With my back to the door, I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.
What was I doing? And why did I want nothing more than to keep on doing it?
As impossible as it was, it was certain in my mind that Nicolas wasn’t human. Not even remotely. He was something else altogether.
Probably something dangerous. But I wasn’t entirely sure I cared anymore.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN || COLE
“What do you want?” Harris demanded, sounding both groggy and annoyed with me. “Has something happened? Another vampire attack?”
“No—unless you know something I don’t.”
“Well, an entire bus full of Mormon missionaries went missing. They were headed back to Salt Lake for debriefing.” He sighed, sounding exhausted. “We found the bus, but the missionaries are gone. Does that count?”
I snorted. “Hardly. If a hungry vampire attacked the bus, you’d know. The missionaries probably came to their senses and went partying instead.”
“All fifty of them?”
“I’ve been around for a very long time, Detective. Trust me—stranger things have happened. Are you lot treating this as a homicide?”
“Not yet. The FBI will probably take over anyway. We’ve managed to keep it quiet so far, but it’s only a matter of time until the media has a field day.” Then he hesitated. “Cole, seriously. Is everything okay? You don’t sound like yourself.”
I paced my living room. It was far smaller than the property I owned off Sunset Boulevard, but it felt more like home. And that was entirely because of Eli’s proximity.
“No, everything is not okay,” I said, stopping in my tracks. I stared at the painting the decorators had put on the wall—a field of lavender. There was a strange ache in my chest that I didn’t like one bit. “Eli is unhappy, and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“You called me up to talk about your love life?”
“Well, yes.” My grip tightened on the phone and, even though he couldn’t see it, I shook my head. His question was ridiculous. “Who else would I talk to about it?”
Harris sighed. “C’mon, Cole. It’s four in the morning. Have some decency.”
“Not in my nature, I’m afraid.”
“And don’t I know it,” Harris muttered—not really a question. He sounded more alert now, thankfully. “Fine. We’ll talk about your love life. Because why not?” He paused, then added, “Are things not going well with the doctor?”
“No, everything is fine. He kissed me tonight.”
Harris sighed, and I heard rustling, as though he’d sat up in bed. “Poor guy.”
“I’ll always treat him well,” I said firmly. I didn’t like how much Harris sounded like he meant it. “Eli has little to fear from me.”
“I really cannot tell if you mean that or not.”
“Are you always this cranky?”
“Only when I’m woken in the middle of the night to talk about boy troubles with the psychopathic vampire who thinks we’re besties,” Harris said, punctuating that with a yawn. “And anyway, if he kissed you—what’s the problem? Aren’t you getting what you want? Or close to it, at least?”
“No!” I snapped, my annoyance climbing. Abruptly, I realized that maybe I thought we were friends—and his words had stung. After all, I wouldn’t call just anyone for advice. Hypnotizing humans into helping me had become routine over the centuries, but asking them for help with my love life certainlyhadn’t. And truly, how could Harris think we weren’t friends? Trying to keep my voice even, I added, “If I merely wanted to sleep with Eli, I would have been done with him two weeks ago.”
Harris went quiet on the other end for a long while. I began to worry he’d fallen asleep when he finally said, “If he’s not a potential victim and you don’t just want to sleep with him, then what the hell do you want?”
“I told you this already. I don’t want him to be unhappy. He seemed upset earlier. That’s why I’m calling—for you to help me fix it.”
“Did you tell him what you are?”
“Of course not!”
