the pain out of me, one kiss at a time. There were so many things I didn’t know about her and that voice in my head whispered dangerous things. But I ignored the voice. I rolled over onto my side and pulled her face toward mine. “There will never be anyone else. You’re mine now.”
Her eyes flickered with something I’d never seen in her before. A wild, feral look of hunger and desire. A look that seemed to be buried under all that innocence and brokenness. She yanked me toward her with a strength I was not expecting. “Again,” she whispered. “Fuck me again.”
My phone was blowing up with messages—Enzo, Charlie, and Cassius. I ducked into the study while Raven took a tour of the library. She loved books, so as soon as I mentioned that I had a first edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, she insisted on seeing it immediately. A vampire who collected fictional books about vampires… The irony was not lost on me.
The first message was from Charlie, wanting to know if I was interested in any party favors. The usual—women and booze. It had been over a week since I’d reached out to him so he was probably wondering where I was.
Then there were messages from Enzo. He noticed that Raven didn’t get in the van with the other staff members and warned me again not to fuck things up for her.
And lastly, Cassius. Wanting to hang out and discuss business. Namely, the hacker situation.
I ignored all of them.
It had been decades since I was able to just relax and not worry about anything. Having Raven here in my home made me happier than I thought it would. The only thing gnawing at me was the elephant in the room. The giant, blood sucking elephant that she didn’t even know existed. The last time I told a woman I loved what I really was, I ended up with Camille. And now that was coming back to haunt me.
I wanted to believe Raven was different, but you can never really know someone. Did I want to take that risk again? I couldn’t hide it from her forever. At some point she was going to wonder why I disappeared every few hours into the cellar. She would start to question why I never got sick or injured or looked any older.
I turned off my phone and headed upstairs to the library. Raven was nestled on the couch, feet tucked underneath her, and engrossed in one of my books.
“The Count of Monte Cristo. Good choice. One of my favorites.” I leaned against the doorway, admiring the serene look on her face as she read.
She peered up. “I’ve loved this story since I was a kid. It always made me wonder who people really were. Not the story they tell, but the true identity of every soul. I think we all hide those parts of ourselves.”
I smiled. We were more alike than I’d thought. It was as if she understood what I was on some cellular level, even without knowing on a conscious one. “Some things must be hidden in order to protect oneself. Secrets are just that for a reason. Sometimes the reasons are valid ones. Tell me, Raven, do you have secrets?”
She gazed out the French windows, clutching the book to her chest. “Of course I do. But I think those around me have greater ones. My whole life I could feel it. That something wasn’t right. The way everyone tiptoed around me waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was like they were all in on it except me. And so I never felt like I really belonged there. Not in Maplewood, not even in my own home.”
A twinge of guilt rippled through me at the realization that I was one of those people in her life now that was keeping secrets from her. “The truth finds its way out eventually. Even when you don’t want it to.”
I knew that all too well.
She nodded and smiled lazily at me. “I know it’s coming. And when whatever it is does, I know that there will be no going back. Everything will change.”
I wanted to shield her from all of it. Protect her forever. But there was no avoiding this destiny. Not unless I let her go. And I had no intention of doing so. I waited too long for someone like Raven. I just needed to find the right words and the right time before it was