New Horizon [Morganville]

Chapter Thirty-Four

“Pervert,” Claire exclaimed and threw a pillow at him.

“You’re eighteen now,” Shane grinned. “It’s perfectly legal.”

“You’re an ass,” Eve shook her head.

Shane puckered his lips in what was supposed to be deep thought. He raised an eyebrow at Eve and fiddled with the hem of Claire’s shirt. “So you get to use the work ass and I don’t?”

“Drifting off the subject, here?” Michael sighed.

“What subject? If there is no ass kicking, then there is no subject at all.”

“Okay, cool,” Eve shrugged and dropped into one of the armchairs and picked up her latest Cosmo magazine. “We’ll just drop it until Dylan decides that he wants to show his love to Claire, which could result in miniature, evil Dylan’s.”

“Ew,” Claire crinkled her nose.

“Aren’t you supposed to be getting my mind off the ass kicking topic? Because that story deserves an ass kick," Shane said dryly.

“Oh, bite me Collins.”

“Later,” Shane waved it off and turned to Michael. “So, what do you want to do about it Michael?”

Michael looked at Claire, and she got the odd feeling that he was glamouring her. But he wasn’t, he was thinking because he was seriously worried about Claire.

“I think we should go to Amelie,” He said.

“No. Next,” Shane said almost immediately and turned back to Claire. He gave her a large and funny grin as he tried to brighten the mood. “We have a crate full of weapons in the attic. Let’s use them.”

“He’s not a vampire, Shane,” Claire said. “He’s human.”

“Stake will do a pretty damn good job on him too?”

“You’re not killing him, beating him or handing him over to the vampires!” Claire raised her voice at him, and everyone in the room seemed to grow silent. “Just drop it. It’s no big deal!”

“No big deal?” Shane laughed cynically and shook his head. “Because he’s human that makes him safe? Bullshit.”

“Drop it Shane,” Michael sighed. But Shane didn’t drop it.

“Jason was human,” Shane didn’t take his eyes off Claire, and she dared herself not to shake in his hold. “Hell, he’s Eve’s brother, and you saw what he did to me. But because he’s human, that makes him innocent. Am I wrong?”

“That’s not what I’m saying, Shane –” Claire began, but Shane wasn’t prepared to let his point slip away. When he spoke again, his voice was louder.

“Am I wrong?”

“No!” Claire yelled and pushed herself off the couch and she continued to yell at him. “If you want me to sit there and tell you that you’re right about everything, then fine. Shane, you’re right. Congratulations, but I am not going to sit there and listen to you make a big deal out of something that is nothing!”

This time, Shane pushed himself off the couch, and Claire no longer had the satisfaction of being taller than him. She glared up at him, and his expression was equally angry as he looked down at her.

“This isn’t nothing, Claire!” His voice wasn’t as loud as Claire’s had been, but he was still technically yelling. “You could get hurt, or worse.”

“I’m eighteen, right? I can look after myself.”

“Clearly not. How many times have you needed to be saved this year?”