Page 15 of Hot Blooded

The waitress reappeared with coffee. Tessa and Amos were silent. Even after the waitress left, Tessa was quiet, taking in what Amos had told her while she added cream to her coffee. She winced as she sipped it—burnt and bitter—and reached for the sugar packets.

“So if thralls are slaves… did someone order him to attack me?”

“I doubt it. He would have kept fighting me instead of running off if he was under orders to attack you. Thralls can’t resist an order from their master, but they aren’t mindless. If their master has no task or order for them to obey, they can act on their own will. Most likely, the thrall who attacked you was half-starving—neglected by whatever asshole created him—and just trying to find a meal.”

A meal—her. Like she was for Amos. Tessa looked up from the half-opened sugar packet, meeting Amos’s gaze. Despite the terrifying encounter that had led up to this moment, pleasant heat spread through her veins. Amos’s jaw clenched, his pupils dilating wide as he held her gaze. But she had more questions that needed answers, and she couldn’t let herself be distracted. She broke eye contact, dropping her gaze back down to her coffee. She tipped the sugar in with overly-attentive focus.

“Do you think he might have been following me for a while?” she asked.

“Possibly. Why? Have you seen him before?”

“No. But the thing is, I’ve been feeling sort of…paranoid? All weekend, I’ve had this feeling that I’m being watched. It’s probably just stress, but—”

Tessa lifted her gaze and caught Amos’s expression. At first, she thought he was feeling fear on her behalf. But then she realized, no. That was guilt. He looked guilty.

“Oh my god.” Her hand clenched on the coffee mug. “Have you been following me?”

The guilt deepened, his pale face stark with tension. But he held her gaze, unflinching. The hungry intensity faded from his eyes as his pupils slowly returned to normal, blood-red iris reappearing. “Yes,” he answered in a low voice.

Tessa stared at him, not sure whether she should be afraid or angry. “Amos,” she said, her voice choked with disappointed hurt. “Why?”

He sighed, brows drawing together. He didn’t answer her immediately, but Tessa waited while he found the right words. “I wanted to see more of you. I wanted to watch over you. Guard you.”

“‘Guard’ me. Like a possession?” Tessa asked, anger stiffening her spine. She’d never been able to tolerate jealousy in men. It frightened her, made her feel caged.

“No,” Amos said quietly. “Like a queen.”

“Oh.” And just like that, her anger deflated. No man had ever called her a queen, or wanted to treat her like one. But Amos had done just that tonight—protecting her from an attacker and seeing to her welfare afterwards. But she had to be sure. “So you weren’t following me to make sure I wasn’t doing something you wouldn’t like?”

Amos frowned. “What would you do that I wouldn’t like?”

Tessa searched his face. “I don’t know…feed another vampire?”

His gaze snapped with sudden intensity, pupils dilating wide, inky blackness stretching his iris to the thinnest ring of red. “You’re right,” he said, fangs flashing. His voice was so low it was practically a growl. “I would not like that.”

She should have been alarmed by his possessive reaction. Instead, her breath caught and her thighs clenched together. Embarrassed, she looked away, staring at their reflection in the window. Despite his possessiveness, she was reassured by his reaction. It hadn’t occurred to him until she’d brought it up that she might do something he wouldn’t like. He wasn’t following her to try to control her.

“I wouldn’t do that, you know,” she said.

Amos let out a breath, seeming to collect himself. “I know you wouldn’t. The thought is just…upsetting.”

“Why?” She could guess, but she wanted it out in the open.

His expression softened, the tension falling away to reveal vulnerability that bordered on despair. “Because I like you, Tessa. You’re beautiful and sweet and clever. You smell like heaven and taste like paradise. I spend all my free time counting down until your next visit, and then I spend every visit despairing that soon you’ll leave.”

Tessa didn’t know how to respond. She hadn’t expected anything beyond, I like you.

Amos drew back, expression closing off. “That was too much. I’m sorry. I don’t…” He dropped his head back until it thunked against the booth divider and stared up at the ceiling. “Is it possible you could forget everything I just said?”

“No,” she answered, watching Amos’s shoulders tense. “I don’t want to forget it. I like you too, Amos.”

He lifted his head, brows raised, meeting her gaze.

“And I would like to see you more often.”

A hopeful, boyish smile tugged crookedly at his mouth, exposing the tip of one fang.

“But you can’t keep following me at night,” she said firmly.

---