Page 30 of Vampire Lee

He reached the top of the stairs, stepped into the corridor on the third floor, and winced as Dillon’s door came into view. It looked like he’d tried to close it, but it’d slid open a few inches again. Holding in a sigh, he moved toward his room.

It was locked.

What the fuck? Quietly, he knocked with a finger. Had Dillon taken his room? When nothing happened, he moved back toward Dillon’s room. Right as he pushed the door open, the lock clicked, and he turned around.

Dillon peeked out, going rigid when he saw Lee. Then he dropped his gaze to the floor.

“Have you stolen my room?” He said it teasingly, hoping it would make Dillon relax. It didn’t.

“The door to mine is broken. I didn’t think you’d be back.”

“Me either, but someone trashed my apartment.”

Dillon made a motion to look at him but then dropped his gaze again. Lee swallowed a sound of frustration.

“Want to put a blindfold on me?”

“What?” His voice rose an octave.

“I’m not gonna enthrall you, but if you don’t trust me not to, you can tie something over my eyes.” He’d meant it as a joke, mostly, but as Dillon’s brows drew together as if he was mulling it over, Lee figured it was a small price to pay not to have him staring at the floor all the time. Though if he was blindfolded, he wouldn’t be able to tell what Dillon was doing, and he wanted to be aware.

“You could rip it off in a fraction of a second. I know how fast vampires can be.”

True. Lee shrugged. “Are we sharing the bed again or are you kicking me out of my room?”

Dillon’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes almost reached Lee’s before he yanked them away. “I can…” He gestured toward his room, and Lee found himself shaking his head, though Dillon most likely didn’t see it.

“Come on.” He took a step closer to Dillon. “You survived one night, and I promise you, despite you not believing me, you’ll survive one more.”

Dillon stepped into the room without another sound. Lee followed, then closed and locked the door behind him. The overhead light was on, and Lee remembered it had been the night before too, when he’d burst into Dillon’s room. When he noted Dillon hovering by the bed, he winced. “Get back into bed. I’ll brush my teeth.”

Chapter 9

Dillon focused on deep, even breaths as he listened to the water run in the bathroom. Back in the underground mansion, the vampires had never bothered to brush their teeth before they joined him in bed. On the other hand, they never planned on staying the night, so maybe they didn’t see the need.

When the bathroom door opened, he yelped, and Lee stilled. “Sorry.” He took a careful step into the room and unzipped his jeans. Dillon sucked in a sharp breath before he could push them down.

“Perhaps you’re the one who should wear a blindfold.”

Dillon shook his head. “Too dark. There are monsters in the dark.”

“I’m not allowed to turn the light off?” Lee motioned at the ceiling lamp, and Dillon shook his head. They had slept in the dark the night before, but then Dillon had been shocked.

“I promise to keep you safe from all the monsters.”

Dillon snorted. “You are one of the monsters.”

“Yeah, I know, but I’m harmless. I promise.”

Dillon huffed. There were no harmless vampires. He might consider Mars to be almost safe, but he wasn’t harmless. Never harmless.

“I’ll go sleep in your room.” He turned toward the door, and desperation welled up in Dillon. He didn’t know if it was because he didn’t want to be alone or if he was afraid he’d annoyed Lee, but he didn’t want him to leave.

“No.” It was a whisper, but it could have been a shout. “Tell me what happened tonight.”

He imagined Lee staring at him with wide eyes, but he didn’t look. Then he kicked off his shoes and stripped down to a T-shirt and underwear. Dillon held his breath and kept his gaze low. Lee moved closer to the bed only to hesitate. “Can I turn off the lights?”

“I want to be able to see where I am when I wake up.”

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