Page 45 of Bitten By Desire
The floorboard on the step creaked and Zoey and I both jumped. I grabbed her arm as I turned toward the front steps.Fuck.
There was a man in a fitted suit standing there. The umbrella masked his face. But I knew who it was. Because I was suddenly extremely cold.
He slowly lowered the umbrella.
And Callum was standing there.No.Not Callum. Theo Gold. For the first time, it seemed like maybe Theo Gold was telling the truth about not being Callum. Because today his eyes weren’t gold. They were a striking brown.
“Are you ladies here for the open house?” Theo Gold asked.
I heard Zoey exhale and then she laughed. “His eyes aren’t even gold, Emma,” she whispered and stood up.
Yeah…but…they had been last night. And when I ran into him on Main Street on Thursday. I knew they had been. I would have been worried that they were just getting darker because he was hungry. But he seemed very calm today. And they weren’t a dark brown. They were a warm, medium brown. The hue would have been comforting if I wasn’t so confused.
“Hi, I’m Zoey,” she said and walked over to the devil himself.
“Theo Gold,” he said and put his hand out for Zoey.
She glanced back at me for just a second before turning back toward him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. And I think you know my friend Emma already. From just a couple of days ago.”
No, from ten freaking years ago when he fucked me and disappeared!
He nodded and his gaze finally fell on me. But he didn’t greet me. He just stared.
How were his eyes brown? How?
“Emma’s looking for a house,” Zoey said.
Theo Gold didn’t look at her. His eyes were still trained on mine. “You’re thinking about moving here?”
I didn’t respond. I just stared at his eyes. Was he maybe wearing colored contacts? To throw me off? I knew he was Callum. I knew it and yet…he didn’t look like Callum today. I shivered. I was still shaken from how he’d talked to me in the maze. And I had the oddest sensation to stand up and run as fast as possible.
“Yes, she is thinking about it,” Zoey said. “Right?” She looked at me and gave me a hard stare.
I really wasn’t considering moving here. For years I’d been obsessed with Callum. And now I wanted to be as far away from him as possible. He was playing tricks with my head. And I had no idea why. I cleared my throat and stood up. “No, not really. We were just looking for fun.”
“Okay, well…feel free to come in and look around. For fun,” he added. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He held it open for us.
I really did not want to go inside. It was pouring and I was worried no one else would be coming to this open house this afternoon. The idea of being alone with Callum again like I had been in the maze last night terrified me. But Zoey had already stepped in. And I wasn’t going to let Callum suck her blood. I walked into the house, hurrying past him. The more distance between us the better.
I tried to think of what warded off vampires. I needed a wooden stake or something. I looked around for a weapon, but I got distracted by how beautiful the house was.
“Is this all original molding?” Zoey asked.
“It is,” Callum said. “The house is in great condition. But I’ll be honest…the bathrooms and kitchen are a little outdated. With the right owner though, this place could be modernized in no time.”
“And I bet that means it’s a great price.”
“It’s definitely a fair price.” He handed her a listing.
Zoey smiled. “Emma, this place is perfect for you.” She handed it to me.
Nope.This was still too expensive for me. But…I did kind of love it. I walked over to the window seat in the living room. I could picture editing photos here while staring out at the yard.
“I’m going to go check out the bathroom situation. To see if it’s dire.” She hurried off, leaving me alone with Callum.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose as he stepped toward me.
“I owe you an apology, Emma,” he said.
