Page 32 of Your Coffin or Mine
People talk about butterflies when attracted to someone, but this feels like a flock of birds in my stomach—birds directly tied to my vagina, aiming at Vlad and going “mine.”How can he turn me into a puddle with one look? His whole face should be illegal.
I reach for the first thing that pops into my head to answer him. “My room still has no hot water. I even tried the sink and nothing. It’s all cold. I had to have a cold wash just to get changed.”
His brow furrows. “The renovations were just finished today, but perhaps something was missed. You can use my private suite until yours can be repaired, if you like. It has been recently renovated, and I think you will be pleased with it.”
If I like? Where did he pull all this sudden charm from? His ass?
My heart rate kicks into overdrive at the thought of using his bath. He stares at me from across the table and heat pools between my legs. He grins, the edges of his mouth curling, and it reminds me of a show I watched as a kid: little red riding hood and the big bad wolf. He looks like he wants to eat me, and my body is fully on board to let him.
My cheeks burn from his attention, and I realize it’s nothimmaking me uncomfortable. It’s that I just let him finger me, practically begging him to, when I have never acted like that with anyone before. More than that, I want to do it again.
I clench my eyes shut.Just remember what Bernadette said. I can do whatever I want on my vacation. That includes having a random fling.That’s why I put the condom in my pocket in the first place.
Oddly, there is something about him that makes me feel safe, but that could be because of the orgasm situation. Chad couldn’t find a clitoris with a diagram and a map.
“I’ve deposited your luggage in your room, Aubrey. The airline dropped it off earlier,” Doyle says as he enters the dining room with my steaming plate, and I let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh, they found it?” I ask, my voice perking up. “Thank you. Maybe Vlad will leave my wardrobe alone now,” I say a little too enthusiastically.
Vlad arches a brow. “Doubtful.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I actually packed for Tahiti, so I guess I owe you a thank you for that too.”
“How is it you ended up here, anyway?” Doyle asks as he places my steak in front of me again, and I’m pleased that it’s no longer threatening to moo at me.
Vlad sits back, obviously wanting to know the same.
I’m surprised Doyle is here, but I get the feeling it’s because he doesn’t want to leave us in the same room alone together.Oh god, I can’t believe he almost walked in on us!
“I had plans for the beach that fell through. Instead of staying home, I just swapped tickets to Romania.” Awkwardness spreads, or maybe I’m just imagining it because I don’t really want him knowing that I caught my ex cheating just days ago and would rather not talk about anything serious... Ugh. I am such a slut.
It’s also how I got my days mixed up when booking, since I was shaking through tears, justifiably upset.
Doyle’s face lights up, and he smiles warmly. “Lucky for us then.”
“Indeed it is.” Vlad’s eyes undress me, sending shivers down my spine.
Yep, I’ll admit it. The way he looks at me makes me feel like a schoolgirl with a first crush. The thought that he could want me as much as I want him is almost too hard to believe. I smile at Doyle, trying to cool off from my reaction to Vlad, and look around the dining room as I dig into my food.
“I wanted to ask you about that castle tour, Doyle.”
Doyle smiles and sits down to eat his steak. “Of course. Just let me know when you would like to do it and I’ll make myself available.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Vlad’s tone is hard, and I can practically feel the tension rising between them. Is there a dick-measuring contest happening that I should know about? I kick him lightly under the table. “Doyle can show me around tomorrow. I’m sure you have plenty of other things to do around this big place.”
Doyle smirks. “Like opening the door to visitors.”
“Oh, right,” I rasp, before my lips tighten in memory. “What happened to the old guy who let me in? Does he live here too? I mean, honestly, as big as this place is, I wouldn’t be surprised.” That guy wassocranky. Sheesh.
I take a bite of salad and then freeze at the expressions screaming WTF on their faces.What did I say?
Vlad starts choking as Doyle says, “He is actually on holiday visiting family in Australia at the moment.”
“Oh, that’s so nice! I’ve heard it’s beautiful over there,” I gush, until Vlad looks like he’s dying as he suppresses another cough. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he wheezes after a moment.
