Page 113 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“Why don’t you chill?” I snapped, moving away from him. Just like that, our evening had gone from blissfully romantic to bickering.

And I had no idea why.

Julian turned in front of me, blocking the path. “I don’t want you to fall.”

“It’s sand. I think I’ll survive,” I said sourly. If he thought he could hide his odd behavior behind chivalry, he needed to think again. The ocean breeze swept around us, making the beach grass ripple and me shiver. I clutched my shoulders tightly, wincing slightly as my arms brushed over my breasts, which were still sensitive from Julian’s attention.

Julian’s eyes narrowed, catching my reaction. Before he could comment on that too, I brushed past him and continued up the dune, aware that he was following me as closely as possible.

Was this his security plan? To keep me within arm’s reach at all times while pretending we were safe?

“Hardly,” he said, sounding amused—which only annoyed me more.

“Get out of my head.”

“You’re practically shouting at me, my love,” he said, no trace of bemusement in his voice now.

“And you are radio silent,” I muttered. “It’s not fair.”

He sighed again, grabbing my elbow as I slid a few feet down the steep sand dune. “Just let me help you, please.”

“Tell me why you’re acting this way,” I countered.

We returned to our staring contest. Finally, he hung his head. When he lifted it, he wore a cautious smile. “What if you just trusted me?”

My mouth fell open. Was he serious? He was shielding his thoughts from me, but not his emotions. Nope. Those were completely out of control and getting worse by the second. It wasn’t just the deep, soul-changing swell from earlier when we were making love. That was there, but they were fighting with emotions that I did recognize. Apprehension. Worry. Fear. Frustration.

I didn’t bother to respond. Instead, I pushed ahead. We were close enough to the house that I could see inside its windows. I rushed toward it, not realizing I’d reached the top of the dune. My foot met with air instead of sand, and then everything blurred as I toppled several feet down the other side of the hill.

“Thea!” Julian’s panic sliced through the night air as he raced to me. Of course, he didn’t fall. He was a vampire. Tripping over his own feet wasn’t in his repertoire.

It was, however, in mine.

I tried to push onto my feet as he reached me, but white-hot pain shot through my ankle, and I screamed as I nearly went down again.

“Thea,” Julian dropped to the ground beside me. “Let me see.”

“Twisted. It’s probably nothing,” I parroted his words back to him.

His mouth flattened into a line that told me that—argument or no—I wasn’t going anywhere until I let him check me out. I lounged back in the sand, allowing him to inspect my foot but refusing to look at him.

When I dared to glance at him, apology shone in his eyes. He brushed a finger down my ankle, which was already beginning to swell. “I think you sprained it.”

I swallowed. “I guess you have to carry me then.”

This was his fault. If he would just be honest with me...

“I know,” he said softly, but he didn’t stand up. Instead, he reached for my hand. “I should have just told you. It’s just...I didn’t want to...”

Want to what? I waited for him to finish, but he just watched me with that same restless confusion.

“And the award for most annoying vampire boyfriend goes to...”

“Boyfriend?” His eyebrow tipped up. “I’m your fiancé—and your mate.”

“I’ll make sure they change the inscription on the trophy,” I grumbled. Huffing, I forced myself to look him in the eyes. “Can we go now?”

But the hand clasping mine tightened, and he took a deep breath. “I didn’t want you to get your hopes up,” he finally finished.

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