Ahrun picked up the remote beside him and muted the TV. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you learn how to quickly acclimate to the changing trends.”
“All the better to blend in with your prey.”
“That—but also because humans tend to fear what they see as different. Usually that leads to the local population showing up at your doorstep with pitchforks and torches.”
Ahrun settled deeper into the couch, the entirety of his focus landing on me. For a moment, it was like an invisible vise clamped around me. The hazel of his eyes all I could see.
Then the moment was over as he looked away, the pressure vanishing.
Nonchalantly, he drew a finger along the back cushion of the couch as I fought to catch my breath.
“Is there a reason you’ve decided to grace us with your presence?” I asked after I’d recovered.
It probably wasn’t a good idea to take that tone with him, but I couldn’t help my anger and frustration. That one look had been enough to remind me of the gap between us. He was at the apex of the food chain that made up our world. I was barely a few rungs above the bottom.
“I was waiting for you,” Ahrun said.
“That’s what happens when you show up without notice or an invitation.”
Easy, Aileen,I cautioned myself.There was no need to offend him unnecessarily.
I took a moment to study the ancient. He’d come a long way in the short time since he’d awoken. From an emaciated skeleton, his skin stretched thin over his bones, barely alive, to this suave gentleman whose sophistication reached all the way to his bones.
He had brown hair and light brown skin and features that made it difficult to pinpoint which region of the world he hailed from. They had characteristics that could have fit any number of origins.
Ahrun flashed a smile at me. “I don’t mind. It gave me a chance to think and catch up on my shows.”
“You know, you’ve ruined my algorithm,” I said.
Because of him I was going to get a whole bunch of recommendations that I didn’t want.
“Consider it my contribution. You need to expand your horizons anyway. You think so too, lovely?” Ahrun said, addressing my companion for the first time since I’d entered the house.
In her early to mid-twenties, Deborah was only a few years younger than I’d been when I was turned. Like most companions—and vampires for that matter—she was attractive. Her bone structure symmetrical and appealing. Her eyebrows thick and expressive. A few weeks ago, she’d dyed her hair a honey blond that suited her skin tone.
Since coming to live here, she’d put on a few pounds. The result of not existing in a constant state of heightened anxiety caused by the asshole who was her last master.
I was afraid Ahrun’s intrusion was going to set her back.
“You don’t have to answer that,” I assured her.
“Why? Afraid she’ll agree that you’re a little set in your ways?” Ahrun tsked. “You’re much too young to be so inflexible. How will you survive eternity like this?”
There was a look of apology on Deborah’s face. “I’m sorry, Aileen. I didn’t realize he was here until I came downstairs and found him sitting on the couch.”
“Don’t worry, child. She won’t blame you. The youngest is aware of the attempt you made to warn her,” Ahrun drawled, his eyes on me. “Quite heroic, don’t you think?”
I ignored him to give Deborah a comforting look. “He’s right. It’s not your fault someone never learned to knock.”
Too bad the rule that vampires needed an invitation to enter a residence only applied when it involved a human as the house’s owner.
A tickled expression settled on Ahrun’s face. “Why would I knock? I haven’t any of the other times I’ve visited.”
“You’ve only been here once.”
“Are you sure?” he asked with a look in his eyes that had me questioning that assumption.
A cold sweat broke out on my back at the thought of this vampire entering and exiting at his whim. Spying on Connor and me when we were vulnerable.
