Page 11 of Snowed in with the Vampire Prince

“You know what I mean,” he said, shaking his head. But I noticed the smile threatening to form on his lips. “You want to leave out of a desire to protect me. A vampire.”

“You seem awfully hung up on that.” I cocked my head to the side, mirroring him. I meant for it to be mocking, but my words came out far more earnest than I meant them to. “Hasn’t anyone wanted to protect you before?”

Pain chased surprise across his face. “Just once. My maker. He protected me.” Pierce laughed. “I mean, I guess he probably wants to protect me all the time.”

“You have a partner then.” I couldn’t disguise how crestfallen I sounded.

“Strictly platonic,” Pierce replied, without missing a beat. “He’s more like a father, best friend, and older brother, all rolled up into one person.” He paused. “There’s no one like that for me.” He cleared his throat, a surprisingly human reflex. “Err, romantic, I mean.”

Why, oh why, did that particular bit of news make me so unreasonably happy?

Quit being dumb, I chided myself. So what if the vampire is single?

“Um, so, you are into guys, right?”

Pierce pursed his lips, considering me, like he was abruptly worried what I’d do with this information. “Yes.”

That particular bit of news also pleased me far more than it should have. A blush crept across my cheeks, which Pierce definitely noticed.

“Is that all vampires, or just you?”

“I was attracted to men before I was turned,” Pierce replied. “But all vampires are at least a little bit bisexual. Most humans are too, I suspect. The process of becoming a vampire strips away all your repressed or latent desires. For vampires, same-sex relationships are at least as common as relationships with someone of the opposite gender. It’s not taboo or forbidden. It’s like that with most of the supernatural races, actually. There’s a lot more freedom to love whoever you wish.”

“That actually sounds kind of…nice.”

“Look, if I step out of the way, are you going to make a run for it?”

“Undecided,” I told him honestly, giving the door behind him a hard look. “It’s not a good idea for you to keep me here. The wolves could come back any second. It would be easier for both of us if you let me leave.”

“Maybe you ought to let me worry about me,” Pierce suggested, folding his muscular arms across his equally muscular chest.

Stop noticing that! I commanded myself.

“Pot. Kettle. Black,” I shot back, gesturing back and forth between us with one hand, narrowing my eyes to glare at him yet again. “And are all vampires hypocrites, or is it just you?”

He shook his head, but then he burst out laughing as though I’d said something hysterically funny.

My glare deepened, and I wanted desperately to ask him what was so funny, but I was pretty sure I’d sound sullen and sulky if I did, so I kept my lips firmly shut.

“See?” he asked after he’d recovered enough to speak. He beamed at me triumphantly, like he’d proven a point. “That right there. You don’t seem afraid of me at all.”

Afraid, no. Annoyed, absolutely.

“Do you have a spare shirt?” I asked, changing the subject. “I’d like to sit down, but I don’t want to ruin your nice couch with all the blood.” I gestured to myself.

It didn't even cross my mind to go for the door the moment he moved out of the way to grab me some clean clothes. Nope, not at all.

“The blood is dry now. If you want to sit, then sit,” he shot back, somehow making it clear that he’d guessed my game plan and wasn’t falling for it. “Would you mind telling me why you aren’t afraid of vampires? Have you been claimed by one of us before?”

“Not sure what ‘claimed’ means in this context, but no.”

Pierce continued to stare at me, clearly intent on waiting me out.

Eventually, I sighed and added, “Look, I was in a car wreck once, back in high school. A drunk driver hit me head-on, going crazy fast. I don’t remember much about it, but I’m pretty sure it was a vampire who saved my life. But I never saw her again afterward.”

“Her?” Pierce’s eyebrows knitted together. “Oh. I just assumed…” He trailed off, his expression darkening.

“Oh,” I said, after a long moment spent trying to decipher Pierce’s abruptly unhappy expression. “No, I’m definitely into guys. But, I mean, it wasn’t… intimate or anything. She gave me some of her blood to heal me, then she took off. I had always wondered if maybe I’d imagined it. But the driver’s side door was torn off the car and thrown, like she was in a hurry to get to me.” I paused, chewing on my lower lip in thought. “I think I was probably hurt really badly, but when the paramedics arrived, there wasn’t a scratch on me.” I paused again, swallowing my bile at the memory. “Um, the other driver though… he didn’t make it.”

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