Page 25 of Hot Blooded

Tessa trailed a hand over the duvet. Probably a higher thread count than she’d ever felt before, and definitely stuffed with real goose down. “Good to know you don’t sleep in a coffin,” she said. When she turned back to face Amos, instead of the amused smile she’d expected, he was watching her with the intent look of a predator. A thrill that was equal parts fear and arousal ran down her spine.

“Amos?” she asked softly, afraid to make a sudden move, but also tempted to. The idea of being chased—being caught—by Amos was alarmingly exciting.

He blinked, smoothing his expression. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Ah, this way. I’ll show you the third floor.”

The third floor was just as beautiful as the rest of the house but completely unfurnished. Divided into four rooms, it had the stale quality of a vacant house. Amos trailed behind Tessa as she peered into each empty room.

“Ran out of ideas for decorating?” she teased.

“This space is…” He paused, scrubbing at the back of his neck. He cast Tessa an inscrutable look. “This space is intended for my bloodmate, should I ever be so lucky. I’d want her to have rooms to herself. For her work, or hobbies, or whatever she wanted.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, the empty space felt incredibly close. The significance of Amos showing her these rooms felt heavy, potent. Tessa couldn’t figure out if she wanted to run, or if she wanted to throw herself at him.

Amos stepped closer to her. Tessa was frozen in place, still torn. He moved again, closing the distance between them. She looked up, meeting his gaze. He was going to kiss her again. She’d been wishing he would since he’d broken off their first kiss. But now, in this space, kissing him felt like saying yes to a question he hadn’t yet asked—the answer to which she still wasn’t sure of.

“Amos…” she said softly, one hand laid against his chest.

He went completely still.

“I don’t… I’m not sure what I want. We just met last week, and… this is a lot.”

Amos let out a slow breath, lowering his head until his forehead rested against hers. “I know.” He drew back, giving her space. “I’m going to court you properly, like you deserve. I’ve got literally all the time in the world.” He offered her a wry smile.

Disappointment mingled with relief. She was glad that Amos wasn’t hurt by her reluctance, but a small part of her wanted him to push. It was contradictory and probably unhealthy, but she was so tired of being the one to make decisions all the time. All through Dad’s cancer treatments, Ma had looked to Tessa to handle the medical decisions. Now Dad was gone, and the aftermath was Tessa’s to clean up. Before Dad had been diagnosed, she’d spent several years juggling work and school while she earned her BSN part-time, living alone, managing alone, splitting all her waking hours between those two obligations. Her last boyfriend had been a useless asshole who’d obviously been using her as a free roof over his head. The only time people wanted her was when they could gain something from her.

Amos wanted her because… just because. But Tessa was the one who had to make the decision that would dictate their future. Why? Why couldn’t he just take the decision out of her hands?

You would hate him if he did that, her rational mind kicked in.

“I should probably go,” Tessa said. “I have to be at work soon.”

Amos stepped back, allowing Tessa to precede him through the house. At the front door, he held her bag while she stepped into her shoes. When she reached for it, he pulled it away.

“I’m courting you, Tessa. That means I’ll be watching over you.”

Tessa stared at him. She didn’t want to argue, but she felt like she should.

“I’ll be hunting thralls tonight, but I’ll be circling back to the hospice regularly.”

“Amos,” she began.

“And I’m walking you to work. It’s too dangerous right now, with all these thralls, for you to be walking alone in the dark.”

She shouldn’t like his high-handed presumptuousness. The problem was, it felt a lot like being taken care of. “Amos…”

“If you don’t want me to walk with you, I won’t. But I’ll just follow you instead.”

Tessa let herself give in to the weakness. To let Amos take the choice away, whether he realized it or not. It was such a relief to give in. “Alright.”

For a second, Amos looked prepared to keep arguing. When he realized that Tessa had given in, he blinked, thrown off his stride. “Uh. Good. Well then.” He grabbed his own jacket off the hook. “Ready to go?”

“Wait. I have one condition.”

Amos’s jaw clenched, but he nodded at her to continue.

“You can’t stay out past sunrise again.”

“Tessa—”

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