Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64030 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 320(@200wpm)___ 256(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
“Can you get somewhere safe?” she asked. “A bathroom or bedroom door with a lock?”
“Hang up, Masie,” the man on the sofa said with a deep, unencumbered tone. “I’ll be gone before they get anywhere near here.” He kept his gaze focused on the TV.
“Leave. Just leave,” I barked.
“I will go after we’ve had our little chat.” He paused, sighing with impatience. “I could’ve killed you twenty times by now if that were my desire. Now, hang up.”
I’d seen him take out Tall Guy last night, so he was telling the truth. I’d be toast already if killing me was his sole reason for being here, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t hurt me. With the police on the way, my best bet was to stay calm and make nice.
Or, at least, distract him for a while? I really didn’t know.
I ended the call and set my phone on the counter, taking a deep breath.
“How did you clean up all the blood at the bar?” I blurted out. Why I’d chosen that topic, of all the things to talk about, I didn’t know either. Maybe I just wanted to understand what I was up against.
“I consumed it,” he replied bluntly.
That wasn’t the answer I’d expected. Was he kidding?
“Consumed…it…?” I said.
His eyes still fixed to the TV, he added dispassionately, “I even sucked the blood from your rather small T-shirt. Tasted like hell with the nacho sauce and beer soaked into the fabric, but I did it all the same.”
What the…?
He continued, “As for your face, that I licked. Every inch of you, really.” He turned his head toward me. “The places with his blood, anyway. You are on your moon cycle.”
I swallowed down a vile lump in my throat. “You examined me? Down there?”
“Do not be ridiculous. I am a gentleman, not some sexual fiend.”
“Do gentlemen enter a woman’s home uninvited?” I threw back.
“They do if they have something important to say.” He turned his attention back to the TV, which had on some Antiques Roadshow rerun. “I love this program. It is like a walk down memory lane.” He patted the couch, inviting me over. “I can smell your fear, Masie. But as I’ve already pointed out, if I wished to harm you, I would have done it already. Now, come and sit. Listen to what I have to say, and then I will be gone.”
“Will I be alive when you leave?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“And you’ll never bother me again?” I asked.
“Yes. Now do as you are told. My patience grows thin.”
Fuck. Just keep calm. Stay alive. I moved my shaky legs to the living room and sat on the sofa, farthest away from him, the sharp scissors still in my hand. “Talk.”
He shut off the TV and turned his tall frame towards me, resting a strong arm over the back of the sofa. “Would you like to know why I saved you from that depraved fool last night?”
I nodded.
“My kind believes there is one and only one mate for each of us. And while we do not know when we will cross paths with that individual, once it happens, the pull is undeniable.”
My mind latched onto his first two words. “Your…kind?”
“I am a vampire, Masie. And though you will likely scoff at the notion initially, you’ll soon realize it is the only explanation that fits what you have witnessed.”
“A vampire,” I repeated, trying to sound like I actually believed him.
“I have been coming into your establishment every night for weeks since I caught your scent. I hoped you might be working so I may introduce myself in a public setting. Less threatening that way.”
I blinked, trying to keep my breathing steady. He’d been stalking me at the bar, waiting for me to pull a night shift. “Are you the one who’s been coming around my house at night?”
“Yes, but I have a good reason.”
I sat as still as possible, sensing this conversation with the crazy, dangerous man could go in any direction. I just wanted it to end.
He continued, “My mate Anna died two centuries ago. She was a cold and sometimes violent woman, but mostly she was reckless and impractical.”
“That sounds like it was…difficult.”
“No,” he declared. “She was the love of my existence. She was loyal, highly intelligent, and beautiful—the most precious thing this world has ever known.”
He made no sense. And where were the cops? I’d completely lost track of time sitting here on the couch, listening to a psycho tell me he’d licked blood from my body and thought he was a fictional being.
“Then you were lucky,” I said. “I mean, to have loved someone so perfect.”
“Yes. Indeed.” He lifted his head and stared toward the pine ceiling as if reliving a precious memory. After a long moment, he sighed and got up from the couch to stare out the open window.