Page 12 of Hot Blooded

Another frustrating almost-memory that he couldn’t quite bring to the forefront of his mind. “No. I can’t really remember the taste of food. I don’t feel hunger for anything but blood.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully. “I think that’s what I’d miss the most, if I were a vampire.”

“Not the sun?”

“Hmm… no. My nonna’s meatballs and my abuelita’s tamales outshine the sun.”

Amos smiled, charmed by her conviction but also encouraged. The idea that she was willing to give up daylight, but still wanted to eat human food was… promising. “You have an Italian grandmother and a Mexican grandmother?”

Tessa nodded. “Mom’s side is Italian, Dad’s side is Mexican.”

Amos might not be able to enjoy food anymore, but he had a television and the internet and a reasonable awareness of cultural stereotypes. “I take it you ate well, growing up.”

Tessa laughed, the sound wrapping around Amos’s heart with a smoky little squeeze. “I definitely did. What about you? What kinds of things did you grow up eating in… eighteen… uh…”

“I was born in 1877,” Amos said, slanting her an amused glance. “And I doubt you would’ve enjoyed my childhood diet. My parents were Norwegian immigrants. I don’t remember much of it, but I recall that there was a lot of pickled fish. And potatoes.”

“Can’t really go wrong with potatoes, to be honest.” Tessa shrugged as she tipped back the last of the juice. Amos watched the movement of her throat as she swallowed, eyes darting away when she looked back at him. “Well… I guess I’ve taken up enough of your time,” she said, moving to stand.

Amos rose with her. “Of course not. You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” Stay forever.

He walked with Tessa back to the front door, holding her bag while she slipped her shoes back on. She took her bag with a soft “Thanks,” and reached for the door. “See you Monday, Amos. Have a nice weekend.”

Monday, he realized with a pang, was three days away. He quickly fixed his face with a polite smile. “See you then.”

And then Tessa slipped out and Amos stood at the door, watching through the peephole as her silhouette moved out of sight.

There were certain rules Amos had agreed to abide by when he’d signed the contract with HemoMatch. First and foremost, that he would do no harm—physical or psychological—to his assigned donor. Second, and nearly as important, was that he would not put a claim mark on his donor. To enforce both policies, donors were subject to monthly physicals. If any harm had been done to them, or if they bore an unwanted claim mark, the offending vampire would lose their donor privileges for a century and be hauled before the Council for punishment.

Amos had no problem honoring those rules. It was the third that was giving him trouble.

No hunting your donor.

It was a vampire’s nature to hunt their prey. It was even more their nature to follow and watch over a bloodmate. Neither of which applied to Tessa. But after feeding from her multiple times, feeling her climax in his arms, and then having a quiet, easy conversation with her afterwards, his primal nature wanted to assign greater meaning to their relationship than he had any right to.

The urge to follow her after she left his house rivaled the intensity of the blood cravings he’d experienced as a freshly-turned vampire. Those cravings had been impossible to resist then, and this new one was just as impossible now. A few minutes after Tessa had departed, Amos slipped out after her.

Chapter 4

Tessa worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It felt strange to work three nights in a row without a visit to Amos breaking up the routine. In only a week, he had become a very bright spot in what was otherwise a dull existence. She felt bad for thinking so. Her mother and brother and extended family all loved her dearly, and such a close-knit family was a blessing that a lot of people would love to have. If only it didn’t feel so much like a burden lately.

“So, you can’t watch the kids this Wednesday?” her brother Rob asked, repeating the exact words she had literally just said to him. “I want to take Sarah out for her birthday. Ma said you were off on Wednesday.”

Tessa pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment, taking a breath and resisting the urge to chuck it across the room. “Ma was wrong. I’ve been picking up overtime.”

Rob was quiet for a moment. “You’re going to run yourself into the ground, Tessie.”

“What am I supposed to do? Let our mother be thrown onto the street?”

“No, but medical debt is different than regular debt. They can’t—”

“It’s not just medical debt anymore! They remortgaged the house! They maxed out the credit cards! We talked about this, Rob!”

“Calm down! Jesus, you’re going to give yourself an aneurysm.”

“You’re going to give me an aneurysm!” she snapped, but she lowered her voice, glancing at the hall. Had Ma heard her shouting about money? God, she hoped not.

“Listen, you know me and Sarah’d help with the bills if we—”

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