Page 92 of Taste of Forever
Chapter 25
Heather
It was a fairly short walk to Novak’s place. I was grateful for the crisp night air and the opportunity to stretch my legs. Amy hooked her arm around mine and pointed out the various businesses and fixtures of the vampire territory.
“This area, including the square, is called the Heart of Sanguine,” she explained, gesturing around us. “Rather than divide the territory into cities or towns, they use body parts or organs to refer to different regions. Novak’s family is from the northernmost region called the Crown. Sapien, the human settlement, is further south in the Ribs.”
“That’s fascinating. What’s the reason for that?”
“Because Sanguine was born from the body of our goddess, Temkra.” The answer came from Rhain, the huge, long-haired vampire with a permanent scowl, who walked in front of us. “She laid down to die so that vampires, her children, could have a home.”
Rhain didn’t look back at us as he spoke. An awkward silence followed, like I’d committed some social faux paus by asking the question. Cyan, who walked beside him, gave a little nudge to Rhain’s elbow and mouthed something that I couldn’t make out.
“I didn’t mean any disrespect,” I said. “I was just curious.”
The hulking vampire glanced over his broad shoulder at me briefly before muttering, “Never said you did.”
A moment later, I felt Laith’s reassuring squeeze on the back of my neck. “Ignore him. He’s always in a bad mood. Probably needs to get laid.”
“I can hear you,” Rhain groused.
“Good. Take the advice then.” Laith hugged around my chest from behind, dropping his chin to my shoulder. “You never know. You might find your blood mate in the process.”
Rhain grumbled something I couldn’t hear, which made Cyan chuckle.
A few minutes later, we gathered around the front steps of an expensive-looking townhouse. Amy cut through to the front of our group. “No need to ring the bell, guys. Come on in.”
She opened the doors with a key and ushered us into a beautiful, spacious foyer. The wood accents were dark and polished to a high shine. The wall colors were deep greens with a subtle damask pattern. Furnishings were more dark wood with pops of red.
A grand staircase stood directly ahead of the foyer, and Amy called up from the bottom step, “Honey, I’m home!”
“Be right down, akra!” called a warm male voice from the upper level.
I was very curious to know what the owner of this house looked like becausegoddamn. I couldn’t stop looking at everything.
“Welcome home, Amy. Hungry?”
I turned in the direction of the voice to see a woman in a luxurious open kitchen whisking something in a metal bowl. She looked to be human, in her 40s, and wore the signature white-buttoned coat of a chef.
“No thanks, Jo. Tavia and Bea spoiled me.” Amy rubbed her stomach.
“How about your guests?” The woman looked over her glasses at us. Those were definitely human eyes, a deep brown set in white sclera.
“Thank you for the offer, but we are fine.” Thorne placed a hand on his chest and made a little bow toward the chef.
“I’ll have some cold bites available just in case. Looks like the boss is about to have a meeting.”
My mind was spinning. A rich vampire with a human chef? Was this…normal?
Movement drew my gaze to the figure coming down the stairs. The vampire had hair paler than Laith’s, practically silver, falling past his collarbones. His eyes were the typical blood red, but his skin was darker, a medium brown.
He wore dark slacks that fit him like a glove, and a white buttoned shirt that was slightly rumpled with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. The casualness of the shirt didn’t make him look sloppy or any less polished. And, as expected, he was handsome. Especially when his face lit up at the sight of Amy.
“Hi, akra.” He said the foreign word with a flawless rolling r and unique inflection, like it was his native language. “Did you have fun with Bea and Tavia?”
The rest of us might as well have not existed as the couple met in the middle of the stairs with a kiss and embrace.
“I did, but I still missed you.” Amy turned back to our group gathered at the bottom of the stairs, her face flushed and glowing. “Thorne and the others said they had business with you, so they escorted me home.”
