How could a man who’d saved my life and held me so tenderly in his arms be a cold-blooded killer? I tried to reconcile it, to make some kind of sense out of it, but I couldn’t. I fought not to cry.
We’d driven out of town, the buildings had gradually dropped away, and the landscape switched between heavily wooded patches and long stretches of fields. Overhead a solemn sky glowered. We traveled into a section where towering pinesstraddled both sides of the road, hooding the dark landscape and causing an oppressive feeling. Or perhaps that was just the energy encasing the car. There were no signs of other traffic, and no houses.
The car slowed, and we pulled to the left. A large black iron gate opened up. The property was surrounded by extra-high rendered-brick walls, blocking any view of the house. Walls built to keep people out.
Or people in.
We drove through the gates, down a long drive, and stopped in front of what I could only describe as a mansion. It was a sprawling three-story brick house. Rose bushes sat against its walls and little garden lights lit up their green leaves. Yellow-and-white petals splashed heavily throughout. Yellow roses were my mother’s favorite. She’d have loved this garden. What a bitter irony. The wooden double doors were located mid-building. On the level above, small balconies looked over the grounds, which were encased by thick forest.
I got out and took a few tentative steps toward the house as Karson moved like sweeping water up the stairs. I paused at the bottom, feeling a little like a moth about to enter a bat’s den. The pun didn’t escape me. It was silent, except for the ticking of the car engine. Sweat sprung to the nape of my neck, and I fiddled with my burned fingers, wincing under a kick of pain.
Karson opened one of the huge wooden doors, flicked the outside and interior lights on, and turned back. The outside light highlighted his face.
He’s so beautiful, so captivating. And a fucking vampire. I’m about to enter a vampire’s house...
I inhaled a sharp breath, and then another, my heart thudding in my chest, and I began to feel lightheaded.
“Are you going to stand outside all night, or are you coming in?” he asked, as if I had any other option.
“What, no cave?” I clipped.
“Obviously,” he drawled.
With my whole body strung tight, I strode up the stairs.
The door clicked shut behind me, and the sound of it closing, trapping me inside, sent my heart beating even faster in alarm.
Inside was the most exquisite house I’d ever been in. The foyer was huge, and a sweeping staircase curved up to the left, reaching the second floor, which flowed in both directions. Perhaps the largest chandelier I’d ever seen hung above, its size relevant to the size of the home. Beautiful paintings dotted the cream-colored walls, and rich, paneled timber spanned the bottom section. The house was an old mansion renovated to its era, grand and luxurious, but it held a warm, welcoming, cozy feel.
I hovered in the hallway, tense, my hands curled into clammy balls, my awe overridden by a feeling of utter helplessness.
“Where’s the alcohol?” I asked, deliberately avoiding Karson’s gaze and trying not to think. Letting my mind dwell on everything would unravel the last remaining threads of my sanity.
He held his hand out, indicating a doorway to the left. “Please, go through. I’ll get you a drink,” he said, like I was just a regular guest in his house, and he was the pleasant host.
I went into an elegant sitting room. Two tan leather couches sat facing each other on either side of an open fireplace surrounded by an old, carved wooden mantel. A large cream-and-burgundy patterned Persian rug and a black marble coffee table sat in between. I lowered myself down onto one of the couches, running my hand over the leather. It was soft and expensive.
Karson sat a glass of wine on the coffee table and moved over to stand in front of the unlit fireplace.
“If your fangs come anywhere near me, you are going to be needing a tooth fairy tonight,” I warned.
His eyes danced with amusement. “There’s no such thing as the tooth fairy.”
“Two hours ago, I would have said there was no such thing as vampires either.” I took a sip of wine, my hands shaking. I sucked in a deep breath and tried to settle them, but it didn’t work. I took another sip, the liquid slopping against my lips. I set the glass down, wiping my chin with the back of my hand.
He frowned watching my every move. “Amelia, there is no need to be afraid, I won’t hurt you. I would never hurt you. Surely you should know that by now.”
I stood up and began to pace back and forth, my arms flapping like an angry bird. “I don’t know anything about you, Karson, not a nickel. And to think that I kissed you. I put my lips on the same lips that suck people’s blood!”
He looked somewhat offended. The audacity of him.
“And you . . . you should have told me.” My eyes filled with angry tears.
“Oh yes, Amelia.” He placed his drink down on the mantel, his voice sharp. “That’s the best idea, isn’t it—because you’ve reacted so well to the knowledge.”
“How the fuck did you expect me to react?” I snapped. “Did you say, ‘oh by the way, I’m a vampire, so kissing me is not the best idea’—no! I saw a woman dead on the floor with the blood sucked out of her! Christ, she was probably no older than me. She won’t go home to her family tonight. And you, you ripped the head off a vampire with your bare hands, with complete disregard for his life.”
“That vampire was going to kill you. I killed him to save you,” he bellowed with such intensity that my heart beat like a terrified rabbit’s. The speed with which he switched gears inhis emotions was startling. One moment he was a small ember, gently glowing, and the next he roared into a raging inferno.
