Page 2 of Hot Blooded
Accepting vampires into society and out of the dark shadows in which we previously have lurked is becoming athing.
I’m still not sure how I feel about that.
I like shadows.
I like darkness.
I like my drafty mansion and the privacy it affords me.
And despite what my brother thinks, I like sinking my fangs into the occasional consenting human to satisfy my dark cravings. I just don’t need to visit awhorehouseto do it.
Finally, I turn to Mrs. Potts who’s been waiting patiently for me to finish with my brother. “Whatever it is, it’s going to have to wait. I’m tired.” I pull the cotton sweater off over my head and drop it into the laundry basket in her arms. “I’m going to nap.”
She gives her head a shake, and her neatly trimmed gray hair swings back and forth. “Not right now you’re not. Miss Porter is here.”
It’s in that moment I realize there’s a human standing in my alcove.
Even from across the hall, I can smell her. Her hair smells like perfume, and her pulse thumps wetly like a sweet rhythm in my ears.
Fuck!
Startled gray eyes track hotly over my bare chest and come to rest at the waistband hanging low on my hips before darting back up with uncertainty as she meets my gaze again. She may not know what I am, but her senses are heightened around me. She’s unsure if it’s danger or arousal she’s feeling. Most likely it’s a mix of both.
My afternoon has just taken a turn for the interesting.
Chapter 2
Reign
With an annoyed sigh, I direct Mrs. Potts into my bedroom by the elbow and close the door behind us. “Pardon me, but what in the freshhellis this?” I gesture wildly toward the girl standing in my alcove.
Mrs. Potts stammers once and then efficiently crosses the room to retrieve me a fresh white button-up shirt.
I can hear the heartbeat of the deliciously scented human on the other side of the closed door. No, this is definitely not good.
I shove my arms into the shirt while she explains that this is the candidate she’s hired to manage my library project. Apparently, she showed me her resumé two weeks ago and I uttered my approval. Now the human girl has uprooted herself and moved to live here with us for the next six months to complete the work.
My eyebrows knit together in frustration. I don’t like surprises, which should go without saying. “She looks young, she…”
“She’s twenty-four. Recently out of university. Worked for a library in the city prior to this. She’s very qualified.”
And very beautiful, which shouldn’t annoy me, but it does.
Greatly.
“Breathe, Reign,” Mrs. Potts reminds me, which is silly. I don’t need oxygen, though breathing is an instinct, or at least a habit that I never quite kicked.
I draw a breath, and Mrs. Potts grins and pats my arm. “This is going to be a good thing. You’ll see. She’s quite qualified.”
“She’sfemale.”
Mrs. Potts nods and there’s a warm look in her eyes. “Lovely, isn’t she?”
That’s beside the point. “She’shuman,” I say with disdain.
A mocking look is all I get in return. “So am I, in case you have failed to notice. And that’s never given you an ounce of trouble.”
Exactly! Which is another reason I’m feeling so unsettled. Like, what the actualfuck?
