Page 68 of After Darkness Falls

"Drop it, Chloe."

"I'm a common dessert. Woe is me!"

Levi swerved onto a driveway leading to an opulent red brick mansion that looked strangely modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows that took up most of the walls on the ground floor. The grounds weren't vast, but they'd been curved, cut, and trimmed into submission to look just as he willed them to. In front of the drive was a ridiculously large pool with an island in the center.

"That's a little…" She searched for a halfway polite word. "Much, don't you think?"

There were towers on either wing of the house.Towers.

"The estate has to be able to host gatherings of the gentry—thousands of vampires not easily impressed. And impressing them is a must."

She rolled her eyes. "You'd think so."

"Our kind have a short memory overall. Without subtle reminders, they soon forget who's in charge, and why."

"And the McMansion is a reminder?"

She undid her seatbelt; the next instant, her door was open and Levi was extending a hand to help her out.

"The armory, the paintings, the priceless sculptures by the most talented masters of this era certainly make a statement. And, well, we needed room to store all that shit."

Chuckling, she noticed that she wasn't nearly as annoyed with Levi as usual. There was something different about him tonight, although she wasn’t sure what.

"Shall we?"

31

On Night Hill

The inside of the mansion didn't feel nearly as intimidating as its courtyard. Chloe wondered if Levi stuck to garden parties. The mansion actually felt a little homey, although no home of hers ever had original Greek sculptures.

She bent over the likeliness of a well-shaped naked man and smiled.

"No leaves?"

The Adonis's small prick was intact.

"No, the church has never had a reach here. Our art survived the sixteenth century nonsense, as well as any act of self-righteous human destruction either before or after."

Chloe had a feeling Levi didn't think much of her kind; he seldom mentioned humans without the word “nonsense” attached to it.

She was about to point that out when a delicate white cat with the brightest eyes she’d ever seen meowed, demanding attention. Chloe watched Levi's face soften.

"Don't believe her. I do, in fact, feed her."

The animal tiptoed down the grand wooden staircase, widening her beautiful eyes and rubbing against the banister.

Chloe couldn't resist. She headed right to the stairs and knelt before extending her hand to let the kitty sniff it.

"I wouldn't do—"

Too late. The warning had only been half-uttered when the animal's razor-sharp claws flashed, scratching the back of her palm deep enough to draw blood.

The cat licked her claw with a self-satisfied expression and returned to her rubbing.

Chloe laughed and got back to her feet. "My fault. I should have asked. Some cats are prickly. Animals usually like me, though."

Levi was silent. Chloe turned to him, and saw his gaze fixated on her hand.

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