Page 21 of Pucking Vamps

My chest swells, satisfaction pulsing within me. It’s a little strange if I am being honest, a little novel. My encounters with men and women are very transactional, but there is something so very… different about Hayden. I don’t know why or how, but I decide to leave it be, because if anything, it just makes what I am about to propose all the more worth it.

“You don’t seem to understand the position you are in, Hayden,” I say in a low, sultry voice. “If not for me stepping in, you would’ve died tonight. This, us vampires, is no joke.”

He swallows hard, the lust-driven bliss draining from his face. “Are you going to kill me now? Or lock me up and turn me into your personal blood bank?”

I brush my fingers along his jaw, absorbing the little shivers the contact elicits in him even though fear now lives in the sweet hum my kiss set out across his body. I want it gone—I wish no harm to this lovely human—but I let it linger for now, so I can put my plan into motion.

“Those are two viable options. The second one more so than the first. However, I believe what I am about to offer you will be a lot more… beneficial to both of us.” His entire world narrows down to me and I revel in the all-encompassing feeling, in the way it caresses every inch of my cool skin and drives liquid fire to my very center.

“Okay…” he whispers, eyes fluttering as I pop the tips of my claws out and run them along the side of his neck where his jugular is.

I can feel his pulse, the quickened heartbeats, the desire still present in his system. I’ve just eaten, but an urge to bite him rises in me. Not to satiate hunger, but for pleasure, so I can mark him, so I can give him a part of my essence when my saliva comes in contact with his blood.

“I need you to pose as my partner at a ball so I can get my aunt off my back. She has been pestering me to marry, and I’d like to avoid dealing with such a headache for a while.”

Hayden’s eyes go wide, confusion swimming in them. “Your aunt wants you to marry? Like an arranged marriage?”

“More or less. She worries I am lonely and might decide it’s too much. There have been…” I consider whether and how much to tell him for a few moments, deeming it can’t hurt if he’s already been dragged into our world. Besides, the open curiosity and the buzzing anticipation that pours off him is too potent to resist.

“There have been…?” he prompts, swiping his tongue over his plump bottom lip in a deliberately seductive manner.

“There has been an increase in the cases of suicide by garlic—”

He snorts, a huge grin chasing away any remaining fear. “What?” he mumbles between peals of rumbly laughter. “Did you just say suicide by garlic? Not by sunlight or fire or… Shit. You were here during the day. Are you okay?” He plasters his palm on my forehead, dark brows knitting together.

I clasp his hand and bring it to my lips, kissing his knuckles. A delightful shudder slides through him, his eyes taking on that edge they had right after our kiss.

“Contrary to popular belief, sunlight doesn’t harm us. Neither does fire. They can be uncomfortable to some, but they aren’t deadly. Garlic in certain amounts can be lethal.”

“Ooh.” He blinks. “Oooooh. So, if your bloodsucky friends try something, I just need to make sure I have me some garlic on me? Does it work if it’s, like, garlic bread? Or that chips flavor they have in the café on campus. That shit is sick.” He snorts.

I roll my eyes, something I haven’t done in years. Perhaps I didn’t need to bring up the garlic pandemic. “Hayden.”

He keeps laughing, barraging me with questions about food containing garlic despite the warning in my tone.

“Enough.”

I grab him by the wrists and push him down on the bench, hovering above him as I let my fangs protrude. Snarling so he can see them, I pin him with a hard gaze. He struggles, trying to get free, but soon enough realizes that it’s pointless since I am stronger than him. That seems to knock some sense back into his pretty head, erasing the goofy expression as some weariness creeps into his chiseled features.

“Sorry. I think it’s the whole vampire reveal. I’m still processing.”

I lessen the hold, but don’t let go, keeping him restrained to the bench. “As I said, I need a partner for that ball. If you agree, I will place you under my protection, so no vampires come knocking on your door in the middle of the night.” I slide my free hand down his stomach, reveling in the feel of his sculpted abdominals. “I will make it worth your while as well.”

He licks his lips, eyes rolling back a bit as I trace the outline of his erection. “Right, so… You want us to fake date? So your aunt leaves you alone?”

“Correct. With you showing up at the den tonight, it shouldn’t take much to convince her.” In fact, it plays in my favor. “Our arrangement will last until the ball is over. We’ll return to our own lives then. My temporary teaching position will have finished, and we’d have no reason to run into each other. If you prefer, we can altogether forget anything even happened.”

A sliver of a smile flirts with the corner of his full lips as he nods. “Oh, you are one step ahead already. That’s why you acted like a possessive neanderthal on me and said I was yours. Smart.” His eyes shimmer with mirth. “Not gonna lie, vampy, it was kind of hot, too.”

“Hayden.” I channel authority through my voice, making him flinch. “If you agree, I will also compensate you for the time and effort.”

He goes thoughtful, reeling in the playfulness he’s exuding. “Yeah, okay, sure. I’ll fake date you so your aunt doesn’t force you into marriage. But, uh, I have one condition?” He bats eyelashes innocently at me, going for the most inviting expression he can pull. “If that is okay.”

I suppose that depends on what he asks for. I have no idea what it might be, he’s proven to be a little unpredictable, but I am willing to humor him. “What do you want?”

“I’m in a bit of a teeny tiny pickle at the moment.” He tilts his chin toward the suitcases we dragged outside with us. “I’ve got nowhere to live. It’s why I was in the library and got lost, actually. Some goons showed up at my place and forcefully evicted me. So… If you let me live in your mansion until I’ve found a new place, I’ll fake date you. If you think about it, it’s probably for the best, because we can totally practice! You know, so we look like we are real dating and not fake dating. It’s a win-win, really.”

I don’t smirk. My face is too elegant for anything other than tastefully flirtatious smiles. But I can’t help it, his ridiculous ‘arguments’ too adorable to resist.

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