Page 13 of Cinderella and Her Vampires (Dirty Paranormal Fairytale Haremlan 5)

Of course, I couldn’t ignore the tiny voice in the back of my mind that warned me the stories had always been true. But the voice was very, very quiet. Easily dismissed.

“Who might you be, mouse?” he said through a smile.

Dear heavens above, his voice was silky smooth and poured from his mouth with effortless charm. The tone was a deep tenor, borderline on baritone. He smirked at me as he took in every inch of my body while I continued to appraise every single inch of his.

“Quiet one, aren’t you?” he asked.

I hadn’t even realized I didn’t respond to his first question. But I didn’t know what to say to him, never mind I couldn’t find my voice. But as beautifully captivating as he was, he was still the enemy and stood in the way of me making sure the man from my bar wasn’t kidnapped and being held against his will here.

Besides, the longer I stood staring at him, the longer I realized there was something dangerous and primal about him too. The thought made the voice in the back of my mind a little louder. With each passing moment. The stories became more than just stories. They carried more weight than basic words of caution. They were becoming my new reality.

He chuckled under his breath and took another step closer. “I’ll ask again in case you didn’t hear me the first time,” he said. “Who are you?”

“Are the stories true?” I asked, completely ignoring his questions again. “Are you a vampire?”

He smiled. Though the shadows were thick in the darkened halls, I could see the dim light from far behind me reflect off his fangs.

That was answer enough for me.

I stood taller and squared my shoulders against him. “Don’t you dare come any closer. As far as I’m concerned you can just stay the hell away from me.”

He chuckled a little louder. “Where is the fun in that? You were the one who scurried into the lion’s den, little mouse. Hardly polite of you to demand I not touch what stumbled across my path.”

I snorted. “I’m looking for someone. I think he came here.”

“Interesting. You’re quite the intriguing character. Seems to be a trend,” he said as he stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes on me as though he was considering making me his next meal.

But his words broke through my guard, and I was confused by them. I shook my head and scoffed. “I’ll rephrase. I know he’s here. I demand you tell me where he is and what you did to him.”

“Sorry, but I haven’t the foggiest idea of who you are referring to,” he said, continuing to eye me hungrily.

“I’m not an idiot. I know he came this way,” I said, standing firm. I wasn’t about to buy into his lies. I didn’t know the person standing in front of me from Adam. I certainly wasn’t going to put much stock into whatever lies he was spinning.

But the longer he stalled and denied the existence of that man from my bar, the more I was certain he was somewhere in the mansion.

“No of course not,” he said. But there was a chuckle under his words as though there was something humorous to him that was beyond me.

I glared at him. “I’m being serious.”

“I see that,” he said. “All right, then. I’ll bite.”

A chill trickled along my spine at his last word. I refused to let any of that show though. At least, I didn’t think I did. It was hard to gauge what he noticed and what he didn’t. His face was a mask of entertainment.

“Not that I’m saying whoever it is you’re looking for is here, but I must ask, who is this man to you?” he asked.

“None of your damn business,” I said.

He took another step closer.

“Stop right there,” I snapped, holding up my hand as though I could force him back.

“You’re not playing nice,” he said. “Why should I?”

I sucked in a breath. My heartbeats started to pulse a little harder. This just might have been the last mistake I made in my lifetime. And no one was going to be the wiser. No one was going to know what happened to me.

6

XAVIER

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