and see a run-down, abandoned hotel with the windows boarded and covered in graffiti. We ran a tight ship and hadn’t had any security issues, either with fledglings getting out or humans getting in.
I loved the compound and kept an apartment here. Most of the council offices were here, seasoned vampires also had the option of taking an apartment here, and the weekly coven dinners were all here. So it made everything easier to be on site.
“Do you need any assistance, sir?” the driver asked, motioning to Drew.
“No, thank you. I’ve got her.”
Drew
Diego clutched me to his chest while carrying me inside a skyscraper that I had never seen before. If I were being honest with myself, I could have walked, but I wasn’t feeling it. I felt like a toddler pretending to sleep so my parents could carry me inside. I breathed in his scent and licked my lips. His strong arms wrapped around my body made me feel safe. Even if I wasn’t fond of the asshole, I had to admit he was a sexy dude. He might be a total dick and slightly insane, but unless I wanted to rely on a pamphlet that looked like it was made in the eighties, I needed his help.
“You done pretending to sleep?” he asked once we arrived at a set of elevators.
“I kind of like being carried, so no. I’m absolutely asleep,” I replied before pressing my nose against his shirt and inhaling like a psychopath. “Why do you smell so good? Why haven’t I tried killing you and going to the police yet?”
He shifted, his hand landing on my ass as he carried me. I about melted in his palm. Holy hell, what was wrong with me?
“You’re going to feel uncharacteristically attached to me,” Diego answered before gripping me harder. I looked up at him in confusion as the elevator doors opened and he stepped inside. Rocky went to follow us, but Diego stopped him. “Take the next elevator.”
The doors shut, and I wondered what that was about. “What do you mean by uncharacteristically attached?” I asked.
“I knew you didn’t read the pamphlet,” Diego said with a mumbled curse. “Since you drank my blood for the change, you are technically sired to me. Normally, you’d be sired to whoever changed you, but my blood pulled rank in this scenario.”
“What exactly does sired mean?” I asked with a gulp.
Diego set me down, and my legs felt like jelly. “It means, fledgling, that you will feel very compelled to please me in all ways. You’ll feel sick when we’re apart for too long. It’ll make your stomach twist to disobey me. You’re still new. My blood is still invading every newly turned cell in your body.”
I licked my lips, but my stomach coiled with tension. I didn’t like the idea of some supernatural compulsion controlling my feelings about someone. It felt like mind rape. “Well, then I should probably say this while my mind is still my own,” I growled. “I absolutely refuse to please you in all ways. Consent means I need to be of my own mind, and right now, I refuse to do anything with you.”
He smiled. “You don’t want me at all?” Diego asked while closing in on me. My back hit the elevator wall, and my breath hitched.
“Not at all,” I squeaked, even though my body was practically screaming at me that this was a lie.
His lips pressed against the shell of my ear, and I moaned when he dragged his sharp teeth along the skin of my neck. “I promise not to fuck you unless you beg,” Diego whispered before pulling away. “Besides, the sire bond will wear off in a few days. Once you start drinking other blood, you won’t have to worry about it. We had an evolutionary specialist research it. Apparently, it’s our species’ way of surviving. The first few days of a transition can be very difficult. The person who sired you is responsible for teaching you our ways.”
“Thank fuck it wears off,” I mumbled.
“Hmm, it can’t be all that bad. At least now you have a reason for wanting me. Whatever will you tell yourself once the sire bond has worn off?”
The doors to the elevator opened on the fifteenth floor, and I practically sprinted out of there so I wouldn’t have to answer him. Truthfully, I didn’t know how I would handle that. I got halfway down the hall before I realized I had no idea where I