Page 51 of A Bloom in Winter

It was all just so confusing. He was instantly hard, his cock straining in a way it hadn’t for decades. But his brain was scrambled, the past and present contorting so that he wasn’t sure where he was in the timeline, whose body was against his, where he was. And then Apex tilted his head, and there was a lick. And another. And—

Callum stepped back sharply. Banged into the wall. Shied like a spooked horse from that contact. Careened around until heknew he either stopped moving or got vertigo so badly he fell over.

As he panted into the silence, Apex put his hands up and looked down at the floor.

“I’m sorry,” Callum choked out. “I’m . . . sorry.”

“I know.” The vampire cleared his throat. “And I’ll . . . leave you alone. No questions asked. I get it.”

Apex backed up a couple of steps. Then he turned away.

Then he . . . jogged away, his heavy footfalls rounding the corner and dimming as he traveled through the waiting area. After a moment, the sanatorium’s front entry opened and closed.

In the aftermath of the departure, Callum’s shoulders slumped, his head dropped, his erection deflated—

The door behind him opened. “You’re still here.”

Was he, he thought as Blade’s voice registered through the roar in his head.

“I’m going back,” he mumbled.

“Are you?” There was a stretch of silence. “Then why aren’t you leaving?”

Well, Callum thought, at least he knew the answer to that: It was because he was worried if he returned to the estate right now, he was liable to hunt down that vampire and apologize.

By getting down on his knees in front of the male.

“Will you please come in and have something to eat,” Blade drawled. The because-you-look-like-shit was left unspoken. “I have leftovers from that meal I made at dawn, you know. It was quite good. Or you can have some eggs with me.”

Callum pivoted around. When all he could do was blink and breathe, the other male shook his head.

“I know, I know, you’re not hungry. You don’t care about anything. You’re leaving right this second.” Blade shrugged. “And yet twelve hours later, you’re still here. So perhaps we startwith a little food and then maybe you can dematerialize back out to that truck you left on the edge of my property.”

In the rear of Callum’s mind, a connection was suddenly made. “You’re asymphath, aren’t you.”

Those eyes narrowed. “Changing the subject so fast? Afraid I’m going to mention the fact that Apex just left and this hallway smells like sex?”

Callum recoiled. “How the fuck do you know him—”

“Don’t be jealous. It’s not like that.” The smile was smooth and even. And yet the offense had been taken. “And I know him because his and my paths have crossed professionally, you might say. Caldwell can be a very small town, especially if you’re talking about the—shall we say—otherworldly community.”

There was another period of tense silence.

“I’m not eating your food,” Callum grumbled.

“So that’s the reason you’ve starved yourself for the whole day outside my door? You think I’ll tamper with your entrée because of what I am? My dear boy, I can assure you, if I wanted to fuck with you, I don’t need you to be chewing to ruin your life.”

Callum laughed in a hard rush. “That’s already happened.” Then he pushed past the male and entered thesymphath’s quarters. “You got it right the first time. My appetites are shot—appetite, I mean.”

All he knew was that he couldn’t go back to Camp Ghreylke.

And who knew this fucking place would ever be a better alternative.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Oh, good evening, s-sire. You have more questions for me?”

As the anxious inquiry was posed by Broadius’s maid, Petrie, Tohr stepped closer to the door of her third-floor apartment. Gone was the uniform, the flush from the cold, and a lot of the panic. She was wearing jeans and a comfortable sweater, and her salt-and-pepper hair was loose down her back.

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