Page 61 of Discovery of the Vampire
Only silence answered.
24
BROGAN
The night air was heavy with the scent of rain as I walked toward Ancient Magicks, my thoughts skipping from one to the next as I tried to think of what I was gonna say to Esme when I saw her. How did you even tell someone this shit?
Hey, by the way, you’re my fated mate, and now I can’t drink from anyone else, so if you could stick around, like, forever, I'll make it worth your while. No pressure.
Great. Smooth.
I used the key Lizzy had given me and unlocked the door, the bell jingling softly as I stepped inside. She’d seemed relieved when I told her I would come check on Esme after telling me she’d left her here, even though she’d made Esme promise to come to the house when she was finished with whatever it was she needed to do.
The shop was dark, but a strip of light shone beneath the curtain that hid the back storage room from the public. The air smelled of incense and herbs, with an undercurrent of something else—was that smoke?
I moved through the aisles, past shelves cluttered with trinkets and jars of who-knows-what, careful not to knock anything over. Then suddenly, I froze. There was another scent in the air. One infinitely more appealing than the others. My gums ached as my fangs shot down and the back of my throat burned with thirst.
"Hello?"
My head snapped up at the sound of Esme's voice and I headed toward the curtain covering the doorway to the back storage room.
It whipped open before I could move it aside, and Esme stood on the other side. She startled when she saw me there, one hand pressed against her heart as she stumbled back.
“Brogan!”
I reached out to catch her, pulling my hand back when she flinched, and all the angry things I wanted to say died on my tongue as soon as I saw her terrified expression. Her eyes traveled over my face, locking on my mouth, but there was nothing I could do about the fang thing.
“Lizzy told me you were here and gave me the key,” I explained. Her heart was still racing. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's just…it's late. I wanted to make sure you got to the house okay."
Her dark eyes were too large as she took me in, as if her mind hadn’t caught up with what she saw right in front of her.
"It's just me," I told her softly.
She gave me a small nod and lowered her hand as her heart began to slow.
I forced myself to calm down. The woman standing in front of me was not the feisty little spitfire I knew. This woman was afraid. So, rather than throwing accusations at her for not telling me about the djinn, I tried broaching the subject a little easier. “Lizzy said you stayed late because there was something you needed to do."
She hesitated, her lips pressed into a thin line. “It’s nothing important.”
My newly acquired patience suddenly snapped. She was lying to me. Again. “Bullshit.” I stabbed my hands through my hair. “Esme,talkto me.”
She took a step back. “It’s…"
"Do not fucking tell me it's nothing again."
"…complicated,” she finished instead.
“I cansmellyour blood.” My eyes bored into hers. I didn't need to look at her other hand to know there was another cut across her palm. “And I know about Marcus showing up at your apartment.”
She lowered her eyes to the floor, her shoulders tense. “Brogan, you shouldn’t be here.”
“Why not?”
"Because…" She paused, crossing her arms in front of her and lifting her chin. "It's none of your business why."
"Humor me."
Her mouth snapped shut and she got that stubborn look in her pretty, dark eyes. The one that told me I wouldn't get anywhere this way.
