Page 25 of The Vampire Castle in the Sky

Ironic, wasn’t it?

My eyes darted to him as he got into bed, pulling the cover up to his waist and tucking a forearm under his pillow to prop up his head. The neckline of his shirt parted, revealing a shred of smooth, marble skin. Suddenly, I needed instructions on how to breathe. Not that he noticed.

“Oh, before I forget…” he mumbled distractedly as he grabbed something from his nightstand. He tossed the pretty little comb from earlier toward my side of the bed. “Here.”

Still dawdling by the bathroom door, I glanced between him and the comb as if waiting for some kind of explanation.

“It’s what you wanted, no?” asked Hector casually.

I didn’t have to look in the mirror to know there was nothing casual about the expression onmyface. “Um… yes,” I croaked. “Thank you.”

Hector sighed in unhelpful exasperation. “For the love of the stars, Thea, there is no need to be so nervous. Come to bed. I’m not going to devour you.”

“Then why did you move my things here?”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“That is not a real answer,” I argued, setting the comb upon the nightstand and slipping into a bed that was already warmed by his body.

He shifted a little to make some space for me, staring at the velvet-draped canopy. His profile glowed red and orange against the unsteady light of the fireplace, crackling a few feet away from his side of the bed. I’d never noticed how arresting his profile was. The way his lashes looked impossibly dark against his pale skin. The way his forehead cut into the line of his nose, mouth, chin. If you took in his features one by one, you’d call them delicate, and yet in his strong, square-jawed face, they gave him a very powerful, almost severe look. An air of command.

I pulled my gaze away, inwardly cursing the silence. Our silences had always been a thing of comfort in the past.

When I finally felt brave enough to steal another glance at him, I was startled to find him facing toward me. I hadn’t heard him turn. Ineverheard him.

His eyes were liquid in the firelight, his face drawn in shadow. “What do you want me to say?”

“The truth,” I whispered.

“Which is…”

“That you missed being with me like this. That you missed me.”

“Maybe you should go back to your room.”

“Why is it so hard for you to admit it?”

“Or, better yet, get on a boat to Thaloria.”

“I thought you said you wanted to havefun.”

He exhaled, the breath whistling between his clenched teeth. “I will not lie. I’m anxious about tomorrow, too. I’ve never hosted the families before, let alone by myself, and yes, it will be more fun with you here. But if you’re going to be this nervous every time I breathe near you, I’d rather not risk my head for the price of an entertaining night.”

“I’m not nervous,” I hissed. “I just… I don’t know you as well as I used to. You drink from the vein now. I don’t want to do anything to tempt you.”

His lips twitched, holding back laughter. “Tempt me? Oh, Dorothea, it takes a lot more than a pretty neck to tempt me.”

I narrowed my eyes, doing my best to ignore the pulsing knot in my stomach. “Like what?”

Hector crept closer, and although he seemed perfectly unmoved by the proximity of our bodies, when he was near enough to take my jaw in his hand, I felt the tension in his hold, the faltering will behind it. His thumb traced the shape of my mouth. My lips parted. He tasted different than I’d expected. Saltier. Even his voice sounded unfamiliar in that moment, harsh and resonant. “Just go to sleep,” he said, slowly withdrawing. “It’s getting late.”

But I couldn’t sleep. I was flustered and excited and terrified all at once, not only because Hector was a vampire but because he was…Hector.

If something ever happened between us, it couldn’t be a meaningless little fling. It couldn’t be a distraction from our grief or the disarrayed paths of our lives. It would mean something. It would mean everything. But I wasn’t sure if I was ready to give myself to someone else, let alone him, when I had yet to figure outwhoI was going to give.

When had life become so complicated? A week ago my only problems were my demanding classes and my ever-increasing pile of unread books, and now I had to figure out a million different things all at once.

“Do you want to cuddle?” I blurted before I could stop myself. It was like muscle memory, for it had always been him I sought when life seemed unbearable.

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