Page 30 of The HalloQueen

He froze and glared at me, “Annabel, I can’tnoteat, and frankly it isn’t like I can ask for volunteers. It doesn’t hurt anyone and they don’t even know. You asking me not to harvest is you asking me to take on a fate that I’m unwilling to accept.”

“Because it’d kill you?”

He shook his head solemnly, “I can assure you that it’s worse than that. I would cease to exist and I would become a black hole on this earth.”

“But-” I started and he shook his head.

“I don’t want to talk about that with you Annabel, not yet.”

I turned and tucked my legs between his. It was my turn to furrow my brow, “okay, but what if I had a proposition for you?”

He gave me a sad smirk, “then, of course, I would be happy to listen.”

12

THOMAS

Annabel turned in her stool so her legs were sandwiched between mine. The warmth of her skin was intoxicating and her energy thrummed through the fabric of our trousers. Her steady vibrations made me want to wrap my arms around her and get one more taste. If she was about to give me the “bite me and then get out of town” speech, I might consider ending this existence willingly at the thought of never tasting her again.

“Okay, but what if I had a proposition for you?” Those were her words, and I knew that it couldn’t be a good thing. It felt like one of those awful nights toward the end when Yusuf would come in after work and sit in front of the fire, releasing a deep sigh and announcing,"we need to talk."

I tried to steady my nerves, but I knew I was already fucked when it came to Annabel. I’d be haunted by ginger and citrus for the rest of my existence. I feigned confidence and answered, “Then, of course, I would be happy to listen.” She bounced her legs for a moment and I placed my hand over her knee. She glared at me and I quickly reassured her, “I have to be touching your bare skin, amour. This is just because I want to.”

She worried her bottom lip, as if the courage she was trying to summon was at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and opened and closed her mouth several times, unsure of how to start her train of thought.

“Bels,mon coeur, you can ask me anything. You cantellme anything.”

She muttered, “says the vampire,” again and I chuckled.

“You know, you’ll have to watch yourself in public, that seems to be becoming one of your favorite arguments and it won’t hold up in mixed company.”

Annabel nodded again, “Okay. Proposition time.”

“Oui…” I couldn’t hide my smirk when her legs started bouncing again.

“Fuck, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“What, Bels?”

“When you harvest energy from me…share energy with me…mix our mojos?” She grimaced, “when whatever it is happens, I feel safe and calm and comfortable with you. Though I do feel like any lust I feel when I’m with you could be a gray area of consent because I don’t know if you’re-”

“I can’t force an attraction between us, Bels, I’m fairly certain that the chemistry between us isau naturel.”

She grunted at that thought, “I feel like I need to take control of this a little bit.”

“Okay…”

“What if we agree that if I let you harvest my anxiety from me so I can get through this stupid fall launch without wanting to die, that you don’t harvest from anyone else in town? No kids, no tourists, nothing.”

I arched a brow at her, “you want me to be exclusively feeding from you?”

“Is that a thing?” She asked with an uncertainty that bordered on adorable.

“Uh…it can be, but usually there’s a…precedent for it.”

“What kind of precedent?”

I hesitated, how did I want the conversation to play out? How did I tell her that I wanted nothing more than to claim her as my own and tell everyone else to keep away from her? How I wanted her to be mine? How I wanted that raven on her thigh to mean nothing to her other than my name?

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