Page 31 of Blood Bonds

After this, he kissed the inside of my wrist before letting me have my hand back. The tingles of where his lips had just been felt as if I had just been branded.

And now I only had one question left to ask myself…

Would my lips be next?

Chapter 12

Future Plans

Victor

Icould have sat there all night and listened to her talk. However, after declining my offer of another coffee, she chose that moment to tell me that she needed to go home. Of course, I insisted on taking her. Not only would it ensure she got home safely, but doing so also gave me the opportunity to discover where she lived.

She tried to argue against it, but I was having none of it and made this known with a stern gaze sent her way. Her safety was my main priority, and this lesson was one I was happy for her to learn sooner rather than later. The thought of what could have happened to her in the park still clung to me.

I knew the reason for her silence in the car was down to her nerves and most likely down to not feeling comfortable with trusting me yet. Something she would struggle with far more had she known I was a Vampire. A creature I now knew she both fantasized about as well as feared the reality of.

I had nearly choked on my coffee when she confessed the type of books she enjoyed reading. Out of all the genres shechose Vampires… what were the chances if not fated? It had to be because of who she was to us. An unknown lure to ready herself for the future, for Vampire romance was most definitely written in the stars for this nervous little angel of ours.

I swear, when she told me I felt like I had won some war without ever stepping foot on the battlefield. Perhaps our worries about her finding out too soon were unfounded. Because despite how terrified Tal had claimed her to be, she seemed calm enough in the aftermath of our discovery. Unless, of course, she had suffered some memory loss of the event, as she honestly didn’t seem to be affected by it.

Although, she was a little jumpy. She flinched when I took her hand back in mine, finding myself unable to stop myself from touching her. I wasn’t deterred by her action, as I knew I still made her nervous. Especially the entire time I had been touching her in the coffee shop. But she hadn’t yet yanked her hand back, so I was taking it as a good sign that she liked my touch.

“Are you working tomorrow?” I asked, keeping my fingers laced with hers, the size difference in our hands bringing out a protective side within me. She was so much smaller than my brother and I, that it made me want to scoop her up and set her in my lap. An impulse I was forced to fight against because I knew that I would have to take things slow with her. Trying to get Tal to do the same would be the hard part… he wasn’t exactly known for his restraint.

“Yeah, I work most days,” she replied, making me frown as I thought back to our earlier conversation about money, or should I say the lack of it on her end. I knew by her expression that she had been embarrassed when admitting that she was broke. I also knew why she told me, as like I said, she had an expressive face. She was testing me to see if her dire financial situation would put me off dating her.

Oh, how wrong she had been.

For nothing would sway me in claiming her, not now I had finally met her and knew for certain that fate was not wrong.

It wasn’t just the scent of her blood singing to me that made me want her like Hell’s raging fire.

It was everything.

She was beautiful, intelligent, endearing, and funny, with a quick and comical wit I was coming to adore. But she was also brave, as she didn’t fall to pieces like most women would have done when being faced with the gunman. I had not turned around to find a quivering mess barely able to take a breath. But then, this did add even more questions to what seemed like a never-ending list. Mainly about her upbringing, for she had seemed tense when I had inquired after her place of birth. Making me wonder if her leaving at the young age of eighteen had been something done out of necessity rather than anything else.

I had my suspicions her childhood had not been a happy one.

Well, if I discovered anyone had harmed her, then there would be blood spilled, for the thought made me nothing short of murderous. Something I tried to rein in so as not to scare her.

“What time do you finish?” I asked, still hating the idea that she worked at all, and no doubt a lot if she had debts to pay. A fact I would be dealing with the first chance I got. But for now, I would have to bide my time.

“Five-thirty, why?” she asked, and I forcefully hid my irk at having to remind her of our date.

“I will pick you at seven then, will that give you enough time to be ready for it?” Ah but there was that hard swallow again.My nervous little Firefly.

“I… I guess so, but you know it might be better if we reschedule, maybe one night next…”

I cut her off by tugging on her hand and therefore bringing her closer, something that made her pulse quicken once more. Then I lifted our entwined hands and extended my middle finger so as to tip her head back to look up at me.

“I will be picking you up at seven, won’t I?”

She blinked before nodding and telling me what I wanted to hear despite making it sound like a question.

“Yes?”

I then grinned down at her.

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