Page 58 of Taken By The Vampire King

I folded my arms and tapped my foot. “All the vampires I know.”

His gaze darkened. “Do you know many vampires?”

I huffed out a groan. “You’re making me as crazy as you are. Didn’t you hear me when I said vampires are fairytales? They’re not real.”

Nicolas moved so fast he was a blur in front of me as he carried me backward until I bumped against the wall. His arm was wrapped around me, cushioning the blow, but I gasped at the unexpected impact.

“Vampires aren’t fairytales, Miss Boucher,” he growled, low and menacing. “We’re nightmares.”

As I watched him, his cheekbones sharpened, and the dull red color I’d noticed in his eyes before returned but glowed like the ruby gems I’d worn on last night’s necklace, and fangs descended from his gums.

My heartrate kicked up until I thought my heart might explode right out of my chest, splattering both of us with blood, gore, and the remnants of my lifeforce. My ribs squeezed and I tried to draw breath, but it stuck.

I closed my eyes, needing space, needing Nicolas to back away from me, but he didn’t. He leaned closer until the ends of his hair grazed my cheek and those impossible fangs grazed my neck.

“Leia.” My name was almost a groan of pain as he held himself still. His warm breath skimmed my skin, and I stayed perfectly still, waiting.

I felt each inhale in the way his chest broadened and the soft sounds he made so close to my ear, and desire uncoiled inside me, lazy and filled with memories of the way he’d already touched me.

He held perfectly still for just a moment longer before his tongue swiped delicately up my neck, and I shivered. “You tempt me.” Then he pressed soft, open-mouthed kisses along my jaw. “Do I tempt you?”

I breathed out a quiet moan of protest. I didn’t want to be tempted. He had fangs. He was a vampire. He shouldn’t even have existed outside folklore. And he’d had his fingers inside me. I’d enjoyed his kisses. Craved more.

He drew away from me, his eyes a soft dark gray, facial features no longer as harsh, fangs retracted. “Do you believe me now?”

I nodded. The dangerous air that clung to him made sense now. My stomach roiled as he turned from me and walked away.

Nicolas Dupont, casino owner.

My owner for one calendar month.

Vampire.

It didn’t make sense. And maybe we really were both crazy, standing in a room of blood, believing in creatures of the night.

I walked shakily back to the loveseat, even though I wanted nothing more than to stride confidently out of the door. But fear or lust had weakened me—and I didn’t want to examine those choices too closely because I didn’t feel good about either of them.

Nicolas approached the fridges, opened them all back up, and stood for a moment like he was considering the contents. Then he shut two of the doors and reached into the third to extract one of the bags. He put it in the bottle warmer and grabbed a mug from the cabinet I’d been about to explore when he walked into the room.

The mug had a cartoon picture of a Venus flytrap on the front, but the plant had eyes and two huge fangs. I want to suck your blood was written in a dripping red font underneath the plant, and Nicolas laughed when he saw where I was looking.

His cheeks reddened, like this moment—out of all the things I’d just seen and he’d just said—embarrassed him. He lifted the mug in my direction. “This is an ironic gift from my sister because I’m the only one of us who doesn’t take blood directly from the vein.”

He poured his warmed blood into the mug, and a slightly stale coppery smell filled the air. When he took a sip, he grimaced, and I watched him as I pondered his words.

“You have a sister?” I blurted the question.

He laughed, the sound of genuine amusement sudden and unexpected. “That’s what you took from what I just said?”

I wrapped my arms around myself, warding off a chill, and nodded. “I mean, I have other questions, but I’m still digesting.”

He laughed again before he took another sip from his mug. “Fair. Yes, I have brothers and sisters. Not sure how many. Every now and again, a new one pops up from nowhere. They’re all made. But I was born to my parents.”

He said that like it was an important distinction, so I nodded.

“Was she at the party?” I couldn’t help the shudder that ran through me as I thought of the party, and Nicolas’s eyes tightened as he noticed it.

He shook his head. “No. I don’t see many of my brothers and sisters very often. Sebastian is only here for the—” He broke off and looked into his mug like he’d said too much.

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