Page 61 of Flock This

With that, I opened the door, clutching the edges of his coat together as I got out. I expected some final parting shot—that was how most of my conversations went, after all.

Except, that didn’t happen. I closed the door, and the limo took off. At the elevator, I pressed my thumb against the sensor to unlock it. The sun wasn’t quite down, but it wasn’t more than an hour away, either.

I could have gone back to my own room, but I knew better than to do that. After a few days away from Kelvin, I needed to take the meds and check in with him.

My feet moved on their own as I headed for Kelvin’s apartment, the path embarrassingly familiar already. It was funny how much I disliked it compared to his place in the desert, however. This now felt closed in and manufactured and somehow ill-fitting to the man I’d come to know.

I pressed my thumb to the reader at his door, then went in and locked it behind me.

The room was dark and so quiet, I wondered for a moment if he was out. Perhaps he’d woken early and gotten to work? Or maybe he’d never come back after our outing?

Those options disappeared in a heartbeat when I found myself pressed against the closed door, a large, hard body trapping me in place.

“You know what they say about predators and running, don’t you?” A shiver ran through me at Kelvin’s angry, low voice.

I sure did know, and suddenly, I wasn’t sure running had been such a great idea.

Chapter Sixteen

Alarms rang in my head at just how close Kelvin was, how strong his body seemed when he used it to pin me. His breath held that sweet scent that clung to vampires, but it did nothing to hide the anger in him.

I tried to push back, away from the wall, but all my pushing did nothing against Kelvin’s strength.

“You smell like a Mind,” he said, his voice dropping even lower. “And you wear the clothing of one?”

“I had to change. Would you have preferred I walked in here naked?”

“I’d prefer you not running away while I slept, then traipsing back in here reeking of others and wearing their clothing.”

“Well I’d prefer not being manhandled by a vampire, but it looks like neither of us are getting what we want today!”

He snorted, then backed off. I’d thought that he’d calmed down a bit, at least until I turned around.

His mouth appeared slightly distorted, and I realized it was because his fangs had dropped, and he was trying to hide it. That sure went to show just how upset he still was.

I took a deep breath, glad to at least have the room to breathe on my own now that Kelvin wasn’t pinning me. He stood a few feet away, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession as if he’d just been running.

“Take that off,” Kelvin snapped.

“Excuse me?”

He gestured at the coat. “I can’t think while you stand there covered in another’s scent. You’re my thrall.”

“I’m not your thrall, actually, and I don’t care for the way you say that, like it’s another word for property.”

“I could make you mine.” A dangerous glint in his eye made me take a step backward, forgetting how close I stood to the door, unable to move away.

I swallowed hard, keeping my mouth shut for once. Leave it to Kelvin to actually scare me into silence.

“Most vampires can’t force a bond, but I know I can with you. With one bite, I could make you mine and stop all this foolishness.”

“I don’t want that,” I whispered.

“You say that, but I don’t think you mean it. You just value your freedom, you fear what a future like that would mean for you, but I think you’d give in to me if I pressed.” He took a step forward, toward me, intention in those bright blue eyes of his.

Had he ever looked so out of control? So close to snapping and losing himself?

And what the hell was up with my reaction?

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