Page 134 of The Vampire's Thirst
Bounty kissed his cheek. “No. I expect you to be you. The brother I love. What I do expect, though, is for you to grovel at Chiara’s bare feet.” She looked at her hot-red nails as she sank into her chair. “Enough about you. How’s my Matty?”
“You know you can’t keep him, don’t you?”
“Why not?” She squeezed her brows tight.
“Because he’ll age and die. Fast.”
“I think Matty with a sprinkling of gray hair at his temples will be strikingly handsome.”
“I think he’s a borderline ass.”
“No, you don’t. You like him. He considers you a friend.”
Dax opened his mouth to say something stupid again, but Bounty held up a hand. “Don’t.”
“Seriously, sis. A long-time relationship with the human will only hurt you.”
“Here’s a tip. It’s easy to be miserable, bro. Happy? Not so easy. So, when you find it, grab on with both hands. Maybe it won’t last long, but what a great ride while it does.”
“How did you grow up to be smart? Good?”
“I had an excellent role model. Don’t change the subject. Back to my lover.”
“Is that what Matty is?”
“Yes.” Bounty checked out her nail polish. About time for a change, especially if she snagged a hot date with the human. “He’s tasty.”
“Your eyes say he’s more.”
“Is this the new you? All in touch with emotion?”
“Yeah. I’m about to gag.” Dax threw himself into a chair across from his sister’s desk.
She leaned her elbows on the desk. “You never answered my question. How’s Matty?”
“We sent him through the portal back to Bozeman, but before he left, he asked about you. Pretty soon, you two will be using me to pass notes in class.”
“He asked about me?” Bounty examined her nails again. “Of course he did. What did you say?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chiaradragged herself into bed early. After the raid on the abandoned Arisen Dawn garrison, a bunch of pissed-off warriors showed up at headquarters, hungry for dinner with a side-order of bitchiness. During the clean-up, she, Margo, and Fin discussed hiring kitchen and house management staff, a task dumped on them by Kole. Afterward, the Blood Coven females sneaked in a brief confab to solidify plans to rescue Celene. Cooking, cleaning, and sneaking around were exhausting.
When the doorbell rang, Chiara kicked off the Afghan with a sigh, crawling out of bed to eye the visitor through the peephole.
Shit. Dax.
She rested her forehead against the closed door. No way was she letting him inside. She had taken all she would from the vampire. “What do you want?”
“To talk.”
“You said enough last night.” Was it really only late last night Dax had broken her heart?
When she didn’t answer, he blabbed through the door. “I don’t deserve it, but just give me a couple minutes.”
She checked out her nightgown. It was flannel and boring. With her hand circling the knob, Chiara stiffened herspine, swung the door open, and moved aside to let him into the apartment.
The vampire swept past, heading straight for the couch where he flopped onto the cushions,legs spread wide,arms flung along the back.
