Page 31 of Love Bites
"Why not?"
"I've told you this before, but I think your death would be a waste. That's all."
"But you've killed people before, haven't you?"
Talon regarded me quietly for a second. "I don't think you want to know the answer to that," he said finally, which really only confirmed my suspicions. I wanted to argue with him, ask him what mademeso special that I shouldn't be killed, but my mouth had run dry and before I could get the words out, Talon's phone chimed, almost as if it had been programmed to end this conversation.
"Excuse me," he said, and then he answered it. I watched as he listened to the other end of the line. His gaze turned cold again. Almost the same way I'd seen them in the bar when he'd first deigned to notice me. It gave me chills. For the first time since stepping into Talon's apartment, I truly felt that I'd gone home with a killer.
I glanced at the door. I could probably be gone before the vampire finished his phone call. But what then? Should I just run home to my family again and hide in my old bedroom like a scared child?
No, there was no reason for me to be scared of Talon. If he wanted me dead, I'd already be. So far, though, he hadn't acted like someone who wanted to harm me. He'd erased my memories to keep me out of harm's way, he'd comforted me when I was feeling sick, he'd brought me here to make sure I knew how to keep myself out of the eyes of his fellow vampires in the future. All of this aligned with that feeling deep down in my guts that told me I was safe here. As insane as that sounded.
I focused my attention on Talon again, studying his features. Whatever he was being told, he didn't like it. "I understand," he said after a moment, and then he pocketed his phone and turned to me. "You can stay here until the morning if you would like, but I'm afraid I have to step out." He rose from the couch. "Eddie will keep you company."
"Where are you going?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Can I come?"
"Absolutely not."
I'd kind of figured that, but I'd had to try anyway. "Are you going to suck some poor guy's blood out of his body?"
"I'm not going to disclose the details of my job."
"If it's just blood you need, you can have mine." I was surprised at my own words, and at how quickly they came out of my mouth, but I did not want Talon to leave now, and I didn't want him to do whatever it was that he was about to do.
"That's a very generous offer." Talon touched one finger to my neck, just above my artery where my pulse was beating away like crazy. Talon's lips tugged up. "I'll have to recline. You're in no condition for it, and besides, it wouldn't change my job."
"Can't you quit?"
Talon cracked a real smile at that, as if what I said was somehow amusing to him. I scowled. He ruffled a hand through my hair. "I'll see you later, Sparkles."
After that, there was nothing I could do but watch him leave.
A little disgruntled, and a lot confused by the events of the night, I took Talon's apartment in once more. When I’d first come here, I hadn’t known that this place belonged to a vampire. Now I found myself searching for signs that what I’d learned was the truth. Almost as if I needed to reassure myself that I wasn’t just dreaming. On a deeper level, I knew that it was all true, but still...
Who could just accept something like vampires who wanted to kill them for their birthmark?
Now that Talon had left the room, it seemed insane.
I started my investigation of the apartment in the kitchen area.
There were no cooking utensils.
No pots, no pans.
The fridge was empty and so was the freezer compartment. The whole thing wasn't even plugged in.
Of course, as soon as I noticed that there wasn't any food to be found—not even in the small closet that served as pantry—hunger started gnawing at my insides. Stupid Talon, abandoning me in a place without snacks.
I glanced at the cupboards and started opening all of them, just to make sure. There had to be something edible around heresomewhere.
My salvation came in the form of a single pack of jerky at the far end of the last cupboard.
I grabbed it and stared at it, not sure how to interpret my search results.
