Page 57 of Blood and Buttercups

“For this house? In lovely Glenwood Springs, Colorado? Are you familiar with the current cost of living?”

“For aroom.”

I need that money. “Twelve hundred.”

“A thousand, and I’ll go with you to your markets and whatnot.”

“You have to do that anyway, don’t you?”

He smirks, knowing he’s already won this. “Yeah, but I don’t have to pull your wagon.”

Unable to help myself, I grin. “Fine.”

With that decided, Noah picks up the bottle and swirls it in a circle again, mixing it and testing the consistency. Apparently deciding the blood is warm enough to pour, he goes through my cupboards until he finds a juice glass. “How many ounces?”

“One.”

“Do you want it straight?”

“I don’t want it at all,” I say like a sulky child.

He pours the blood into the cup, eyeballing the amount, probably knowing better than I do what one ounce of blood looks like.

“Drink up.” He sets it in front of me with a clink of the glass against the granite.

Synthetic blood looks way too much like the real thing. It’s scarlet red and thicker than chocolate syrup.

“Just toss it back like a shot,” he adds.

“I don’t drink.”

Noah rolls his eyes like I’m being difficult. “Then take it like cough syrup—just get it over with.”

I pick up the glass, staring at the blood. One ounce isn’t a lot. Surely I can manage it.

Steeling myself, I gulp it all at once, gagging as soon as it hits my mouth. And then I promptly run to the sink and spit it out, barely able to avoid retching.

After having witnessed that sexy display, Noah hands me several paper towels.

I wipe my mouth, desperately wishing he hadn’t been here for that.

“It’s a normal reaction,” he says nonchalantly.

I slump back to my barstool. “Normal?”

“You’ll get used to it. Next time, let’s try it in a?—”

“If you say smoothie, I’m kicking you out of my house.”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “We’ll mix it in some juice.”

I’m not sure that’s much better.

I glare at the prescription bottle. “Has anyone tried to find a cure?”

“Hundreds of scientists and several labs are dedicated to researching Vampiria B.”

“No luck yet?”

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