Kira shrugged.“Peter left hours ago.You’ve just been out of it.He said to let you rest.”
He said to let me rest?What the fuck?Does she mean Celeste said to let me rest?
Regardless, Theo nodded.He was still tired—not a surprise after a blood sucking.Also, it was five in the morning.Too early to be up, even for him.
“You good?”Kira asked, giving him a once-over.
“Totally,” Theo said.“Five a.m.exactly?”
“Five-oh-three now.”Kira headed toward the door.“Take your time.”She closed the door behind her with a quiet click.
Theo sighed, rubbing at his eyes.He was used to waking up groggy and bloody after a vampire, but he wasn’t used to waking fully dressed with a comforter half slung over him.
Bernard hadn’t done that.Theo huffed.Lots of things that asshole didn’t do, a lot more he did.Fuck.I can’t believe I came up here with one of them yesterday.
He sat up and reached for one of the cookies.It wasn’t store-bought.Celeste liked baking.When he’d knocked on her door two months ago, she’d looked at him, told him to come inside, made him sit down at her kitchen island in the rooms on the top floor where she lived.She’d given him a whole plate of cookies back then, raisin oatmeal.
He bit into the chocolate chip deliciousness.They were a perfect balance between crunchy and chewy.He finished the whole thing while sitting there, running a hand over his clothes.Everything seemed to be in place, but there was a button on his shirt that was undone.That might’ve been me.Don’t think he’d botch a button after dressing me properly if he… But no.He told me to keep my clothes on.
He sighed as he picked up the milk, preparing himself for what came next.His hand went to the side of his neck.The rough edges of the deep bite mark he was expecting weren’t there.
“The fuck?”
Theo put the glass back down and stood, then made his way to the small bathroom with a shower for clients.The mirror above the sink revealed no evidence that a vampire had drunk from him.Theo ran his fingers over the skin, and yes, the faint white marks where the vampire’s teeth had broken through were visible under the artificial light, but that was it.There was nothing there that Theo would have to hide with a Band-Aid, clothes, or makeup.
How the fuck?Why?
Shaken, Theo walked back into the bedroom.Only then did he notice that his shoes were off, sitting by the door, neat and parallel to the wall.He thought back to Peter, the vampire with the platinum blond hair and the ice-blue eyes who’d told him to climb onto his lap and relax.He wouldn’t have taken off my shoes.He’s a vampire.Kira, right?Kira probably did that when she came in to wake me up.
Before he could think about asking her, there was a sharp knock on the door just before it opened, and Celeste walked in.
“Theodore.”She crossed her arms over her chest.She could project strictness and make him sit up straight even while wearing pink fluffy slippers and a pink negligee over sheer underwear that showed off her assets in a way any drag queen would be jealous over.“You’re up.”
“Uhm, yeah.Sorry I slept here.”
She clicked her tongue.“Don’t worry about it.Not like the cleaning crew is going to have much to do here.Have another cookie before you get to school.Can’t learn on an empty stomach.”
“Yes, Celeste.”He obediently reached for another morsel as she came over and sat next to him.
“So, did you like Peter?”
Theo shrugged.“It was fine.”
She clicked her tongue again.“Fine.Well.”
“I told you I’ve had bad experiences with vampires.Not sure what you expect here.”
She patted his back.“I know.And I thought about whether introducing you two was the right choice, believe me.”
Theo turned.“Why did you?Introduce us?”
Celeste’s face was difficult to read.Theo had come to learn that she could control her expressions extremely well, but there was warmth in her eyes.He didn’t think anyone could fake that.
“Peter helped me build all of this.The Boudoir.You know it’s not easy to do what we do in the way we do and not be bothered by…pretty much everyone.”
Theo bit into his cookie, chewed and swallowed without tasting.“So you’re saying thank you to him.”
“Yes.Whenever he comes by.In a way.Mostly I tease him ruthlessly.”She took Theo’s free hand.“Before he left yesterday, he agreed to pay twice your hourly rate.”
