Page 43 of Hot Vampire Next Door: Season Three

Damien crosses his arms over his chest. “Maybe the Mulligans.”

“We’re setting up a meeting with Bianca,” Bran adds.

“Really?”

Damien nods. “It was your boyfriend’s idea.”

I have to stop a smile from spreading over my face, hearing Damien refer to his brother as my boyfriend. I get the sense in his tone of voice that he might not be happy about the turn of events. Maybe he wanted to use me for whatever magical secrets I might possess, but he probably didn’t want his brother to fall in love with me.

Complicates things, I’m sure.

But too bad for him.

“I just talked to Jimmy,” Bran says. “We have a meeting with the witch in an hour. So put your piss poor attitude away, brother, so we can make something happen.”

“I don’t have a piss poor attitude,” Damien argues.

Bran cocks his head at an angle, regarding his brother with an amused expression on his face.

Damien growls, exasperated, then looks at my sister. “I’ll return to you later. Do not leave the house.”

She nods and then he’s gone.

“Is he always this churlish?” I ask my sister.

She sighs. “When he doesn’t get his way.”

“I can attest to that,” Bran says.

I look back at him. “What exactly are you hoping will happen with Bianca, anyway?”

Bianca seems like an odd choice for an ally. She’s my age. There are plenty of more experienced witches in Midnight Harbor. But she is extremely powerful. And I suppose it’d be harder to get the older witches to agree to work with vampires. They all have formed opinions on the Duval brothers.

“I’m hoping that whatever agreement we come to will help keep your sister alive.”

“Bianca will help if she can.”

“I’m counting on it.” He reaches over, grips the back of my neck and hauls me to him, planting a kiss on my forehead. “Stay in the Anneliese. Both of you.” His gaze cuts from me to Kelly, then back at me. “Say you understand, little mouse.”

“Yes. Fine. I understand.”

Kelly nods. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“We’ll be back in a few hours. Be good girls while we’re out.” He gives me a devilish grin and then disappears after his brother with his vampire speed.

Kelly lies down on the bed and I hover in the middle of the room unsure of what to do with myself. This is the first time I’ve been inside Damien’s bedroom in the Anneliese and now that I have a chance to look around, I’m surprised by the décor. Bran’s room is a reflection of him—dark, masculine, full of hard lines and solid furniture.

Damien’s room is very…feminine, and it reminds me of Kelly’s condo on the river.

The wall behind the bed is painted dark red, but the giant rug on the floor is thick, white, and furry, almost like sheepskin. The duvet is soft creamy linen, the pillows thick and matching.

The bedside tables are blonde wood with gold handles and matching gold lamps.

Behind me is a sectional couch the same color as the duvet with mismatched throw pillows, all with various patterns done in the same shade of red as the accent wall.

Now that I’ve been in Damien’s office, I know that this isn’t his style—this is Kelly’s.

Damien designed this room in the safest place in all of Midnight precisely to my sister’s taste.

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