Page 86 of A Bloom in Winter

“So follow Mahrci around down in Caldwell.” He kept eating, the stuff surprisingly good. “This was never a Tinder date. That’s not why we’re up here. Do the job, Mayhem, and then go on about your life. But Ireallyneed you to do this work.”

There was a long silence. Then the male stood up in a surge and tucked the laptop under his arm.

“I’ll get started.”

“Good, there’s a document of instructions right there for you.” As the guy turned away, Apex said, “You know, this ain’t half bad.”

He got a dismissive grunt over that shoulder.

Left on his own, Apex continued eating, watching through the archway as Mayhem opened the computer and typed one-handed. As the password that he’d been given got him into the instructions, files, and program platforms, the guy looked toward a camera mounted in the far corner, above the front door.

As he walked off out of sight, Apex glanced back to the window—

“Fuck!” he blurted as he dropped his fork onto the plate.

Callum hadn’t intended to go back over to the big house yet.

But here he was, standing on the front porch in his two-footed form, staring into the study . . . like exactly what he was: A dog locked out in the cold.

And then Apex pivoted and looked at him.

The windows of the big house were all triple-paned, the replacements engineered to look like the old ones that had no doubt not only leaked like a sieve, but been incompatible with the light protection that had been added. So with the cold wind whistling in his ears, he wasn’t able to hear the shout of surprise.

But those lips had certainly seemed to mouthfuck.

In the back of Callum’s mind, right down deep at the brain stem part, a voice that was no voice, just meaning, spoke up:

Go to your mate.

He complied with the demand because that was why he was here, wasn’t it. That was why he had come to this estate in the fall in the first place. Fate had seen fit to put him back on a track that intersected with the male who was now, at this very moment, rising up from the chair he was in. Next Apex was going to rush from the room, and run to the door and jump out into this cold, this bitter cold.

It was time Callum also did some running. And not in the opposite direction.

In three jumping strides, he was at the front door. But even with the effort, Apex was still the one who opened it.

Swallowing hard, Callum said, “You have a minute?”

Apex glanced over his shoulder. Then stepped out. “Yeah. Sure.”

As the vampire closed the door, Callum nodded at the garage. “My place?”

For a second, the other male just glanced in that direction with surprise, like it was the first time he’d noticed the building. “Yeah . . . sure.”

They walked together, the snow squeaking under their boots. When they got to the side door, Callum opened things and stepped out of the way. As Apex went through, the scent of the male took over the whole world.

And then they were going up the stairs.

Apex waited at the top, as if he had no intention of entering before he was invited. Like the old-school human myths about vampires.

“You’re always welcome,” Callum said. “In here.”

The fact that he got an arched brow in response told him more than he wanted to remember about how harsh he’d been the night before.

“Can I get you a beer?” he offered. “I already made you leave your dinner.”

“It’s okay. I ate most of it. And I’ll take the beer.”

Callum nodded and went over to his refrigerator. Taking out two Heinekens, he twisted off the tops and then approached the vampire. As soon as Apex took the bottle, the guy put the open neck to his mouth and started drinking.

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