thinking we were merely in a hotel, a hotel that had a strange aversion to windows.
There were a few doors, all of them closed and I was reminded of the lower levels of Vincent’s club. Was this how it was with most of the vampires in Centennial City? Did all of them live with patrons? Did any of them strike out on their own? Was it even allowed?
It hadn’t escaped my notice there were far less doors down here. Then again, perhaps those under Noir’s care preferred the upstairs, and actually liked having windows.
She stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway and curtsied again, bowing so loud it was surprising to see her stand up straight without wobbling. “My Master hopes you find this room to your satisfaction.”
Jason nodded. “Thank you...I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name?”
Twin spots of red rode high on her cheeks. Was it embarrassment? Or pleasure? Either way, it had seemed she had fed and fed well recently. Vampires couldn’t blush unless they had human blood running through their system. “Amaryllis, sir. But most everyone calls me Mary.”
A vampire called Mary and looked like she was fourteen. Christ.
He smiled. “Just call me Jason. No need to stand on ceremony here, is there?”
Her eyelashes fluttered up and down as though she couldn’t stand to look at him straight in the eyes. Bashfulness from something that was at least two hundred years old...this was new to me. And somewhat terrifying at the same time. What sort of beast was this girl when her bloodlust was unleashed?
Actually, I didn’t even want to know.
She curtsied again and glided back up the hallway, her footsteps silent on the carpet.
Jason had a hand on the doorknob, although he did not turn it.
“Ran.”
It was the first time since killing Shannon he had spoken to me, even acknowledged my presence. I didn’t know if I should have felt suspicious or relieved. “I’m here.”
He laughed, softly, barely even a murmur, but a laugh it had been all the same. “You are, aren’t you?”
To say I was confused would have an understatement. “Is there something you wanted to say?”
He let out a slow, shuddering breath and then opened the door. “No. Never mind. Forget it.”
“Jason, please.”
“Just get in.”
“We need to talk.” I hated that I sounded so whiny.
“Later,” he said blankly.
I hoped so.
The suite was suitable enough, I supposed. Spartan in its decoration, with the walls painted an unassuming beige, it really did look like a hotel, minus the windows and the complimentary coffee machine with the stack of thin coffee cups that almost always leaked after fifteen minutes.
There was a door set off to the side, which I assumed was for the bathroom and I stared at the bed. Large and covered with satin gold sheets that probably felt like sin against the naked skin, I became almost painfully aware of Jason closing the door behind him.
“That’s it?” asked Jason as he took off the coat with the dried blood. I tried not to think about it, too much. “Not exactly the height of elegance, is it?”
I didn’t consider myself a prude. It was hard to think of myself as a sexual being when I’d never had a date, but I was really hoping the small sofa in front of the large plasma TV next to the bed was a pull-out one. I wasn’t so sure how Jason would feel sharing a bed with the woman who had killed his ex fiance.
“I’ll take the sofa.”
I don’t know if I expected him to argue, but he nodded and tossed his coat across the silky sheets and I watched as a fleck of dried blood peeled off and landed amongst all that golden threads. It looked dirty, obscene, even, but you couldn’t pay enough to move his coat. I’m a bit of a neat freak, but I wasn’t that bad. “Fine.”
I stood around feeling like an idiot as he walked around the small room, touching the top of an empty dresser, one hand trailing along the bed clothes, even opening the door that indeed was a small but shining bathroom that smelled like lavender bath crystals and the faintest tinge of bleach. “What’s wrong?”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to kick myself in the face. I’d never been much of a talker, but that just sounded terrible to me. How would Jason take it?
He shook his head and took a seat at the foot of the bed, hands