until sunrise,” he says, hand going to the curve of my hip. Finishing our romantic getaway with rock-your-socks-off sex sounds fantastic, but I’m too damn tired. “Don’t forget about the automatic blinds.”
“Right,” I say, opening my eyes and looking at the window. Every single glass surface of this house that lets light in gets covered with metal blinds around four a.m. It freaked me out for a while, but now that I know why the sound unnerved me so much, I handle it much better. “I got a few hours until then, right?”
“Right.” He kisses my neck.
“Is there still a heated blanket in the house?” I ask, feeling chilled again.
“I believe so. I’ll look.” He kisses my forehead and gets out of bed. I let my eyes fall shut, and I get a flash of Kenny Gray’s face, eyes black as night. The demon possessing him wanted to give me as a present, and it pisses me off more than anything else, but it unnerves me, too.
I’ve faced off against Varrador and Bael and made it out alive. My powers are growing, and the more I learn how to use my angelic side, the stronger I’ll be. But I know I have limits, and if I’m a worthy present for a high-ranking demon…wouldn’t my daughter be one as well? I can fight back. Defend myself.
But my baby…my baby will be helpless against the forces of darkness.
Chapter 14
“Finally,” I say when the doorbell rings. It’s a little after nine, and I’m waiting for my food to arrive. I didn’t sleep well last night, tossing and turning and waking with my heart racing from a bad dream I can’t quite remember.
The only food in the house was vegetables for Eliza’s guinea pigs, the leftover pizza, and several boxes of mac ’n cheese, but the milk was spoiled and there wasn’t enough butter. Starving, I was going to go pick something up, but Lucas called Monica, a human who runs errands for him as well as some of the other vampires at establishments he owns. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, and I’m happily surprised by how good she looks, considering the last time she looked like a human pincushion from being bitten so many times by her vampire boyfriend—who Eliza was screwing on the side.
“Hey, Callie,” she says with a smile on her face. She’s tan and either just got back from a sunny vacation or spends too much time inside a tanning salon. Regardless, it’s a stark contrast from the pale skin she usually has, probably both from avoiding sunlight to fit in with her vampire lover and from the constant blood loss.
“Hey,” I reply and step aside. It’s sunny today but still just as bitterly cold as yesterday.
She doesn’t come in, and I remember the one time she entered this house she was more than a little freaked out. “I hope I got everything right. Coffee, half regular and half decaf with French vanilla cream.”
“Yes, thank you.” I take the coffee from her.
“And a whole-wheat bagel with cream cheese, hotcakes with syrup, bacon, and a fruit salad.” She looks in the bag and then hands it to me as well.
“Perfect. Did you want to come in or anything? I know I won’t be able to eat this all. Lucas ordered for me, and I think he forgets human portions sometimes.”
Monica laughs. “At least he remembers you need to eat,” she says, making me think she’s speaking from experience. “And no, it’s okay.” Her eyes dart behind me, and then it dawns on me that the windows in this house are enchanted, and while most still have the automatic blinds drawn, Lucas raised the blinds in the kitchen for me to both test to see if the spell is still working and so I could have a bit of natural light while I eat. “I should get going. My boyfriend and I are meeting for a brunch date during his lunch break. He’s an EMT,” she adds proudly.
“So he’s not a vampire,” I say, though vampires can be EMTs. Well, if they can resist the blood. But an EMT who works during the day has to be human.
“Nope. I’m, uh, kind of taking a break from vampires for a while.”
“That’s probably a good idea…I say as someone who’s married to one.”
She laughs again, this time high-pitched and forced. “Congrats, by the way. I never got to tell you. I saw a wedding photo, and you looked really pretty.”
“Thanks,” I