Page 24 of The Devil and the Dancer
“So you’ll be like… really, really asleep, huh?”
“Yes.”
“Weird.”
He reached over and pinched her bottom, eliciting a laughing shriek.
I love you. I adore you. You make me feel alive again.
“Did you have any plans today?” he asked, swallowing the other words that wanted to slip out.
She rolled over and curled up, pulling the sheet over her shoulders. “I was going to read my book. The one that caused all the drama. But I don’t have it.”
He shook his head. “I caused the drama. I should have told you about Vivian. In my defense, our relationship is strange, complicated, and unhealthy.”
“Is she the one who called the other night?”
He nodded.
“Sister, huh?”
“Not in the familiar and somewhat affectionate manner of some families. Our sire wasn’t the kind to foster familial relationships. Or relationships of any kind, really.”
“What happened to him?”
“Someone killed him. Tellingly, neither Vivian nor I sought revenge. He crossed the wrong person and got what was coming to him. I took the money I got from him and refurbished a club in Hong Kong.”
“Wow. So no hard feelings, huh?”
“None. It was a business matter that went wrong. If there’s one thing that my sire taught me, it’s that business is sacrosanct.”
She reached up and traced the line of his eyebrow. “Is it?”
His heart thumped again. “My business is part of what will keep you safe, Chloe. So yes, for me it is sacrosanct.”
A shadow fell over her eyes. “We still have a lot to talk about.”
“We do.” He leaned over and kissed her. “And we will talk more tonight when I’m not about to pass out and you’ve had time to relax and enjoy your well-deserved day off. Read a book. A different book. Take a nap. Relax.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
“But please”—he kissed her again—“do not second-guess what happened last night. Last night was perfect.”
Her cheeks flushed pleasantly. “It was pretty great.”
“It was perfect.” He could feel the first wave of dizziness wash over him. “But I have to go.” Gavin leaned down and kissed her with all the tenderness he could muster when he still felt so territorial. “Go back to sleep. I’ll see you at sunset.”
Chloe watchedhim walk out of her bedroom, then she heard him open the door to the light-safe room past Ben’s bedroom. It was spartan. More a vault than a bedroom. She heard the locks engage just as the first rays of dawn touched her window.
Was it her imagination, or did she feel colder?
At Gavin’s apartment, Chloe never felt far from him, even during the day. His rooms were in the center of the house, away from all the windows, and the rest of the rooms surrounded him. He spent his days in the literal heart of the home. Whether that was by design or simply a quirk of architecture, Chloe found it comforting.
Here, in the cold, modern loft where vampires rarely slept, she felt like he’d disappeared.
Can you live like this? Because that’s what he’s asking for.
Chloe ignored the whispering voices in her mind and rolled over to replay the delicious memories of the night before.
