Page 5 of Another Curvy Girl and Grumpy Vamp

Because my girls have no sense, they break into the old joke, “You must pay the rent—But I can’t pay the rent…” Lowering their voices and banging on the table, even waggling their brows in unison.

When they settle down Greer points out with a smirk. “Blood-sucking is illegal now. So, you’re safe from that.”

Nina adds, “Yeah, remember? They don’t even want blood like they used to. Vaccine and all.”

I wave a hand. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t care if they’ve been defanged. I’m not interested.”

Nina grins. “I’m not buying it. Not when you’re still swooning.”

Greer nods, and I snicker at Nina’s wildly fanning hands. Pretending she’s having a hot flash. Okay, fine. Maybe I am attracted to him even if I don’t want to admit it. I’m also not about to act on my attraction just because he looks good in a suit.

“Whatever,” I say, shaking off the thoughts. “It’s not happening. Let’s talk about something else.”

But as the night wears on and the drinks keep flowing, I can’t shake the memory of those silver eyes, and the indescribable pull I felt toward him. He was handsome, yes. But it was more than that. It was like he saw through me. The way his eyes bore into mine, the intensity. It wasn’t normal. I’ve seen vampires before, crossed paths with a few. None of them looked at me like they could see past everything—the stress, the schoolwork, the masks I wear for the world. Straight through to the real me.

And damn it, it’s… unnerving.

I shake off the lingering thoughts as Nina and Greer chat about their latest work drama, but even as I laugh along with them, I’m not fully there. My mind keeps drifting back to him. The way his jaw clenched when he spoke, like he was fighting something. His lips, perfectly sculpted and tense, like he was barely keeping himself from—

No. Stop it, Merri.

I take another long sip of my margarita, hoping to drown the thoughts in tequila. But of course, Greer, with her soft empath abilities, picks up on it. “You’re doing it again,” she says, eyes narrowing. “You’re thinking about him.”

“Girl, stop reading my feelings,” I warn her half-empath behind.

“I’m not reading anything,” she denies. “Your face is doing all the talking.”

I groan, rubbing a hand over my face. “I hate you both.”

Nina laughs. “Please. You love us. Besides, we’re just here to remind you that it’s okay to relax a little. Enjoy your life. Get your toes sucked.”

I laugh despite myself. “Yeah, I’m not ready to cross that line.”

“Good,” Greer says with a mock-serious nod. “No toe-nibbling vamps for you.”

We clink our glasses. The conversation shifts to safer topics—work, school, the usual grind. Greer’s an accountant with a large firm and Nina’s a librarian. We graduated with our bachelor’s degrees three years ago. They work their dream jobs, and their lives are settled while sometimes it feels like I’m still figuring things out. I had plenty of job offers when I first graduated, even more when I completed my masters. But I kept going because school was my haven.

It’s the first place that made sense. A place far away from the drama of my shifter father and human mother. My dad is only one quarter werewolf. Not enough to shift but more than enoughto claim my mother. Because he’s a quarter he can’t feel her through the mate bond very well and it drives him literally crazy when he can’t reach her. She tolerates it because she loves him but it’s hard as hell to be responsible for another person’s sanity.

And mating is insanity. I have never understood why one person would tether their life to another. Nope, give me a nice, normy. Please and thank you.

***

I collapse on the couch, my limbs heavy from friends, drinks, tacos, and laughter. I kick off my shoes and stretch out, closing my eyes, but instead of feeling relaxed, my mind drifts right back to him.

Ugh, why is he still in my head?

I grab my phone off the coffee table and scroll through social media. If I’m going to think about him, I might as well gather as much information as I can. He’s a beast in the business world, topping the world’s richest list. I guess when you’re as old as he is you’ve had time to master industry. An article put his age at three hundred years, but another said four. He’s never made a comment. He’s also never appeared in a picture with a woman. Coincidence?Shit, what if he’s not straight?I ask the internet; it answers that he’s arrow straight. But it doesn’t give me any sources of this information. Interesting. Maybe… No. Not with the way he stared at me. His eyes said he wanted me even if every other part denied it.

And what will I do with that knowledge?

I sigh, tossing my phone aside and closing my eyes again, hoping sleep will take me before I can waste any more ridiculous thoughts about silver-eyed vampires. Tomorrow’s another day. Another round of classes, and work. That’s more than enough to keep my mind off Baden Eames.

Baden

There’s a rhythm to this city—constant, predictable, always moving. I’ve learned to control it, to keep everything and everyone in their place. This building, my fortress, is no different. I paid a fortune to make sure of that, paid even more to ensure that Javier knows every single detail of what happens here.

I step into the elevator, pressing the button for the garage. The familiar hum of the machinery fills the quiet, and I lean back, letting the steady descent soothe the tension in my body. Normally, the solitude is welcome—time to disconnect from the chaos of the city below. But tonight, something’s off. There’s a shift I can’t ignore. Halfway down, the elevator halts unexpectedly. I frown, my eyes snapping to the control panel. No one else should be able to call this elevator. It’s private—exclusively mine.

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