Page 8 of Midnight Serenade
Sebastian drank straight from the bottle, chugging most of it in just a few gulps. I guessed he was thirsty. He rinsed out his mouth with my lemon water when I offered it, then he ordered another for me. Meanwhile, I was trying not to squirm in my seat. I was impatient for his answer. Blood shared only between couples sounded intriguing.
He sat back again with a sigh. There was a new flush to his face, and he appeared more at ease. The blood seemed to soothe him. Huh. Just like a burger and fries usually did for me. Good to know.
“Like I said, sharing blood in today’s world is mostly between couples. Significantly, between one vampire and oneother, whether that’s a human or supernatural. There are a few supernaturals that don’t taste good to vampire palates?shifters being one of those?but mostly any human or other supernatural will be a pleasant experience. It takes a significant amount of trust on both sides. Much more trust than a casual friendship oracquaintanceship would merit. It also bonds the couple closer together. The only caveat is that vampires cannot feed on other vampires. The physiology would not work.
“Vampires can secrete three substances through their fangs when the fangs drop.” He flashed me a humorous, fang-filled smile, and then his fangs were suddenly gone again. “We call the first our calm-the-heck-down serum. It does exactly what it says. The second is our changing serum. Vampires are made, not born. Any children I have will have half of my genetics, but not my vampirism. So, our changing serum is to change another to be a vampire. The third is our anti-aging serum. This is usually only used on our mates and spouses, although, rarely, it can be used on friends. It has to be renewed at least once a week in order for the other person to stay as ageless as a vampire.”
I nibbled on the brownie à la mode that I had yet to finish as I pondered this information. It all made sense, really. I’d used a few of those serums in my vampire romance novels. Most authors did, as a matter of fact. It made sense that at leastsomeof the world’s fantasies about the supernatural community were based on reality.
I wanted to keep talking and skip sleep, but I couldn’t hold back a huge yawn, and neither could Kazi. I laughed because his yawn was so much more terrifying than mine, with his enormous mouth and needle-sharp teeth. He smacked his lips together, and eyed me with one eye open and the other closed, as if asking me If I was ready for bed yet.
I smiled down at him and rubbed his forehead, then looked up at Sebastian. There was one thing I really needed to say, and it had to be saidnow.
“I’m going to head to my room, but before I do... I wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk to me tonight, and for this wonderful date. It’s truly been the best date I’ve ever had.” I fidgeted, unsure how to say the next part.
“But?”
I sighed and looked at his deep green eyes with regret. “But I’ve just found out that I’m a siren and that supernaturals are real. As much as I enjoy your company, and as much fun as kissing you was,” I gave a little laugh, “I would like to take some time to just settle into this.” I peered up at him, but had a hard time reading his expression. “Can we... keep this as friends for right now?”
He sat back, gazing at my face for a long while before he spoke again. “Of course. If that’s what you need.”
I nodded. “That’s what I need.” I swallowed back my regret. Sebastian was kind of amazing, and I couldn’t believe I was telling him I wanted to be friends instead of pursuing anything between us. I mean, was I crazy? But I was determined to give myself some time to adjust. I knew I would be grateful for that time in the long run.
He smiled a beautiful half-smile. “Well, our cruise is for thirty days.”
“I’m probably going to need more time than thirty days.”
He shrugged and helped me out of my seat.
He walked me to my door and bent down to kiss my cheek. I half-closed my eyes and breathed in deeply when I got a whiff of his cologne. It was really subtle, but the scent was sexy and spicy and made me want to kiss him again. Then he growled at Kazi for abandoning him immediately as soon as my suite door opened.
“It’s okay. I promise,” I reassured him. “If I have any problems, I’ll use the walkie.”
He agreed reluctantly, gave Kazi abe a gentlemanlook, at which Kazi snorted, and left me for his own suite.
I shut the door and leaned against it laughing, as Kazi was already making himself at home on my bed. Good thing it wasthe largest king-sized bed I’d ever seen, or else we were going to have problems.
I closed my eyes, marveling at my evening.
One, I was a siren. This was the reason people had always acted so strangely around me my entire life.
Two, there was a world of supernaturals out there that humans didn’t even know existed.
And three, I was sleeping with a lion tonight.
I chuckled and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I just hoped Kazi wasn’t a bed-hog.
Chapter 4
Grace
“Come in, mother bird, come in!” I was pacing my suite in my nighty, nibbling on my gold-painted nails, and trying not to freak out.
“I assume,” a sardonic British voice said over the walkie, “that you are trying to reach Sebastian?”
I let my head fall back and groaned. Wrong stupid channel! “Um, yes. I’m so sorry; I put this channel in by accident! Let me check the channel he gave me.” I quickly checked what I’d written down yesterday and felt myself turn beet red, which was difficult to do with my olive complexion. I pressed the button again. “He’s on channel one. I don’t know why I thought it was channel two. I’m so sorry.”
The Brit laughed. “No problem. Can I help you with something? Sebastian is napping. He worked late into the morning.”
