Page 5 of Making Haven
I snort. “And I should just take you at your word?”
“If I wanted you dead, I would have left you to the zere.”
I pause for a moment. “Zere?”
“Yeah. You know, that zombie werewolf. Zere.”
“That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard in my entire life and I used to play MMO’s with teenagers before all of this.”
“What’s an MMO?”
I groan deep in my throat, pinching the bridge of my nose with my good hand, the one not holding my half eaten, forgotten carrot. “That doesn’t matter. We’re getting off topic.”
“Right. The topic of my vampirism and whether or not I’m going to eat you. Let’s get back to that.”
“That’s the perfect reason for you to save me,” I say, gesturing towards myself. “There’s no way you’re out here feasting on just anyone. You needed a handsome blood bag at your disposal and saw an opportunity when I fell from that balcony!”
“You caught me. I was out looking for a handsome human to lure back to my home. Damn. Guess I’ll just have to drain you dry now before you can figure anything out about me,” he says, his voice high pitched and dramatic, dripping with sarcasm. He’s let his fangs drop down and I can’t stop staring at them. “Though my type is usually built like a brick house with fire orange hair,” he sighs, “but I guess you’ll have to do since pickings are so slim these days.”
“I hate you,” I say through clenched teeth. “I’m sleeping with my sword ready and if you come close to me with those teeth, I’ll slice your head clean off.”
“Deal,” he says with a grin that shows off his sharp fangs. I swallow thickly, once again wondering if I’m feeling terrified, disgusted, or horny. Definitely not the last thing, right? Right. Yeah, that’d be weird. Must be adrenaline drop or something.
“The moment my leg is better I’m leaving here.”
“Sounds good. I won’t be stopping you. Why the hell would I want a prickly bastard like you around? I’d rather just be alone again, thank you very much.”
“Good. Glad we got that settled.”
We finish our trek to his house and he opens the door, shuffling me inside. The place is warm and clearly lived in. I start limping through the hallway when Lawrence clears his throat. I turn back with a glare.
“Shoes,” he says, nodding at the mat next to the door.
“Are you fucking serious?”
Lawrence crosses his arms over his chest. “Hey! We might be in the literal end of the world but that’s no reason to be disgusting inside my home. I’m not letting you track shit through my house.”
“Fine,” I say, toeing off my shoes andflingingthem in his direction. My leg fuckingaches, blinding me with pain, but it was worth it for his reaction. He sputters, catching them in midair before placing them on the mat. I hear him murmur about ungrateful assholes but that only makes me smile. Yep, the shock really is doing a number on me, that’s the only reason for the way my chest feels weirdly warm at his reaction.
With one arm pressed against the wall to help me stay balanced, I hobble into the living room. It’s a nice little space with a long couch that rests against the wall furthest from the window. The window has a dark, black-out curtain which I suppose makes sense since the house owner happens to be avampire.
I’m about to flop down onto the couch when Lawrence walks into the room. “Before you sit down, I’ve gotta ask you to wash up.”
I look down at myself. “What?Why? I’m actually fairly clean right now.”
“You stink,” he says bluntly.
“I’ll have you know I just found new deodorant in that last place! I smell fine!”
“Can you at least put some clean clothes on? I don’t want to be smelling you in my couch cushions after you leave.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I hiss out, pulling my pack from my back and setting it onto the floor. “Fine. Fucking fine. Give me some privacy while I change into some clean clothes. You’re worse than my fucking mother with all this nagging.”
Lawrence’s lips curl up into a smirk of amusement before he’s moving out of the room. As carefully as I can with my leg throbbing in pain, I get out of my clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor just to spite Lawrence. There’s something a bit exhilarating about annoying someone who could most definitely murder me without much of a fight. Do I have a danger kink or something? Maybe the fact that he’s a vampire just hasn’t hit me yet. Maybe tomorrow morning I’m going to wake up and freakthe fuck out, but for now, I’m just too fucking tired to truly think about this entire situation I’ve found myself in.
I slip into a pair of sweatpants and one of the t-shirts I found yesterday. Or was that still today? Jesus, what time is it? So much has happened tonight that I can barely wrap my mind around it. A yawn slips from my lips as I sit down on Lawrence’s couch. It’s so fucking plush and comfortable.
God, I want to hate this guy. Why is he living here in luxury while I’ve been fighting for my life for the past two years? What must it be like to be strong enough to defend yourself without issue?
