Page 29 of Make Me Bleed

And then, two days after Hank vanishes into the woods, my head snaps up as someone approaches the back of the house.

In Dyea, visitors come in through the front. In a flutter of hope and anticipation, I meet them at the back door, expecting to find Hank’s irresistible bulk standing on the porch, finally ready to take control of this mating and whisk me away.

Is that what I’m waiting for? I’d say no, but there’s that whole pesky ‘I might be lying to myself’ thing again. Either way, if it was Hank, I… I think I would go with him.

If it was Hank…

It isn’t Hank.

Leaning against the railing on the porch, the pose so practiced I have to keep myself from rolling my eyes at him, is my least-favored vampire.

My stomach drops as his pale blue eyes light up. “Julian? What are you?—”

“Evening, Elise. How have you been?” His eyes dip, nestling on my cleavage the same way his gaze has every time since our first true conversation two weeks ago. “You’re looking lovely as ever. Much less pale than before.”

If he’s fishing for answers, he’ll need to try a lot harder than that.

I purse my lips in a thin smile. “Yes, thank you.”

Rising up, Julian steps in closer than I would like, subtly blocking the exit while also moving near the doorway so that he could step inside easily.

I fall back a few steps, reaching for the doorknob. If I’m lucky, I can slam it shut before he tries. “Is there something you needed?”

“Actually, yes. I was wondering if you’ve had the chance to reconsider my proposition.”

Oh? The one where he gave me blood and I fucked him? That one? “I never really did,” I tell him honestly.

Of course not since I have no intention of agreeing to his terms.

Julian’s expression hardens even as he keeps his faux smile in place. “That’s a shame, but probably for the best. I’ve been meaning to catch you… I realize that I may have made the wrong impression on you when I first approached you about my offer. That, or you possibly misunderstood me.”

I highly doubt that. “Oh? Did I?”

“Yes, Elise. You see, I’m not just looking for a lover. What about a beloved? You and I… we could be good partners.”

I freeze in the doorway, though I’ll give myself credit: I recover much quicker than the last time he shocked me with his propositions.

“I’m sorry, Julian. I thought you knew. I already have a beloved.” True. True. It’strue. “I’m just waiting until we can finalize our bond to make it official.”

Julians pauses, momentarily stunned. I guess hedidn’tknow.

Then again, maybe I was slightly exaggerating when I said that I thought he knew. Bridget knows. Conall knows. Mayor Lou knows because, as head of security, Conall had to tell him about the bear that was roaming the woods. Hank obviously knows. Anyone who caught him running into Dyea two weeks ago might have gotten a clue, and then there was Helen and Clarice who might’ve overheard more than I wanted them to during movie night.

But Julian… hedidn’tknow—and he still doesn’t because he says, “Apologies. I wasn’t aware that you were forced to leave your beloved behind in your Fang City before you came to Dyea.”

Um. Because I didn’t.

I stay quiet, though, since I’d much prefer Julian to believe that I have some fictitious love back in Clarity than a possessive bear who might be watching this conversation from a distance even now…

Julian tilts his head slightly to the right. He breathes in deep.

I tighten my hold on the door.

He exhales, a slight furrow to his brow as he narrows his eyes thoughtfully. “You smell different tonight.”

I expected him to change the subject if only to save face, but that… I wasn’t expected him to say anything likethat.

“There’s a… musk,” he adds, sniffing again, as if testing the air. “Faint, yet noticeable. Odd.” He pauses again, then his lips twitch. “Though I have caught sight of a bear bumbling near the woods on this side of the town lately. Strange creature. Oafish. Hard to miss.”

---