I press my hand to my heart. “Shit, you scared me.”
He eyeballs my knife then cocks a brow. “What are you doing with that?”
I shrug, lowering the knife to my side. “It seemed too quiet, and I thought maybe something was going on.”
He takes the knife out of my hand and tosses in on the dresser. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Hey,” I say, “give me some credit. I’m not as klutzy as I used to be.”
He doesn’t smile, only steps toward me and backs me into the room. Then he closes the door and locks it, sending red flags popping up everywhere.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, gripping the foot of the bed.
He shakes his head, his gaze never wavering from me. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you how thankful I am for you never judging me.” He picks up the knife and drags the blade across his palm. “You accepted me, even when I was at my worst, even when I was pure fucking evil.”
“Laylen, just because you’re a vampire, it doesn’t mean you’re evil.” I want to touch him, to try to comfort him, but the dark look in his eyes stops me. “You’re good. You just don’t realize it.”
“Still . . . you trust me. It’s never made any sense.”
“Of course I trust you,” I say, but right now, I’m not so sure. “Sometimes I trust you more than anyone.”
His lips curl into a grin. “I know.” He moves in front of me and traces his fingers down my arm, causing me to shiver. He smiles as he notices. “You have the softest skin.”
I try to remain calm. This is just Laylen. There’s nothing to worry about.
“Is something wrong?”
“You know, I never thanked you for that day in the alley,” he says, his hand traveling up to my shoulder. “When you saved my life, letting me bite you like that, it was really fucking amazing . . . You tasted really fucking amazing”
I shift uncomfortably, remembering the bite and all the feelings that came with it. He’s right; it was amazing, way, way too amazing. Just thinking about it causes my body to tremble and my pulse to quicken.
He smiles like he can sense what I’m feeling.
“I couldn’t let you die,” I whisper.
“But you could have.” His fingers press against my neck, right where my pulse is throbbing. “You didn’t have to let me bite you, yet you did.”
“No, I had to.” My voice cracks as lust fills his eyes. “I couldn’t let you die.”
He wets his lips with his tongue. “God, you smell so good.”
“Are you okay? You seem kind of . . .” I start to inch away from him, but he grabs my wrist.
“Kind of what?”
“Off.”
The hunger in his expression causes me to jerk back, but his fingers constrict around my wrist, securing me in place.
“Off how?” He cups the base of my throat and strokes my skin. “You’re so beautiful right now, all flushed and turned on, even though you won’t admit it.”
Something’s definitely wrong. This isn’t the Laylen I know.
I grip his hand, trying to lift it from my neck. “I don’t think—”
He slaps his hand across my mouth. “Stop talking,” he hisses, and then fangs slide out from his lips, murderous blood seekers ready to devour me.
I yank away, but he snatches ahold of both my wrists and jerks me against him. His body is cold like ice, but his breath is hot against my neck.
“You smell so good . . . I just can’t . . . can’t . . .” He growls before his fangs sink into my neck, and he pushes me onto the bed.
I scream, but his fangs only dig deeper.
ALEX
Draven wasn’t lying. I had my doubts about the Lord of the Afterlife telling the truth, but here it is, my mother’s gravestone, exactly like he said.
I left Amelia back at the iron-barred entrance, wanting to visit my mom’s grave alone. Her headstone is plain, only the initials A. A. marking it. There’s no mention of her being a mother, no date of her death. If I was just been passing through, I never would’ve given the stone a second glance. To most, she’s probably no one. To me, she’s the only link to my past that doesn’t cause agonizing pain.
In her journal, she wrote that she worried my father was going to kill her because she knew things she wasn’t supposed to. She worried he’d find out her secret. But if all else failed, she’d give