"Don't bother," Thomas said from the threshold of my room. "I got bored with waiting and let myself in."
Connor and I froze, looking at each other with wide eyes.
A silent conversation flew back and forth between Connor and me, blame flying at the speed of light.
Me: How could you not have heard him let himself in?
Connor: He's a scary SOB.
Me: You're a badass vampire. You should have stopped him.
Connor: Ribbit. Twerking daffodils.
Or something to that effect. Much of his side of the conversation kept getting lost in translation.
Me: You're so fired when this is over.
Connor's lips twitched. Maybe he hadn't caught the last part of our exchange.
Connor's expression smoothed into an emotionless mask as he straightened, his attention focusing on Thomas where he leaned against my door frame.
Thomas's expression said he was less than amused.
That was good. I wasn’t either.
"How did you get in?" I asked, not bothering to get up.
When one barges into someone else's bedroom, they could take what they got—which in this case was me lying in bed.
"My dear, I'm your landlord. I have a key." He dangled the key in question in front of him.
I eyed it even as I promised myself I'd do something about that at the first opportunity.
"You realize landlords have to submit written notice before visiting an apartment," I said. "They can't barge in unannounced whenever they feel like it."
Already my patience was fraying, and we'd only been in the same room for minutes. No matter how many times I told myself I was turning over a new leaf when it came to him, I found myself reverting to our old roles. Every interaction between us started off at an eight on the irritation scale, and each minute we spent together made that rating climb.
Thomas flapped a hand at me. "Human laws."
Which evidently didn't apply to him. One of the main reasons we butted heads.
It didn't help that he was right. Even if I managed to file a complaint, he'd simply compel the authorities into forgetting it.
"Get dressed. I'll be in the living room." He disappeared before I could argue.
I collapsed onto the bed, staring up at my ceiling. How had my life come to this?
Maybe Inara was right. The vampires in my life were multiplying.
"He has that effect on me too," Connor said soothingly.
I rolled my eyes to him and stared. He was the one to blame for this. Thomas would never have shown up here if it wasn't for him.
Seeming to read my mood, Connor moved to the door. "I'll let you dress."
"How kind of you," I drawled.
I lay there for several moments after my door closed behind him, pressing my palms against my eyelids and fighting for the calm, rational Aileen I knew I could be.
