Page 55 of Hot Blooded

Curious, Tessa carried the necklace into the kitchen with her and set it on the table. Ma was already up, drinking coffee and playing Sudoku on her iPad.

“What’s this?” Ma asked sourly. “A gift from your secret friend?”

“It was hanging on the front door,” Tessa said, ignoring the jibe. “Do you recognize it?”

Ma leaned in, taking a closer look. After a moment, she pursed her lips. “It’s garbage. Who’s putting garbage on my door?”

Tessa shrugged. “I don’t know, Ma. It was just hanging there when I got home.”

“And at the ass-crack of dawn, too. Spent all night with this friend, huh?”

Tessa plucked up the necklace. “I’m going to bed. Have a good day at work.”

Chapter 15

One of the most important parts of courting Tessa was showing her how beautiful a life lived at night could be. Amos knew he wasn’t going to convince her to accept a bloodbond by sitting on the couch every night and ordering takeout. So, the next night she had free, he told her to dress in warm layers and wear sturdy shoes.

“Is this alright?” she asked when he met her at the foot of her front steps. She gestured at her outfit—jeans, sneakers, and a zipped-up anorak.

“Perfect,” he assured her. Instead of taking her to his house, he walked her two blocks over to where he’d parked his vehicle, a nondescript luxury sedan that he rarely drove, but occasionally needed. Like tonight, since he planned on taking Tessa far enough outside the city that driving her was more efficient than carrying her.

Conversation in the car came easy, comfortable—as if they’d been together for years. He put his free hand on her thigh as he drove, and was rewarded moments later by the subtle perfume of her arousal.

Later, he promised himself.

It was a little over a two-hour drive to get to Castle Rock State Park. At this time of year and this time of night, the park would be empty. Plenty of space for a woman to flee from a stalking vampire and far enough from civilization that nobody would hear her scream.

He parked the car and got out, reaching Tessa’s door before she could. She accepted his hand with a coy smile and stepped out of the vehicle. As soon as her door was closed, Amos had her pressed up against the side of the car, taking her mouth in a rough, demanding kiss. Tessa melted into him with soft, sexy little noises sounding in the back of her throat. He loved that he could be aggressive with her, that she wanted it as much as he did.

With a significant amount of effort, Amos broke the kiss. Tessa looked up at him, lips swollen, eyes dazed. Amos purred, dipping his head to inhale the scent of her hair.

“I’ll give you a five-minute head start,” he growled against her ear.

She shivered. “Five minutes?”

He pulled away from her and pointed past the nose of the car. “See the woods?”

“Yes.”

“Better start running. Time’s wasting.”

Her eyes grew wide. Biting back a grin, she whirled away from him and raced towards the tree line.

Amos had lied. He wasn’t going to give her a five-minute head start. As soon as she slipped into the darkness of the tree cover, he went after her. It wasn’t because he wanted to cheat, but because he needed to assure himself of her safety. He followed in silence as she wended her way along unlit trails, slowing to a walk as she squinted in the dark at narrow, diverging pathways. He gave her more than the promised five minutes, edging silently behind her, smiling to himself when she darted nervous glances over her shoulder.

It wasn’t until she was deep into the forested acreage, looking well and truly lost, that he attacked. He caught her from behind, one hand wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides, the other fisted in her hair. She let out a shocked scream that he didn’t bother to muffle. His fangs sank into her throat, pulling another scream from her that quickly turned into cries of pleasure. Amos held onto her tightly, knowing his grasp would be borderline painful for her—but also knowing she liked it. Christ, he could come in his pants again just from the unbelievable ecstasy of her. That she existed. That she wanted him.

When he’d finished drinking, he sank down to the cold ground with her, cradling her against his chest as he waited for the feeding haze to lift. When the clarity returned to Tessa’s eyes, she smiled and tilted up to Amos for a kiss. He kept his lips tightly closed so she wouldn’t taste her own blood on his tongue.

“Okay?” he asked when he pulled away.

“Mmhm,” she hummed contentedly.

“Hungry?”

She nodded.

Amos picked her up and took her back to the car to retrieve his backpack, then brought her to the scenic overlook at the top of the bluff. Below them, the river was swollen with spring meltwater. Overhead, the sky was thick with stars. Tessa looked up at it and gasped.

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