Page 106 of Of Blood and Smoke

The house was beautiful and spacious, exactly what I’d expect supernatural creatures to live in, with rich furnishings and all the trappings of wealth.

A vase full of the gorgeous bright white flowers with red liquid in their centers caught my attention and I wanted to smell them, but I wasn’t confident it was a good idea. I’d seen them when Jude brought me to this world. The petals were almost luminescent and if I stared too long, the blinding color hurt my eyes. The fluid pollen appeared suspiciously like blood and from what I’d seen and experienced, the substance wasn’t something one messed with around here. You never knew what was in it.

“Oh, there you are! Those are Moonflowers, do you want one? Or Bloodmoon flowers. I’m so glad to finally meet you—maybe not like this but at least you’re here. Come, come into the kitchen. I thought I heard you come downstairs. Hungry?”

“Mother, calm down please.” Josiah chided the woman as she steered me down a hallway to a spacious kitchen. “Della, this is my mother, Ruth.”

I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you,” I greeted her.

She grabbed me and yanked me into a hug. “Oh, you smell so good,” she said as she released me. Josiah hissed while I thanked her.

“Don’t worry, I’d never bite you. Unless you asked of course.”

“Mother,” he warned her. “I told you she’s a vampire,” he said looking at me. “But she won’t touch you.”

A nervous laugh bubbled out. “I’m not worried about that.”

“Good because Josiah has no sense of humor—I was joking. You do smell good, if I’m being honest but I know you’re his.” She winked at me.

Ruth was extraordinarily beautiful. She was tall, lithe, and had a long mane of rich, dark brown hair that trailed to her hips,sparkling brown eyes, and smooth pale skin. She didn’t look a day over thirty. I felt certain she had her pick of whoever she’d want to bite.

“What do you want for breakfast?” the woman asked me. “We have everything—fruit, waffles, cereal, eggs, pancakes, blood, oatmeal, yogurt. You name it, I got it. You don’t drink blood, do you? I have a succulent virgin, only thirteen years old.”

“Uh, no thank you with the blood. Fruit sounds good, please.” I watched as she crossed the room to fetch my request and caught Josiah rolling his eyes.

“What would happen if I drank blood? Would I turn into a vampire?”

Josiah held his hand out and an apple appeared in it before he tossed it lightly to me. “No, Little One, you don’t have the proper DNA.”

“Awww,” his mother said, her eyes sad.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. “I don’t want to get gray and grandma-looking while you stay all hot.” I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before.

What the hell was I supposed to do? I didn’t really want to become a vampire. Stabbing people in the neck with my teeth wasn’t appealing though I loved it when Josiah did it to me. My eyes started watering knowing there was an expiration date on my relationship with the man.

He walked over to me and grabbed the apple right before it fell to the floor. “Do you not trust me? You’re my wife, that will never happen to you.”

“But how?”

Ruth opened her mouth, but Josiah lifted a hand toward her, closing off her voice. She looked like a fish underwater and I tried not to giggle at the sight.

“Boy, we have things to discuss.” A man I assumed was Josaih’s father strolled in. “Release your mother immediately.”

Ruth swatted Josiah as soon as she was able and pulled a clear carafe filled with red liquid out of a cabinet and began pouring the fluid into etched glasses.

He ignored them and turned back to me. “Pick an age you want to stay, and I’ll start feeding you my blood then. It will preserve you.”

“As easy as that?” I took the apple back and crunched into it, letting the sweet and savory juices fill my mouth. It was the most delicious apple I’d ever tasted.

“Yes,” he said. “I’ll take care of you. Speaking of which, you’re moving into my manor when we return but you may keep your apartment if you wish.”

My gut pushed back instantly. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to give up that much control. Everything was set up just the way I’d always wanted—all my ducks were in their neat, orderly row. It took forever, but I’d finally gotten a handle on my life. Did I really want to turn it over to someone else?

Staring at Josiah, I thought about it some more. He’d taken care of me, rescued me multiple times. He showered me with affection and supported my every desire for myself. It would be nice to wake up next to him and not have to worry about intruders.Hewas the intruder, anyway, sneaking into my room and having his way with me.

“Okay, you’ve got a deal. Just a few conditions. I keep my apartment. My dad moves in with us—with Melinda.”

He nodded and said, “Of course, I already planned on that. What else?”

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