shoulder to me as he takes the steps three at a time, “I’ll let you finish down here and I’ll get back to doing the bills.”
I head over to the workbench, leaning back against it again. Examining Asa from head to toe, I’m glad to see his erection is gone. Although it’s a normal response to ingesting old vampire blood, it’s best not to dwell on it too much. I’ll pretend I never knew it was there to begin with. “How are you feeling with the blood?”
“Like I could fly! It’s fucking extraordinary, you should bottle that shit.”
Thinking of the half dozen vials already bottled and chilling in the mini-fridge on the third floor, I smile. “Yeah, good idea.”
The intelligence I saw in this young vampire’s face earlier in the lobby creeps back in and his look becomes shrewd. “I’ve asked three times now, are you going to tell me how old you are?”
“I’m over five hundred and fifty years old, but my exact age doesn’t matter that much.” I don’t bother to mention that my power feels much, much older. It’s a result of all the vampires I drained as an enforcer and the darker time before that as well. I’m not really sure how old I actually “feel” to one who can read power well. Perhaps well over a thousand years, though I’ve never asked anyone.
“Criminy, you look damn good for your age.” He tosses a cute grin my way. Crap. I had hoped we could ignore the arousal part.
“Well, I’m married, and that is that. Nothing will ever come of our bond, so look elsewhere, capisce?”
He steps back a bit, like he’s surprised. “Little full of yourself, eh? I was just saying you look good. I wasn’t inviting a roll in the hay.”
I can’t help it—I toss my head back and laugh. The sound peals from my throat in a lyrical rush. God, I needed that. He wants to salvage his pride over the raging boner, and that’s fine by me. I’ve got no issue with playing it that way.
I collect my decorum once more and wipe the tears from my eyes. “So sorry about that. Want to see the rest of the basement now? You can drill me for info as we go, ‘kay?”
Walking off in the direction of the open wall, I don’t bother to wait for confirmation. I hear his heavy, booted feet march behind me. I hit the lights as I enter through the opening and wait for the reaction I know is soon to follow.
“Holy shit! This basement runs under the entire first floor?” His voice sounds incredulous and I sneak a look back at him. Yup, his face mirrors it.
“Yes, it does. The north wing too. You just can’t see that angle from here.”
The space opens up before us, interspersed with support columns every twenty feet or so. Asa walks past me to move further into the basement under the hotel. “Why haven’t you divided it up into rooms?”
“My blood has made you stronger for now, and maybe a little less sensitive, but it is below grade down here. That would be a bitch to keep heated. And besides, we have storage rooms. There is no need to keep things down here. This area is unknown to all except Rafe, Jonathan, myself…and now you.”
I wait for a response but Asa wanders further in as though oblivious. He spots the first ladder descending from the ceiling and looks from it to the one past it, about twenty-five feet down, and then to the next. “Where do these ladders go?”
“They are escape routes. Every room has an access door in a closet, linked to the one above it on the next floor. All come straight down to here.” I’m quite pleased with the design, but he seems unimpressed. Maybe it is all a bit much to take in at once.
I’ve got a lot to cover, so I continue on. “There are tunnels leading from this foundation to other locations on the property.” I walk over to one of the access doors spaced between the first and second ladder. “Six in all. This one leads to cabin one. I’ve got a map of the resort for you upstairs. I recommend you walk around later and explore the outside before you venture through the tunnels. Safer that way, so you know where you are when you come up.”
Asa takes it all in, resting his hand on the first ladder and looking around at the vast