“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth.
I couldn’t imagine why. “I’ll let you know.” I handed his phone back to him. “I texted my number, so I have yours, too.”
“Why?”
“So, I can text you to let you know what I decide.”
“I was going to call you,” he reminded me.
“Yes, but I leave my phone off at school and work. It’s easier if I message you.” But he continued to cast a shadowy look of disapproval at me. “Relax, it’s the twenty-first century. Girls can text guys now. It can’t have been that different back in the eighties.”
He grunted. I couldn’t tell if he was agreeing or disagreeing. At least, he’d stopped glowering.
“I should let you rest,” he said after a few moments.
I showed him to the door, keenly aware of his presence. Partially because I still couldn’t believe he was here, but mostly because he made the cramped space look even smaller. When I opened the door, I stepped to the side and pressed my back against the wall. Tonight had been a mistake. We’d both agreed on that. But what would happen now? Would he kiss me again? Did he really want to take me out?
Julian paused, his striking form filling the doorframe. Light from the hall spilled around him like a halo. He was beautiful, and I found myself unable to look away. But he was no angel. He was deadly. Why did that draw me to him even more?
“Thea.” He leaned down, bringing his face closer to me, and I found my eyes closing in anticipation.
I held my breath, waiting for the electric touch of his lips, but it never came. Instead, he laughed under his breath. “Don’t forget to lock your doors, pet. You never know what’s lurking on the city streets.”
My eyes snapped open, embarrassed that I’d mistaken his intentions and annoyed by his little nickname. Is that what he thought of me? I was just a helpless kitten? “Will do, old man.”
A low growl rumbled through him, but I didn’t wait for whatever clever comeback he’d fire off. I did exactly what he told me to do. I shut the door with him still standing there, turned the dead bolt, and hooked the chain. I doubted any of it would hold against him if he decided to take offense at the door being slammed in his stupid, gorgeous vampire face. Slumping against it, I half hoped he would knock it off its hinges and carry me back to the bedroom. But I gave up after a few minutes. Besides, if he had, someone would probably call the cops before anything happened.
The last thing I needed was my roommates cop-blocking me. I giggled at the thought. The fact that I found it funny meant I was edging from tired to delirious. I needed to go to bed and sleep until my head was clear. Pushing back onto my feet, I took two steps into the dark before someone rushed toward me.
CHAPTER TWELVE
JULIAN
My hands rose automatically to break down the door she’d just slammed in my face. But before they made contact with the wood, I caught myself. Tonight had been enough of a shit circus. I didn’t need to add breaking and entering to my growing list of regrets. Instead, I waited by her door for a moment, listening–for what I wasn’t sure. Inside I heard the slow, even cadence of her breath. Her heartbeat, which was fainter, remained slightly elevated. She’d gotten a rush of adrenaline from kicking me out. After a minute, it returned to normal and I stalked away, forcing myself to leave. She had made it clear I was unwelcome, and I wasn’t sure what I would do if she let me back in now.
When I was younger I’d had a few doors slammed on me by humans fleeing their inevitable deaths. I’d never had a human do it after insulting me. Thea now held that dubious honor.
Old man.
By vampire standards, I was in my prime. I suspected Miss Melbourne had never met a real man before. Most human men didn’t live long enough to outgrow their own stupidity. It wasn’t my fault she was remarkably naive and unnervingly fragile.
And a virgin.
Virgins and vampires didn’t mix for so many reasons. Not anymore. The risks were too great for each party. Even well-bred familiars aiming to marry up no longer saved themselves for their vampire spouses. The Council had issued several official warnings on the matter in the late nineteenth century. It was part of a plan to sever our world from theirs. At the time, it had been a natural evolution, and since humans were finally starting to catch up with reforming their own society, we needed to be one step ahead.
But I hadn’t expected to meet a virgin in the twenty-first century. The thought hadn’t crossed my mind when I’d given in to my desire to claim Thea. Who was a virgin these days?
Apparently, the beautiful cellist had an attitude that matched the coppery highlights in her hair. Part of me hoped she wouldn’t call or text, whatever that was.
As I stepped onto the dark walk in front of her building, I made up my mind. The cool night brushed across my skin as I surveyed the street. Tomorrow I would have a cello delivered. I didn’t care what she had to say about that. I might not want to spend more time with Thea, but I wouldn’t deprive her of her music. She was far too gifted to quit now. In the meantime, I would get her out of my system. I only needed an opportunity to present itself.
Circling to the driver’s side of the BMW, I pressed the handle and heard the doors unlock. I might hate some of the modern world’s new conveniences, but I had to admit that was cool. Before I could open it, a dark figure ambled toward me. For a human, he was moving quickly. Something glinted in his hand. A knife.
“Give me your keys, man,” he said, his face hidden by the hood of his jacket.
I glared at Thea’s building. Part of me wished she was here to witness this, because it would prove I was right. This wasn’t a safe place for her to live, even with her bloody male roommate. But if she had been here, I wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation accordingly.
Turning, I studied him for a moment. He edged a little closer.
“Don’t make me fucking hurt you. Give me your keys,” he demanded.
“No.” He paused for a second, surprised by my response, and I chuckled. “Do you even know how to use that?”
“You want to find out?” he shouted, lunging toward me.
Honestly, I was almost impressed. He was clearly prepared to back up his threats. But he had no idea who he was fucking with and I was already low on patience. My hands closed over his wrist before the knife came anywhere near me. With one swift twist, his bones cracked and he screamed, dropping the knife.
“Quiet,” I said, and his cry died in his throat. The hood covering his face fell back, revealing his face in the street lamps. His mouth remained open, and his face contorted with pain and fear. Of course, I could compel him, too. Only Thea was immune to my charms. That only placed her in more danger from my kind, and she had enough to worry about with scum like this guy hanging around where she lived.
The least I could do was take care of this guy.
“You shouldn’t steal cars,” I told him, increasing my grip on his wrist. His knees buckled and he crashed to the street. “But if you do, you should do it right. Stay there.”
He didn’t have a choice. I’d taken his away. He couldn’t call for help–not that anyone was likely to come in this neighborhood–or run away. Tonight, he’d chosen his prey poorly and he would pay the price. I leaned down and picked up his knife. I held it close to his panic-stricken face. “With a knife, you have to be intentional,” I explained. “You can’t just jab and hope it’s enough to hurt a man. You need to get it up under the ribs–if you want to kill him, at least.”
I whipped the knife into the air and demonstrated for him. His eyes widened, telling me what I already knew. He was a petty criminal, at best. He had no intention of killing me. If I’d been human, and he’d managed to mortally wound me, it would have been due to luck, not skill or design. Desperation drove him. I pitied him, but that didn’t mean I could give him a pass. He might be a thief, but he was dangerous. At least, he would be useful.
Grabbing his jacket, I yanked him to his feet and tore into his throat. His blood tasted bitter on my tongue, lacking the sweetness Thea’s had promised, but it was hot and plentiful. That was enough. He struggled weakly against me before my venom overwhelmed him and he stilled. Blood coursed through me and the darkness shifted. Neon glowed on the edges of the dark night, stars twinkled through the fog hanging in the sky, and a chaotic symphony of city noises crashed into me. After a few swallows, I dropped him to the ground. He crumpled into a bag of bones and stared up at me with dazed eyes. The edge of my hunger had dulled, but it still lingered. I suspected that even if I’d drained every drop from him, I would still want more. Because it wasn’t his blood that I craved.
