Page 118 of The Midnight Order
“1974. Even then, we lived here in the manor and kept to ourselves. In that era, the people of that time believed in many things that modern people don’t. We had to keep more to ourselves to remain out of the spotlight.”
I find it hard to believe anyone would believe in vampires easily, but I could be wrong. The generations before us had a whimsical way of looking at things; he’s not wrong there.
“So, will you stay?” Asher asks me, and I have to contain a laugh that tries to erupt.
“I was just dragged back, yet you act like I have a choice.”
“You do. If you tell Lowell you do not wish to remain, he will let you go.”
“Will he? Or will he be in my yard, staring through my blinds every moment of the day?”
Asher grins. “I didn’t say he’d be happy about letting you go. Nor did I say he’d give up easily. He’s been obsessed with you since he saw you, Silver. Rightfully so.”
Now, it’s my turn to swallow over a growing lump. “Where’s Corvin?”
“Where else?” He rolls his eyes, sitting back in the iron chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
“The lab?”
He nods. “I swear he spends more time there year after year. He finds any reason to have his eyeball pressed against a microscope.”
“It’s what he loves to do.”
“I know it is, but I wish sometimes he’d do this.” He wafts his hands in front of him. “Sit with me on the porch and have coffee. Smell the flowers. Take in the day.”
I sit up straighter and turn toward him. “Well, that’s what you have me for.”
My words seem to settle through him, and then I see the tension leave his body like a storm lifting. “You’re right. I do.”
He abruptly stands and walks inside, returning with the coffee pot to refill mine. When he returns from taking the pot inside, he has a cup of his own. Leaning over after he sits, he lightly clinks his mug to mine and inclines his head before sitting back.
“Let us take in the day,” he says, and the sun chooses that moment to lift over the tree line as it rises.
I grin into my mug and feel some of the tension I brought out here subside.
After our coffee is gone and the conversation dried up, Asher and I go back inside and part ways. He heads for the downstairs gym, and I meander around the manor, unable to return to the gym just yet. Not after memories of Asher and me down there are so fresh.
Corvin’s in the lab, and I know Lowell is still reeling from my attempted escape yesterday, so I head for Jasper’s office.
Having thwarted his trip, I’ve been worried about the mood he’s in all night.
I knock and hear him beckon me in, but I hold my hand over the wood a moment longer as I linger.
“Come in, Silver,” he says, and I take a deep breath.
The door squeaks at my entry. I close it behind me as I run my eyes over Jasper, who’s sitting at his desk with three screens before him, and the light from them casts over his face.
Reading glasses sit on the tip of his nose, and he looks older than usual, even though he never ages. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asks with a grin.
“I was coming to apologize to you.”
“For what?!” He turns in his chair as I round his desk.
He’s breathtaking, per usual. He’s wearing jeans and a black button-up shirt that seems tailored to him. Two buttons are open on the top, showing the hair sprawling over his chest.
“For ruining your trip. The prospect of getting out of here for a few days had to be thrilling, and then it all went up in smoke. It’s all my fault, and I’m sorry.”
He chuckles darkly, removing his glasses and patting his knee like I’m five and needing affection.
