Page 3 of Flock Around and Find Out

The reason was obvious. No one came to a hotel in pairs at this hour for anything other than sex. With him all dressed in his suit, it probably appeared he was cheating on his wife, meeting some girl in the middle of the workday.

In reality, the middle of the day meant fewer chances that other vampires would see us, and this place had a good underground garage. That had been his only real requirement for the place, though he’d wanted to pick far better amenities than I did.

I would have been fine with something that charged by the hour, since I didn’t plan to spend all that much time here and the ambiance didn’t matter. Kelvin had fancier taste, though, so he wanted something nicer.

This place had been our compromise—something that probably didn’t have bedbugs but also didn’t cost a small fortune. In the end, I’d picked it, probably because Kelvin was still trying to win me over.

Good luck.

Turned out that no matter how nice someone seemed, how kind their actions, I just couldn’t forget being forcefully bound to them—even if they’d done it for my own good.

My crow screeched in my head at the very reminder of the indignity. It valued freedom above all else, and Kelvin had snatched that from me, making me his thrall—or at least some twisted version of it.

It meant that even when I thought for a moment that I might be able to forgive him, that I might rethink how angry I was, that he could slip beneath my walls again, my crow reminded me,no fucking way.

The lobby had that old world money feel, with metal detail on the ceiling and over-the-top trim on everything. I held the key card between two fingers, then headed for the reception desk.

Somehow, checking out was always the worst part. It felt like they could see what we’d just been doing, since not many people checked out only a few hours after checking in.

Not that I cared all that much. What did it matter if they suspected we’d been having steamy, forbidden sex just before?

Jealous much?

I turned in the key, suffered through the suggestive stares—they probably figure I’m a working girl—then headed away from the prying eyes of the staff.

“Should we meet here next week again?”

I shook my head. “No. I’ll just call you when it’s time.”

“Why? We end up meeting at the same time every week, anyway. It makes more sense to expect it at this point.”

Except, I couldn’t. Sure, I understood his reasoning, and yeah, it made more sense. If we knew we needed to see each other at this time, why not plan it ahead? It’d end up easier on us both.

I couldn’t, though. “This way is better.”

He sighed, the same sound as before, full of the same frustrations. “You can’t even stand the idea of a planned time with me, can you? Is it me, or is it the schedule of it?” He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the locks from his face.

It made me question, for just a moment, if he’d grow sick of this. So far, he’d focused on getting what he wanted, on winning me over, but what would happen if he changed his mind? If he decided this was too much?

I tried to picture a future where Kelvinwasn’tthere. Where I couldn’t just call him up if I wanted. The truth was, if I couldn’t see him, I’d suffer—not him.

It was a terrifying future I hadn’t realized was possible before.

He set his hand on my cheek, his skin flushed and warm—probably from my blood. “Don’t worry about that,” he said, his voice sweeter than I usually heard from him, as though trying to make up for worrying me. “I’ll be here no matter how long it takes.”

I went to answer—though what I’d say, I had no idea—when a shout echoed through the lobby. Not a‘you cheated on me, you asshole’yell of a woman who found her husband her with some woman, but instead one full of real fear.

I twisted to find someone barreling from the elevator just as the doors opened—a woman whose eyes were bloodshot and full of madness. Blood coated her hands and stained her shirt. She must have gotten hurt unless she was just areallymessy eater.

Or both…

The woman was small, only an inch or two taller than me, but she rushed with the confidence of a football player going in for a tackle.

She’d have slammed right into me if not for Kelvin yanking me aside and out of the way with less than a second to spare. It left me falling against his chest.

Funny, he could have leveled the person if he wanted to, but instead chose to save me.

Probably since we were in public, and he didn’t care for leaving evidence that might bite him in the ass later. It was best to keep a low profile at such times, after all. No one wanted humans getting a whiff of the real world.

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