Throwing her legs off the side of the bed, she abruptly stopped.
Her limbs felt … weird.
Flexing a hand, she stared at it, trying to figure out—
Visions of a vampire attacking her, followed by a light exploding from her body, filled her mind again.
No.
No way.
She stood, expecting her legs to tremble, but they didn’t. Power coursed through her limbs but as she crossed to a doorway adjacent to the bed, her whole body felt lighter somehow.
Strangely lighter—but stronger.
The doorway led into a small sitting room that matched the décor of the bedroom.
Yup, she was definitely in a hotel suite.
It smelled strongly of orange blossom but there was a slight trace of fresh cologne.
How the hell could she smell that?
She turned back into the bedroom and hurried across the room to the adjoining bathroom. A large mirror hung on the wall behind the marble sink, and Rose leaned toward it, pushing her dark hair off her neck.
There were no wounds.
No vampires.
It was just … just a dream, right? But then why was she here? In this strange room? Who had brought her here? And why did she feel like she was walking around in a new body?
As her panic built, so did her fear. She watched in disbelief as bright gold bled through the blue of her irises.
“Fuck!” She scrambled back from the mirror, slapping her hands over her eyes.
Her breasts heaved with choppy breaths as she tried to calm down. Unsuccessfully.
Rose lowered her hands and opened her eyes.
Yeah, they were still bright gold!
Unnatural.
Remembering the way her wounds from the vampire’s fangs had healed over, Rose moved closer to the mirror again.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
The fight had been real. The vampire had been real. But what … what did that make her? Was she a vampire too? His eyes had been silver in the light. Why were hers gold?
Vampires.
Strange powers …
A door opened beyond the bedroom and it sounded like it had opened right next to her. She grew aware of the sound of voices in the room next door. A couple were discussing whether they wanted to get room service or dine in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The man didn’t care. His priority was sex.
Okay, then. Suffice it to say Rose’s hearing was way better than it was yesterday. As was her sense of smell.
Huh.
Rose flinched back from the mirror, heart pounding. Was she turning into a vampire too?
“Rose?” an unfamiliar voice called her name.
Who was that?
What had happened in that alleyway? She’d sensed this unimaginable power in her limbs and faced the vampire to fight, but then everything went dark. The next thing she remembered was waking up in this room.
Not one to hide in fear and confusion, despite how afraid she was, Rose threw back her shoulders and strode out of the bathroom only to come to an immediate halt.
Standing in the doorway between the bedroom and sitting room was the man from the club. Not the vampire. The other one. The mammoth, well-dressed one who had moved through the crowd with a preternatural grace. The one she’d felt inexplicably drawn to. This close to him, she could see she’d been wrong about his height. He was taller than the six and a half feet she’d guessed. Rose swallowed hard as he ambled toward her.
“No need for golden eyes, Rose Kelly,” he said in a deep rumble of a voice. “I’m here to help, not to hurt.”
Rose stared up at him in awe. The only guy taller she’d ever met in real life was Patrick King, a basketball player at UPenn who went on to play for the NBA.
“Who are you?”
Piercing eyes the color of spring green stared back at her, mesmerizing. She’d thought they were contacts in the club. Now she realized the lasers had made them look eerier than they were. In fact, she’d never seen eyes so stunning. Other than when hers bled gold in the bathroom mirror.
The stranger waited patiently before her. Like the previous night, he wore a three-piece suit. His stylish, well-tailored attire was a sharp contrast to his massive shoulders, his blunt, rugged features, unshaven face, and unkempt, longish, dark blond hair. He reminded her of a caged tiger—the suit was an illusion of safety between you and an animal that could tear you to shreds with a simple swipe of his paw.
“Who are you?” she repeated.
The man cocked his head, frowning. “I can hear your heart racing. That’s unnecessary.”
“Are you a vampire?”
“No.” He retreated and gestured toward the doorway.