Page 7 of Stolen By the Vampire

Stubbornly, she leaned forward to avoid his touch. The vampire didn’t press, making her think she had survived this round. Until she flicked her gaze up at him and saw he was staring down—where her blouse revealed the generous swell of her chest as she leaned over the map.

She narrowed her gaze at him. The vampire didn’t even look chagrined to have been caught.

Fine. She leaned back, his fingers just grazing her shoulder. She could bear the contact if it meant he would tell her about more of the world. Rather, she could pretend it was a burden to bear. Silas smiled down at her, as if he could see the internal debate playing out on her face. When it was obvious she’d stay, he spoke.

“Tell me, little witch. What would you like to know?”

Chapter Four

Silas had picked up cartography as a hobby some centuries ago when he’d arrived in Eurobis. For creatures like him, traveling was a siren call. The maps had been a practical tool to keep him busy when certain… supernatural complications had hindered his ability to travel.

At the time, he’d cursed the lack of freedom, condemned to stay confined in the eastern part of the continent he’d once sought.

Now? He was grateful, because not only had it brought him to the same place as his little female captive, but also given him something he could bond over with her. He might be able to overpower the witch physically, compelling her to stay and refrain from stabbing him long enough to court her, but her mind was her own.

Which meant it was all that much dearer a prize.

Silas wasn’t prone to playing fair. Certainly not when there was something he’d wanted.

And he’d never wanted anyone like her before. The female had attacked him, a bigger, stronger opponent, while still wounded with unhesitating violence. The same female who stared at the maps he’d labored over with blatant admiration in a way that made him puff up his chest.

So, when he’d spotted her interest, he’d been unable to resist showing her more of his work. Wanted to see her ravenous gaze devour the parchment he’d spent weeks poring over. Wanted to have her beside him, her juniper-and-mayberry scent wrapping around him while she asked him questions instead of spewing threats at him. And if he shamelessly drew her onto a small chaise when he had far larger spaces to lounge in his caves, well, once more: Silas didn’t play fair.

“Is Wyrdova where vampires come from?” was her first question.

He scoffed, imagining vampires in the sunny kingdom. “There are no vampires there.”

She frowned, surprised. “Only witches and voids?”

“No. There’s magic there, but it’s not so codified the way it is in Eurobis with a hundred gods no one can keep track of and systematically trapped in cards.”

His witch turned over his answer, trying to fit what he said into her understanding of the world. Oh, the things he would show her, would teach her.

“What’s it like, then?”

He tried to think of the best way to explain it. Truthfully, the kingdom had been stifling to him. His brother had claimed the space and the neighboring kingdoms for himself, and although Alistair could share, their kind weren’t fond of doing so. Silas had been eager to travel away, to find his own path, and had mostly kept to the books he hoarded in his time there. That wouldn’t be a satisfactory answer, however. “It’s a peaceful place, with sprawling fields and a simple group of people. It’s a land that values art and music over commerce, I suppose. Some of the finest writers and poets I’ve known came from there.”

“Is that where you come from?” she asked, hesitantly. “Or where do you come from, if there’s no vampires in Wyrdova?”

It pleased him to no end that she wanted to know more about him. Because he had endless questions about her. “That kingdom was my birthplace. I wasn’t born a vampire, after all.”

“You were human?”

He grinned. “I didn’t say that either. Now, it’s only fair you share of yourself as well. Tell me about where you grew up.”

Esmae frowned. The confused expression did nothing to mar her beauty. “Why do you want to know about me?”

Because I want to know everything about you. “I’m a curious creature, and I’ve longed for companionship.” Not a lie, though in truth, Silas was solitary by choice. He had no need for incessant chatter; he only wanted the company of one single female.

“So I’m to be your entertainment.”

“I’ll entertain you in turn,” he promised. “In any manner of your choosing,” he added, lowering his voice suggestively.

She flushed, a scarlet hue appearing on her cheeks as she caught his meaning. Her blood beckoned him, but he wouldn’t draw again from her so soon. He didn’t need much blood to live; he could exist on what he’d taken from her for weeks. Of course, one didn’t need to drink the finest wine in the lands. One simply wanted to.

“I don’t suppose letting me stab you would be an option?”

He grinned. He was learning, for his female, that violent threats were a way to flirt. Or at least, that was how he chose to interpret them.

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