I can’t even breathe.
Dressed in a dark suit with the jacket unbuttoned and opened, the vampire stands in the middle of my living room like he owns the place. His posture completely at ease.
Hands tucked into his pockets, he stares back at me, blue eyes glimmering with amusement.
Charity makes a throaty sound of disgust. “Ew, Chloe. Stop staring at him like you’ve never seen a man before. It’s embarrassing.”
The vampire slightly tips his blond head back and chuckles while invisible spiders crawl down my spine.
Man?
Does she not know what he is?
He’s a creature. A monster. An evil abomination without a heartbeat…
And she invited him into our home.
Shit.
After another minute passes with me standing frozen in place, unmoving, Charity says, “Seriously, Chloe! You’re so annoying. Go hide in your room or something.”
Eyes never leaving me, the vampire chuckles again as if he finds this entire situation hilarious. “Why don’t you introduce us?”
Charity scoffs at the idea.
At once, all traces of amusement vanish from the vampire’s face.
Finally tearing his eyes away from mine, he turns to Charity and says, “I said introduce us.”
The command wasn’t targeted at me, but I can feel the pull of it, regardless.
Charity wobbles a bit at first, either in resistance or confusion, but ultimately obeys. “Nikolaos… this is my… roommate Chloe. Chloe, this is Nikolaos. We met at that little coffee shop on the corner.”
Turning his attention back to me, Nikolaos smiles and says, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Chloe.”
I can’t say the same, even if I had the breath.
“So rude,” Charity remarks when I remain silent.
“It’s quite alright,” Nikolaos says, his smile growing. “Come here, Chloe.”
Again, I feel the pull of the command somewhere deep inside me, even more intense now that it’s directed at me.
But my first instinct is to resist.
One of the few benefits of being cursed is that I’m almost completely immune to the charm vampires use to beguile humans.
I can sense the command and even feel the unnatural tug behind it, but I don’t have to give in.
As long as I have the mental strength and fortitude, I can fight the compulsion.
On the other hand, it’s also one of the easiest ways for a vampire to discover what I am.
If I fight and fail to obey, Nikolaos will immediately know I’m cursed.
If he doesn’t know already, that is.
Torn, I consider giving into my first instinct to run and survive.
Given all the strange stuff happening to me tonight, there’s a chance I could get away. Especially if Nikolaos isn’t prepared or expecting my speed.
But where would I run to? There’s nowhere to go.
I could run around the streets all night…
But another vampire might find me.
And what about Charity? Do I just leave her here at his mercy?
I can’t leave her. Even if it’s the smartest thing to do for myself. Even if she’s the biggest, stupidest bitch I’ve ever known for bringing him here.
She’s still an innocent person who doesn’t deserve to die.
Mentally cursing my luck, my fate, this vampire, and this night, I grip my bag tighter and let myself submit to the command.
My feet carry me forward, my reluctance thankfully keeping my steps slow and not unnaturally fast.
Once I’m within a couple of feet, I let myself come to a stop in front of Nikolaos.
Blond head slightly tipping to the side, his smile sharpens, and he runs his gaze all over me, inspecting me as if I’m an object he’s considering purchasing.
Heart still racing, it takes all of my self-control to keep myself from bolting the second he moves forward and closes what little distance there is between us.
Sniffing the air, Nikolaos slowly circles around me.
“What are you doing?” Charity asks, sounding both confused and creeped out.
Up until now, I’ve been too afraid to take my eyes off Nikolaos for a single second. Terrified I’d blink and he’d strike.
But with him behind me, I can finally spare a glance in Charity’s direction.
Seated on the couch with her legs crossed, she watches us with her nose wrinkled and her brow pinched.
“Sit there, be quiet, and look pretty, Charity,” Nikolaos commands.
The change that comes over Charity is almost instantaneous. Her features smooth out and a smile stretches across her lips.
Eyes glazing over with a heated expression, she lowers her lashes seductively at Nikolaos.
“Good girl,” Nikolaos purrs, and comes to stand in front of me again.
My stomach clenches hard and bile rises in my throat.
Seeing the way he’s treating Charity as if she’s some kind of puppet, some kind of toy to play with makes me want to puke all over his expensive black shoes.
God help me, I silently pray. Help me get us both out of this alive.
Nikolaos suddenly steps into me, and it happens so fast I don’t have time to react. One blink, he’s at least a foot in front of me, and the next he’s pushed right up against my breasts.