Page 51 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

“Just making sure,” he answered, holding my hand tighter. He seemed to hesitate before continuing, “I don’t have any experience with this. I’ve never wanted someone to stick around so badly. I’m a little lost.” His mirthless chuckle broke my heart a little.

I cleared my throat to relieve some building tension in the room. “Okay, if I’m going to be sticking around for a while, there are some things I need to survive.”

He tilted his head, a small smile tightening his mouth. “Like what?”

I began listing things off on my fingers. “WiFi, a TV, Netflix, Disney+, etc. A PlayStation would not be unwelcome. I need technology, Lucien.”

He smiled brighter. “Anything you want. Tell Adelaide, and it will arrive within the hour.”

Since he’d brought up the mysterious housekeeper, I said, “I can’t figure out what she is or how she appears out of nowhere all the time.”

Lucien laughed, the sound prompting a feeling of warmth to seep into my soul. “I’m not surprised. She’s a shade.”

Shades were shifters between life and death. They could turn invisible and intangible, and some had telekinesis. “How did you wind up with a shade as a housekeeper?”

He shrugged. “She served my mother. She’s been around for as long as I can remember.”

As if powerful immortals were just something one inherited. I would have to investigate more about Adelaide. There had to be more to the story.

I gently extracted my hand from Lucien’s and stood. “I should leave you to sleep some more.”

“No,” he responded, crossing his arms over his chest. His denial stopped me short.

“No?”

“I don’t want to let you out of my sight.” His brow got that stubborn look, and I rolled my eyes.

“You know you can’t boss me around anymore? I have my powers back.” I called magic into one palm, letting it dance. With a flash, I was under him, my arms pinned above my head. His body kept me pressed to the bed, and his knowing grin was insufferable.

“I believe you said I could boss you around in bed, or on the floor, or in the shower, or on the balcony….” Each location earned me another kiss on my face, one to my forehead, each eyelid, and my nose.

“This is blackmail,” I murmured half-heartedly, already softening.

“I will use every tool at my disposal.” He planted a long, drugging kiss on my lips. “Now that you have your powers back.” Another mind-scrambling kiss. “I have to make sure it’s an even playing ground,” he added with a laugh, rolling off and releasing me. I sent a teasing frown at him.

“Now, what was it my queen said about a television?”

The television arrived within an hour, along with several mortal cable men, whose mouths gaped at the sight of the castle. They spoke in lightning-fast Romanian to each other, and Lucien stifled a laugh from where he stood by my side.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “What are they saying?”

He leaned closer to answer directly into my ear, and I didn’t even bother to hide my shiver. “They’re wondering if they should have brought garlic with them to fend off the vampires.”

“They know what you are?” I hissed.

He shook his head. “No, but apparently, there is a myth in the village that Dracula lived here at Întuneric instead of where everyone else says he lived. Not that I would have allowed him here. Tepes was a prick,” he casually added, then shot off rapid Romanian to direct the men to the room.

Erik came up next to us, raising an eyebrow at the commotion. “Finally updating Întuneric, eh?” he asked, seeing the giant flat-screen being wheeled in.

His men came up behind him, all breaking into grins at the television. The werewolves loved sports, and I’d caught several of them streaming soccer on their phones as they huddled on the floor of our bedroom while Lucien was healing. I’d shushed them multiple times when they shouted at their small screens.

I sent them a wink. “I told Lucien that if I was going to be staying here for a little while, he needed to make some changes.”

Lucien slung his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close, unabashedly adding, “Anything to get you to stay forever.”

I sent him a fake frown, trying to smother the butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of staying with Lucien at Întuneric. Would it be so bad to be sated and spoiled by this legendary vampire king?

I was saved from responding as we followed the cable men to the room close to the library. Thanks to the five burly werewolves and two vampires I’d enlisted, it was already cleared of the outdated and antique furniture. The cable men continued to whisper to each other, and I caught the wordMinabeing repeated several times.

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