Page 22 of Blood Claims
“Pretty much.”
“Then they convinced you to go out with them again and you got nervous and therefore shit faced drunk,” she went on to assume and well, most of it was pretty spot on. All she was missing was the blackmail and the fact they were Vampires cursed into loving me and Hell bent on kidnapping me.
“Again, you wouldn’t be wrong,” I admitted again.
“And now?” she asked, gesturing to the door, which was when I knew I would have to get creative.
“They want me to go away with them.”
She whistled.
“Damn, these boys don’t take their time, do they?”
I released a sigh.
“No, they are kind of used to getting what they want but then, isn’t that the way with the super-rich?” I said, making her eyes widen.
“Oh boy.”
“Yep,” I agreed as she tried to process all I had told her.
“Do they know about, you know… your debt?” she asked, wincing like it was a dirty word and usually, in our apartment, it was. Every time a new bill arrived, I felt like drowning myself in ice cream and apple Schnapps before then physically drowning Dexter, my ex.
I laughed at her question, and it came out a bitter sound before I told her,
“Yeah, and just like that, they made it all go away.”
“What?!” she screeched, making her glasses slip down her nose.
“They paid it all off, Stacey,” I told her softly, the knowledge of such still one I didn’t know how to fully process.
“Jesus… that must have been one hell of a one-night stand,” she said, making me snap my head her way and shout,
“Stacey!”
“Okay, I’m sorry, but come on, this sounds like something out of one of your Vampire Porn books.”
I groaned, just imagining Tal hearing this and getting a big kick out of it even as I argued,
“It’s not Vampire Porn…Jesus, why does everyone keep calling it that?”I muttered, wondering if Tal was currently busting a gut.
“But come on, they have you for one night and then go to all this effort to keep you, they must have it bad for you, Nessa.”
Christ, if only she knew the truth. But when I didn’t offer anything to this, she asked,
“And you?”
“Me?” I repeated after first flinching, knowing this was even more dangerous ground for me to tread on.
“Yeah, you… how do you feel about them?” she asked, making me stall for time by shaking my head, telling her on a whisper,
“I don’t know.”
She gave me a soft look before joining me on the bed and taking my hand in hers.
“I think you do. For starters, when I walked out, it looked like your bag was already packed and you were heading out the door after leaving me a note.” Of course, this was exactly what it looked like, just not for the reasons she believed.
“I let them convince me it was a good idea,” I told her quietly.
