Page 48 of Hot Blooded

It took Tessa a second to get a hold of herself. When she felt like she could talk without her voice breaking into a sob, she said, “There’s not much to tell. My family is exhausting and I resent them for it. And the resentment just keeps building, to the point where I can’t tell if I’m reacting reasonably when they piss me off, or if I’m freaking out over nothing.”

“I’m sorry,” Amos said, his chin resting atop her head.

Tessa rested against his chest, just breathing.

“What would you like to eat tonight?” Amos asked, shifting as he fished his phone from his pocket.

Tessa shrugged, eyes closed. “I don’t know. Don’t make me make a decision.”

Amos was quiet for a moment. “How do you feel about shawarma?”

“Oh my god, yes.”

He chuckled softly. The sound of his finger tapping against his phone screen went on for a minute until he finally tossed the phone aside and wrapped his arm back around her. “It’ll deliver in about an hour. Think you can stay awake that long?”

“Yes,” she lied, and then immediately got caught in a deep yawn.

She must have fallen asleep because she was suddenly awoken as Amos gently deposited her on the couch.

“Where are you going?” she asked blearily.

“Your dinner’s here. I’ll be right back.”

When he returned, Tessa sat cross-legged in front of the coffee table and ate contentedly while classical music played softly from an invisible sound system. She and Amos talked about nothing really—their work, their families, that one city alderman that everybody was always talking about, the new bypass being put in on the Red Line, climate change, Britney Spears, multi-level marketing scams, invasive mussels in Lake Michigan, astrology, dog breeds, and a million other things.

It was so comfortable and easy, she could have spent eternity in this room having the same small conversations with him. At some point, when she’d finished eating, she ended up back in his arms, cuddled against him while they murmured to each other in low voices.

It was perfect. He was perfect. Tessa realized in a slow, dawning kind of way, that whenever Amos figured his courtship had been completed, and he actually asked her to be his bloodmate, she would say yes. She wanted to tell him right then, but she hadn’t missed his insistence on courting her “properly.” If Amos wanted a proper courtship, then she would give him one.

Sometime later, Tessa knew she’d fallen asleep again, because she woke to Amos softly calling her name. She sat up, still in his arms, and blinked up at him.

“Oh no, Amos, I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I fell asleep again.”

He stared down at her, his expression both tender and grave. “I enjoyed every minute.” He kissed the top of her head. “But the sunrise is coming, so I need to see you safely home.”

What if I stayed? Tessa didn’t voice the thought, but the idea lingered wistfully.

A few minutes later, thanks to Amos’s supernatural speed and his ability to “slip into” shadows, Tessa was standing outside her mother’s house. In the pre-dawn darkness, the streets were quiet, the houses mostly dark, except for a few lit windows here and there.

Amos tipped Tessa’s chin up and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. She wanted to lean into him and really kiss him, but the sun was close to rising, and she didn’t want him lingering when it was dangerous for him.

He broke the kiss, holding her gaze for a second. “You’re working tonight?” he asked.

She nodded, getting her bearings. Even a tame kiss from Amos turned her brain to mush. “Yeah. I’m back at work for the next four days.”

“Text me when you’re on your lunch break. I’ll take you to a noodle place that Fran loves.”

“It’s open in the middle of the night?”

Amos smiled at her skepticism. “It’s owned by a vampire’s bloodmate. They intentionally keep late hours.”

“A vampire noodle shop?” The mundanity of it was hard to wrap her head around. “The wonders never cease,” she said wryly.

“Yes, well, we can’t spend all our time skulking in shadows and preying upon virgins.” Amos’s tone was light, but Tessa tensed. He was a hundred and fifty years old. It was so easy to forget he wasn’t her contemporary. It was only every once in a while that she was reminded of their vast age gap. And this was the first time it had worried her.

“Amos…”

“Yes?”

---