Page 135 of Your Coffin or Mine
He kneels on the edge of the bed to kiss my lips before getting back to his feet. “I am happy, and I no longer have to hide what I am from you. It isn’t the easiest thing being an immortal.”
After learning that Frank had a mate, but she died, I can sort of see why he did what he did, even if I don’t agree with it. He ended up destroying the hospital she was in, making a bunch of hunters come out to hunt them all. That’s why Vlad and Connor have been staying out of sight.
I also learned that a mate bond can be forced if two people want it enough, but true mates are super rare.
“Speaking of immortals—what exactly is Hilda?”
He frowns a moment before grabbing his dress shirt. “Hilda is a vampire. She raised me as a boy, but stopped eating so long ago I don’t recall when.”
Wow. “So vampires turn into skeletons if they stop eating?”
“It’s more complicated than that, but basically yes,” he says, buttoning his shirt.
I prop up on my elbow, admiring the view. “That’s cool.”
“You continue to surprise me with how well you’re taking all of this.”
I sit up and give a small shrug. “As long as you don’t implode like the vampires onTrue Blood.”
His head lifts in alarm. “What?”
“Never mind.” I giggle, getting to my feet to kiss him while still wrapped in the duvet.
He smiles down at me and shakes his head, then chuckles quietly to himself before muttering, “No one was supposed to be there.”
“Where?”
He stares down at me, hands on his hips, bare-assed from the waist down. “No one was supposed to be in the castle, Aubrey.Iwas never supposed to be near any of the guests at all. My suite was being emptied into the east wing the day you showed up.”
“What? Really?”
“Really.” He smirks. “I never saw you coming. I started eating again the same day.”
A big goofy grin pulls at my lips. The way I love this vampire. “Speaking of food, why would you eat mineif you knew it would poison you? Grandma’s recipe hasa lotof garlic in it.”
“I wanted to please you, and you were the first human whowantedto feed me.”
I stare up into his deep-brown eyes, and a sense of weightlessness strikes my heart. I squeeze the blanket to me and rub at my cheeks, my face hurting from the wide grin stretching my lips. “You obnoxious, sappy vampire.”
He smirks, bending for his pants. “You ignored every directive I gave you. I only assumed it was because I hadn’t eaten in so long, but it drove me insane just to look at you.”
I snort. “Ha, I drove you crazy just to look at me? Sure, Mr. Put Your Nipples Away. What a way to meet.”
“Woman, I hadn’t seen breasts in over a hundred years. How do you think I felt?” He arches a brow. “And that is not how we first met.”
I squeal when I’m tossed into the air by magic, my back falling softly into pillows. I roll to my side to look into his eyes ashis knee hits the bed, and he prowls across it toward me. “Yeah, that was the first time I saw you, when you brought me the eggs, remember?”
I remember how he scowled, so different to how he now smiles.
His nose rubs mine and he laughs. “I opened the door to the castle and this blonde nymph bounced in, demanding I take her bags. It was love at first sight, mon amour.”
“What?” My brow furrows as I think back to that day.Who took my bags? I start to argue before a memory of some really old guy in a sleeping gown flits through my brain. His lips lift into a smile. “Oh my god.You’re the old guy?!”
He throws his head back and cackles loudly, and his joy steals my heart all over again.
Epilogue
AUBREY: MISTRESS OF DARKNESS, AKA BRIDE OF DRACULA
