Page 24 of Only Fangs

He should be slamming the door in Mikael’s face, but here he was, fantasizing instead.

“Collin?” Mikael prompted. His hand settled on Collin’s arm. It was warm. Comforting.

Collin swallowed thickly. “Sorry, I’m… distracted, I guess. But yes. You’ve seen me home now. It’s safe. Thank you.”

“All right.” Mikael turned to glance out through the window above the door. When Collin followed his gaze, he noticed that the sky wasn’t as dark as it had been a moment ago.

Would Mikael even make it home in time if he left now?

“Will you be okay?” Collin asked.

Mikael shrugged. “I’ll find somewhere to hole up.”

No, that was not happening. Not because of Collin, anyway.

“Why don’t you stay here?” He blurted. “You can sleep on my couch. I’ll close the shutters.”

Mikael blinked at him, obviously surprised.

Collin was surprised at himself too, but damn it, he couldn’t send Mikael out there when he didn’t know what would happen to the vampire.

Mikael’s lips curled into a smile that made Collin’s stomach flutter and his thoughts stray. “I’d love to.”

Collin turned away from the sight of his smile before he lost his resolve. “Follow me,” he said as he climbed a flight of stairs. “I live on the second floor.”

Luna hopped toward him excitedly when he unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside. She rubbed her head against his leg as if she wanted to make sure he was really there.

Smiling fondly, Collin knelt down and stroked his hands through her long fur. “I’m home, girl,” he whispered as he picked her up and cuddled her against his chest for a moment, breathing in her familiar scent, letting Luna’s warmth and affection soothe him.

She squirmed in his grip and he laughed quietly, putting her down again before straightening. Only to realize that Mikael was watching him with an amused expression.

A blush crept up Collin’s cheeks. “Sorry, I…” Fuck, why was he blushing? He wasn’t ashamed of loving his pet bunny. He just wasn’t used to having a stranger around when he was with Luna.

But Mikael wasn’t really a stranger either, was he, when he’d had his fangs in Collin’s neck mere hours ago?

“She’s beautiful,” Mikael said, stepping closer to take a better look at the moon bunny. Luna tilted her head at the new arrival curiously. “Can I pet her?”

“Of course.”

“What’s her name?”

“Luna.” Collin smiled as he watched Luna approach Mikael, sniffing cautiously at his hand before pressing her nose into the palm of his hand, allowing the vampire to scratch her ears.

“Nice to meet you, Luna,” he said, and Collin swore the man had the most charming smile in the world. He was glad that Luna was keeping his attention for now because Collin needed to calm down. He shouldn’t get so excited just because Mikael had met his pet rabbit.

“You know, I’m pretty sure that if she were a dog, she’d be wagging her tail at you right now,” Collin said. “I haven’t seen her so happy in a while.” The tumor had taken a toll on his usually energetic pet, but now he could see some of her old spirit return.

“Well, I’m honored then.”

Collin cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’m going to close the shutters.” He walked over to the window that faced east and closed it before moving on to the next. By the time he was done, the room was completely dark with the only source of light being Luna’s shining fur.

“She’s magical, isn’t she?” Mikael asked, and Collin heard the unspoken, “unlike you,” that followed the sentence.

“Yes.” In the dark, Collin slowly made his way over to the couch and turned on the small lamp that stood on his side table, allowing him to see more easily. “I found her in the woods one night and she’s refused to leave my side ever since.” The memory put a smile on his face. “My mom was not amused at the time, but there was nothing anyone could do to keep Luna away from me.”

Mikael petted the bunny once more. “Sounds like a stubborn creature.”

“I seem to have a knack for running into those.”

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