I wrapped the towel tightly around me and cracked open the bathroom door at the same time Tanner poked his head out of his room. He rubbed his eyes, blinking at me through the steam escaping around me.
“What the hell is that?” he mumbled.
“My boyfriend,” I muttered.
“Am I still asleep?” Tanner asked, blinking rapidly. “Did you say boyfriend?”
Now was not the time to try to explain my insane relationship with Julian. I grabbed Tanner’s doorknob. “Go back to bed. I’ve got this.”
“You sure?” He looked toward the door, his face growing concerned. “He sounds a little nuts. Is this that guy that sent you the cello? Do you need me to make him go away?”
“He’s just excitable,” I promised. I loved Tanner for caring enough to step in, which is why it made it so hard for me to lie to him now. But it wasn’t exactly like I could tell him the truth. We got into a fight when he wouldn’t drink my blood and broke up after knowing each other like five minutes. This was clearly a case where telling a white lie was for the best. “My phone was charging. He probably tried to call. He’s worried the building isn’t safe.”
“That’s right.” Tanner yawned. “He’s rich. I bet he thinks this is a slum.”
I forced a smile and shut the bedroom door before he could keep asking questions.
As I padded into the living room, I realized the door hinges were actually rattling. I started to unlock the door, and the pounding stopped.
“Thea?” Julian’s panic-stricken voice boomed from the other side.
Like all smart city dwellers, we had multiple locks. I finished turning them but kept the chain in place.
Julian exhaled heavily when I peeked at him through the crack. His blue eyes blazed with an intensity that sent my stomach into somersaults. “You scared the shit out of me,” he said. “You didn’t answer your phone, and no one came to the door.”
“I was in the shower,” I said, doing my best to sound cold and angry. That was pretty hard since my body seemed to know that there was only a door and a towel between me and an overbearing vampire. Thank God I’d decided to keep the chain in place.
“Let me come in and explain.”
“I think that’s a bad idea.” No, it wasn’t a bad idea. It was a terrible idea.
“Thea, it’s not what you think.”
“Are you sure? Because I think you want me to be your girlfriend, but you seem to think you can make up arbitrary rules about how that will work,” I hissed in a low whisper. “And I think your family hates me, but you expect me just to take your arm and pretend that this is a real relationship to get you out of some stupid arranged marriage.”
“Maybe it is what you think,” he admitted with a groan.
“Good. I’m not done. You think I’m fine for a blow job but not to feed from!”
His eyes closed as he took a deep breath. “Keep the door chained.”
“Thanks, I will.”
“Until I get this out,” he continued in a sharp tone. He paused for a moment and locked eyes with mine. “I want to feed on you.”
“But–”
“I refuse to feed on you, Thea,” he cut me off. “That’s not the relationship I want to have with you.”
“But I saw what vampire relationships looked like last night. It’s pretty normal to feed off the mortal half.”
“During the Rites, it is common to feed off familiars,” he said in a strained voice. “But I don’t want any part of the Rites.”
I didn’t have a comeback for that. He’d made himself clear in that regard from the beginning.
“So, you don’t need blood?” I eventually asked.
“I do need blood.”
“Where do you get that blood?”
“From donors who serve our family. Blood banks we established in the city. Sometimes I hunt.”
I swallowed as I processed the word hunt. “Hunt what? Deer?”
“You’ve been reading too many books, pet. I hunt humans, but I promise I only drink from ones who deserve it,” he added.
I didn’t know how to feel about that. Rational, thoughtful Thea knew it was barbaric. But this strange, new Thea had agreed to his arrangements. The part of me that had found pleasure–in his arms, on his mouth and tongue–thrilled to know he was every bit as dangerous as I fantasized.
I couldn’t give in to that part of me. No matter how much I wanted to. “Okay, just give me one good reason that you won’t feed off me.”
“Because I respect you,” he answered without hesitation.
Damn. That was a really good answer. Not what I was expecting. Not even a little bit. And it didn’t mean we were done having this conversation, but, at least, I understood. Kinda.
I shut the door in his face for the second time since we met, but only so I could unfasten the chain. I opened it to find him standing in the doorway. His strong hands–hands I knew were capable of violence and pleasure in equal measures–braced each side of the frame. He lifted his head. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
“I haven’t decided,” I said softly.
