Colin took the card, flipping it over. He read Oliver’s name out loud and his eyes widened slightly when he saw all of the additional services that were offered. Colin growled a little, his eyes narrowing. Then he ripped up the card into little pieces and tossed it on the ground.
“That’s littering, you know.” I gestured to the space on the ground where the little flecks of paper were sprinkled like snow.
“I’m aware.” His voice was deep and pensive. Cool, so I got to hang out with a broody vampire! Awesome.
“Um, okay,” I said, staring at the ground where he’d dropped the pieces of paper. Apparently, littering wasn’t a big deal in vampire world. “So, what now?”
“Now we’re going inside,” he said. “You need a shower.” He stated this matter-of-factly, as though he was telling me that I needed to buy bread or milk. He didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that telling someone they needed a shower was kind of rude and abrupt. I tried not to let it bother me.
“I mean, probably. I did just get off work.” I raised my arm and sniffed, smelling myself. I didn’t think I smelled that bad. I was little offended at the idea, actually. I worked hard to make sure that I was hygienic and clean. Yeah, I was on my feet a lot at the hospital and I was always running around doing things, but I didn’t think I was smelly.
“Then we’ll have dinner,” Colin said. Again, this was very matter-of-fact. I was going to have to get used to that. I’d lived on my own for long enough that having someone tell me our schedule and the order in which we were going to do things felt a bit strange and awkward. I knew Colin had summoned me here for a reason – to be his blood toy – but I still felt slightly annoyed at his attitude.
“Dinner? I’m actually not super hungry.” I wasn’t trying to take back control. I wasn’t. My answer was truthful. I wasn’t hungry. I’d had a granola bar during my shift, and that was more than enough food to tide me over until breakfast. I didn’t need dinner. It had nothing to do with the fact that Colin was wildly intimidating or the fact that I wanted to be his dinner.
The look he gave me let me know perfectly well that my argument was not necessary, nor was it accepted. Instead, he took my arm and guided me up the stairs and into the mansion. We stopped just inside the doorway and he turned to look at me. I bit my lip, wondering if he was going to kiss me. Would he be gentle? Rough? Would he bite me a little?
I was disappointed when he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he pressed his lips to my ear, lowered his voice, and whispered.
“Tell no one why you are here.”
Was he serious?
I tried not to sound disappointed. Okay, so I may have been hoping for a super-hot, wildly spicy vampire kiss inside of the doors. After all, wouldn’t that be a good way to start our night together? It would be like, “Hey, welcome to the mansion! Let’s make out and have some fun while you’re here!” Instead, he just didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing with a lame-ass human like me. Cool.
“Okay.” That was fine with me. Maybe I didn’t want anyone to know why I was with the vampire, either.
“Okay? Just like that?”
“Whatever. Where’s the shower?” I blinked innocently, looking up at him. I wasn’t about to let him know that I was annoyed by his treatment of me. No, I didn’t expect this guy to be my boyfriend or to want to fuck me right away, but he was a vampire, after all. Was kissing really out of the question? Was it so wrong for a girl to want to be seduced a little bit before someone fed from her?
Colin stared at me, as though he thought this was some sort of trick. He cocked his head, looking at my eyes. He was searching fo
r something there. Lies, maybe. The truth? I didn’t know.
“You aren’t going to ask me why I don’t want anyone knowing your true purpose?”
“Not particularly,” I said. “I’m perfectly fine if people don’t know we’re about to be swapping spit.”
“Not spit,” he said.
“It’s a figure of speech, old man. Where’s the shower?”
Colin grabbed me by the throat and pushed me up against the wall. This was starting to become a habit with him. Instantly, I was wet, and I wildly regretted that. He could probably smell my arousal right now, and he could probably tell exactly how much I wanted him in this moment. Okay, I shouldn’t have made a stupid comment about swapping spit. I definitely shouldn’t have called him old, but oh, having his hand against my throat right now? It was so fucking good.
“Respect is important to me,” he said, growling the words against my mouth. His lips were so close to mine that if I leaned forward, we’d be kissing. I could steal a kiss from the vampire if I wanted to. Instead, I decided to growl right back at him.
“Respect is earned,” I said, matching his attitude.
“It’s freely given to me,” he told me. “And you will demonstrate respect to me in all things.”
“Understood,” I said. I was suddenly too tired to argue.
He didn’t kiss me, which was unfortunate. Instead, he dropped me to my feet, took my hand once more, and led me up the stairs. He silently guided me to what I assumed was his own private hallway. It was very wide. You could probably fit four people side-by-side in the hallway. It was a wild difference from my own tiny apartment home.
The walls were lined with paintings and portraits. There were paintings of men and women and of couples. Most of the pictures looked like they were of the same couple, but their faces were often hidden, so it was difficult to tell. I tried not to stare too much as we walked down the hallway, but I noticed that some of the pictures were of someone who looked like a vampire queen.
His wife.