Page 11 of B Negative

He sauntered by me and sank into the sofa, never once letting his exposed neck out of my sight.

Okay…

“Um, who are you exactly?”

“I’m your next meal, Ms. Vaughn.”

“Right, well, I’m from Laurel Cove, and we don’t—”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” he said. “All of us on the thirty-third floor are aware of your presence. It was quite the blood bath deciding who got to be the first to feed you.”

My hand paused over the doorknob. “You’re kidding.”

“I am. But we were all very excited to meet you.”

“And why is that?” I asked, crossing the room to sit next to him.

He leaned in close, dark lashes fanning across his tan skin before he met my gaze. “Because Covers are so much more appreciative of drinking from a live vein. Here in Cypress City, the vamps are so accustomed to us that the experience can be rather… transactional. Which it’s definitely not meant to be.”

Transactional?

I looked the man up and down.

He seemed healthy and well taken care of. Not tweaked out and abused like the rumors said all human donors were in Cypress City.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

The man’s cheeks flushed with color. “My name is Devon.”

“Right. Well, Devon, I don’t know how comfortable I am drinking from you, consent notwithstanding.”

“Of course. Most Covers are a little gun shy at first,” he said, drawing a small knife from the pocket of his linen pants.

He held out a wrist, prepared to open a vein to feed me, but I stopped him with a hand on his knee. “Devon, before I can feed from you, I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Oh, I’m clean, Ms. Vaughn. Taking a position on the thirty-third floor means getting tested for blood-borne illnesses bi-monthly.”

Blood-borne illness? “Can vampires contract a blood-born illness from a human?”

“No. But as I understand it, illness of any kind spoils the flavor.”

“I see. So, the testing isn’t for your health or safety, it’s only making sure the meat doesn’t spoil? Sounds about right.”

Devon took my hand in his. “Eden,” he whispered, drawing my gaze to his. “May I call you Eden?”

I nodded.

“You must eliminate all your preconceived notions about Cypress City. Most are based on half-truths at best. Rest assured, I am well compensated for my time. I am not mistreated, nor is anyone on thirty-three. We chose our line of work, and we are free to leave it whenever we like.”

I studied his face for a full minute. No part of his affect signaled that he was lying.

But Julian had said that Titus rewarded his human feeders with Ecstasy.

“There is a small underground faction of vampires with darker proclivities who enjoy drinking from humans with fresh drugs in their system, but those humans are fully cognizant of what they're getting into before a drop of blood is spilled.”

Again, I stared at him for far longer than he should have been comfortable with. But Devon allowed my scrutiny without so much as a flinch. And I believed he was telling the truth. He gave no scent of deception, only clean sweat and a healthy diet.

So then, how had Julian gotten it so wrong?

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