long-term commitment. It can be hard to find someone who’s not full of sins and suitable for my more essential hunger, but I don’t like mixing necessity with pleasure. Something about feeding off someone while I fuck them turns me off.
Gunnar makes a harrumph sound and crosses his arms over his chest. “You might know the person I’m meeting there.”
“Oh yeah, who’s that?” I keep my voice light, pretending I’m not dying to know.
“Vanessa.” He turns his head and watches me for a reaction. I force myself not to sneer. I know Vanessa. Who doesn’t know Vanessa? She owns the fucking club and she’s a fucking gorgeous, sexy-as-hell redhead with a killer body.
“Oh yeah, I’ve met her a few times.” She’s also full of sins. I fed off her once, but she left a bad taste in my mouth, so I’ve stayed away from her ever since. “Do you know her well?” I merge onto the highway. The traffic here is still light, but we’re getting closer to town, so it will only get heavier now.
“I’ve known her for a long time,” he answers, evading the question. I tap my fingers on the top of the steering wheel. I’m tired of his avoidance.
“How did you end up at my house, in my house?” I decide to just ask him outright. I hear him suck his tongue against his teeth. “Let’s drop the bullshit, shall we? I’m pretty sure you’re not just a human.”
“I was,” he says softly. “A very long time ago.” Gunnar looks down at his large hands, his palms facing up.
“And now?” I’m almost breathless with the knowledge that he’s different, like me.
“And now I’m not.” He settles his hands on his legs and stares straight forward. His body language is telling me he’s done talking about it.
I almost press him, almost demand he tell me more, but I don’t. I have a strange desire for him to want to tell me about himself without me prodding.
“I’m not human either,” I tell him, even though I’m pretty sure he already knew that. “I don’t even know what I am, really,” I add blandly. It doesn’t bother me as much as it used to, but I’d still like to know where I came from, and if there’s anyone else out there like me.
I pull into a dark parking structure adjacent to the club. The growl of the engine echoes off the cement walls and ceiling as I find a parking spot on the first level.
“You’re coming in?” Gunnar actually sounds a little panicked.
“Might as well, I don’t get into town all that often.” I cut the car off and open the door. “Don’t worry, I won’t cramp your style.” I give him a tight smile.
“I don’t want people seeing us together.”
My head jerks back, but I let out a bitter laugh. “Harsh much?” I turn and walk away from my car, leaving him standing in the parking garage. Over my shoulder, I wave at him with a single finger salute. “Fuck you, too, Gunnar. I should have let your guts fall out.”
Even my stomping footsteps don’t hide the sound of his shoes eating up the distance between us. He grabs my arm, but I tug free from his grip and slowly turn to face him. “Don’t. Touch. Me.” I let a little of my power seep into my voice. I’ve never had to fight anyone physically, but I feel like I could rip his head off right now if I wanted to.
“That’s not what I meant. You took what I said wrong.” Gunnar pulls his hand back and drops his arms to his sides.
“So, it meant something other than you don’t want people to see us together? Maybe I need to get my ears checked, ‘cause that’s what I heard.” I cross my arms over my chest. I’m offended. I’ve never had a man say they didn’t want to be seen with me. I’m fucking beautiful—I don’t even need a dash of makeup. My skin is flawless, my lashes are long and dark even though I’m a natural blonde, and I have lips that make men dream of blow jobs. I could give Vanessa and her fake, fat-filled ass a run for her money any day of the week.
What the hell is wrong with me? Until I met this man, I could count how many times I’ve been insecure on one hand, but between the shitshow with Aeson earlier and now, I’m about to surpass my old totals.
“Most people