vampire. "I don'tdo giddy."

Ronan's chest felt tight as he materialized in Erin's kitchen. He'd felt out of it since the ancient one terrorized them all in the tunnels under MickyGunn's establishment.

Erin scowled while Sorley gave a laugh. Although she trusted him now, Ronan remembered a time not so long ago where the sight of him frightened Erin. He couldn't really blame her considering all she'd been through with the ancient one.

Ronan slid the cape off his head and shoulders and tossed the garment on a dinette chair.

He glared at Sorley. "Now what were you saying about giddiness?"

"Uh..." Sorley swallowed hard. "Well, not quite giddy. Maybe mildly interested?"

Lachlan smiled. "You could knock, you know."

Ronan felt surly, his temper up after his two encounters last night with ClarissaGaines.

He shrugged. "Since you invited me over your threshold a long time ago, why should I bother?"

Erin's frown said he'd pissed her off. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you manners?"

"Just long enough ago for me to forget them."

Lachlan turned to Ronan with curiosity written on his face. "What's going on with you?

Since the last fight with the ancient one you've been moping."

Sorley laughed, his high-pitched noise grating on Ronan's ears. "He's goin' for a particular attitude, don't you know? All dark and pensive and vampirish."

Lachlan peered at Sorley. "Vampirish? Is that even a word?"

"That's not it." Ronan scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I'm hacked because we haven't finished the job. We know we didn't kill the ancient one. He will walk the streets again before Halloween. And if he absorbs the amount of power I think he'll absorb on Halloween, then we're all buggered."

"Sounds like we need another caucus to decide what we're going to do," Erin said.

Deciding he should let the group know about Clarissa, Ronan said, "I met the woman last night."

"See, see, I told you," Sorley said with a huge grin.

"Discussing my love life again, I see," Ronan said.

Sorley shrugged. "Nothing else better to do around here."

"Who is she?" Erin asked, anticipation in her voice and on her face.

Ronan groaned inside, unsure how much he wanted to reveal. He explained how he'd met her in the graveyard, but conveniently left out the part about them becoming cozy.

Erin crossed her arms, then looked into the distance with concentration. "She sounds perfect."

Sorley snorted. "Even if she does decide Ronan's an all right chap and she doesn't mind doing the nasty with him, we still don't know how havin' sex with him is going to solve our problems with the ancient one."

"The seer wasn't specific," Ronan said. "She simply said the power would manifest once the woman and I have sex."

Ronan saw the displeasure on Erin's face, but decided it wouldn't do any good to gloss over the facts.

Lachlan's expression held concern. "At the community center you disappeared before any of us could talk to you. Where did you go?"

"Out for fresh air. So many mortals in one area suffocate me."

Erin strolled toward him as she wiped her hands on a towel. "When do we get to meet Clarissa?"

"Today. Tonight if you wish."

Lachlan's eyebrows lifted. "Wow, that was fast work."

Ronan's frown deepened. "It wasn't my idea. She was at the community center meeting last night and wants to meet you."

"Why?" Lachlan asked.

"She told me it was none of my business." It irritated him, her defiance. "Wench."

Sorley laughed. "Sure, and she must be mighty comely if she can get that reaction out of him."

Ronan glared at him. "Shut up."

The much smaller vampire did as told.