Page 91 of Your Coffin or Mine
“Are you a vampire?” I hate how I sound like every basic vampire movie I have ever seen come to life, but what am I supposed to say when the man I’m sleeping withbitesme, and literal fang marks are involved?
“Yes,” he says.
“Oh my god,” I gasp when he tips my chin to his face.
Brown eyes glow red, and there are literalfangsin his mouth, dripping over the sides of his gums.Holy. Shit. Hesmiles reluctantly and my stomach drops to my feet. Heisa vampire. Isleptwith a vampire.
“You bit me.” I lift my gaze from his lips to stare up at him, and his expression is full of chagrin.
“Yes.”
His hands fall from me to shove into his pockets, his eyes avoiding mine as he shifts away slightly. I wanted him to tell me I’m dreaming. Tell me he’s not some crazy vampire being who lives in a castle and bit my neck.
“If I say I hoped the marks would fade before you saw, it would be a lie. I am sorry if I hurt you, but I am not sorry for what I have done.”
“How is this possible?” I whisper under a quiet breath.
Vlad shrugs, and I realize I should have figured it out sooner. Vlad? As in Dracula the vampire, Vlad? Oh god, I need adrink.
“I need you to know it was never my intention to tell you.” He reaches out to brush my hair behind my ear, and once more I can only think of him as sweet and gentle. He looks where hisfangmarks were just minutes ago, admiring the length of my neck lovingly. “You must understand, it goes against every rule my kind has, but I cannot repress my desires for you any longer,” he whispers. He raises his head and his bloodred, glowing irises fade to their usual brown, and his fangs disappear. “You have bewitched me.”
Oh my god, he’s a vampire for real.
Chapter 28
VLAD
She knows what I am.When I bit her, I thought she might have some questions, but only if she took the time to really look. The bites were painless, but I wasn’t expecting her to be so... nervous?I think I just wanted her to accept them, and me, willingly. Still, she isn’t screaming, and that’s a start.
You bit me, she said, as if she wasn’t truly questioning me being a vampire and her asking was a mere formality. She looks curious, excited, but I can also see the hesitancy in her eyes.
I would love to know what is going through her brain right now, but unfortunately I only have moments before I need to leave. Aubrey’s event is tonight, and I only came here for a few minutes to collect my thoughts and rest. I hadn’t expected her to still be here, or for my need for her to come on so strongly. This isn’t how I wanted to introduce her to what I am, but I can’t take it back—nor do I particularly want to.
“I know this must be startling for you as a human to understand or even accept, but I promise it will be okay.” I rub the knuckles of her hands in light circles, calming myself as much as I hope I am calming her fears. “I want you to know I would never hurt you.” Then, hoping to brighten her mood, I leta forced, but otherwise charming, smile fill my face. “Unless it has you screaming my name like in the shower again.”
She has to know I would never want to cause her pain of any kind. If my bite is too much, she need never fear me feeding from her again, even if it kills me.
Her cheeks flush, revealing I didn’t take too much from her. Her eyes then land on the half-caved-in seat we almost destroyed in the shower stall, and her heart picks up again for all the right reasons.
“I can’t believe vampires are real.”
“What we are is unknown and mostly hidden, Aubrey. There are rules in place to keep our kind safe. You can’t tell anyone what I am, or that I really exist. I’m just a fairytale, and apparently a goth’s wet dream, but that’s all I need to be to humans. A dream, a myth, a lie.”
“Then why are you telling me?” She does that lip biting thing that just instantly makes me want to steal her lips with a kiss. Her heart is slowing, and her shaking is easing.
“I need you to trust me, trust that you are safe.” I hold the side of her face and brush my thumb over her lip to stop her incessant nibbles. “Will you give me until tonight to explain?”
Her face turns cute with a pout. “Why can’t you now?”
A smile curls my lips, and I’m just thankful she’s not freaking out. This is what I need—for Aubrey to be calm and accept what she can for now.
I lean in to plant a kiss at the corner of her jaw so I can speak near her ear. “Because a certain social media woman wanted to throw a ball in my home, and there is still much to be done.” Her breath hitches when I nip her ear. “And we both know Doyle will howl and throw a hissy fit if I don’t do my part.”
Finally, I get what I want. She gives me a small giggle, and the sound is music to my worries. “He does like to get pissy.”
My vision fades to red again and I shake my head to clear it. I glance at Aubrey, and my entire body seizes. Goddammit, even now, I still want to fuck her into the wall again.I’m posturing like an aggressive gorilla during mating season.
I pull back and she looks at me as if she’s staring directly into my charred and blackened soul, like I’ve exposed it for her.
