Page 14 of Secret of the Vampire
With a frustrated sigh, I looked away.
“Look,” she told me. “All I’m asking is that you think of the rest of us before you go running off to try to be the night in shining armor to a female who does not need your help.”
“She needed it tonight.”
“She won’t anymore. I’m sure she’s telling her master all about it even as we speak.”
“Gods, Alice! Stop calling him that.”
“Why? That’s what he is. And you’d do well to remember it.”
I was growing tired of this conversation. If she wasn’t who she was, I would’ve kicked her out long before now. “I need some sleep.”
Though I wouldn’t look at her, I felt her eyes searching my face for a long moment before she finally said, “Okay. I’ll go. But…just think about what I said. And stay the hell out of The Quarter, Alex.”
I nodded, letting her know I heard what she was saying, but neither confirming nor denying I would do either one.
Following her to the door, I grabbed her arm before she could leave. “And when you’re ready to talk about the fact that there’s something else going on with us, feel free to come break into my apartment again so we can try to figure out what the hell it is and what it means for us.”
“I didn’t break in,” she deflected.
“Do you have a key?” I asked.
She stared up at me with big, guileless, brown eyes. “If you didn’t want me in here, you’d ward the apartment to keep me out.”
A laugh broke out from my chest. Grabbing the back of her head, I pulled her toward me and dropped a kiss on her honey-blonde hair. “Now get out.”
Opening the door, she stepped out into the hallway. “Don’t forget we have a thing tomorrow night at Aunt Judy’s.”
“I’ll be there.”
Closing the door behind her, I threw the lock. Out of respect for my sister, I’d think about what she’d said. It wouldn’t keep me away from Kenya, but I’d think about it.
I was already feeling uneasy being so far away from her.
Chapter 6
Luukas Kreek, Master Vampire Seattle, WA
Istared through my apartment window at the lights of Seattle, concentrating on my breathing. Taking a deep inhale and then slowly releasing the breath, I focused on the beauty outside and attempted to slow my heart rate.
I’d loved my city since the moment I’d first set foot in it. Even now, in the state my head was in, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge she was even more beautiful after the invention of electricity.
However, these days it was a struggle to find any appreciation for the view that had always brought me so much peace.
With the side of my closed fist, I swiped at the bedroom window, foggy from the rain, though logically I knew it would do no good.
My emotions churned out of control.
Closing my eyes, I pressed both palms against the cool glass. Was I dreaming? It was difficult for me to decipher the prison of my mind from reality at times…
Still. After all these months.
Flashes of bloodstains and the stench of burning flesh assaulted my senses. My flesh. My head fell forward, the sting of my fangs punching down as my fingertips slid along the smooth glass, trying to find something to anchor me in my new reality.
Slowly, gradually, the horrors faded. I lifted my head, and the city came back into focus. I took another deep breath. Then another. And another. It did little to calm my racing heart.
Rubbing my damp palms on my bare thighs, I glanced over at my witch, asleep on the bed. The sun would be up soon, and she was passed out hard, oblivious to my loss of control. Her long hair was a dark cloud across her pillow, one arm flung out as though searching for me even in her sleep. I listened to her soft breathing as my eyes travelled over the smooth skin of her back and shoulders. I matched my breath with hers, and finally, my racing heart settled into a more normal rhythm.
