Page 27 of Ouch! My Vampire Doms Don't Sparkle
“If you’re hungry, you can stay under the table and feed on Freya like the dog you are,” Gaius says.
I quickly look away from Freya’s expression of lust.This sight isn’t something I agreed to.Gaius is a monster in every sense of the word.
“We’ll take our leave now,” Will says, giving a quick nod to Gaius and grabbing my arm.
The wet sounds coming from beneath the table make my stomach turn.
It takes all of my self-control to walk, instead of run, from Gaius’s mansion.
Autumn
Unblinking, I stare at Clarissa’s message for several minutes, trying to absorb what surely has to be a practical joke.
Because what.The.Fuck.
Dale and I are in a relationship.I’m in love with your stepdad.
No.Just no.
I click away from the email, swiping it off the phone screen with the tip of my finger.
It can’t be true.This is a joke.Or maybe Dale hacked into Clarissa’s email and sent the email without her knowledge?How would he even get that?I don’t think he knows her email.
The message sounded just like her, though.
That’s because it is her—she wrote it.
She’s in love with Dale?
No, shethinksshe’s in love with Dale.
Also, she’s “worried about my mental state”?What the hell?She knows I’m sane.Wait…does she?I try to recall the night I left.What did I say to her?Something about Dale being dangerous.I’d never even hinted at something like that before.It might have sounded unhinged in the moment.
Or Dale sank his claws into her and started manipulating her from the get-go.
He has charm.Charisma.Objectively, I guess he’s an attractive guy.Since my mom’s death, there’s been no shortage of women vying for his attention.He never gave any of them a second look, though.I always thought it was because he still carried a torch for my mom.
The light dinner Will made for me swirls in my stomach and threatens a reappearance.I swallow.Swallow again.I’m going to be sick.
I bend forward at my waist and put my hands on my knees, breathing hard.Please don’t throw up, please don’t throw up.
Did Clarissa and Dale’s relationship start after I ran away, or had it been going on before?
I try to think back—were there any red flags?When we were in college, Clarissa once called Dale a DILF, but she quickly retracted it.Probably because I choked on the beer I’d been drinking.
The back door gives the softest creak when it opens.I jolt out of my thoughts and listen hard.
“Autumn,” Will says.“We’re back.”
“You’reback,” Xander says.“Iam getting some clothes and leaving.”
Will asks, “Where are you going?You should stay here.”
“Dorado Heights.You know I can’t stay.”
I bury my face in my hands.Xander isn’t saying it outright, but he doesn’t want to stay because of me.
It’s fine.It’s fine, it’s fine.I don’t need him to like me, or even approve.
