Page 49 of Hot Blooded

“I’m not a virgin.”

He shrugged. “Neither am I.”

Tessa frowned, searching his unbothered expression. “So the virgin thing was a joke? Because you actually do skulk in shadows. So…”

Amos laughed. “I do not skulk in the shadows. I stride boldly through them.” He reached out to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. That small contact was unexpectedly reassuring. The tension eased from her shoulders. “I’m not looking for a virgin,” he said. “I just want you, Tessa.”

The sweetness of that declaration gave her no choice—she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, and kissing him desperately, deeply. He returned the kiss with equal intensity, holding her roughly against him. They were pressed so tightly together, she felt his purr reverberate in her own chest.

After a moment, Amos broke the kiss, setting her back with a firm grip on her arms. “Tessa,” he said, hair mussed, face flushed, eyes a little wild. “I have to go. The sun is rising.”

“I know,” she said breathlessly, pressing her fingers to her kiss-swollen lips. “Go.”

Chapter 13

The following weeks were some of the sweetest and the most frustrating of Tessa’s life. Amos walked Tessa to work every night, and on days when she hadn’t been at his house before work, he took her out on her lunch breaks. When they were alone together, he made her feel important, respected, valued, in a way that she hadn’t realized had been missing from her life, and that she had so desperately needed. And somehow, despite all that emotional validation and respect, he was still able to turn into a prowling monster who dragged her into the shadows with him and took her apart piece by piece until she was nothing more than a mindless slave to the pleasure he both gave and took from her.

And yet… he was a steadfast gentleman in regards to courtship. Despite having already crossed that line, Amos resisted anything more intimate than mostly-clothed caresses while they made out like teenagers on his couch. Tessa couldn’t reasonably argue that he was leaving her unsatisfied. She orgasmed more with Amos in one day than she used to in an entire week. Even so, the desire for closer physical intimacy was a constant itch beneath her skin, pulsing in her blood. She didn’t want to rush Amos or be pushy but, Christ, she was going to explode soon.

Much worse, though, was the time spent away from him. Returning to her mother’s house to sleep alone in a twin bed after being with Amos felt borderline inhumane. She used to be able to tune her mother out, responding with vaguely feigned attentiveness. But now, being subjected to Ma’s negative monologues every morning was like a drill being put through her temple. How had she tolerated it for so long?

“—don’t know how you expected me to rearrange everything so you could move back in, and then without any warning, you’re just going to leave?”

“I gave you plenty of notice, Ma. I told you, what, two weeks ago now? And aren’t I still here? How much warning do you need? A year? Ten? The rest of your life?”

“Watch your tone with me,” Ma snapped.

“Maybe you should watch yours with me.”

“Tessa!”

Tessa pushed away from the table. She hated feeling like a resentful, ungrateful teenager when she was a fully grown woman who’d shouldered more than her share of responsibility. “I’m going to head out. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You just woke up!” Ma objected. “You don’t have to work for hours!”

“I know. Bye, Ma.” She grabbed her coat and stepped outside.

The sun was just beginning to set. Amos wouldn’t arrive for a few minutes yet. Tessa walked down to the corner, out of view of the house, and waited. The light in the city didn’t change much at the moment of sunset, but Tessa seemed to sense it all the same. A loosening in her chest, a slight weight lifting from her shoulders. She drew in a slow breath and let it back out. Amos was on his way to her.

A soft scuffle sounded behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see somebody stepping out of the nearest house. Instead, she spied movement in the narrow space between houses. A shadow—tall, lean, and ragged. The figure froze as soon as Tessa’s gaze landed on it. She couldn’t make out any details of the shape, but she could tell she was looking at a person—or something that used to be a person.

Thrall. She knew it with the bone-deep instincts of a cornered prey animal. She cursed herself for being so easily riled by her mother, so impulsive in her anger. She couldn’t have stuck out five more minutes of her mother’s ranting? If she had, she’d be safe inside her house instead of staring down an unhinged predator, waiting for it to pounce.

Another flash of movement, coming from her other side. She turned and found Amos standing before her, arms pulling her into a hug.

“What are you doing over here?” Amos asked, puzzled. She usually met him right in front of her mother’s house.

“I—” She turned to look at the space where the shadowed figure had been. There was nothing there but darkness. “I thought I saw…”

Alerted by her confusion, Amos stiffened. “Stay here.”

In a blink, he was standing in the spot where the shadow had been. Another blink, and he was back at Tessa’s side. “It was a thrall,” he confirmed. “I recognize his scent—I caught him over here before.”

“Why here?” Tessa asked nervously.

Amos sighed. “Sireless thralls will sometimes attach themselves to a stronger vampire if they encounter one. He may have done that with me. And since the last place he encountered me was here, he may be lingering in the area.” He glanced worriedly at Tessa. “I don’t want to give you orders…”

“Just tell me what I need to do to stay safe, and I’ll do it. I trust your judgment.”

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