As his chin lifts, his mouth parts, and I catch the smallest glint of a sharp canine. The hairs on my arms raise to attention, and I feel a brisk chill in the air pebbling my skin. It’s a sense as real as the touch of Aidan’s hands, and the smell of his sweet citrus scent. I have a sudden, desperate need to be possessed, to be coveted.
I should be terrified. He could snap at any moment and devour me whole. But that’s precisely what I want him to do.
I suck in a sharp breath. “Bite me.”
His steel-colored eyes snap up to mine, and his movements jerk to a stop. He snarls menacingly. “No.”
I’ve never seen him like this, and for a fleeting moment, I feel actual fear, but it’s gone before I have a chance to process it. I want to ask why, but Aidan is already taking control, forcing his hips upward. I latch onto him as he plows into me from below, spreading me as wide as I’ll go so he can watch himself stretching me. All I can think about is pleasure. All I can see are stars.
He grunts and hums deeply while holding our hips together. He teases my clit as he comes, and I’m sent right along with him. I collapse against his chest, gasping for breath. Neither of us move for several minutes, cheeks pressed together again. And for the first time he feels…warm.
I pull back to look at him. This close, I can see the minor blemishes on his face, and the varying shades of blond in his hair. It’s mostly a pale white, but I find a few stark gray strands.
“Sucks you were turned with gray hair,” I say, combing my fingers through it. “Now you’re stuck with them.”
He stiffens beneath me. “What do you mean?”
“Your hair,” I clarify. “I see a couple gray hairs.”
Aidan moves to sit up and I’m forced to get off him. He grabs a handful of hair from the top of his head and tries to pull it down in front of his eyes.
“It’s not that many,” I say, stifling a laugh. “Nothing to panic about. I thought you knew.”
Aidan looks at me seriously. “I’ve never had gray in my hair. Not when I was human, and not when I turned.” He falters, breath hitching, and I see a slight tremor in his fingers. “This is new.”
Chapter Nineteen
AIDAN
For the rest of the week, I throw myself into Bones. There are a few housekeeping items that still need to be checked off my list, and most of the repairs I planned for are going to take weeks to schedule, but for now, I think I can keep the place open as long as I have cash flow. But that means bringing in new customers.
I reached out to a local billboard company about running an ad on the interstate that would lead people to the Shadow Hills exit. It wasn’t as expensive as I thought, and from what I hear, they’re pretty effective at stirring up business.
Though I’m grateful for the distraction my new job has provided, it’s not enough to completely erase Jo from my mind. Each time I pass a mirror, I see the gray hairs now sprouting from my head. Every aspect of my physical appearance has remained the same for one hundred and four years, down to every pore on my face and the one freckle on my stomach. Vampires aren’t frozen in time, we do age eventually, but by my calculations, I shouldn’t start graying for another hundred years, give or take.
I’ve wracked my brain considering every possibility as to why my body might be changing, and I keep coming back to the same conclusion. It’s ludacris, but it would explain a lot of what’s changed over the past few weeks—especially this insane desire I have for Joanna. If I’m correct, it would explain why I’ve suddenly begun aging quicker, but I will have to do more research to be sure.
I mentioned the existence of vampire mates briefly to Jo, but truthfully, I know very little about the subject. I’ve attempted an internet search, but the only results I get are listicles and recommendations for those vampire romance books Jamie and Raegan mentioned—which reminds me, I still need to ask Joanna about the one she was reading.
There’s one place I know for sure that will have authentic records of true vampire history, so on Thursday evening, I lock up the bar and head straight for a haunted house.
Theodore’s house sits deep within the forest outside of town, not far from the wolf pack territory. It’s an old, Victorian era mansion with a wrap-around porch and white spindles, a large turret with bay windows, and a multi-gabled roof. It belonged to his mother’s side of the family and, believe it or not, was given to his father, as a dowry for his mother’s hand. The practice might sound ancient, but that’s only because Theodore was born in 1890 and died twenty-seven years later. I did not know him when he was alive but knowing him as a ghost has been a highlight in my undying life.
I pull my car onto a gravel road that breaks through the forest for another mile. Then between the canopy of barren trees, I see the top of the house. It’s been many years since my last visit, but given Theo’s tendency to slip into a ghost-like hibernation when there’s no activity in the house, I don’t think he’ll mind. For him, it will be as if I was just here yesterday, with no time having passed at all.
The house has fallen into disrepair over the years. Several of the shutters are falling from their hinges, and I sink slightly into a noticeable dip as I step across the floorboards of the porch. Theycreakprecariously under my boots.
It used to be Shadow Hills’s responsibility to maintain the property, but since the passing of the Paranormal Protection Act fifty years ago, other more important things have taken precedent. Mayor Musthaven claims to be a distant cousin of the family, but even that isn’t enough to convince him to set aside a budget for repairs.
I’ve thought about buying the place myself, but Theodore wouldn’t have it. Ever since an incident that occurred about sixty years ago, he refuses to allow any changes to the property. Not even a single screw to fix the shutters. He’s never told me why he was suddenly so desperate to cling to the current state of the house, but I’m certain it has to do with the family that moved in around that time. They only lived here for a year, but their presence made a huge impact on Theo.
I enter the front room and wrap my knuckles against the wood paneling, waiting for any sound or flutter of movement, but nothing happens. I knock again, this time taking loud steps across the creaking floor as I do. Suddenly, a gust of wind blows through the house and disturbs the dust, then a figment appears. At first, it’s little more than a mirage—a shimmering disturbance in the air. Then, as features appear, I can start to make out the familiar face of my longtime friend.
His eyes are still closed, as if his phantom body woke before he did. I cough and bat away the dust flying around my face. Then, Theo’s eyes shoot open.
He’s on guard, seconds away from dissipating with the dust, but when he realizes it’s me, he relaxes. “You’re back,” he grumbles, sounding only semi-conscious. “I thought you decided to let things lie with the boy.”
I clear my throat and cross my arms. He’s referring to my long-ago scat with the only other vampire in Shadow Hills. “That was twenty-five years ago, Theo,” I correct him gently. “But since you brought it up, Alexander has since renounced killing humans and sticks to forest creatures.”
